Page 74 of Judas

“No. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

“I didn’t fucking ask, Nadia, I told you to come here.”

I know that stings, don’t it, sis.

“You talk to me like that again, and I’ll kill you in your sleep.” She volleys back.

“No you won’t. Now get over here.” Kace waves her over to the table. It takes her a moment but she stubbornly joins him at his side, looking over the instruments he’s been poking, scraping, punching and jabbing into my body. I’ve always wanted to see how far she would go—she stabbed me out of necessity, but can she do it when the stakes aren’t as high?

“Pick one.”

“I’m not doing this with you, right now. I—“ Nadia falters.

“Can I?”

All of our heads turn to the girl now fully awake and leaning back into Babel—is she using him as a fucking recliner? Oh, Lord, please tell me we have another sadist. That would make me so damn happy. He looks perturbed though, as if her proximity is unsettling. One arm is braced along the back of the sofa while the other lingers on the armrest, body tense.

She won’t bite, Babel. Well, she might.

“Can you what?” Nadia asks.

“I want to try. You’re torturing him, right?”

Nadia looks at Kace and the fucker shrugs. What the hell? Fuck, this isn’t good. Not when I know what’s hiding in the corners of that chaotic mind.

“Just pick one, Nadia,” I instruct.

They all pivot to me now, Nadia’s head is tilted to the side. Kace is smirking then looks at Nadia as if he’s waiting for her permission to let their child approach me. I sure hope she doesn’t. Come on, be a good mom and shelter your baby psycho.

“Come on, sugar, you can pick one,” Kace answers.

No—nope. Lord above, if you’re with me today, please bestow your grace upon me and rid me of this evil. Take me unto salvation.

Babel helps her up from his lap where she pads over to us, slightly unsure of herself when she steps between her parents. I note how much of a perfect blend she is of the two of them. Nadia is standing to her left, Kace to her right, and it’s like some scientists handpicked each of Sadie’s attributes so she would resemble both of them—unmistakably. Nadia lifts a hand and moves a lock of platinum hair out of her face, pinning it behind an ear before she speaks again.

“You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do,” she urges.

Sadie’s eyes are glued to me, a smirk pulling at her mouth and I cringe inwardly.

“I’m okay, Mom. I got this.”

The thing doesn’t go for any of the weapons; instead she walks right over the mess of blood on the floor to me. Her bare feet leaving prints behind after each step—the beach where God walked with man comes to mind. A single trail of foot shaped indentions embedded in the soft grains, signifying that Godcarried his believer. Now here’s Sadie and a path of bloodied impressions, leading directly to me.

I’m fucked.

Sliding into my lap, she sits sideways and those bright blue eyes I’ve come to associate with Kace deepen in color while raking over my battered features. The smile adorning her too-young face grows and she evolves from Sadie to the ancient one in the blink of an eye. Reaching an arm behind my neck, she holds herself close as fingers on her other hand walk along my chest, up my throat, to my chin then she boops my nose.

“You’re a hard man to nail to the cross, Samael.”

“Naamah,” I answer, the darker part of me wandering around like he wasn’t just called out by his own damn name.

“Who the fuck…” Kace mutters.

I see Nadia hold up a hand, observing us with a fond intensity. They’ve got to know this is probably the friendliest version of their child that exists, other than the human, right? Someone please tell me they are prepared for the shit that’s about to go down. I turn my head away from Sadie abruptly. Not wanting her to be this close to me, not when my heart is starting to race again. That odd adrenaline I feel when I’m around her surfaces until it throbs starting at my ears and down my neck.

“Oh, you remember me. Racking up the brownie points like a good boy, Samael. Now…” she trails off. Leaning in, she runs her nose along my jawline up to my ear. Lush lips pull at my heated, grimy earlobe before she shifts and I jerk.

“Get her the fuck off me, now!” I snap.

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