The cords of fear choking Rose were tightening, slithering frantically. The jungle of fear in the sanctuary was hissing loudly now, as my words evoked more fear in those who’d been deceived by it.

Darkness was here, but so was the kingdom of heaven, seen in the light.

I spoke quickly, ignoring Rose, who was opening her mouth to cut me off. “God is love,” I said, louder now. “And whoever abides in him abides in love, and he in them.”

People were shifting uncomfortably in their seats, still oblivious to the Fury’s black cords of fear.

“A love that isn’t provoked, a love that records no wrong, a love that is unconditional and casts out all fear.”

With those words, the back doors of the church slammed shut. The windows crashed down, sealing us in our own prison of fear.

As if from nowhere, Sylous was standing at the back of the sanctuary, glaring at me with dark eyes. The auditorium turned to him in shocked silence. They’d felt his presence.

And with his presence, fear seeped back into me. The coils tightened around my chest and throat again, demanding I remain silent.

The hissing and clicks grew louder as many cords—hundreds of them, like rushing lovers—slithered across the room and up Sylous’s legs and ran into his torso, his chest, then his neck and temples. It was as if Sylous was energizing the fear in that room.

Or feeding on it.

And still, none of the others could see what I was seeing.

He spoke, voice low and gravelly. “It appears you’ve let the Fury poison one of your own.”

That was a lie, but I couldn’t find the courage to speak it aloud. Sylous was more than just a Fury, but he fed on fear, and the room was full of it. Seeing him in his greatest power, I dared not resist him.

“I thought I was clear,” he said, speaking to all but staring at me. “There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. And yet there stands sin, speaking lies to deceive you all.”

The rest heard only Sylous, but I heard the Fury, like a million insects now covering every bare inch of the wood in that sanctuary. I stood trembling from head to foot.

Then Sylous lifted one hand, and my sight of the fear ended. The black cords were gone, as was the fog. I now saw what they all saw—Sylous dressed in white, saving his sanctuary from the hells of sin.