Page 39 of Retribution

The room was silent. The sorrow was so thick that even without words, you knew; you knew the answer to his question. But I couldn’t say it. I wasn’t ready to say it. I didn’t want to think it. A sob escaped me as my body tightened. I needed him here.

“No.” Sterling stumbled, catching himself on the wall, shock and disbelief plastered on his face. “But- how?” He shook his head. “Who?”

The door behind Sterling pulled open, and the man responsible for it all entered at the same time the opposite wall burst into flames, and a giant crater appeared. The ground shook hard, making me stumble from the couch. When the shaking stopped and the smoke cleared, the man standing behind Sterling cleared his throat, waiting until Sterling turned to speak. “Me.”

Chapter 20

STERLING

“Me.”

The voice nearly made my vision spotty, and I swayed. No. It couldn’t be. I whirled around, hoping and praying that if there was indeed a fate, any sort of higher power, that they would have just a grain of decency and grant me some reprieve. But he stood there, his face just as menacing as I remembered, his eyes just as cold and dead. I didn’t want to believe that such cruelty still existed in one single being, but the proof was undeniable.

“Son, aren’t you going to greet your father after all these years?”

His voice made my spine tingle, the scars on my back left by years of punishment suddenly ached. And I stood frozen with my mouth gaping open like a fucking fish while around me, I heard the shouts of my brothers, my true and only family, as they clashed swords and daggers against the army of bodies pouring into the room. My brothers. All but Ellis.

“I hoped you were dead for all of eternity.” I tried to hold my shoulders back, keeping my spine straight. Not letting him see how he was affecting me.

“Nonsense.” He laughed, and even from a distance, I swore I could smell his rancid breath. “We are family, Sterling. You wouldn’t want me to die.”

I heard Liberty gasp from behind me, and I tried not to react, but it was too late; he saw it in my eyes, saw that she meant something, saw that she was mine. He strolled closer, and my body tensed, ready to defend her at any cost. My father stopped, looking between Liberty and myself.

“She belongs to you, then? If I had known who was at her side, I wouldn’t have killed your friend.” He paused. “I would have just killed you.”

I knew it would have made no difference, he would have killed Ellis regardless, but he wanted me to feel the guilt. And I did. I felt so fucking guilty that my father was a monster. That my father had killed one of my best friends. That my fucking father broke my family. The family I just began to build. Everything inside of me wanted revenge for everything he had ever done. For every scar I had endured. For every loved one he had hurt. I craved the retribution that coursed through our veins. I wanted it so bad I could almost taste it.

“You will not touch her.” I stood my ground, even as he slowly moved closer.

He shrugged. “You’ve never been able to stop me before.”

But I would stop him now. I would stop him, or I would die trying. I had to prevent the vile man I called my father from touching the one good thing I’ve had in my life since the day I came into this earth. “That was before.”

Before I fell in love, before I felt freedom, before I knew there was more to life than proving my worth. His eyes focused on Liberty, and I was too afraid to look behind me, too scared to see what he was looking at.

“If I sliced her open, how do you think she would bleed? Like a vampire?” He inhaled, “Maybe like a shifter.” He shook his head. “No, I bet she would bleed like a witch. Like a human witch.”

“You never would get close enough,” I growled at the exact moment a severed head landed at my feet, the sickening thump splattering matter on my clothes.

My father smiled. “That Oak always was a strong lad, wasn’t he? I wonder if I could get him to join me. Us.” He reached down and picked up the head, tossing it into the fight at my back. “Not me and you, of course. You’re too weak to be at my side.”

“Weak or not, I never would have joined you.” I inched back a little, not for fear of him, but because the fight at my back was growing. More people from both sides were pouring into the crater at the side of the building, and I needed to be closer. I needed to guard her though I suspected the others all had one eye in her direction.

“Your creature –” his chin lifted in Liberty’s direction, “she seems weak. Not even trying to fight. It’s a mystery to me how you’ve all managed to get this far. Secret weapon perhaps?”

Secret weapon? Love, caring, respect. The desire to protect each other at all costs from anything. Putting someone above yourself. “She’s stronger than you will ever dream of being.”

He laughed, the sound rich with evil intent, and I knew I only had seconds, maybe less, before he attacked. I wasn’t wrong; he was fast like a viper striking his kill. But he didn’t have the drive I had. His desire wasn’t stronger than my desire to protect my girl, and when he struck with the knife he held at his side unsheathed, I blocked it with my own.

He pulled back before bringing his knife forward again, the metal clashing against metal as I blocked him. Outwardly, I didn’t know what he was, why he was still alive, seemingly breathing when he should have been dead. He wasn’t a vampire or a shifter, for those were scents I knew well. But his scent was different. Way too earthy, so much so that if I inhaled too deep, I would almost gag.

Behind me, Liberty whimpered, and I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do for her unless I was willing to put her in more danger. That was a risk I would never take. I would never ask or take any security she had. Instead, I led my father toward the battle. Nearly stumbling over the bodies of those who once strived for eternal peace. What did that do to their souls? To be brought back from the slumber?

“You’ve gained some strength in your years.” He grunted as my knife sunk into his arm. I pulled it out, ignoring the sickly slurp as his flesh tried to hold on to my blade. “You’re still a coward, of course, but the act you put on, it's admirable.”

“He’s not a coward,” Liberty shouted, her body closer to mine than I thought, closer than I could have anticipated. Then, a blast burst from her body, throwing my father into the sea of battle.

Chapter 21

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