Prisoners of Sin: A Dreamer's Lie

Flowers of time

  Daphne rushed us up to Annabelle's room; I could already hear her from the stairs. As soon as she threw open the door, a hideous scent rolled out. It smelled like a mix of feces, bile, rotting flowers, and spoiled milk.

  "Ugh!" Salem hissed, covering her nose. I did the same. "What in Hell's Court is that smell?"

  Daphne glared at her. "I don't know! You figure it out!" She turned away, giving us a saddened glance before she left.

Salem went in first, recoiling. "Oh, my Gods. Ria, get in here. Now!" she ordered when I lagged behind.

I bolted in and cringed. The scent was so terrible, and I could taste it. It was not something I appreciated very much. But I kept walking even when my mind was screaming at me to run. This wasn't something I could just turn away from and leave. Salem needed my help.

"What do you wa—Oh, Gods," I whispered, taking a look at the girl on the bed.

Annabelle was on her side, dark sludge dripping from her mouth. Both of her eyes were bleeding from seemingly nonexistent wounds on her lower eyelids. Her gaze was hollow, vacant. All ten of her fingernails were ripped off, all to various levels. Bright blood was gently pattering to the ground.

But the worst part out of this whole hideous mess was her throat. Several small shapes were pressing on it from the inside, bulging and pulsating.

I thought I would be sick right then and there. Dropping to the ground, I coughed. Nothing came out.

Salem kept it together better than I had. She hurried to Annabelle's side, soothing her with kind words. Every kindness vanished when she faced me.

"This is the work of either a demon or a very dedicated human," she said.

Annabelle moaned, clearly in pain. Her tongue poked out of her mouth, and I screamed for a few seconds. It was blackish-purple, the color of fresh bruises, and swollen. She let out a pained, muffled cry.

  I thought she nearly said, "I'm sorry." But there was no way she could do that.

  Salem dug through her bag, searching and searching. When she pulled out a cross and a book, Annabelle groaned again, this one sounding nearly relieved. And then she screamed.

  The things in her throat started wiggling. Annabelle kept screaming, and this time, I saw why.

  A girl was floating over her. A girl with wings sprouting from her hips and shoulder blades. She wore a black dress and a sadistic smirk. Reaching down, she tapped Annabelle's throat.

  Blood and flesh rained down as one of the things burst forth, and Annabelle fell silent. More and more, until all the things were shining in the light.

  Seeds. They had been seeds. And they were now fully-blossomed flowers.

  The strange girl grabbed something from the body before disappearing. Something sparkly.

  Turning, I found Salem with her hands clasped over her mouth. Tears were making their way down her cheeks. She bent her head down and began to pray. To which God she was praying to, I didn't know.

{*}

  Salem and I were back at Mikuna's manor. Kaiden was out, and so were Mikuna and Leo. Even Lucy was missing. But we had an unexpected guest. Giselle was waiting for us in the resting room when we arrived.

  She was sitting with her folded in her lap, head down, cheeks flushed red. A cup of flower tea rested on a saucer on the table beside her.

"Why are you here?" I asked, dead tired.