Read Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5) Online

Authors: Jennifer Martucci,Christopher Martucci

Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5) (6 page)

BOOK: Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5)
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“Desmond, you know as well as I do that
anything
is possible.  But my visions are accurate, and so is this weird GPS magnet that totes me around.  I didn’t ask for it, but I have it, and I believe in it.  This is the place.”   Arianna took a breath and glanced around.  She raked a hand through her hair.  “I saw death, just death all around me.  Darius is probably on his way as we speak, and you never know, maybe the universe cut us a break and we made it here before him.  Maybe we’ll stop him today and end things.”

Desmond parted his lips to speak, but clamped them shut when an old woman approached them.  Stooped and ambling with a cane and wearing a flowered dress in a style Arianna hadn’t seen in many years, the woman waved a hand with gnarled fingers. 

“Oh aren’t you a handsome couple,” the old woman crooned.  “I haven’t seen you two around, and I’ve lived here for sixty years, moved here right after I got married.  I raised four children who still live here and have twelve grandchildren.  Oh, but listen to me prattling on about myself!” she stopped her own rambling.  “Are you visiting family?”

A response evaded Arianna.  As if sensing her loss for words, Desmond spoke.  “No, ma’am, actually, we’re thinking about moving here.”  He added a charming grin for good measure. 

“You kids would love it here!” the old woman gushed.  “It’s a wonderful place to raise a family, and take it from me; I know.”  She smiled warmly, her blue eyes spry and twinkling with energy.  “Well, I best be getting on my way.  Have a nice day.  I hope to see you around,” she added over her shoulder after she’d passed. 

Arianna and Desmond watched as she shuffled down the sidewalk, greeting everyone that walked by her as if they were the oldest and dearest of friends. 

“She was sweet,” Desmond commented.  “Maybe we should stay here and raise our kids.”

She whipped around
to face him.  She couldn’t tell whether or not he was serious.  “Stay here?  Kids?”

“Yeah, we could buy a house back on that nice street with the view of the harbor, get married and get you pregnant.”

His face was still unreadable.  Arianna didn’t know what to say.  Up until now, their lives had consisted of surviving one day at a time, one breath at a time in some instances.  A future with marriage and a house and children had never been discussed.  Saving humanity had taken precedence over domestic planning. 

“Ah, judging from that terrified look on your face, I’m guessing you haven’t thought about any o
f that.  I don’t want to scare you.  Forget I mentioned it, okay,” he said and started walking without her. 

“I want those things,” she said quietly.

Desmond stopped and turned so that all she saw was his magnificent profile.  Haloed in brilliant, buttery light, there was no doubt in Arianna’s mind that Desmond was heaven-sent, divine.  A slow smile rounded his cheeks, and Arianna’s heart skipped a beat.  In that moment, she allowed hope to creep into her soul, to calm the raging worry stirring her insides.  The town was safe thus far.  Nothing bad had happened yet.  She felt confident that she arrived in time to stop whatever was supposed to happen, to kill Darius and send him back to hell.

“I can’t imagine Darius here,” Desmond said as he walked at a laid-back pace beside her.

“I know.  He and whatever demons he’s brought would stick out like sore thumbs.”


This place is just, I don’t know, it’s perfect, especially in light of the recent nationwide spike in crime.  The murder rate in the country has doubled, thanks to Darius.”

“I know.  I saw i
n the news that government agencies think it’s some new drug craze making people flip out and kill one another.”

“Better they think that then try to explain to them that a supernatural being has
been opening the seven gates of hell and is bringing bloodthirsty beings through time and space to kill.”

“That’s true,” Arianna said and frowned thinking of all the innocent lives lost in the month
s since Darius’ arrival.  They added to the loved ones she’d lost, and the countless others struck down since becoming the Sola.  “This has to end,” she said softly and heard the desperation in her voice. 

“I know.  If we don’t stop him and he gets all seven gates opened, it’s over.  Humanity is done.”

Arianna sighed heavily.  “You think I don’t know that?” she snapped. 

