He nodded. “I believe you can do this.”
I cast a final look down to my twin, sprawled on the ground. My gut twisted . . . and I knew that when the Hangmen came, Judah would pay. It had to be that way, but . . . I could barely stand the thought of being without him. He was my brother.
I left the cellblock and went out into the fresh air. When I arrived at the mansion, Brothers Luke, Michael and James were there, exactly as Solomon told me they would be.
Brother Luke watched me closely as I entered. “Did he repent?”
I nodded my head and smiled as Judah would do. A prideful smirk. “Of course. He was never going to stay in that place forever. He has pledged his allegiance to me. And he accepts me as his lord and prophet.”
Brother James looked behind me. “Where is he?”
I waved my hand. “He is filthy and not fit to be seen yet. I will collect him after the four days have passed.” I forced a salacious smile onto my lips. “Then I will reintroduce him into the fold at the post-wedding Lord’s Sharing.”
“He will participate?” Brother Luke asked suspiciously.
I smiled even wider. “Not only that, but he will awaken a child.”
Brother Luke reached for my hand and kissed the back of it with reverence. “You are truly the prophet, my lord. God has blessed you. He has blessed us with your power.”
I placed my hand on his bowed head. “Come,” I said. “We have souls to save.”
I turned back to the daylight and led the way out of the mansion, praying that I had played my part sufficiently well. I waited for a hit or strike to come from the men behind me . . .
But none came.
As we arrived at the altar I gave a long sigh of relief. I looked at the bed in the center of the raised platform. A new nervousness flooded my veins when I thought of what I had to do . . . what Harmony must do with me so we could be free.
I waited at the altar, waiting for my bride . . . all the time praying that Judah did not wake and foil our plan.
Then Harmony appeared at the end of the aisle and all thoughts of Judah fled my mind . . . I had only one focus now. One reason to live . . . and she was walking toward me, flowers in her hair, looking like an angel sent from heaven.
Just . . . beautiful . . .
*****
The sound of people rushing around brought my thoughts back to the present. I crouched by a nearby tree and looked over the commune. The commune that should have been sedate.
The people were out in force. Tension thickened the atmosphere, and no face looked calm. I had no idea what was happening, but when I saw guards barking out commands, it hit me like a truck—they were preparing for the war.
I slinked back into the trees. My heart raced as fast as my feet as I ran through the thick foliage and over to the cellblock. Only a day had passed. The people should be in celebration, not preparing for the attack.
I burst through the entrance, only to see overturned chairs and tables on the floor. I searched each of the cells—they were all empty.
My stomach dropped to the floor.
No one was here.
Judah was gone.
They were all gone.
What the hell could have happened? I pushed my hands through my hair as I tried to think of what to do next. Then a noise came from behind the cellblock. As quietly as possible, I snuck around the building to see what it was. There was a small cell built into the wall; it looked like it had been meant for guard dogs. Somebody was putting a young girl inside. I sighed in relief when I saw it was Phebe.
I whipped my head around, scanning every possible inch of land—she was alone. I silently stepped toward them. Phebe jumped as she saw me, but I made it to her in time to slam my hand over her mouth. “Shh, Sister Phebe. It’s me. Cain . . . the real Cain. I am back.”
Phebe’s body was rigid in my arms. “I’m gonna let you go. Please don’t scream. Okay?” She nodded her head and I slipped my hand from her mouth.
She turned to face me, blocking the child in the tiny cell from my view. Phebe’s face was pale, and I could see how much weight she had lost. She was still sporting bruises on her face, neck and hands. “You did it,” Phebe said, staring at my clothes. Her eyes glistened. “You took her to them . . . Harmony. You got her out. She is safe?”
I nodded my head, and tension seeped from Phebe’s shoulders.
“Is… Is she well?” This time I knew she wasn’t talking about Bella.
Lilah. She was referring to her sister.
“Yes,” I said. “She is well and happy. She is married.” I didn’t tell her about her hair, the scar, the surgery. Phebe was already broken enough. If I got my shit together and pulled this off, she would see Lilah soon enough.
