Page 94 of Pray for Scars
I don’t want him to have the satisfaction of watching me die.
My brother die.
My heart break.
“They have endangered the secrecy of the 6, of our children’s covenant, and of our livelihood.” He sighs, as if what he’s going to say next pains him. “But we have them in our grasp, and we will shed their blood for our gods, for our church, and for our sanctity.”
I hear him move beside me, and he grabs my hair again, lifting my head up, forcing me to see Jeremiah on the altar before me, still unmoving, his usually tan skin pale, his hand hanging over the side of the table, fingers slightly curled in a loose fist.
Lazar twists my head to face him, his other hand resting on his knee. I notice a scar on his palm, a pale silverXthat looks as if it might be intentional. But before I can question what it is, he grips my face in his hand, squeezing my lips together as he stares at me through long, dark lashes.
Just like his son’s.
“It’s a shame, you know,” he says softly, “a shame you couldn’t have let it happen. Then this would all be over with. You would be forgotten. Tossed aside.” A wicked smile plays on his lips. “As it is, you must be punished, Sid Rain.” He leans in closer, his breath on my lips. “For our annual Sacrificium—Sacrifice—you must be punished. For the 6 are so named for our six virtues.”
He tilts his head, squeezing my face a little tighter with each word.
“Discipline.Obedience.Piety. Carnality. Self-sacrifice.” He smirks at me, eyes on my mouth. “And last, but certainly not least—”
He falters, and I hear a door thud closed at the back of the sanctuary.
Lazar’s fingers curl tighter around my face, his blue eyes flicking from mine to whoever just walked in.
But when I hear that raspy voice, feel a chill slide down my spine, Iknow.
“I believe the last word you’re looking for, Father,” Lucifer pauses, “isvengeance.”
Silence rings in the air, but Lazar recovers quickly. “Ah,” he purrs, still gripping my face in his hands, “you decided to play after all.”
“Tell me the rules,” Lucifer damn near growls. “Because last I checked, Sacrificium was at midnight.”
Lazar shoves my face away roughly, and I hear footsteps coming closer, more than one set. If I had to guess, there’s five of them.
Atlas.
Mayhem.
Cain.
Ezra.
Lucifer.
I feel someone come up behind me, feel them towering above me, my knees aching on the floor.
Lazar is still crouched down in front of me, and my brother…I close my eyes tight.
“Do you want her?” Lazar asks quietly.
I’m holding my breath, silent, but inside my mind I’m screaming,He already has me.
Someone clears their throat. I open my eyes, my cheek still pressed against the altar floor. I see Lazar’s gaze flick to someone away from me. From whoever is behind me.
“Maddox,” Lazar croons, “do you have something you would like to say?”
Maddox coughs again. And then, “No.” There’s anger in that single word, and I think hedoeshave something he wants to say. I think he wants to say he’d like to kill me himself.
So many men out for my blood.
