GERRARD UNITED Church was a large ornate building with stained glass windows and a bell overtop. The front steps were stone and seemed like something out of a Gothic novel. Chaz drove past it on Bond Street once to stake out the best entrance and decided the back door with a more modern wheelchair-accessible ramp was the best place to enter.
“It’s been so, so long since I’ve been to a place like this,” Sully said. “I think I might burst into flames.”
“You won’t. I might turn into stone, though.” When Sully furrowed his brow, Chaz shook his head. “Never mind. That’s not true. But I think we should go in the back way just in case.”
They parked the car a couple blocks away again but didn’t hold hands as they approached. The ramp they walked up muffled the sound of their footsteps. The back door opened up into a foyer that seemed more modern than the classical architecture around the other side. There were pamphlets and postings for community meetings, worship areas, and other church-run events. Sully ran his hand along the calendar and pocketed a few pamphlets as he did.
“I doubt what we need is going to be in the church mailer.”
“So what exactly are we looking for?” Sully asked.
“I… I have no idea.”
No one seemed to be around. Even the pews and aisles were empty in the larger area of the church. Chaz had wanted to interview people to see if they’d met or seen Fatima as a vampire or if they thought she was human, since sometimes churches were used as sanctuaries. As far as Chaz knew, they were separate from the monster world.
“Do you think they knew?”
“Knew what?” Sully asked. “That she was vamp or…?”
“Yeah. I mean…. Isn’t there separation between the two worlds?”
“Yes. But some churches are changing to accept some supernaturals because it could give them access to celestial beings. I had a priest once come into Artie’s to tell us about how divine we all were.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Not to me but to Tabby and Trinity. He didn’t want sex, but he wanted to talk. And like….” Sully flipped through one of the pamphlets and pointed at a couple of images of the winged angels. “This place may have allowed only some supernaturals.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that. But why have this as the drop-off for workers? It doesn’t make sense, especially given our other location.”
“Well, next door is St. Sebastian School. It’s associated with the church, but more likely, it would be the school where Darcy would have met Fatima. It follows the saint and arrow system better.”
“Should we go there, then?”
A thud stopped their movements. A low, gurgling cry followed. Sully caught Chaz’s gaze, fear in his eyes.
“Where did that come from? No one is here.”
“The basement. All these churches have a basement.”
Chaz spotted a red door with a picture of a lamb on it. He grasped his side where his gun normally was but found nothing. After the explosion, it was safer to keep it locked in his nightstand than to keep it out in the open, especially as he was groggy and healing. But now, the loss was like another wound. “Shit.”
Sully bent down and removed something from his socks. He passed Chaz a knife. “Go. You’re armed now.”
“What about you?”
Sully made the motion of poking someone’s eyes out again. This time, it was less funny and more terrifying.
“Okay,” Chaz said, “but stay behind me.”
Sully surveyed the door they came through, the front door, and the windows before falling in line behind Chaz. Chaz was impressed by Sully’s vigilance but soon pushed the thought away as he pressed his ear against the red door. Another low gurgle sounded. A moan. Someone was in pain. There seemed to be no footsteps, so Chaz opened the door. He kept the knife at his side and eased himself down the basement steps. The light switch was flicked on, but the bulb must have burnt out since it grew darker the deeper they went. The stairs were wooden without backs; Chaz thought of every single story he’d heard his grandmother tell of jumbees grabbing ankles in basements. He walked faster. Then faster still to get all the way down.
Darkness faded away. Candles were lined up along the edge of a shelf full of craft supplies and books being stored for Sunday school. The room was a giant rectangle with no way out but the stairs. Maybe windows, Chaz figured, but he couldn’t even see those. There was just a large pillar in the middle of the room, candles, and—
“Is that an arm?” Sully whispered.
“A body,” Chaz said. A man’s arms were tied around the pillar. His legs were splayed out in front of him. At one point the man had probably been standing, but now he lay in a crumpled pile on the floor.
Another groan. It was coming from the man in front of them. Candles lit the way. Chaz stepped closer and felt dampness.
Blood. Oh, there was blood everywhere, flowing out of the man tied to the pillar.
“Sully, go upstairs.”
“No,” Sully said. “I need to know who it is. If it’s someone I know—”
Another groan sounded, but it was like the last gasp of the dying. Chaz hurried around to see the man, careful not to step in any more blood. He stopped and stared wide-eyed at the body of Alan Ramirez.
“Oh no…,” Sully said.
“I know. That’s him. That’s Alan.”
His face was pale now, no longer alive. Blood seemed to go on and on for miles. A single arrow pierced his heart. Chaz felt the wound in his own heart, like a stake to the middle. There was no doubt now from the amount of blood, the type of wound, and the sour scent in the air that Alan was a vampire.
“Chaz,” Sully said. He tugged his side.
“I know. It’s him. It’s… over.”
“No, look. Look at what’s written.”
Sully pointed to the floor. In front of Alan were the words I MUST CONFESS GOD IS DEAD. Chaz groaned, unsure what to make of the strange message. He didn’t have time to think of much of anything before he heard sirens.
“Is that the police?” Sully asked.
“Shit. Shit. You need to leave. You need to—”
“Not without you. Partners.”
“No, you don’t understand. They’ll recognize you. Make a connection. You need to go right now. Run. And if you get caught, pretend you’re not with me.”
Sully’s face twisted in pain. The sirens grew louder. Sully seemed to understand the urgency. He ran up the stairs two by two. His shoes didn’t have any blood on them, so he’d be safe. If he could just make it outside the church doors, around the corner, and then on another street… he’d be safe. Sully had escaped before, Chaz knew he could do it again.
Chaz, on the other hand, stared at his sneakers covered in blood, the knife in his hand, and knew everything was about to get a lot more complicated.