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Maybe he’s an angel? That makes more sense.

Before I can ask who or what he is, he hums musically, “The past…”

The beautiful man disappears, replaced by a scene more terrible than my worst nightmare.

I’m outside in an open, grassy field somewhere, and it’s dark, almost pitch black, even though there’s a large red moon filling the sky.

A pile of bloody, mutilated bodies is in front of me, nearly as tall as me, but it’s the ground beneath my feet that captures my attention.

The mud created by all the blood that was spilled is trying to swallow my boots. With a huff, I yank first one foot then the other out of the hungry dirt.

One of the bodies groans just as I free my right foot and my attention immediately snaps back to the pile. My entire being focusing in on the sound.

“Y—you will b—burn in Hell for this…” a ragged voice moans.

A rage like no other rage I’ve ever felt before fills me.

I’m suddenly full of so much anger, so much fury, it’s as if I’ve been lit on fire and I’m burning from the inside out.

Gripping the slick handle of my battle axe, I raise it above my head with both hands.

“God will punish you!” another dares to cough.

Swinging my battle axe down with every ounce of strength I have, I roar, “Tell your god I’m coming for him next!”

My axe slams so hard into the bodies on top, the bones in my arms vibrate and the pile begins to split in half. Severed hands, arms, legs, feet, and heads roll down and plop onto the dirt.

Yanking the blade out of a ribcage, much like I had to yank my boots out of the mud, I lift my weapon above my head again.

Then I roar as I swing my battle axe back down. “The present!”

I snap into place.

The sensation is so jarring, I blink several times, my eyes watering, before I realize the man in the black robes is in front of me now.

Blood drips off the golden dagger gripped in his pale hand as he points the tip at me and declares, “Tainted!”

Beside me, Sister Agatha sucks in a sharp breath.

But otherwise it’s strangely quiet.

Silence falls over the cathedral, and everything seems to freeze as if this moment in time was paused.

Tainted? What does that mean?I wonder, staring at the man in the black robes in confusion.

Have I done something wrong?

“Vampire bait!” someone suddenly shouts, shattering the stillness.

“Beast lover!” another cries out before the rest of the congregation decides to join in all at once.

Their words clashing together in an angry, screaming chorus.

Words I don’t know or understand.

“Slut!”

“Whore of Babylon!”