Desmond stopped walking.  Lightly gripping Arianna’s elbow, he turned her to face him.  “No, Arianna, I didn’t mean to imply that you are in any way ignorant of the magnitude of the circumstances.” 

“I know, and I’m sorry for biting your head off.  I’m on edge.  He’s been one step ahead of us this whole time.  This past month—hell, this past year—has been a nightmare.”

“I know,” Desmond said and pulled her close, enveloping her with his thick, powerful arms so that her cheek pressed to his chest.  “But I think this time, we’re ahead of him.  I think we’ll finish this once and for all.”

Arianna breathed deeply, inhaling Desmond’s spicy, masculine scent, before releasing him and continuing down the sidewalk. 

They ate their bagels and drank their water as they walked around town.  The sights remained consistent: peaceful and happy. 

She was sure they’d make a large circle when they passed a park that looked identical to the courtyard she and Desmond had started at.  But when a quaint, church made of stone appeared before her, she knew her circle theory was incorrect. 

“Like everything else in this town, the church is lovely,” Desmond said and took the words from her mouth. 

Lovely was an apt adjective.  An arched, stone entryway with a freshly painted, red door and black, metal hardware were both welcoming and striking against the pale, gray stone of the structure.  Above the door, a simple, circular pane of stained glass sat.  Atop it, the steeple rose heavenward, a simple crucifix topping it off. 

“Let’s go inside,” Desmond suggested. 

Smirking, Arianna lifted an eyebrow and said, “Wait a second, this isn’t a surprise-the-bride-wedding reality show moment, is it?”

“A what?” Desmond asked with a perplexed expression. 

“Nothing, never mind,” Arianna said quickly. 

“Are we going in then?”

She was about to say, “yes” when Dane and Jason rounded the corner and approached.

“Hey guys, find anything?” she asked.

“Nope, just a lot of really nice people,” Dane answered.  “Seriously, I think I might want to live here.”

“Good, you and Desmond can stay and raise a family,” Arianna mumbled a joke only she and Desmond understood. 

Desmond shook his head and laughed softly.  “We were just about to go inside,” he gestured to the church.  “You’re welcome to join us.”

“Sure,” Jason said.  “But we might as well wait for Briathos, Leo, Ramiel and Sorath.”

Briathos, Leo, Ramiel and Sorath, along with nearly a dozen others were headed their way in small groupings.  Everyone seemed drawn to the church, pulled as if by a magnetic force they were incapable of resisting. 

“Everyone seems to feel a pull to this place,” Desmond articulated what she’d observed.  “Maybe it’s a trap.”

“It could be,” she replied.  “We’re going to have to take that chance.”

Arianna, leading the way, open
ed one of the red doors and stepped inside, into the narthex of the church.  The scent of incense and carnations, of frankincense oil and burning wax greeted her immediately, even though the doors to the nave were closed. 

Desmond approached the doors and peered thr
ough the stained glass window of one.  “The church is packed,” he said confusedly then checked the mass schedule posted on a cork board to his right.  “It’s not a scheduled mass time.”

“Maybe there’s a funeral, or wedding,” Jason proposed. 

“The parking lot is empty,” Ramiel, one of the last to crowd into the vestibule, said.  “And I don’t hear singing or talking.”

A chill swept over Arianna’s skin. 
With her heart pounding a terrible rhythm in her chest and all the nerves in her stomach formed into a massive ball that threatened to make her vomit, Arianna approached the doors leading to the congregational seating area.  She reached out a trembling hand, instinct warning her, shrieking through her cells, and gripped the handle.  She pulled the door toward her and stepped inside. 

Pew after pew was
packed with people, the nave as full as if it were a holiday service, yet preternatural stillness reigned. 

“Hello,” Arianna said, her voice
echoing hauntingly.

Not one of the people turned to face her.  The room was as still as a tomb. 

She slid her foot forward and advanced another step.  Moving past the basin of holy water to her right, she went to the closest pew. 

