Page 97 of Beast: Part Two

“I shouldn’t have pushed us to go after him,” Lucien says in a low tone. “Priest was right, we weren’t prepared.”

“But now we are,” Albany says lifting her head. “What’s the first lesson Nathaniel taught you? Before he told you to check for entrances and exits. Before he ever put a weapon in your hand, what did he teach you?”

“That we were a team,” Many speaks for the first time since the day Priest died. “He taught us we were brothers.”

Albany nods. “The reason the Church hated him so much was because he had the secret formula. You guys aren’t great killers because you’re blind, or have a split personality, or forms of schizophrenia. You’re great killers because a man that loved you, a man that thought of you as his sons, poured into you. He made you believe that you could do anything in this world.”

We all look away from her. She’s right. Every time a new Priest tried to bring in a blind kid, or an autistic kid, or a kid with some form of mental disorder, they never turned out like us. Everyone tried to copy Priest’s formula. But they never understood what made us so great.

“Even Corbyn tried to duplicate what Priest did with you guys,” Maksim says. “He thought he got close, but me and my siblings never cared for each other the way you guys do. We don’t work like you do.”

Albany steps further into the room. “The last three months you guys forgot the first lesson he taught you. I know you all have families and your own people to look out for, but to Nathaniel you were still his boys and his priority. Every decision he made was not just for me and Charlie but you guys and your families.

“The house in Georgia, came fully stocked with a nursery and around the clock care for Malia, Brooklyn, and Ari. He madesure that they would have the best OBGYN in the city at their beck and call.”

Hawk drops his head. Lucien and Many both look away from Albany.

“The last three months all any of you could think about were yourselves. That’s not what he taught you.”

She’s right. Every decision we’ve made since the excommunication has been for our own benefit. We weren’t working together. Hell, I was so caught up battling the demon in my head I didn’t think about anything else.

“If we need to, we can send the girls away,” Hawk says.

“It’s too late for that,” Albany sighs. “Besides, we all need each other right now.”

“So how do we fix it?” Zel asks.

“By doing it together,” I say looking up at the faces around me.

“Exactly,” Albany agrees. “We need to put our heads together and come up with a plan. Not just making decisions based off our own emotions. Yes, we are angry and hurt right now, but that’s not going to help us win this battle. We need a solid plan. What do we know about Corbyn?”

“He’s smart,” Hawk says. “And patient.”

That’s been proven by how long it took him to come out of hiding. We were so ready to go after him after Yohan shot Summer. However, he never showed himself even though he had the upper hand. He waited until we were so desperate we wouldn’t stop to think if it was a setup or not. We ran headfirst into his scheme.

“His money and influence run deep,” Lucien says dropping down in a seat.

“But he’s not the muscle,” Zel states, leaning against the back wall. “He surrounds himself with his paid bodyguards and his kids. I bet if you get him by himself, he’s defenseless.”

“How do we do that?” Lucien asks. “He will never be without his guards or one of his kids.”

Maksim rubs his chin. “Then we eliminate his protection.”

We all turn to look at him.

“You sure you’re up for that?” I wasn’t dumb. Although Maksim and I have grown somewhat close over the last few months, I won’t act as if he doesn’t have a connection with his siblings. What he is suggesting means we take them out. He has to draw a line in the sand and decide which side he’s going to stand on.

He shakes his head. “If I thought I could save them, I would. Trust me, I tried before I left. The damage Corbyn did to them can’t be undone.”

“Yours was,” I reply.

He nods. “Torture does that to you. Also, like I told you, I’ve always been different. If you want to know what side I’m on, I’m with you. I’m with all of you.” he says looking around at all of us.

“Good,” Albany says pulling a chair out and taking a seat. “Because I want to know every sibling you have, and I want to know everything about them. Many, grab that dry erase board.”

Many goes to the corner of the room and rolls out the giant whiteboard we’d been using to keep track of the names on that excommunication order. He wipes off the words on the board before grabbing the black marker.

“There are eight left,” Maksim says. “Micah, Zeke, Adam, Nolan, Archie, Evan, Yohan, and Victoria.”

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