The lights suddenly flicker, and I look around quickly.
She leans into me. "Here we go."
And then, the lights go out.
I instinctively reach for my gun but play it off as a man comes up to a podium surrounded by candles and starts speaking.
People in the crowd start chanting, and I look over to see Zaria's lips moving, a twinge of worry and regret stirring in me.
Then another man comes forward and starts to speak.
Zaria squeezes my hand, and I know what it means.
She looks up at me and nods.
It's Cormac.
He starts speaking, but I can't see his face. It's covered like mine. But I hear his voice.
I think of Keira and what he did to her, how she heard this same voice, and about what orders he's given to destroy my family, and what he's done to his own daughter standing next to me.
It takes everything in my power not to run up and start shooting, but I know if I do, I won't make it out of here, and neither will Zaria. I can't risk that.
I've counted at least six men in tactical gear with guns.
Cormac continues talking about some shit I have no idea what it means. It's all convoluted and rambling, full of rituals and half-baked myths of truth.
Suddenly there's a commotion in the crowd, and they bring forward a woman.
She's wearing a mask, but other than that, she's completely naked.
Zaria stiffens next to me.
"What the hell is this?" I ask, leaning down by her ear.
"No, no, we don't do this now. No, this is wrong," she says, her voice tight.
The woman is laid on a table, and Cormac walks to her and starts chanting. Others respond. This time, Zaria's lips don't move.
Her hand starts trembling, and I squeeze it, pulling her into me, a reaction I don't plan for, and wrap an arm around her.
She shakes, and I tell her it's okay.
I then watch as Cormac raises a knife into the sky, says something, and then pierces the woman on her side and collects her blood.
The same area. The same marks Zaria has on her body.
It all makes sense.
This ends now. I won't let her watch this.
I go to move, and she doesn't budge, so I start almost dragging her.
We get to the edge of the room, and she stops me. "No, we can't leave. They won't allow it. I'm fine. I'm fine. It'll be over soon. Plus, I want to show you the man responsible for your father."
"They're all wearing masks," I say. "How will you know?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll know," she says and looks back to the center of the room.