Phebe chased her tears away with her hand. I felt sympathy for her sadness, but I needed her to speak. I needed to know what had happened. “Phebe, where are they? Where’s my brother? What the hell happened?”
Phebe shook her head, devastation on her face. “He arrested them all. Brother Stephen, Ruth, Solomon and Samson.”
I started to panic. “How? What?”
“Brother Luke.”
I froze.
“He and the guards came for you at sunrise this morning.” She took a quick breath. “He knew you had repented and wanted to prepare you for the post-wedding Lord’s Sharing. He wanted to bring you to the mansion, feed and bathe you. He wanted the prophet to return to see his brother ready to stand by his side.”
“No,” I said, feeling my cheeks lose their color. “He found Judah?”
Phebe nodded her head. “He had been subdued by the medicine Brother Stephen was giving him. But it must have worn off, or been ineffective, because when Brother Luke came into the cell, Judah managed to tell him who he was. Then . . . then all hell broke loose. The defectors tried to fight Judah’s guards, but there were too many; Samson and Solomon could not take them all on. Brother Luke took Judah away, and Judah told them what had happened, what you had done. The guards searched the isolation house and discovered you had never even been in there . . . and that you had taken Harmony with you.”
I closed my eyes. My head swam as I tried to take it all in. A hand landed on my arm, and I opened my eyes. “Did you see this?” I asked her.
Phebe nodded her head. “The other women who had been caring for you were given the day off for the celebrations. I had been sent with your food when it happened. I managed to hide from sight.”
“I am so sorry,” I said and meant every word. My body felt weak with fear and hopelessness.
Phebe sniffed. “Cain, he has punished them—Ruth, Stephen, Solomon and Samson. He . . . he is preparing to kill them for their defiance. Your kidnapping of Harmony, taking her from the wedding, has thrust everyone into a frenzy. They believe this is God spiting us. Judah has told them God is testing us to see if we can truly beat the devil. The attack is scheduled for tomorrow. He brought it forward. He wants revenge.” She lifted her hand to her forehead. “It is a mess. Everything is a mess.”
The sound of soft crying came from the cell behind Phebe. Her eyes widened, and her hand dropped to her side in defeat. “Phebe?” I asked and moved her aside by her shoulders. I crouched down and saw a huge pair of blue eyes looking up at me from the tiny cell. A little girl with long blond hair.
I knew in an instant what she was. I straightened and met Phebe’s eyes. “She is called Delilah,” Phebe whispered. I stood still, fucking stunned. Phebe’s eyes closed tightly. When she opened them again, she said, “She is two months away from her eighth birthday.”
My blood turned ice cold.
“He has already declared her a Cursed . . . and . . . ” she cried. “He has decided to be the one to awaken her when the time comes.”
Judah. Motherfucking Judah!
Phebe’s eyes fell to the little girl, who was looking up at her like Phebe was her sun. Phebe bent down, and the little girl reached through the bars. Phebe kissed her hand. “She arrived not long before Ha
rmony and the others did. I saw her being brought to him by his men. As soon as I saw the happiness in his eyes at her beauty, I told him I would care for her until it was her birthday . . . but, Cain, I always planned to get her out somehow before then.”
Phebe kissed the little girl’s hand once more, then stood to face me. “Sister Ruth was to take her if for some reason I could not get out too. I cannot see her hurt, Cain . . . not like I did my sister. She looks just like Rebekah did when she was her age. And . . . and then he named her Delilah. He named her that awful name too. I knew it was because he saw the resemblance. I have to protect her. I cannot see another child suffer. I cannot . . . I cannot take this life anymore. There is so much pain . . . ”
I pulled Phebe into my chest and held her while she cried. Truth be told, the embrace kept me from screaming out in rage. My brother . . . my motherfucking brother! He did all this. Everything had gone wrong.
“There’ll always be another one,” I said. “Mae, Lilah, Maddie, Harmony . . . now this little Delilah too. Even if we save all the Curseds in existence, he will always find another, brand another. He will always strive to keep this bullshit prophecy alive.”
