Page 196 - Chronicles of Darkness

With slick, trembling fingers, Marisa
pulled the last fish hook from her arm and got
to her feet. Her TORMENTORS, creatures of
both Heaven and Hell, had gone silent.
Linda hadn’t fared so well during the fish-
hook and glass assault. “We’ve come so far.”
She coughed, and blood blossomed on her
lips. Some of the glass SHRAPNEL from the
conflict had pierced through her stomach.
“Door’s just there.” She was missing a finger
on the hand that pointed to the door.
“You picking Heaven or HELL?”
Marissa choked on her words. “I want to
know where I should aim when this is all
over.”
“Neither.” Linda shook her head,
trembling with effort. “We’ve been played
enough. WE’VE ALL BEEN TOYED WITH
ENOUGH. It’s time for both sides to leave us
alone.” She coughed again; she wouldn’t do it
a third time.
Marisa knelt beside her, the blood and sweat
on her face washed away by tears. “Okay. That’s
a good choice. I get that choice.” She leaned in and
kissed Linda, and heard her last breath whisper out.
The dead woman’s fingers fell open and gave up THE
KEY. Marisa took it, tears still streaking her face, and
stood up. All around her, she could see the workings of God.
She saw the cLOCKWORK PERFECTION of its order, the perfect
cacophony if its control. She’d lost everything, everyone, as a
result of this war, even Linda.
“Open the door. Let us in.” A Celebrant, a tall, beautiful, skinless
body, posed as if in the middle of orgasm. It shivered when it spoke and
smelled like wet, thoughtless sex.
“Close the door, keep them away, and you’ll never feel this pain, or any pain again.” An
Angel, that’s what they called themselves, stood to the other side of the door. It could kill
a thousand men with its radiant light. It could use the order of its God to smother an
entire culture in a matter of weeks. “Relent to the will of our God and know everlast-
ing light!”
“You’re a creature of FLESH AND FEELING. Of pleasure and joy! You were
created to have the sort of freedom you will never have under their rule,” the
celebrant moaned, writhing as it spoke. It sounded, for a moment, like the sigh
Linda used to make when she came. Marisa’s stomach tightened.
“What if I LOCK the door?” She shouted — she had to. The churning,
metal noises of the God’s workings were ratcheting up to deafening levels.
“What?” The celebrant hissed.
The Angel’s voice rang clear, chiming like bells.“DON’T BE AB-
SURD, HUMAN. DO AS YOU ARE TOLD.”
“It’s my choice! You both told me that! Tell me what happens
if I lock the door!”
Both entities recoiled.
“You’ll never reach your true potential.” The Celebrant
hissed.
“You’ll live without TRUE ILLUMINATION, forever
in the darkness of chaos. A world without order!”
Marisa shut her eyes to shut out their cries of
protest and taunting, and stuck the key in the
keyhole. When it clicked, the sound was heavy
and satisfying, and the room went SILENT.