Page 118 of Deck of Scarlets

“The whereabouts of Miss Heather Price are unknown at this time. I have called in an aide from other Orders who will assist us in finding her,” informed Pover

Voices began to fill the room, their senses on high alert from the attack.

“We have an even greater threat, and I cannot fathom why it has returned,” voiced Poverly.

He captured the room’s attention again, but no one dared to breathe above a whisper this time.

“An Ulrodak demon has been spotted in our city.”

Everyone began to panic, voices raised in pure terror, and some started to cry in fear. Father Benedict never explained what an Ulrodak demon was, and it never came up in our previous history lesson. But just by the crowd’s reaction to its name, I could only guess the severity of the threat.

“Is it true?” asked Thatcher. Her eyes bulged out of her head in disbelief, waiting for Poverly to confirm. The rest of us sat at the edge of our seats, the atmosphere thick with anxiety.

“I’m afraid—”

“We don’t know for sure,” interrupted Father Benedict.

Poverly glared at him, his lips curling back in a snarl, and said, “What other evidence do we need?”

“The body doesn’t match how an Ulrodak kills,” Father said simply.

“TO HELL WITH THE WAY IT KILLS!” he shouted, slamming his fists on the table. Dean Poverly then rose from his seat to get into Father Benedict’s face and continued his tirade. “One of my men is dead because of our lack of caring. That’s on me. On all of us. We should have been better trained. Instead, we fussed over a goddamn prophecy!”

“How much more could we have prepared them?” challenged Father.

We all sat in complete silence, watching the argument unfold. The other Aces remained neutral, refusing to intervene.

“It wasn’t enough! I am ordering longer hours of training and more patrols throughout the city.”

“So, Captain Harrison finally got to you.”

“He’s right, they need to be put out in the field more, actually fighting.”

“THEY’RE JUST KIDS,” roared Father.

Thatcher then stood along with Toke and Adler, stepping in between the alpha males, creating enough space to ease some of the tension. Not a single Scarlet or Saint dared to help, afraid of the consequences.

“Enough, please. Discussing patrols is one thing, but these kids are not immortal,” Thatcher said. Her concern for our safety despite her lack of kindness surprised me.

“The Lord granted them powers to heal and fight. It is their duty,” snapped Poverly.

It took every ounce of my strength not to walk right up to Dean Poverly and tell him to shove it where the sun didn’t shine. Were we just disposable chess pieces in this game of war?

“We need to reassess our own before we walk in blindly,” Toke conveyed.

A loud bang from upstairs made us all jump, followed by someone falling down the stairs.

“Father Benedict!” called Kal, who had jumped from his seat to go to the base of the stairs.

I’d never seen Father run so fast, his robes whipping behind him. “Abraham!”

The man’s face was grazed, blood dripping from his mouth onto the marble floor. Abraham’s eyes began to flutter open; at least one did. The other was so bruised it kept shut.

“Ben,” he croaked.

Kal took the nearest chair and helped him sit.

“Someone get Nurse Amelia,” someone shouted, but I was too busy staring at the broken man, watching him breathe was a struggle.

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