Axel was going to play out this ritual, his five angels were alive. All except Everett, of course. Axel considered himself one of them, too, though. That meant he wouldn’t hurt them, right? He wouldn’t hurt Liza. And Arryn . . . perhaps he was using Arryn as a stand-in of sorts for Everett?
“Where? Where do they form this circle? Where does this ritual take place?”
“Um . . . the catacombs,” he said. “They use the catacombs the demons travel in, because the ritual has to be performed in their lair.”
Catacombs?
“Yeah. It has to be performed in the demon’s lair by these five angels. They have to kill one innocent and one demon.”
“An innocent?”
“Yup. A sacrifice must be made. Like one of those Inca virgins. Someone innocent and pure. Pretty crazy, huh? Dark stuff.” He chuckled. “I remember the picture. It’s like this sweet-looking young girl with black curls and big eyes who’s all, ‘noooo, don’t hurt me.’” He made his voice go high-pitched in a piss-poor imitation of a scared female. “They all have to burn together. Fire opens this, like, portal to Heaven so they can return to where they rightly belong.”
Fire? “Do they do it?” Reed asked. He felt almost numb, though his focus was sharp, every detail of the road and the inside of his car precisely outlined as if the world around him had turned into some sort of eerie negative.
“Yeah, they do it. They get to Heaven. The end.”
“Thanks.”
The guy started to respond but Reed hung up.
His phone dinged as a text came in.
Ransom: Update from offcr who checked out Ortiz house. Still not home. Offcr was able to see in windows, including bedrm. Nothing out of place. Ortiz truck in driveway.
Reed: Thx
Axel Draper had Milo too. Reed would bet his life on it.
Please, please don’t let him have Liza.
He dialed Zach’s number.
“Hello?”
“Zach,” he said as he pulled up to the curb in front of his building and jumped out. “I think Axel is taking Arryn to what he considers some type of catacombs. It’s part of the Tribulation story, where the final ceremony happens. Axel Draper is bringing all the characters together so they can act out this ritual.”
“Tell me more.” He heard a door shut and the sounds of commotion that had been in the background a moment before quieted. “What sort of ritual?”
“It involves an innocent and a demon, and a fire. He’s planning to burn them all.”
“An innocent . . . Arryn.”
“I don’t know. I think so.”
“And Hartsman’s the demon?”
“Maybe. What could catacombs mean?”
There was a short pause where Reed imagined Zach was gathering himself, and then he heard the tapping of computer keys, and knew the room Zach had stepped into was his office.
Reed punched at the call elevator button. Come the fuck on! Five seconds passed, and Reed swore quietly, heading for the stairs, taking two at a time. As he cleared the second-floor landing, Zach said, “Okay, listen, in the twenties, Cincinnati invested in a subway that was never completed. It’s . . . this set of empty tunnels and stations beneath the city.” It sounded like he was reading off a website.
Empty tunnels? Reed burst through the stairwell door out into the hallway. “Zach, that’s gotta be it.”
“I’ll get a team together immediately. Ransom’s already here. There’s an old tunnel entrance on Hopple Street. We’ll leave now. Meet us there.”
“I will. I’ll call one of your phones as soon as I’m close.” They both hung up just as Reed rounded the corner to his apartment. The door was open a crack. Reed’s heart dropped to his feet, his breath coming harshly as he removed his weapon, triangulating the door and entering quickly. “Police!” he yelled, but the only sound that greeted him was eerie silence.
He made his way down the hall, mindful to be tactical, but a sense of dread and urgency compelling him to do so as swiftly as he possibly could.
Liza, Liza. Please be okay. God, please be okay.
In the guest bedroom there were minor signs of a struggle as though someone had surprised her, but then quickly incapacitated her. His gaze swept between the hardcover book dropped on the floor, to the overturned lamp. She’d fought, but he’d either drugged her, or injured her. His eyes moved over the floor, the bed. No blood.
No, no no. Axel needed her alive to perform this ritual. She had to be okay.
At least for now.
He felt time ticking down like a giant pulsating clock chiming in