Page 91 of Heathens
Shit shit shit.
Does he know? Is Lily safe?
I fight against the urge to check my phone, to text or call her immediately.
“She has one of those generic faces.”Not generic.A beautiful, take-my-breath-away face, but he doesn’t need to know that.I smile. “But, I decided to end all communication with her. I don’t want to jeopardize my future with the church.”
“I need you to swear to me, Salem. To God.”
I swallow. For Lily, I would doanything.Swear to anyone or anything, no matter the cost. “I swear. Of course I swear. You can trust me. I promise, Father. I have no interest in pursuing things with Lilith. I’m heading to Monaco. My life and dedication to God will be complete there. I don’t want to know the ins and outs of theoperationI’m to turn my eyes from, but I do trust that you have placed me well. I trust that you know my heart and its desire to serve our Lord with all that I am.”
Only the latter half of that statement is true. The man is the living snake that Eve talked to in the Garden of Eden.
He watches me for an extra beat, and I school my feature into neutrality.
“Yes, you’re right, Salem. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Your dedication to the Lord is honorable.” He looks again at his chair then the door. “We should go, or we’ll be late.”
I loose a long, silent breath.
We make our way through the passageways. I nod at the altar boys as we make our way down the aisle together, the music of the entrance chant playing. One of them—a tall, dark-skinned boy of sixteen—nods back, confirming that everything is in place. Auguste takes his place at the altar, and the murmurs quiet. I look out into the audience, finding Lily with Felix, Killian, and my father. They’re all wearing masks of determination on their faces.
“The Lord be with you,” Auguste says to the crowd. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
“Amen,” the audience murmurs on command.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” There are whispers as people begin to notice the screen lowering behind the altar—a modern tool we implemented a few years ago for the busy Easter and Christmas masses. Auguste is unaware of what is happening, so he continues the greeting. “Brethren, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.” He pauses, sweeping his arms out to the side and giving the attendants a close-mouthed smile. “I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do. Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; I ask blessed Mary Ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.”
And then it begins.
The crowd gasps as the audio begins to play through the speakers I switched on, so loud that a few people duck and gasp.
“God has entrusted me with this, Salem. I was not a priest most of my life, and therefore my needs are greater than most. I can assure you, I repent for my sins. And, I believe that release, as carnal as it may be, makes me a better priest. I am more patient. More understanding.”
Just as I predicted, people look from the screen to Father Monsignor, putting the matching voices together. The audio continues.
“I see. And how long have you... Forgive me. I am merely curious. It’s none of my business.”
“Salem, you are one of the only people I can trust. I know all of this makes me seem like a monster, but I didn’t enter priesthood solely to sell young, impressionable women to the highest bidder. Like you, my predecessor asked me to turn the other way. And, the money was nice. Eventually, I began to crave the power. The money. The women. You know as well as anyone that this profession doesn’t exactly pay well.”
Auguste’s face blanches as he looks around him, tried to find the source of the audio. It’s too late. He’ll never figure it out. Because one of the things I did was change his keys. He no longer has access to any of the rooms besides his office. That includes the tech room, which is locked and barricaded, just in case.
“I see.”
“Parts of the world are war-torn, Salem. The refugees that come to the church... we can help them.”
A few people gasp, looks of disgust on their faces. Auguste begins to shake his head slowly. He tries to move and stumbles. I eye his water.
Simple. It was too simple to add some tranquilizer to his water.
Just in case.
Just to slow him down a bit, in case he got violent. I didn’t want to take a chance—not with Lily being there, not with hundreds of innocent people in attendance.
“Help them?”
“We show them how God can heal their wandering souls.”
“I suppose God has a plan for everything.”
