Church of Sin (The Ether Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

pitch, as if his voice was no longer one but a chorus of atonal harmonies.
    “Jesus, what the fuck!?”
    She struggled helplessly but she was completely overpowered. She was able to take hold of the arm under her chin but it wouldn’t budge. It was as if she was caught in the unmovable embrace of a concrete statue.
    “Hello?” Alix yelled at the camera. “Some assistance?” A thought struck her. What if the camera was fake? Mercifully, the thought evaporated quickly as the door opened and Omotoso appeared in front of them, arms outstretched like a hostage negotiator, the fear and concern evident from his face.
    “Now Professor,” he said slowly. “Let’s just calm down, shall we. Neck broken or otherwise, you’re not getting out of here and she’s done nothing to upset you.”
    “I mean it, Edwin. Keys.” There was no trace of anxiety, no hint of concern in the way Anwick spoke. Just the same velvety , girl-like voice but underpinned now by something deeper and more urgent.
    “I can’t do that, Professor. You know I can’t.”
    He lifted his arm upwards and for a second her feet rose from the ground beneath and she was choking for air.
    “I’ll kill her, Edwin. You know I... wait.”
    He dropped his hold a little and she gasped for breath. Then his hands were pressing down on hers. His skin was cold and clammy, like wet leather. What the Hell was he doing? Then suddenly she was free of him, staggering forward, collapsing into Omotoso’s arms. She had no idea what made him release her but she felt a relief like no other. She turned to look. Anwick had retreated back against the wall and was adjusting the cord tied around his waist. She hadn’t seen it before but it must bind him to the wall, allowing him to move as far as the yellow line. She would have been safe if his hands had actually been restrained in the straightjacket.
    “I apologise.” He looked at her directly and there was genuine sorrow in the way he spoke. “I did not know you were a Host. I will trouble you no more.”
     
     
     
     

Chapter 7
    Parkview Abbey had seen many a storm in its illustrious history but rarely one so violent as that which now raged over its dual towers. Rain pelted down on old, opaque windows and the thunder – that mighty demon of nature – rumbled dangerously in the background.
    Underneath the shelter of a small porch the sound of the water falling from the overflowing gutters was deafening and the two people that stood at the door – an extraordinarily tall and stern looking woman and an older, and considerably shorter, gentleman wearing a tweed three piece suit – had to shout to be heard. Standing just inside the entranceway watching the exchange was a young girl of nine. She had a delicate, freckly face framed by long, straggly golden hair. The look she bore was hard to place. At first glance, it was nothing more than the look of vacancy that all children sometimes display when they are lost in their own thoughts. But a second look revealed something more complex. An acute feeling of sadness hung over her; as if her entire life all she had known was a deep, unrelenting unhappiness.
    “Has she spoken since the incident?” called out the old man . He had a slight German accent.
    “Not a word,” replied the tall woman. Somehow, her ability to talk above the clatter of the rainfall seemed effortless. “But then that’s hardly surprising. Your role is to look after her and keep her safe until we can apprehend the Harbinger.”
    “I can but try, Mrs Harker.”
    “I’ve told you before not to call me that.”
    “My apologies. A slip of the tongue. When did she last eat , Lilith?”
    “ She hasn’t.”
    “You should have at least tried to give her something, Lilith.”
    “This child is lost in a world caught between the living and the dead. She is neither. A solid ghost. Food is hardly relevant to her.”
    “ Perhaps.”
    The tall woman thought for a while before saying, “I must travel back to