38. Luke

I sobbed, smashing windows, the poison killing me but not killing me. It never would. This hell was an endless cycle of suffering, my soul gone. Everything gone.

“Only, it remains inside you, does it not?”

My fist froze mid-punch. “Who said that?”

“I did.”

Earthy gravel filled my mouth. I eyed the corners of the prison, seeing no one.

“Fear not, Luke. Your soul is intact, and your body is blessed with a stone gift. But we must be careful. These things are fragile. Now, the real test of your character begins.”

Stone gift?

A hatch sprang open in the floor close to my feet. Mist licked around its edges, a strange light beyond it.

“What’s going on?” I asked, wanting to be left alone to my punishment.

But hope fizzed around my heart.

“Descend if you wish to ascend, Luke Garland,” the voice said. “Fate has brought you this far. Now you must seize the moment. Answers will come once you prove yourself. Be worthy of the bells.”

The bells?

I backed away from the hatch, the taste in my mouth intense.

“The blood within you will be the key to your freedom. You are lucky. You are blessed. Make your choice. Jump into the mist or stay here.”

“What blood?”

“Come and see.”

The voice was right about my soul. It was there, not gone, clinging to me, I still felt more human than I should, remembered love and hate and happiness and fear and all those human experiences.

Love for my brother.

Love for Asher.

Hate for the darkness of the world.

“Make your choice, Luke.”

A presence behind me got me turning.

I almost fainted, the shock a billion earthquakes inside my head.

His lips moved, but no sound came out.

“Oh my God. I?—”

He vanished.

“Asher?” I reached for the amulet, but it was gone.

“Choose, Luke Garland,” the voice pressed.

As always, Asher gave me the boost I craved—even now, after everything I’d done.

With a deep breath, I jumped into the hatch.

Get ready for the end in…

Stone Ascension

(Gargoyle Marked 3)

Release date and cover TBA!