Chapter 33
Phoenix knew something was wrong. His gaze shifted, noticing the hues of a twilight moon that lay in silver bars across the worn carpet. The darkness seemed to deepen, as if it were the back end of the evening instead of the beginning. For a moment, he thought he saw wreaths of fog slithering along the floor in a snakelike dance.
“Hello, father,” Phoenix said rather hesitantly.
“No, that’s not necessary,” the man said. “I’m only a minister. My name is Jonas Bell. As I said, what can I do to help you?”
“I was just visiting someone’s grave and noticed that those people buried on this side of your church have ragged tombstones and the grounds are not as immaculately kept as the ones on the other side. May I ask what the reason is for that?”