Oh. My. Gosh. This was so good! It absolutely gripped me from start to finish and I love it! My favorite parts are probably Felix and his character development, along with the corresponding development of his relationships with everyone else- his bonding with Charlie was deeply touching, and him and Jaden are adorable! I liked all of the characters and am having a hard time picking a favorite, I love how they all got their POVs and moments to shine.
I was so invested in the cult mystery and- I mean this in the best way possible- I had no idea how it was going to end at any point. The scenes in the creepy church with the doubles and devils and portraits? Chef's kiss.
While I'm just rambling here, I'm gonna say that I'm already a big fan of cryptidcore creepy stuff, so this novella reminded me things like Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall, Don't Let The Forest In by C.G Drews, and the character of The Beast from the series Over the Garden Wall- I read The Devil's lines in the voice of The Beast's voice actor. I mean all these things as compliments.
Great job!