Page 62 of Seraph's Tears
My hand landed on the front door’s latch. With a great sigh, I glanced behind me for one last look at the Great Hall I had begun to call my own. I stepped outside into the bitter winter wind.
My shoulders ached with tension as I walked. The moors had no trees or places to hide if I came across someone, and my heart leapt in fear every time I thought I saw movement. I breathed a sigh of relief as I reached the village. I paused to catch my breath between the blacksmith shop and the cooper’s shed, but the safety of the village was an illusion. It might have buildings for me to hide behind, but the pub was around the corner, and Zor’s men were inside. The coach would pull up right outside in an hour.
You can do this. I breathed, curling my fingers around my mouth. I had no gloves, and they were freezing in this weather. One chance to escape. Gabriel doesn’t want you anymore, anyway. Tears pricked my eyes, and not just from the cold wind.
I eyed an overhang across the lane, tucked out of the way of the wind and shielded from view of the pub by two large barrels. I’d wait there for the coach, then run. I’d had to leave my trunk behind, but that couldn’t be helped. At least I had the money from my few months as a housekeeper.
I’d miss that drafty old house. It was beautiful, beneath the cobwebs and mildew. It needed some tender, patient care. Just like its owner.
Sighing, I balled my fists and tucked them in my armpits, then forced my feet to move. I rounded the corner and bumped into a thick, human wall. “Oof!” I glanced up. Absalom’s stupid face stared down at me.
Chapter Twenty two
Eve
My heart sank into my boots. I darted to the side, trying to escape him. He never was fast as a child.
But as I slid away, ignoring his bellow, I slammed into the other, older elder, Jasper Tomes. He was smarter and faster. He grabbed my shoulders. “What do we have here?” His nasal voice felt like fingernails down a chalkboard.
Fear skittered down my spine. “Let go!” I jerked away from him, but he held on tight. Absalom finally got into motion and came up behind me. He grabbed me, one hand around the nape of my neck, the other squeezing my upper arm.
I bit back a cry of pain as I squirmed. The more I fought, the harder the grip became. I could feel the bruises forming.
“Tomes, Meadows, the Lord Erlik revealed to me through prayer that we should—oh.” Zorababel Grimshaw’s voice joined the fray. “Eve. You aren’t running away, are you?”
Absalom’s vise-like grip on my nape tightened even more, and I whimpered.
“No,” I tried to brazen my way out.
But Elder Tomes ripped my valise from my hands and pawed through it. The chink of coins in my coinpurse filled the thin air.
Zorababel stepped into view, the disappointment on his face clear. Behind it, deep in his eyes, lurked anger. It flashed for a heartbeat, then disappeared again behind the shepherd-of-his-flock look of concern he’d perfected years ago. “Eve, Eve, Eve.” He shook his head. “You are weak of heart and mind. Abandoning your god-given duty? It was a privilege to be chosen for this role. There were other, more qualified people, yet Erlik chose you. And this is how you betray him? This was your chance to prove your obedience to his plan.”
I cringed, the words sinking deep into my skin, acting like a barb to catch on my heart and let shame leech through me. But I rallied, thinking of how I didn’t trust him. This was the same reverend who forced Silence into marrying Absalom, who took my parents’ savings and left them near destitute, who strung me along for years as his betrothed, who lied about why he wanted Gabriel.
I didn’t have to believe him anymore.
“Eve Lovejoy, your lack of trust in the plan I imparted to you is a strike against you. But fear not, my child.”
I ground my teeth. I hated it when he called me that.
“We will welcome you back into the fold, won’t we, Absalom?”
Absalom grunted, likely because he had no clue what to say.
Zorababel smiled at me, a holy, beatific sort of smile that masked the darkness within him. “Eve, we will forgive you your trespass, if you can demonstrate true repentance.”
“I do not repent!” The words burst out of my mouth before I could stop them. The Eve from before would never have said them out loud. That Eve would have hidden her defiance, kept her face smiling and sweet, her eyes sparkling, as she submitted to whatever the reverend desired. That Eve knew how to survive.
The Eve of today had grown lax, complacent. Idiotic. Love had addled my brain, but stiffened my spine.
Zor’s anger burned in his eyes. “You will repent,” he growled. “You will repent even if I have to whip the rebellious spirit out of you myself. But I will be merciful for now.” His eyes flicked up over my head, likely to Absalom. “Take her to the pub and restrain her. It appears we will be attending our meeting with the Herald earlier than expected.”
I bucked and fought against Absalom, but he was far stronger than I. For a moment, as we entered the pub, I hoped the owner would intervene. But anyone who worked there had made themselves absent. They pushed me up the stairs, one hand covering my mouth and my nose. The hot, smothering flesh made me gag. Spots danced before my eyes, though I kept fighting.
They dumped me suddenly. I spilled to the floor in a tangle of twisted skirts, sharp fingernails, and rage. I shoved to my hands and knees and made for the open door.
It slammed shut inches from my face.
