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CHAPTER 30
Everything began clicking into place then. The Angels. His parents. It was like watching someone cracking open a safe, hitting each number of the code in turn, getting closer and closer to their goal, except this safe didn't contain any treasure. Just a dark and horrible truth.
'Holy shit,' I gasped, feeling my stomach flip. 'The last Cherubim that came down. You said it came for a disciple. It came for your parents, didn't it? That's why it was here?'He raised the bottle again in mock-tribute. 'Give that girl a gold star.'I said nothing for a moment. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, shrouding the city in violet and orange hues that made it look even more like a painting in a gallery. Somewhere out there, hidden in another world under the Vatican, were secrets mankind could only dream about. So much power kept under wraps. Truth buried beneath the ruins of Rome. The whole idea of it was like a movie plot and fuck, yes , it sent goose-bumps over my skin to thinRelated chapters
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 31
'Are you okay?'Ethan's voice was coming from miles away. Muffled by water fathoms deep. Travelling through dimensional worm-holes stretching across countries and continents.I heard it. I knew he was there, standing right next to me as I stared up at the darkening sky through the window. I knew he was looking at me, his gaze no doubt searching, burying, in the way it always did when he looked at me. I knew I should answer him, but I couldn't.I was thinking about the crucifix. The small, slightly tarnished silver crucifix I used to wear on a chain around my neck when I was a kid. I hadn't thought about it in years, not since I'd dropped it down the drain outside the block of flats where we lived, staring into the dark hole and wondering what it would be like to float away with it.'Casey?''I stole a crucifix from my mum once,' I said, still looking up at the skies, as if I was looking at them for the first time.'You stole it?''Yeah. I was walki
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 32
Numb the pain.I wanted something now, not to numb the pain though, but to wipe what I'd seen from my head.How could I lock away what he'd shown me?There wasn't a trinket box big enough to hold that horror.Behold the Seraphim , he'd said. Born of fire . The Great Winged Serpents. Caretakers of the Throne. Destroyers of the First. Changeless. Eternal . The Highest of the Most High . They are your gods. They are your saviours, your judgement and your damnation.There were four of them. Four huge creatures, each with twelve wings of fire that burned so brightly it was difficult to look upon them. Their skin shone with coppery scales and their serpent tails, stretched long behind them, twisting and curling together as they flew, spinning a never-ending maelstrom around the empty Throne of the Angels.Their faces were distant echoes of humanity, as if at some point, the two races had been connected somehow. A sleekness to their sharp cheekbones. A semblan
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 33
'The problem with Rome,' Ethan said, 'apart from the overpriced coffee, the ruthless pick-pockets and the vicious gangs of zealous tourists, is that there's so many Watchers here that the worm-holes can only be used to travel short distances. They're just big enough to get over or under the next trip-wire, before we have to switch and find another route. It's not easy, but it's doable.'He fiddled with his hair as he looked in the mirror, brushing it one way, before frowning and brushing it in the opposite direction.'Of course, that's not taking into consideration the possibility that any of the worm-holes could have been discovered.''And if they have?' I asked, leaning against the bathroom doorway, my gaze coveting the firm lines of his shoulders and the nape of his neck, curling one lock of my own hair around my finger as I watched him. My hair was still slightly damp from the shower I had taken, starting out as hot as I could bear, only to give myself a blast of
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 34
Almost hypnotised by the sight of it, a blur of black smeared the edge of my vision, and I glanced across the road to see a priest crossing in front of a gelato parlour, a tan leather satchel clutched under his arm, his heavy, dark robes swishing behind him as he walked. I gasped and pushed myself instinctively closer to Ethan, who squeezed my hand in return, barely even giving the priest a second look.'Not all priests are agents of the Council,' he said, as we continued to walk, and I glanced furtively back over my shoulder. 'Most of them genuinely believe that what they have dedicated their lives to, is the truth. They know no better.''You sound almost sorry for them,' I remarked.Ethan chuckled. 'No. No sympathy from me, I'm afraid. I couldn't give two fucks about the sheep who choose to follow the flock. I've seen too many of them use their faith to manipulate others. Why should I care that they've been manipulated themselves? I'm just saying that they're not al
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 35
A faint murmuring arose, a rustle of fabric, a hiss of steam.From somewhere out of sight, footsteps muffled by soft soles padded against a hard floor.A curtain, thick and heavy, stretching from ceiling to floor, obscured my view. A wood-panelled wall, through which the wormhole had materialised, stood behind us.I was frozen to the spot, with Ethan's hand clapped firmly over my mouth.Concealed behind the curtain, he held me against him, and I could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest on my back, his hot breath on my ear.He was pissed - seriously pissed – and somewhere inside, I was sure it probably wasn't a good idea to antagonise a demon, even if demons weren't quite what we had been led to believe, but I really didn't see what choice I'd had. Ethan didn't really have a choice either, and I'd known that.Used it.I'd learned a long time ago that if people wanted something badly enough, they'd do literally anything to get it. Drugs.
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 36
I grimaced and the stout man in front turned to shoot Ethan an irritated glare, thankfully oblivious to the fact we'd joined the party much later than everyone else. Ethan just returned his stare with an apologetic smile and a shoulder shrug, gesturing to me as if I was the one causing the disturbance. I elbowed him in the ribs, spotting the first sign of a smile creeping back into his face, not that I was about to relax into this again. I doubted very much that he'd forgotten our deal.We followed the party through the underground maze and I did my best to pretend to pay attention to the tour, with Ethan pretty much attached to my waist and knowing we were one step closer each time to reaching the Vaults.Finally, we turned a corner into another tunnel, where the party had congregated to listen to the guide as he whirled the pointer around again, jabbing it towards the two mausoleums on the right. He had a touch of over-dramatic out-of-work actor about him, more intereste
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 37
Breathe. Breathe.'Are you okay?'Fuck. Just breathe. Stop staring. Do something.'I - I...'I couldn't get the words out. I could see them in my head. I remembered how to form words on my tongue, how each one sounded, but I just couldn't say them.'Oh dear,' said the Erelim, frowning. 'Are you unwell? Can I get you something?''What?'Of all the things I could have said, and the only word I could push out through my tightened throat was what . It didn't even sound much like what either. More like a mouse-like squeak that vaguely started with the letter W.What's wrong with its eyes?The Erelim's eyes looked, well, just like eyes. Normal human eyes, with crow's feet puckering the skin at the edges. Whatever the Hell Ethan had meant by not screaming when I saw the eyes, I had no idea, because I was looking right at them, into them , and I was seeing nothing terrible or freaky. They were just eyes, albeit eyes filled with a weighty concern.
Her Worst Nightmare CHAPTER 38
Once the tea was made, the Erelim - now known as Albert - brought the cups to the table, his hands shaking slightly, the cup clacking against the saucer. Placing mine in front of me, he sat in the other chair, staring at me in wonder and cradling his own cup in his hands, almost as if he had forgotten it was even there.'Drink,' he said, finally. 'I do hope it's to your liking. Please say it is.' There was such a desperation to please in his voice, that I almost felt sorry for him.I sipped at the fragrant liquid, smiling my appreciation, even though I hated the taste. Coffee would have been better. Vodka preferable. A fuck load of vodka.'Thank you,' I said.He hadn't stopped looking at me. Hadn't taken one sip of his own tea. I was getting creeped out. Seriously, creeped out.'So... Albert...' I began. Talk shit to it, Ethan had said. Talk shit . Like it was easy. Like sitting here, sipping tea with a creature that kept the amputated hands of demons in jar
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