Page 22 of Be My Sacrifice

His eyes widen, and he crosses his arms against his chest, his posture becoming rigid. “We need to find out where my father is hiding that child and get him to the rebels. Hopefully, they will take the child, and release Abe to me in exchange.”

A sarcastic snort leaves my lips at his simplistic plan. He’s fucking serious. I observe as his thumb rubs aggressively against his other fingers, before cracking them in a tightly clenched fist, denoting that he’s not as calm as he’s trying to portray. “You think they will just allow you to trade that kid for Abraham? What’s to stop them from killing you and just taking him?”

“You.” His eyes glare into mine. “They know you, have had dealings with you in the past, and trust you. You’re going to help me negotiate the exchange, and then the three of us,” he points at my chest, “You, me, and Abe are going to murder as many of the Brotherhood leaders as we can, starting with my father.”

“Why?”

“Because, Sammy, they have taken far too much from us already, and she would have wanted them all to die painfully. TheUnholy Ghosthas to finish what it started; it needs to free the populace from the control of the Brotherhood, and the only sure way to do that is to destabilize those in power at the top.“ His hands motion something dropping down from a vast height and splattering. “Take out those at the top, and the rest will crumble.”

“How do you mean to accomplish that, Ezekiel, hmm? Your father has me under lock and key here as a prisoner, and you under constant surveillance.”

“I have a plan, but I need you to trust me. If I can get you out of here in the next couple of days, I need you to promise me that you will help me get Gabriel’s son, and not run off to immediately kill my father, or turn around and slit my throat.”

“I’m not promising youshit, Ezekiel, other than one day soon, you will die at my hands, so will your demon of a father.“ I roll my eyes at his demand, and a pent-up, rage-filled sigh leaves my clenched lips. “I will help you get Gabriel’s son to safety, because Dinah would never have forgiven me if I didn’t. I’ll help you negotiate with the rebels to free Abraham, because he fucking loved her too, but after that, your life is fair game, and I plan to end it painfully.”

His hand reaches forward, suspended towards mine in the gesture of a shake. Neither of us looks away, seeing the reality of the deal we are making. He’s agreeing to die at my hands, and I’m agreeing to make sure his lover is free. I take his hand, grasping it tightly in my own and squeezing it as ruthlessly as I can, while meeting his somber face until a grimace crosses his features at my treatment of his fingers.

“To theUnholy Ghostkilling as many Brotherhood scum as possible.”

“To the destruction of the Order.”

Chapter fifteen

The Liar

Abe

“Whatareyoudoingback here, mother?” My mother stands before me, dressed in dark clothing, and I can tell just by her fidgeting stance that something is very wrong. “Won’t you be missed at the capital?”

“Your idiot father thinks he has had me sedated and that I am locked in my quarters, grieving for Dinah, and filled with hysteria over your capture.” A small, snarky smile graces her lips. “He doesn’t know that secret passageways are hidden in the house, and that I am not the only rebel under his roof.”

“Has something happened?”

“Today was Dinah’s mourning day celebration, Abraham. The Brotherhood put on a massive display for the populace to see. Calling for unity against the rebels who would murder such a high-ranking Sacred Wife. The Holy Father himself administered the mass.” Her hands clasp together, the fingers lacing and clenching with her evident agitation.

While I know I should feel something, other than anger that the Brotherhood is perpetuating a farce, and trying to lead the population into a war against the rebels, I know it doesn’t truly matter. Dinah is still here with us, even if she’s trapped in a coma.

She will come back to me, she has to.

She must see the confusion on my face, as her hand reaches out and grabs mine. “You don’t understand; this will break into civil war. Lines are already being chosen, Abraham. The Holy Father has not been fooled by Noah Rothesay’s tale of rebels attacking his son’s house.” Her chilled hand slides up to cradle my jaw. “He believes that Ezekiel killed Dinah with his father’s help, and that you have also been murdered, in order to prevent the secret from getting out.”

“Okay, and that means?” I feel like I’m missing something here. Why is she so frantic and obviously concerned with what the Holy Father believes? He’s a pretentious dick, what does it matter?

“He’s ordered Ezekiel’s death, Abraham. There will be an assassination attempt on Ezekiel’s life in the coming days.” The words are a bomb detonating in my skull. The images they paint have me staggering back, my body crashing against the wall. As much as I hate Zeke, and his betrayal, there is still a part of me that hopes to see him again, even if it is to murder the son of a bitch.

“How can you be so sure that your information is reliable? What if you are wrong?” Different parts of me war with each other. One side is ready to cheer for the death of the man who betrayed, and tried to take Atasi from me, and the other is devastated, and still in love with the asshole I spent my whole life with.

“We have an irrefutable source close to the Holy Father, Abraham. One so well placed that he would never be suspected of being part of the rebellion.”

Is it possible they have someone so high up that they are indeed close to the Holy Father without being suspect? At this point, I don’t know if that truly surprises me. Weeks ago, if you told me my perfectly pious and meek mother was a rebel, I would have suggested you get your head checked, but here I am, hidden in a rebel safehouse with her before me.

“I want to meet this person myself. If there is a way to save Ezekiel and Sammy from the Brotherhood, then we must do it now.”

A bleak smile graces her lips as she meets my eyes. “I thought that you might say that. He’s here waiting to meet you, so that we can come up with a way to get them out of the capital.” She turns away from me and heads towards the room’s door. “What will you do once we have Ezekiel back, Abraham?”

I don’t hesitate to respond, knowing that my words are being ripped out from the very depths of my soul, which screams for retribution. “I’ll slit his fucking throat and watch the light vacate his eyes.”

I’m sitting at Dinah’s bedside, my brain roaming over all I have learned today—things that I never would have imagined were even possible. I’m realizing that up until Dinah reentered my life, I really did live not only a privileged life, but an oblivious one. I had no idea what was happening around me and under my nose.

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