Chapter 33:

I rolled backwards as a sword struck towards my throat. I looked at the man in front of me, eyes widening in surprise. No words, just an attack! This guy really was trying to kill me!

I scrambled to my feet, wincing at a sharp pain from my ribs, and warily looked at him. He held his sword towards my chest. The man paced around the front of his desk. Fear pulled my lips into a grimace. 

“Not a fan of the newspaper?” I asked.

He snorted. “You’re what? A reporter?”

“So what if I am?” I wasn’t, yet I couldn’t help but feel offended at the insinuation. 

“You’ll die either way.”

He moved towards me. I backed up, hitting the wall behind me, and looked around the room in a panic. Could I jump back into the vent? No, I couldn’t leave without those papers. I needed to take this guy out — without killing. 

I raised my hands. 

“Wait a minute,” I said, “Hear what I have to say!”

He paused. Was he listening? 

“I’m not a reporter, I’m trying to be one!”

I licked my lips. “My boss told me I had to find a story—a scoop! I just crawled in here because I heard some rumors!”

The man lowered his sword. “Did you tell anyone you were here?”

“Nope, just me.”

He smiled. “Good.” He reached out, grabbing me by the shoulder. I grinned at him, thinking of something I could do. 

“You’re quite young for a reporter.”

“Aspiring reporter.”

He chuckled, staring intently at me. “Those rumors…what exactly have you heard?”

Sweat dripped down my face. I had an eye on every shadow in the room, ready to teleport just in case. 

“Oh, you know,” I said, “Rumors about a group of people doing good things. I wanted to make a feel-good piece.”

“A feel-good piece.”

I gulped. “Y-yeah. That’s right.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

His hand raised to my throat, clawing and tight. I acted. My body disappeared from in front of him to behind, and I kicked between his legs. The sound of the impact caused me to wince, remembered pain flashing through my brain. Sorry, cult man. 

He keeled over, a high-pitched whine escaping his throat. Critical hit. 

My eyes landed on the papers he had been sorting through. I walked over, and started scooping them up, putting them in my item box. The man tried to stagger to his feet. “Don’t…touch those…”

I pulled the drawers open, grabbing everything I could. He leaned his weight on the table, and our eyes met. His sclera were red, bloodshot, and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. 

“You’re killing me,” He said, “If you take those, I die.”

I stared at him.Who’d kill him? I thought to the woman who stabbed me. She didn’t seem like anything more than a pawn, a piece used by the man in front of me to do his bidding, scolded for failing, forced to act as a janitor for his ego. He deserved this, and I didn’t have to be the one to do it. 

“Good.”

He opened his mouth to say something, when hurried footsteps from outside the door caused his lips to curl into a smile. He said nothing; his eyes pierced into mine, haughty and laughing.

The door swung open. 

“Capture her,” He said.

Tens of people stood at the door. Had they all gathered here from the sound of the vent breaking? Did they have some way to communicate I was unaware of?

One stepped forward, sword raised. I jumped past them into the hallway, leaving them twirling in confusion. I looked to both sides, and saw more of them running. What was going on? I turned to the side with fewer people and sprinted forward. 

Shit, shit, shit!

I jumped to the other side, backing up when a person lunged towards me as I reappeared. They were getting smarter! I pirouetted around him, and took off running down the hall. Was this the direction I’d gone to open the door? I suddenly realized I didn’t recognize the area. Stupid Aria! Why are you running in the wrong direction?

I zipped down the hall, running past open interior doors, glancing into them as I ran, on the off chance of an exit. I could barely process the images as I sprinted. A room with people sitting in circles, humming, a room with animals in cages, unmoving, a room with a woman, singing. Finally, a door in front. Metal. Did it lead outside?

I crashed through it. It was a stairway. This place had multiple stories? I couldn’t tell from the outside. I flew up the stairs two at a time, gasping for breath when I reached the second story. I put a hand to the next door, hesitating before I opened it. Just what was up here? I hadn’t intended to go deeper into enemy territory. 

I listened. I didn’t hear pursuit behind me. Maybe they hadn’t expected me to not escape? I was doubtless they’d check up here eventually. I needed to find a way out, or a window to escape from. There had to be a fire escape somewhere. If there wasn’t, maybe I’d send in a report to a newspaper after all. Shocking! Evil Cult Violates Safety Laws! Given Small Fine! ‘Won’t do it again,’ Says Local Cult Leader!

I shook the thought from my head. The door opened, and I walked through. The smell of it reached me before the sights of decay. A stench like rotten flesh and age filled my nose. The hall in front of me was littered with dried blood, feathers, and fur. I reflexively clamped my hand over my nose. What the hell…?

Was I really going to walk down Hell Hall? It was that or the cult—which was worse, I wasn’t sure. My feet stepped delicately, eager to avoid the blackish spots on the floor. The smell only got worse as I continued. There was only one room in front of me. 

The door was black, iron, rusted, and generally menacing. Had I teleported straight to the Demon Lord’s castle? I frowned beneath my hands. 

I ignored the pulsing feeling of unease, and reached for the handle. The rough texture met my fingers, a grainy sensation fused with that of a cast iron skillet. 

I pulled at the door. 

It squeaked open, and the sight of the room stole my breath. 

The room was old, decrepit, and poorly kept, a contrast to the item sitting at its center. It was a statue —life-sized—of a man sitting in a chair. A throne? The face was cut with little detail, yet strangely, it felt lifelike. The stone was illuminated by the sole source of light in the room, a candle with a red flame, which lit as the door had opened. It sat in an array of blood, a meticulous design of origin I couldn’t begin to guess.

The walls surrounding the room were lined with the bodies of animals. Their blood seemed to stream and pulse with the light of the flame. I felt sick to my stomach. What the fuck had I walked in on…?

I turned my head, ready to leave. I would take the spooky cult over this nightmare. 

“Wait.”

Voice like scraping stone, creeping shadow surrounded me. My breath froze in my chest, the hair on the back of my neck raised. I turned my head to the statue. 

Its eyes rolled towards me.

“Hello, little Saintess.”