Page 107 of Jael

“He must have had quite an impact.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time Christopher got it wrong. Sometimes he’s too full of his own self-importance for his own good. Maybe because I was so young when he was born, I didn’t raise him as well as I could have, but every parent has regrets, I suppose.”

“So because Lucas stopped people from wanting what you had on offer, you had him killed?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I know you like to help people, but there has to be a balance. If it makes you feel any better, you can think of him as a martyr.” He leaned back against the couch, having discarded his glass on the coffee table.

She wouldn’t be able to get him drunk, and her time was running out, but she could feel a strength rising from within. She wouldn’t leave the room with him. He’d have to kill her. He would kill her, but she could be brave like Lucas.

God, I don’t know how this works, but I want to go where Lucas went and where Danny will one day go. I want to be with you. If it’s really true that you can overlook and maybe even forgive all the things I’ve done, then I’m asking you for that. I want my life to be in your hands.

Artus squeezed her leg. “You look a million miles away.”

She lifted his hand and stood. “I can’t do this. I won’t.” She drifted away from the couch, wondering where would be the best place to fall when he shot her dead. She imagined Danny finding her body. It would hurt him. He’d think he should have saved her. How could she tell him she was already saved? That he’d done his work?

“That can’t be your final answer,” Artus said.

She reached the fireplace and turned to face him. “It is.” Artus would get away with everything he’d done, but only until his death. Then he’d face his creator. But she would be free. Death had always been an eternal punishment for her, equal almost to how life had felt on earth, but now it was her freedom. Finally.

Artus looked weary as he considered her refusal. “You do understand what that means,” he said, resting his hand near his hip where she figured the gun was concealed. “This is what you really want? To die this way? As trash?”

His words meant nothing. She couldn’t be shamed anymore. “Do what you have to do.” Her only regret was that Artus would remain alive to continue to hurt people.

God, if there’s any way for you to stop him. Do it. It’s beyond the reach of anyone else now, but not for you.

She clasped her hands behind her back, and her finger brushed against cold metal.

“This is your last chance,” Artus said. “Is there nothing I can say or do to convince you otherwise?”

“My soul is not my own anymore. But even if it were, you are the last person I would ever give myself to.”

His features hardened, but his eyes drifted to the ceiling in what might have been resignation. He’d expected this meeting to go differently. No one ever said no to Artus. “I could have given you the world,” he said with a shake of the head.

“I already have everything I’ve ever wanted.” A warm ball of joy swelled deep inside her chest, and she guessed it was similar to what Lucas must have felt as he faced death. In her last moments, it was a precious gift to finally understand what had given Lucas courage. “There is nothing you could offer me that could compete with what I have.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“If I have, I’m okay with that. You helped me, Artus. If it wasn’t for you, I may have been lost forever.”

There was a bang at the front door. “Jael?” Came the muffled shout.

Artus pulled his gun and pointed it at Jael but focused on the locked door. “Looks like I have a bonus tonight.”

The bang came again. “I have to speak to you. It’s important.”

“I think our time has come,” Artus said.

With barely a thought, Jael’s fingers wrapped around the cold iron. Artus turned to her, ready to finish the deed, but her arm swung up, releasing the poker. As it flew across the room,she saw that her aim was remarkably on target, and so did Artus. His eyes widened in surprise, and Jael ducked away as he fired off a round before the metal found its mark.

Danny heard the shot and knew. He should have realized already, but his mind was overpowered with emotion that made his thoughts sticky.

He pulled his gun and shot at the door lock, then kicked it in. The entryway was dark, but he could see a dim light coming from the living room. He approached silently and tried the handle, but it was locked.

After pressing his back against the wall beside the door, he called out. “Jael?” He expected Artus to respond. His body was pumped so full of adrenaline, he felt like he could take a hundred bullets and still break down the door, but he wouldn’t let Artus get away.

A muffled, “I’m here,” came through the door. It was Jael’s voice.

“Is Artus with you?”

---