Phebe nodded. “I . . . I think that too. He will never stop hurting these children. All because he finds it too hard to resist their beauty. He wants to own them, possess them, control them. Like he does us all.” Phebe stepped back and gripped the lapels of my leather jacket. “You need to get her out for me. Just get her out.”
“Where are Stephen, Ruth, Solomon and Samson now?” I asked, checking my watch. Fuck. The Hangmen would be coming in less than two hours. What the hell did I do now?
Phebe watched me closely. “They are coming . . . aren’t they? The devil’s men?”
I nodded. “I need to get the innocent out, Phebe. The plan has gone to shit. I don’t know what to do—”
“Judah has them in the public cells,” Phebe interrupted. “So all the people can see who was responsible for thrusting us into chaos. So they can see the souls that the devil polluted. They are in the cells that face the Great Plain.” The Great Plain—the area where Judah held his sermons.
“Fuck!” I spat. That land held no cover. It was exposed.
Phebe reached for my arm. “No one is gathered there at present. The congregation are loading guns into vehicles and are preparing everything for the attack, on the farthest side of the commune.”
I felt a flicker of hope. “Stay away, do you hear me? Wait here. Don’t come to the plain. The Hangmen will be coming through this way. They were coming for the guards and Judah. Take off your headdress and show them who you are. Ky, Lilah’s husband, is coming. He knows who you are, what you look like. They will protect you.”
Phebe’s eyes closed with relief. “Thank you,” she whispered.
I moved to walk away. Phebe began talking to the child, soothing her. I turned around. “Phebe?” Phebe looked at me. “Leave her in there and tell her to be quiet. No matter what, tell her to be silent. If something happens . . . ” I let that hang in the air.
“To me,” she finished.
“I will return for her. Or Sister Ruth will. I’ll make sure she is freed. Somehow. I promise.”
Phebe nodded, and as she glanced down at the little girl in the cell, I saw the love she had for her, the affection. I also knew she was trying to save her in place of Lilah. She was saving this child, almost the mirror image of the one she, in her eyes, had failed.
“What’s her name?” I found myself asking.
A smile stretched on Phebe’s face. “Grace,” Phebe said, reverence in her tone. “Her name is Grace.”
“I’ll be back for you and Grace. But try to get to Ky first. If we’re lucky, you’ll be back with your sister by tonight. As will Grace.”
With that, I raced up the hill, staying tucked into the line of trees. When the Great Plain came into sight, I saw that Phebe had been right. It was deserted. The public cells were on the far side. Checking no one was around, I darted over the manicured grass. I didn’t have time to circle the perimeter first. Too much time had already been wasted.
I ran as fast as I could, my chest blowing out as I pushed myself to the limit until I arrived at the cells. My stomach fell when I saw my friends sitting inside.
“Cain . . . ” Sister Ruth’s head rolled to face in my direction. She was badly beaten and was struggling to move. Something about seeing this sweet woman in this much pain tore a fucking lethal amount rage from me.
“Ruth,” I whispered back.
Sister Ruth tried to smile, but her lips were too broken.
Solomon shuffled painfully to the steel bars. He was black and blue. “We failed, Cain. Samson and I managed to cut the fence while the ceremony was happening, but this morning, Judah’s guards came for you and caught us. We had no choice but to own up. I showed them the hole in the fence you used yesterday, but kept the one you used today a secret.” He dropped his head. “I am so sorry. I failed you. I came here for one reason, and I failed.”
“No,” I argued. “You didn’t. I got out. Bella is safe and the Hangmen are coming. I’m just so fucking sorry y’all got hurt.”
“You got her out. That is all that matters,” Stephen said and gave a deep sigh of relief.
I nodded my head. “But we need to get you out. I need help getting the innocent out. We’ll need to stage a distraction or something, smoke out the guards. When the Hangmen come in . . . they’re coming to kill.”
Sister Ruth’s face paled. I searched around the cell for a key . . . for something to help me break the lock. “I need a key,” I said hurriedly.
“In the guard’s house,” Solomon said and pointed to a small hut hidden in the trees.
