Trilby's Notes (Trilby x Reader) 2

Desperate

Your Pov:

I tuned back into the present, Trilby's voice re-entering my ears, "This may well have been the same Jack Frehorn who went on to form a bizarre religious cult: A depraved group of paganistic worshippers who were spoken of with much derision by conventional society." He turned to me, "Are you alright?" I nodded, "Yes. Let's follow our lead."

In front of the door was another piece of paper. Trilby bent down and picked it up. We both read over it.

Victim 3: Frehorn

1. The third Man who desired judgment was Frehorn, who had bought from those who made luxuries with the wood that was the Prince's Soul, and against whom the Prince brought down the pain of the Soul. The Prince came and struck down the lover of Frehorn, and Frehorn knew the name of the King.

2. And Frehorn said, "I know you now, O Prince who was the Arrogant Man, and I anticipate your wish, and I will devote myself to spreading the teachings you have brought me and the love of our King."

3. And the Prince was satisfied, and Frehorn called all those who would listen and they formed an Order of Blessed Agonies that would work to redeem the follies of the Men of Technology.

We left Siobahn's room and headed back downstairs. The hotel shifted once we reached the stairwell. I felt Trilby tense up next to me. I gripped his hand, rubbing my thumb over the top. He relaxed slightly. We walked through the lobby and into the hall by the lounge. The sound of a lock opening echoed from down the hall. We walked into the dining room, barely spotting Lenkmann walking into the kitchen. Trilby called out.

"Lenkmann? Lenkmann, wait!"

He ignored us completely. We followed him, only to find an empty kitchen. It was also decorated with corpses and entrails. We walked down into the basement. A large group of beetles swarmed a groove in the ground where two skeletons laid. One was just bare bones with the other being heavily decayed except for one hand which was fresh and pink. I jumped at seeing the bugs.

I gripped Trilby's arm. He sighed, "I don't think this is what you should be afraid of. You've seen worse." I pulled away from him. He continued, "Well, it looks like Lenkmann isn't here. Let's take a pill. Here." He handed me one of the tranquilizers and I swallowed it. The hotel did not shift back.

We stared at each other for a few minutes. I spoke, "Why hasn't the hotel shifted back yet?" Trilby looked at the pills, "The decay has either spread to us or the pills. We'll have to find another way." I followed his gaze towards the puddle of water with the hand in it. He put the rotten meat from earlier on the ground, attracting the beetles to it. He quickly dragged me over to the puddle. Without a word he bent down and scooped up some of the water, drinking it.

He quickly put some into the pill bottle as well. He turned to me, "The water has the same effect. Drink it." I bit my lip, "It has a hand in it!" He looked at the puddle, "Fine." He drank more of the water. Suddenly, he grabbed my waist and pulled me close. He placed his lips on mine, forcing my mouth open. Cold water slipped over my tongue and down my throat. I pulled away, coughing a bit.

Then, the hotel shifted back to normal. We headed upstairs and into the artifact room. Abed was already there. He looked at us, "Have you seen Siobahn?" Trilby spoke up, "We were just about to ask you that." After trying to convince Abed to leave the hotel, Trilby finally brought up our lead, "Do you know anything about an inn called the unicorn?" After Abed confirmed the shingle was from the inn and allowed us to assess it, we once again were drawn to it.

My hand brushed the painted horn and everything faded into nothing...