As soon as she saw the first face of the person seated nearest the aisle, she felt the color drain from her complexion, and the blood freeze in her veins. 
Men, women and children, sat upright with their hands clasped in prayer, eyes wide with lifeless fright, their skin the color of ash and dappled with dark welts.  The scene—the condition of the bodies, the meticulously decorated positioning of them—was blasphemy personified, the profane work of a demon.  The air tightened around her, shivering with the pressure of death.  Air rushed from Arianna’s lungs, her heart clenching tightly.

“Desmond,” she doubled over and gasped his name, her voice reed-thin.  Her intention of saving the town fell with her breath.
  Fighting the urge to retch, she collapsed to her knees.

Arianna was vaguely aware of voices swelling all around he
r.  Even the honeyed lilt of Briathos’ voice was strained.

“Arianna!”
Dane’s voice soared above the swirling cacophony of mutterings that rose and fell.  Firm hands gripped her upper arms and pulled her to her feet.  “Arianna, are you okay?” he asked, his gaze pinned to her face.  “Come on, A-bomb, don’t go soft on me now,” he whispered, his voice close and husky, intimate.  He brought her close, his breath fanning across her face.

“Is she all right?” Desmond’s voice thundered.  His arm wrapped around her waist and Dane
’s hands fell slack at his sides, a strange expression clouding his features.  She allowed her eyes to wander from it, away from his face and past him.  They landed on the macabre display of innocent human lives, murdered for the gruesome enjoyment of an evil being, and the sadness and guilt Arianna had been feeling was slowly edged out by another emotion.  

Anger supplanted the sick pit of grief in her belly. 

Suddenly, the cherry wood of the pews and cream colored walls, the ornate statues, the altar, and all the fallen innocents were awash in crimson. 

“What kind of evil could do this?” MaryAnn Parker asked, her voice floating in the blood-red mist and reaching Arianna’s ears. 

“Exactly the kind of evil we’re hunting,” Arianna snapped, her agitation getting the better of her.  “We’re too late again.  This is on me.  All of it is on me,” she added as she clenched her teeth. 

“Don’t blame yourself,” Desmond said, a hint of frustration coloring his words.  “This was a trap, I’m sure,” he addressed the group.  “We’re trapped
in here.  Whoever, or whatever, did this is undoubtedly waiting for us just outside.”  He pointed to the doors beyond the entrance to the narthex. 

At Desmond’s words, Dane’s demeanor transformed.  His upper lip snarled over his teeth and the swell of his bicep bulged and flexed in time with the heaving of his chest, lending him the appearance of
a volcano about to vent.  “You think Darius and his dirtbags from Gehenna have us trapped, Desmond?  You think they scare me?” he asked, his wrath mounting palpably with each word that spilled from his lips. 

“Dane, calm down.  Now is not the time for—” Desmond began but Dane cut him off. 

“For what?” Dane barked challengingly.  “To end this?  Because that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.  Enough of standing like sheep awaiting slaughter.  Screw this shit!  It’s time to do this.”  He charged for the doors. 

“Dane, please wait,” Arianna stepped in front of him and placed both hands on his chest
, the veil of garnet no longer shrouding her vision.  He leveled a flinty gaze her way, his eyes boring into hers.  She did not look away and watched as the hardness yielded for the briefest of moments.  As it did, she saw something soft and vulnerable in him. 

“Arianna, don’t,” he started, but his voice snagged. 

“Please Dane.  I lost Beth. I don’t want to lose you too,” Arianna whispered her plea so that only he could hear her. 

“Don’t be a fool, Dane,” Desmond advised.

Dane’s eyes left hers and narrowed to slashes as they rested on Desmond.  Whatever tenderness she’d sensed or seen in Dane bled from him.  He licked his teeth and curled his lips into a sneer then pushed past Arianna.

She was left, calling after him.  “Dane wait, we need a plan.  We need to coordinate an attack.”  But he did not respond.  He shoved open the door and stalked outside. 

“Oh hell, I’ve gotta go,” Jason said tightly and stormed after his twin brother. 

“Dammit,” Arianna clenched her fist, feeling the turbulent rise of her powers brimming beneath her skin.  She didn’t want her confrontation with Darius to be like this,
but now she was being forced to fight a battle without strategy or tactic.  She was going out blindly. 

BOOK: Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5)
4.16Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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