Page 88 of Like Grim Death: Part One
Elijah simply stares at me for a long moment. “You could have come to me about Ella Christianpriorto marking her, for one. You could have told me the truth of Ria, for another. You are risking spreading the secrets of the 6 like a catching disease, oozing our enigmas around this city, thisworld,andthatcannot be tolerated.” Without waiting for me to respond, he turns his back to us and continues the few feet down the hallway, another door at the end.
Anger builds inside my chest, hot and tight. I want to say so many things about Ella, about Ria, about theguiltI carry, but I keep my mouth closed. Lucifer and I follow him instead, and he pulls the door open.
Then he steps inside the small space of what I realize is the baptistry. I follow, Lucifer coming behind me this time. We fan out around the small rectangular space, white steps leading into the water on either side of the plastic basin set into the floor, the sanctuary to my left, flickering red candles lit around the nook in the baptistry against the wall beneath the cross.
The baptismal pool is a clear blue. The scent of fresh water permeates the air. I glance at Lucifer, then Elijah, the latter’s hands behind his back as he stands between my brother and I, his head bent while he stares into the shallow pool.
My brows furrow and I open my mouth to ask him what he’s waiting for, but before I can do so, IfeelLucifer’s eyes on me. I cut my gaze to him and find he’s staring back. There’s a strange curiosity in his gaze, something I don’t think I understand. The unease I’ve carried with me all week swells up my stomach, higher still, tightening my chest, my throat.
“What the fuck are we doing—”
All at once, tearing my words from my mouth, the red candles flicker out. We are ensconced in darkness, but as I blink, I can see the vivid blue of Lucifer’s eyes, lined with the whites of them. He is still looking atme,and appears completely unaffected by the sudden loss of light.
I reach behind me, intending to grab the gun, but there is a hand on my wrist, a tight, cold grip, before a voice whispers in my ear.“Veni mecum.”
Latin.Come with me.
I suck in a breath, dragging my gaze from Lucifer’s, still pinpointed on me, to a looming shadow at my side. I could fight this person off. Attempt to pull them down into the baptistry and drown them, but pale gray eyes are inches from my own, and there is something frighteningly familiar about them. For a moment, I almost believe it’s Sid herself, come here to test me like she appeared in my trip at Noctem.
But the voice didn’t belong to her.
The fingers around my bones grow tighter still, and I can’t look away from this man’s eyes. “Where are we going?” It’s the only words I can get out.
He doesn’t answer, but after a second of silence, there’s the click of something that sounds strangely like a projector.
Light.
It comes from my feet, casting everything else in a greater shadow.
Dropping my gaze, I’m startled to see a perfect, glowing rectangle taking up the blue of the baptismal pool. It’s a… video, projected in the baptistery. A recording of some sort, only just beginning to play.
I hold my breath, feeling dizzy. Lifting my gaze, I find Lucifer still watching me. Turning my head, Elijah is staring at the footage.
I pull my wrist from the stranger beside me, and he lets go, but before I can look at his face, he slips away, behind me. I start to turn, but then there’s a strange, girlish giggle emitting from somewhere above me. Without knowing how I understand it, I realize it’s in tune to the projector screen of water below.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I slowly drop my chin, forcing myself to see the video footage playing out beneath my feet.
There’s a red-headed girl. Long, wavy locks curling at the ends, sashaying toward her hips. She’s in faded overalls, sitting on grass, her knees bent and pulled to her chest, an off-white shirt over her pale skin. She has a daisy between her fingers and she’s twirling it, green eyes locked on the little flower. A smile curves her lips, freckles dot every inch of her face, and a breeze blows through, disturbing her hair, pulling locks across her round cheeks. White, crooked teeth flash as she uses one hand to tuck the hair behind her ears, but she doesn’t stop looking at the flower. In the distance, far beyond the grassy field she’s sitting in, I see mountains, stretching to the blue sky. There are no other homes in the shot, and I know instinctively where she is.
West Virginia.
But it’swhoshe is that seems to stab a knife into my chest.
“Ella?”A voice calls from behind the camera, the film shaky as the person moves.Her mother.
A young Ella, maybe nine or ten, looks up, still grinning, faint dimples in her soft face.
“That’s a pretty flower, huh?” Her mom seems to be smiling through her words. Whatever is happening here… it’s a moment of peace.
Ella laughs again, the sound resounding around the baptistry, and I have to remember I’m supposed to breathe to live.
How do they have this? Where did it come from? Why am I seeing it?
The camera angle is rocky as the lens comes closer to Ella, sinking down to her level. It is strangely difficult to see her like this. Innocent, happy, with a mom who seems to care, a mom Iwouldn’thave choked out, at least for this single stolen moment in time. I have to look away.
Lucifer’s eyes are still on mine.
My chest heaves, and I wonder about his silence. Did he know what we were getting into? Why am I seeing this, I want to ask him. I want to walk around the pool and get in his face. I want to grab him, and I’m not sure why.
