And then he disappears into the shadows, for real this time, leaving me alone in Silas’ room. I say a silent prayer to a god I stopped believing in long ago. Pray for him to watch over me and mine. Pray to live to see the sunrise. Pray for a new life far away from this place. And in my prayers, I refuse to repent. I’m not an ass kisser.
I check the gun. It’s empty.
Groan. Should have checked that when Noah was still standing beside me. I tossthe empty and useless gun onto the bed. As I’m walking out of the room, the candle catches my attention. Truth be told, I could use a distraction.
We could all use a little distraction.
I knock over the candle on my way out of the bedroom and do the same to the candles scattered around the house.
CHAPTER 21
NOAH
Timothy doesn’t hearme as I tiptoe down the stairs into the makeshift prison. Doesn’t notice me as I approach. He steps away from the cell. A stunned look twists across his face as he finally sees me. Slowly, he raises his hands above his head and turns to face me. Looks straight down the barrel of my pistol.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he says, voice trembling.
“Unfortunately for you, I’ve learned to dance with the Devil on my back.” I cock the gun. “I’ve killed three men. I’m not worried about one more death burdening my soul.”
I breathe those words into existence so surely that I almost believe them. The truth is, the weight of the blood I’ve shed is a heavy burden. Each soul taken is another anchor dragging me deeper into an abyss of uncertainty, the chains locked to the anchorssnaking around my changing heart. I want to be better. I want to heal. Everything in this life just makes it so fucking hard.
“Look man, I don’t want to die,” he pleads. Quivering and weak, or just smarter than the rest.
“I’m giving you one chance to prove you’re telling me the truth.” I squat and grab the discarded ring of keys while keeping my aim fixed on him. I toss them to the scared man. “Unlock the gate, walk inside, throw the keys back, and stand with your face against the wall.”
His breath is hitched, lips shaking. It takes multiple attempts to twist the key into the lock. The gate creaks open, dragging over the uneven floor.
My finger swipes back and forth over the trigger. It would be so much easier to pull it. Would be the safest option. Hell, the sound of gunfire might be enough to draw enough attention away from the ritual that it’d even the odds for Seven.
He drops the keys on the stone floor and kicks them over to me. Does as he’s told, shuts the gate behind him, and steps over Rory’s unconscious body to stand looking straight at the back wall.
I shove the gun back into the loop of my belt and lock the gate. “Finally, someone with common sense.”
He cocks his head to the side, defying my orders. “What did you do to Rory?”
“He lackedcommon sense and paid the price.”
“We’re not bad people.”
“Children are going to die. You were willing to watch it happen. If that doesn’t make you a bad guy, then whatdoesit make you?”
“A coward.” He shuffles against the wall, rotating to meet me eye-to-eye. Swollen, red, and wetting at the corners. “What about you? Aren’t you a bad guy? Heard you killed some friends of mine.”
“Hurt people hurt people,” I say, echoing Seven’s words. “After tonight, I’m getting off this merry-go-round of swords. Nobody comes out clean. I am covered in the blood of my enemies and the innocent alike.”
He stares off into the distance, choking on the words that come next, “God’s not real, is he?”
“I don’t know. That’s a journey you can walk alone. But what’s happening out there? That’s no will of god’s.”
“And the Feds? They’re not coming, are they?”
That gets my attention. “What are you talking about?”
“Silas said it was us against the world. Told stories of the outside world looking in, despising what we stood for. Said the end was coming, not in hellfire but in handcuffs.”
There it is. The reason for the acceleration to Ascension. Silas caught wind the feds were coming and instead of rotting in a prison cell, he’s opting for mass suicide. “I hate to breakit to you, but nobody on the outside knows this place exists. Whatever Silas has told you is a lie. Yeah, maybe the feds are on their way. Maybe they’re not. That’s the reason this is happening, by the way. Your grand fucking leader would rather you all die than to go down for his sins. But you already know that, right? That’s why you hesitated getting out of your chair before you came here. You weren’t so sure you were doing the right thing.”
“Like I said,” he whispers, “I don’t want to die.”
