Page 21 of Vows & Violence
The room becomes chaotic, but I keep moving, chasing the spiral. Chasing Vale.
He reappears behind the altar. “You were born for this,” he hisses. “You and the key.”
Ghost appears at my side, breathing hard. “You’ll die before you lay a hand on her.”
Vale raises a hand, and Ghost flies back, hitting a pew so hard it splinters.
I scream his name, lunging. My blade buries in Vale’s side. He grabs me, whispering something in a language I don’t understand. The spiral flares so bright, like fire under my skin, like a scream I can’t let out. Everything turns white. I’m not in the chapel anymore. I’m underwater. No, not water. Smoke. A memory.
A girl screams. It’s me. A different me. Younger. Covered in blood that’s not mine. A man with tattoos, a patch, and eyes wide with betrayal falls. Another version of me walks over him like he’s dust.
Then Ghost appears. He’s not bleeding. Not broken. Just… gone. The spiral pulses in my chest, whispering things I don’t want to understand.“You were made for this.”
I open my mouth to scream, and the white swallows me whole.
Then silence.
I open my eyes and blink. Vale is gone. The spiral against my chest is cold. Why? What does that mean? The comfort the heat gave me, chills against my skin.
Ghost groans. I run to him, helping him sit up. “You okay?”
He nods. “You?”
I swallow hard, running my hands over his body, checking for cuts or wounds. When I don’t see any, I help Ghost to his feet.
I don’t answer, not because I’m not okay, but because I don’t know what the hell I’d say.
Poison shouts, “We’re clear!”
The Sanctum is burning. Someone lit it. Maybe Tabs. Maybe Gypsy. It doesn’t matter.
I help Ghost outside as the chapel collapses behind us. Smoke rises into the trees, black and bitter.
The Hollow Sons are dead or scattered. But the spiral? It’s still there, under my skin, waiting for another opportunity. I can feel it deep in my soul.
Tonight, we won a battle. We burned their altar. Now we bury what’s left. Then we find what comes next.
Chapter Ten
Ghost
Ican still taste blood. It’s copper and smoke, grit grinding between my teeth as I push myself upright. My ribs scream. So does the chapel. The whole place groans like it’s dying, and maybe it is. Hell, maybe we all are.
Phoenix is crouched over me, eyes wide, pupils blown, hand tight on my arm like she’s anchoring herself. I think I say her name. She helps me up, and we stumble through what used to be the Sanctum.
The air's thick with fire and whatever dark shit Vale conjured. The altar’s gone, cracked and bleeding red wax, and something worse. Something evil. Symbols crawl across the walls, pulsing one last time before the flames eat them.
Phoenix is somewhere else. Her body’s here, yeah. But her eyes? They’re still in the white or whatever the hell that flare was when Vale grabbed her. It wasn’t light or power, but something older. Something dangerous. She hasn’t said more than two words since Vale disappeared.
I don’t push. Not yet. I know that look. I’ve seen it in soldiers who walked away from the worst days of their lives. She’ll talk when she’s ready.
Outside, the MC is regrouping. Poison’s barking orders. Scissors checks weapons. Gypsy has blood on her jaw and a smile like she’s just come home. They’re battered, bruised, but alive. Every last one of them.
We made it out.
But that chapel? That wasn’t just some backwoods cult HQ. That was a doorway. And we weren’t ready for what stepped through.
Phoenix finally releases me once we’re clear. She doesn’t look back at the wreckage. Just stares at the horizon like it might start whispering answers.
