Page 151 of The Midnight Order
She has to be sore after the way she screamed for Lowell last night, and I want to give her time to heal.
Even if there’s a darker side of me that wants to prod the sore spots and derive every ounce of pain from them while driving her pleasure as high as I can.
“I’d like that. I didn’t realize I hadn’t seen everything.”
“Well, there’s the chapel and then the pool house. There used to be a very well-kept greenhouse, too, but the roof caved last summer during a storm.”
“A chapel?”
I grin. “Come. Get your coffee and grab some shoes.”
Thirty minutes later,we’re walking arm in arm as I lead her past the irreparable fountain that Lowell broke in anger and toward the tree line engulfing the back of the property.
Leading her toward the chapel, where she seemed the most interested. I listen to her breathing change as the forest deepens around us, and the smell of earlier rain permeates our senses.
I can nearly feel the moment her nostrils flare, and she sucks the thick, musty morning air into her lungs. “Why is the chapel so far from the house?”
“For privacy,” I answer quickly, not realizing how low my voice dipped, giving the word “privacy” a touch of innuendo.
“You all built this house? Well, the property?”
“We did.”
The chapel comes into view, covered in vines and greenery as the earth tries to reclaim it. It’s moss-covered, weather-beaten, and forsaken. The windows are all blown out, and parts of the crumbling roof are open to the elements. It’s still beautiful, even if it’s a ghost of its former glory.
There are whispers of the past in each derelict stone; if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear them.
“You wanted somewhere to worship, even though you’re all…”
“Undead? You can say it.”
She smirks sadly at me as she stops walking, her gaze returning to the chapel that’s seen better days.
Fuck, how long’s it been since I came out here?
“We were all raised very religious, the only exception being Lowell. He allowed us our frivolities, however. We had a priestwho’d come on Sunday mornings in the early years, but that was so long ago…” I sigh as the memories sting through my brain.
“What happened?” she asks.
I don’t answer. I simply tap the mask adhered to my face.
“Ahh.”
“There wasn’t much left to believe in once we were cursed. Nothing good, anyhow.”
“That’s sad. Losing one’s faith has to be like losing a part of oneself.”
“Like losing the ability to look at yourself,” I mutter.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t. Not much offends us anymore, Silver.”
“It’s so heartbreaking. All you’ve been through, and then each time someone breaks through the wards, you go through the highs and lows all over again, only to remain cursed. I don’t know how you do it.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“On one hand, I hope that I am the key. I’d love to see each of you whole and be the one to free you, but on the other…”
