Page 117 of He Who Sleeps

“Eight,” Hadley said. “That number will be ten soon.”

“And how many were fathered by Stephan?” Rix pulled up his phone and showed Hadley, who sneered.

“Two.”

“Boys?” She nodded. “Where are they?”

“Arizona I believe...where you all were.”

“And the girls?”

Hadley went ashen and shook her head.

“Fuck,” Rix growled. “Well, that fucking rapist is dead, along with the rest of those assholes.”

“It wasn’t rape,” one of the girls said. “Some of us did it willingly. It was safer...”

“Sweetheart, coercion is still rape,” he said dryly.

"Yeah, we're gonna need all the therapy in here," Leo sighed. "Those priests had better know their shit. They're gonna be busy."

Finn nodded. "Well, you're safe now. You have your own free will. You don't have to stay stuffed up in here if you don't want to. You're welcome to go back to your compounds and rebuild."

“There isn’t anything there, I mean they came in and took what they wanted.” She looked to Petra. “And just how are you with them...?”

“I don’t know. By His grace, I guess,” she offered. “Did you ever hear of a compound in Ohio?”

Hadley shook her head. “I don’t think so. I was fifteen when I was taken from Manitoba.”

Ardith shook her own head. “Devonshire was closed off from everywhere. Our matrons,” Petra looked to Finn. Same word, “they said we were the safest, that He Who Sleeps had given us amnesty from the world, and we would be liberated, and given as devotions to those that would cherish us. Three days later they were trying to get us all moving to leave.” She shook her head. “There was twenty-six of us there, and eight matrons. Now, it’s just us five left from that house.”

“I think it’s time to see the priests,” she said to Finn. “We need to know before we go further.”

"Then let's go see the priests," Finn said, rising to his feet. "Thanks, ladies. We'll be back later."

Chapter 43

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