Obsessed to Hate Him-Chapter 51: Ritual
LIAM
Sneaking out in the night, using the darkness as a cover was actually a good idea. Kian is behaving extremely weirdly but I have so many other shits to dig into other than mulling over it. So I took advantage of his weird behavior and snuck out of the cottage. Maybe this will be the last time I will ever be here after tonight. Maybe this is the last time I will ever see Kian as Lain. Because whether my mission successes tonight or not, I am going back to Solaryn. I can’t do this anymore.
Thankfully the sky is clear tonight. The moon has started to fade into the dark as the new moon approaches. I am hoping there will be no snowstorm tonight. But you can never tell accurately when it comes to the weather. And especially when I am related to the weather.
"You know the direction, master?" Crystal asks as she stands motionlessly a few feet ahead of me and watches me struggle through the thick layer of snow.
"Yes." I spit as I plant my other foot in the snow viciously.
"Then let me take you there, master." Crystal quips, "It will be faster and easier. Other than that, you are leaving your footprint behind."
I curse under my breath because I am well aware of the accuracy of her words. But still, I don’t want to let her take over my body and fly me there. The night is already cold enough, and letting Crystal take over will only mean that I am signing up for freezing myself to death. And then again, Kian can easily track me down by following these footprints.
I dwell on the matter for a moment before eyes Crystal incredulously, "Don’t go too fast. This is already a cold night."
"Understood master." She says before turning into mist and rushing toward me. She invades me with the force of a storm wind.
My whole body jerks and ice replaces the warmth in my blood, freezing me to my core from the inside. I shudder. Then, I am suddenly lifted from the snow-coated ground and start to speed toward the direction of the cult. True to Crystal’s words, she actually goes a lot slower than before. But it doesn’t do too much to keep the cold wind of the night slapping against the skin of my face, reddening it and freezing it.
It doesn’t take a lot of time to reach the towering cathedral. It looks even spookier at night. A shudder jolts down my spine as I eye the construction, the alarming bells in my head going off one after one.
"Look around if there is any other way to enter," I instruct Crystal, not taking my eyes off the building as if it will come alive and haunt me if I do. I am actually pretty sure it will.
"Understood, master." Crystal vanishes again into thin air as my instruction gradually fades into the foggy weather of the night.
The cathedral is quiet and there is no trace of light inside as far as I can see from the outside. And obviously, if they are doing something they shouldn’t, they won’t announce it to the whole world.
I wait a little, keeping a sharp watch on my surroundings. Even the smallest movement has me on the edge. I am going to end this for all and everything tonight. I can’t let any mishaps get in my way and topple my mission for me.
"Master, there is a way inside at the east side of the building." Crystal’s bland voice rings out through my head.
"Wait there. I am coming." I start to move with the stealth of a panther.
There is indeed a way inside. A small ventilator. It’s a little high up from the ground but it is fine when you have a ghost familiar help you up. As much as sometimes I regret making Crystal my familiar, I also feel as if it is one of the best choices I have ever made—when clearly, I don’t make too much of them.
If I ever make it to heaven—which I won’t—the Gods and I will have a serious conversation about the way they made me. I make the worst decisions ever and I also have the worst luck. Period.
I keep my footings feathery light as I walk down the long hallway of the cathedral, blending into the shadows so that even if someone notices there is something amiss, they won’t be able to point me out.
"Do you know which wing we are in right now?" I ask Crystal, who is following me in her mist form. I have taken a trip through the building but I don’t remember coming to this side of the cathedral. It smells fishy.
"No, master," Crystal replies, "I have never been here before."
Fair enough.
Suddenly, my footsteps halt as I come across two closed doors. I arch an eyebrow as I see candlelight peeking out through the closed doors. There are muffled voices can be heard from inside.
This side of the wing is well hidden from any passerby. This is why we didn’t notice it when we came here the day before yesterday. The seed of suspicion inside me has blown into a whole damn tree. I bend down on the ground and retrieve a knife from my clothes.
I carefully cut out a small hole in one of the doors. Warm candlelight instantly spills out from inside and I peer into the room—hall—through the hole.
My entire bring freezes as I take in a sharp breath.
Inside the hall, the white-clothed nuns are sitting in the rows of wooden benches before the high wooden platform, unmoving. On the high platform, there is another wooden platform where a little boy around seven has been laid. His eyes widen open, his mouth hanging open. Beside him, Saint Christopher is holding a sharp and long knife over the boy’s chest, narrating something I can’t decipher.
My stomach flips.
This is a ritual!
