That clears up nothing. It only makes him seem more insane than I already thought he was.
“I’ve always wondered if you actually believe this crock of shit. You’re going to die either way. Just tell me the truth. Why? How could you do this to your own child?”
I know as I ask him, he will never give me an answer that will satisfy my need to know how he could do this to his own children.
“God gave me permission and I liked watching you fight until you broke and just took it.”
I glance at Carter, remembering what he once told me.
“We never had sex. You raped me. Sex and rape are not the same thing. One is given freely. The other is taken. That’s what you did. You took things you were never entitled to. You aren’ta prophet. You surely are not the son of God. You’re nothing. Not even a man. You’re a predator that preys on defenseless children. The most vulnerable of people. Do you know why? Because if you went after an adult, you’d get your ass handed to you. Instead, you chose children as your victims because they are weak, like you.”
He shakes his head emphatically.
“No. I chose children because I’m attracted to them and there’s nothing wrong with it. God made me this way. He does not make mistakes. I am as he intended.”
Carter grabs my hand and pulls me into his arms.
“I know you want to know why, Little Heathen. I get it, but he’s a sick fucker. You’ll never get the answers you seek. Please don’t torture yourself by listening to this shit. If you do, he wins.”
I press my face against his chest and inhale deeply, allowing his scent to center me.
“I’m ready to nail him to the cross.”
Killian grabs the step stool and sets it in front of Jedediah, who stares at me, eyes wide with disbelief.
“No. You aren’t going to-“
I nod with a smile on my lips. Knowing even when he’s on the cross, he wouldn’t have seen this coming, delights me.
“I am. You want to claim to be a prophet? The Son of God? Commit horrific crimes in his name? This is how you die.”
I climb to the top step as my men move closer to me. Jedediah closes his fist and Knox walks over to my bag of supplies and comes back with zip ties. He forces Jed’s hand open and ties his fingers to the wood while he screams obscenities at him.
“Motherfucker!” He yells as Knox moves to his other side and does the same thing with his other hand.
“That’s not very Christian language, Prophet,” Killian says with a chuckle.
If I had to guess, I’d say Jedediah doesn’t even believe in God. If he did, he wouldn’t be afraid of the pain I’m about to inflict on him, but what waits for him after he’s dead. God was merely an excuse. A way to control us, to have power over us. It could’ve been anything. God was his weapon of choice.
I hold my hand out and Carter hands me a nail and the hammer.
“Heather. My daughter. My wife. Please.” Jedediah gasps as if he’s just now at this moment realizing the gravity of this situation.
I shake my head trying to erase his words from my head.
“I’m not your daughter. Not anymore. And I was never your wife.”
Killian touches my arm gently.
“We can do anything you want done. If this is too much-“
Leaning my head to the side, I kiss his hand.
“I’m okay. I will do this because it’s what I need.”
Holding the nail just above his wrist, I take the hammer and tap it lightly at first, careful to not hit my own hand. His eyes bulge as he lets out a gurgling scream. When he begins banging his head against the cross I continue hammering the long nail through his hand as it bleeds only slightly. I glance at Carter, my eyebrows knit with obvious disappointment on my face.
“Why isn’t it gushing blood?”
