Chapter 8 Crypt
Ihad only been standing outside the bedroom door for about half an hour when Grim approached. He wasn’t alone. I didn’t recognize the prospect with him, but I could tell by the cut he wore. The patch only read his position, not anything else. He wouldn’t get a road name until he patched in.
“We’re riding out,” Grim announced. “Prospect will keep watch until we return.”
I wanted to object, but I didn’t. I had to do what my president ordered, even when I worried that Rachel would need me and I wouldn’t be there.
Grim led me outdoors. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the long row of bikes waiting with GBMC members in the saddles, all staring at me with expectation.
“We’re gonna take the Devil’s Ride. You survive it, you’re in.”
Survive it? I didn’t ask, but fuck, that sounded ominous.
I nodded and joined him, riding beside Grim, although it was the spot reserved for his VP, Mammoth. The cut I wore, and my DNA already earned me a spot, but I also had to prove that I could handle being a Graven Bastard.
What that meant, I wasn’t sure.
It seemed about half the club was taking this ride with me, including Patriot, Rael, Mammoth, Exorcist, and a few others. The rest remained at The Crossroads with Hannibal.
A prospect opened the gate, and we rolled out, riding in a side-by-side format in a long line until we left town and merged onto Hwy 95. The warm Nevada wind blew through my hair, and it felt right to be among men who had known and called Lockjaw family.
Grim gestured for me to follow him and turned a sharp right, entering a nameless road that soon became nothing more thandesert sand beneath my tires. Dust started to swirl around my bike, rising higher until I couldn’t see anything around me. I was suddenly lost inside a funnel, watching the wind whip around me like the inside of a tornado.
No longer able to ride, I slowed to a stop.
“Grim!”
I shouted his name several times, but didn’t hear a response. I knew the desert could kick up a brutal sandstorm. I must have been caught in one and separated from the rest of the group.
The wind finally began to slow, but as the air cleared, I didn’t see the desert any longer. Grass and freshly dug earth replaced the sand. Instead of rolling tumbleweeds and cacti, I saw a brown casket inside a grave. The headstone read a name I hadn’t visited in years. My father’s, carved into the stone.
I stumbled back a step, nearly losing my balance when I noticed I no longer sat on my bike. Ahead of me, I heard a strange growl. Massive black wings rose from inside the grave, appearing first as I stared at the clawed tips. As the creature rose from the ground, I blinked, wondering what the fuck happened to me.
Was I dead? Did I fall off my bike and hit my head?
This couldn’t be real.
A dark chuckle filled the stagnant air. There was no breeze. No sounds other than the monstrous thud of clawed feet as the creature emerged from the grave.
Now that I could see the body and head, I couldn’t decide on what type of monster stood before me. He had wings but no horns. Clawed feet and hands, but a human face. A muscled humanoid male form with an enormous cock. The longer he stood there, the harder it grew until the appendage bobbed in the air.
Luckily, he was too far away to touch me with it.
I held my ground, refusing to look down, keeping my focus on his face. “What are you?”
“Wrong question.”
I blinked. “Whoare you?”
He snickered. “Much better.”
“And?”
The creature snapped his clawed fingers, and the wings disappeared, followed by the claws. A man stood in front of me wearing an expensive black suit. His painted nails matched the color. Long, dark hair brushed the top of his shoulders, but he didn’t have any facial hair.
Now fully clothed, he spread his arms wide, a grin on his lips. “Lucifer Morningstar.”
“The devil?”