“I’ll be back.” I stood to move toward the hut . . . and I knew I’d fucked up. I felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against my temple.
Whoever held the gun to my head moved in front of me—Brother Luke. Fucking Brother Luke.
I bared my teeth as I stared the fucker down. Then I felt another gun press into my back . . . and another press into my ribs.
“Looks like you are surrounded,” Brother Luke said. He tensed, and I knew who was coming.
Not giving a shit about the guns, I turned. Judah was pounding toward us, vicious eyes zeroed on me. I thought I had seen my brother pissed before, but I realized that he could actually go up another gear, or two. I had never seen Judah this angry.
Judah walked straight up to me and slammed his fist across my face. My head tipped back a fraction, but Judah was shit in a fight. There was no strength behind the punch.
“You are a traitor!” He ran his gaze over my leathers. “Here you are, once again dressed in the devil’s men’s attire.” He stepped closer. “You took our only chance at salvation from me. You are as much a devil’s whore as she is . . . as all of them!”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I laughed right in Judah’s red face. But I quickly dropped my humor, and spat, “It’s all fucking false! All of it was created so our uncle could fuck kids, brother! There was no pilgrimage to Israel! There was no revelation given within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre! There is no Order, no quest for salvation . . . in fact, I’m pretty fucking sure that with everything we’ve done, we’ve all got a fucking one-way ticket to hell!”
Judah’s eyes widened. “You lie,” he snarled, spitting as his frustration poured from his tense lips. “You carry the serpent’s tongue! You are weak and have been possessed!”
“Wake up!” I roared. Judah stepped back. “Wake the fuck up! You ain’t no prophet! And we know you haven’t received one damn revelation from God, you lying sack of shit!” Judah’s face paled, and I felt the guards tense around me. They stared at Judah with worried frowns.
“You’re a joke, brother.” I went on. “We all are. And we all deserve to rot in hell for eternity for what we’ve done! We deserve to die for dragging innocent people down with us!” I sucked in a sharp breath. “They are coming, Judah. The Hangmen wi
ll be here in less than two hours and they will kill us all . . . all of us that run this sick fucking place of hell! We need to get the innocent out now. If there’s one thing we can do to try and rectify what we’ve done, it’s spare the innocent lives and finally set them free. They don’t deserve this! By meeting the Hangmen in a war, you’re only sealing their fates. They’ll die . . . they will all be slaughtered like pigs!”
Judah practically shook with anger, but I could see his brain was working overtime. I just wasn’t sure what the fuck he was thinking. Judah stepped back, then back again, and said, “You are right about one thing. And so wrong about another.”
A strange calmness suddenly came over my twin. That scared me more than his anger. Judah was never calm. He was reactive, explosive. This wasn’t fucking right. The way he was acting wasn’t fucking right!
“Judah,” I said coldly, but Brother Luke and the other guards moved their guns closer to my body.
Judah held up his hands, his eyes crazed. “You are wrong. I am the prophet! I feel it in my veins. I can feel God within me! I am the truth, the way and the light! The messiah of this time!” I closed my eyes in exasperation. Because I knew Judah truly believed that.
He was too far gone. His delusion was too strong to make him see sense.
“But you were also so right.” My eyes snapped open at his dark tone. Judah clicked his fingers at his guards and pointed to the cell.
“NO,” I shouted, trying to fight off the guards. But the blunt end of a gun slammed into my temple, causing me to see stars. Another swiped me across the face, and one in the ribs. I swung out my arms, trying to fight free. But before I knew it, the cell door was opened and I was pushed inside. I scrambled on my knees and slammed my shoulder into the steel bars; they didn’t budge.
“Judah!” I screamed, but my brother just stood there, watching me with a haunting, calm stare. “JUDAH!”
He stepped forward and met my eyes. “You were right about our people’s fates being sealed, brother. God told me, many weeks ago, what to do if the devil’s men prevailed. I always had another plan. God spoke to me, and I did as he told me. I prepared us well, just in case. The Lord would never let me—his shining light—ever fail. And now the moment has arrived.”