Page 58 of Praying for Thunder

The fist stopped.

Like the night Dio had tried to control his rage—the time I had touched his hot legs—he took deep breaths. My hair lifted and flowed in his attempt to stay calm.

He had to take the lead in this realm. I was far too young and terrified.

On a final exhale, his fist started to light up as if the sun was dancing underneath his skin. It was so beautiful, my body eased…

He—his spirit—eased, too.

Much calmer, he repeated words… “Pleasing you, eases me.”

In the glow of his golden fist, I deeply inhaled and was so rewarded, I sighed. “Her humming, they are light, too.” I realized her simple act was like hymns, a way to focus, relax, and be open…

Dio’s fist came closer while it grew in size. So did an appearing wrist and forearm.

I smiled. “Hello, Diablo.”

His voice was now a deep rumble. “Thunder.” Slowly, the fist turned over. Then opened.

In his palm appeared the end of a golden, lit rope, matching Dio’s glowing skin. It was coming from the wrist like a vein. “Remember the shower,” his low voice told me. “Remember how we took breaths together.”

It felt so natural to breathe this entity in since I had before.

Inhale… Exhale…

I whispered, “In the blood.”

“Take it, Thunder. Hold it tight.”

Yes, sir. “Tell Dio I love him.” I reached out and grasped the rope—

I woke in Ani’s embrace. She was still naked but had now been severely beaten. There was enough blood and bruising to confuse me, and I wondered where her worst injury was. “Shhh, Niño. I have you. It’s over.”

Seeing no sign of Dio, and realizing we were still in the scary cabin, I started to cry.

Piercer was passed out in the disheveled bed, sheets hanging as if a war had just taken place.

I was lethargic, even though it felt like I had just been emersed in ice water, coming back to cold reality. “D-Dio is looking for us.”

She crumbled over me and sobbed through whispers. “I know, baby. I know. But I can’t let them hurt him.”

Like a good boy, I kept my secrets and never told her that I suspected Dio and his brothers could handle Piercer just fine. It was her who was losing the battle.

⚡⚡⚡

No matter the mystics of the world, destiny sometimes cannot be altered. For the next few days, Ani and I suffered. We were barely fed or given water. Ani’s rapes continued, as did Piercer’s volatile moods. With the ring on his finger, our breaks from his violence consisted of the length of a couple phone calls to his wife.

On the floor next to me, Ani was drained, staring at the leather vest hanging on a kitchen chair. It looked like Dio’s but had different designs and names and titles.

It seems when certain brothers took down their father and his club, Fallen Gods, they created their own, Hell Titans. Piercer was the Vice President.

His brother? The President.

“What’s your name?” he asked, his accent thick.

From the floor, I lifted my chin. “Thunder, sir.”

Piercer was pacing behind his Prez, furious we had been located by his club.