Read Online Wings of Sorrow (A horror fantasy novel) by Iain Rob Wright - Free Book Online
Authors: Iain Rob Wright
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slapped him, and when he recovered, he was furious. His dark eyebrows formed an angry V. “What’s got into you? How dare you say those things to me, Scarlet. I work my fingers to the bone to feed you, clothe—”
“You work your fingers to the bone because you would rather be anywhere else than at home with me. Maybe I should get pregnant. Least then I would have some company.”
“Go to your room this instant.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She sneered. “I spent all of yesterday in my room, and now you want me to spend all of today in there too? I’ll tell you what: I’ll just go seal myself up and you can push food under the door. That way you won’t even have to look at me anymore.”
He might actually have gone to slap her then, but he stopped himself from doing whatever he had planned and just stood there. When he spoke again, he spoke very slowly. “You have a job to go and beg for. I suggest you get dressed and get out, but I want you home by six o’clock, because we’re going to have a talk.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Scarlet had to fight back the tears as she fled upstairs. What had got into her?
~ Chapter Seven ~
Scarlet did not walk from the bus stop in town, she marched. When she entered the Little Treasures Emporium, the door crashed into the wall so hard that the glass pane almost cracked. Mr Chester was nowhere to be seen, but Indy was kneeling down on the floor stocking a shelf.
“We’re not open yet—oh, hey, Scar, you’re back. I was worried about you. I tried to call…”
“I lost my phone. Where’s Mr Chester?”
“In the back, but wait…”
Scarlet didn’t wait. She went behind the counter and into the back, where she found her ex-boss standing in the middle of the room as if he’d been waiting for her. “Scarlet,” he said. “I’m glad you came. We need to try and solve this.”
She placed her hands on her hips and pulled a face she imagined was not pretty. “Understatement of the century. Saint Psychopath broke into my house yesterday. I don’t even want to think about what he would have done to me if I’d been home.”
“Did he take anything?”
“He took my mother’s necklace.”
“Hmm, okay. Let’s go into the office. Sorrow is already waiting for us.”
Scarlet looked to her right and saw that her ‘demon bodyguard’ was sitting on a chair next to the messy desk. She shoved past Mr Chester and went to join him.
“Scarlet, you are safe. That pleases me immensely.”
“Yeah, um, likewise.”
Mr Chester came into the office and sat down. He laced his fingers together on this polished desk and sighed. “This has been a very… complicated couple of days.” His eyes went to Scarlet. “For you, more than anybody.”
“I don’t want sympathy. I just want to know how to go back to my normal life. Blondie needs locking up—angel, or not.”
“He’s not an angel, strictly speaking. Demons, angels, Heaven, Hell, and all the other things we fill our movies and books with, are just manmade creations—fiction. The truth of the universe is far greater than good and bad. Like the species of Earth, there are a myriad of creatures beyond the limits of what is known. Heaven and Hell are just concepts, but they represent the idea that there are other existences besides this single one we inhabit. There are creatures and lifeforms we cannot even imagine. The White Order is dedicated to keeping the earth safe from these things that lie beyond our reality. Our existence is in constant danger, and while there are some forces that seek to protect humanity—like The Saint, for instance—there are many more which seek to gain dominion over it.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes. “You’re talking nonsense. I don’t want to hear that blondie is a good guy. He’s a maniac. You already knew that he stole my mother’s necklace, didn’t you? How?”
He reached down and pulled something up from beneath his desk. It was The Prophecies of
“You work your fingers to the bone because you would rather be anywhere else than at home with me. Maybe I should get pregnant. Least then I would have some company.”
“Go to your room this instant.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She sneered. “I spent all of yesterday in my room, and now you want me to spend all of today in there too? I’ll tell you what: I’ll just go seal myself up and you can push food under the door. That way you won’t even have to look at me anymore.”
He might actually have gone to slap her then, but he stopped himself from doing whatever he had planned and just stood there. When he spoke again, he spoke very slowly. “You have a job to go and beg for. I suggest you get dressed and get out, but I want you home by six o’clock, because we’re going to have a talk.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Scarlet had to fight back the tears as she fled upstairs. What had got into her?
~ Chapter Seven ~
Scarlet did not walk from the bus stop in town, she marched. When she entered the Little Treasures Emporium, the door crashed into the wall so hard that the glass pane almost cracked. Mr Chester was nowhere to be seen, but Indy was kneeling down on the floor stocking a shelf.
“We’re not open yet—oh, hey, Scar, you’re back. I was worried about you. I tried to call…”
“I lost my phone. Where’s Mr Chester?”
“In the back, but wait…”
Scarlet didn’t wait. She went behind the counter and into the back, where she found her ex-boss standing in the middle of the room as if he’d been waiting for her. “Scarlet,” he said. “I’m glad you came. We need to try and solve this.”
She placed her hands on her hips and pulled a face she imagined was not pretty. “Understatement of the century. Saint Psychopath broke into my house yesterday. I don’t even want to think about what he would have done to me if I’d been home.”
“Did he take anything?”
“He took my mother’s necklace.”
“Hmm, okay. Let’s go into the office. Sorrow is already waiting for us.”
Scarlet looked to her right and saw that her ‘demon bodyguard’ was sitting on a chair next to the messy desk. She shoved past Mr Chester and went to join him.
“Scarlet, you are safe. That pleases me immensely.”
“Yeah, um, likewise.”
Mr Chester came into the office and sat down. He laced his fingers together on this polished desk and sighed. “This has been a very… complicated couple of days.” His eyes went to Scarlet. “For you, more than anybody.”
“I don’t want sympathy. I just want to know how to go back to my normal life. Blondie needs locking up—angel, or not.”
“He’s not an angel, strictly speaking. Demons, angels, Heaven, Hell, and all the other things we fill our movies and books with, are just manmade creations—fiction. The truth of the universe is far greater than good and bad. Like the species of Earth, there are a myriad of creatures beyond the limits of what is known. Heaven and Hell are just concepts, but they represent the idea that there are other existences besides this single one we inhabit. There are creatures and lifeforms we cannot even imagine. The White Order is dedicated to keeping the earth safe from these things that lie beyond our reality. Our existence is in constant danger, and while there are some forces that seek to protect humanity—like The Saint, for instance—there are many more which seek to gain dominion over it.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes. “You’re talking nonsense. I don’t want to hear that blondie is a good guy. He’s a maniac. You already knew that he stole my mother’s necklace, didn’t you? How?”
He reached down and pulled something up from beneath his desk. It was The Prophecies of
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