Page 2 of Be My Salvation

Not all of them, my mind whispers. Despite seeing the evidence of Dinah’s betrayal, some part of me is still refusing to give them information on any of the safehouses that Dinah and I had set up as meeting points, in case we got separated. In fact, if these psychopaths were smarter, they would realize where she was likely heading to hide from them. Her old family home, which has been shuttered since her brother’s death. If things go south, that is where she will head, probably with those two assholes she chose over me. It would be so easy to get my vengeance on all of them with a few words. They would be overrun with Noah’s men, and she would be captured and tortured just like I am. That, however, is what prevents me from uttering a single syllable. No matter how much hate and rage flow through me, I hate Noah more, and can’t give her up to him.

“I’ll have you screaming for me shortly, don’t you worry. The boss wants answers, and you’ll give them up before you take your last breath,” he cackles with enjoyment.

“Stay strong, Sammy. I love you,”the specter’s voice whispers across my skin.

My blurry eyes track the movement from his hand to the long black whip in his tight grip. I try to swallow past the scream that is choking my throat, but a whimper escapes. His arm rises, and the first bite of the whip striking my shoulder ends any of my best attempts at silence. The skin was already destroyed by the acid they poured on me, and now it just wholly rips off, exposing nothing but muscle and ligaments below. My head spins from the pain, nausea, and blood loss, even though these fuckers hooked me up unwillingly to an intravenous drip, to replenish all they have taken from me. They really are determined to keep me alive, and that, more than anything else, terrifies me. The thought that they will never let me die, and it will be a continuous, vicious loop of pain. “Enough, you’ll kill him, andhe will be useless to us!” A harsh voice blares through my semi-conscious state.

“You can’t allow them to take you from me, Sammy. You belong to me, and you will always belong to me,”Dinah calls, her voice filled with strength, and the need for my obedience.Where are you, Nightstar, why haven’t you come for me?

“Samuel, you have been such a disappointment, but I can give you another chance to do the right thing, and to survive. You want that, don’t you? You want the pain and torture to stop.” Noah’s slimy voice fills my ears, and I hear the falsity in it. “Tell me where she would go. Where would that vicious bitch hide from the Brotherhood? My sources tell me she’s not with the rebels.”Don’t tell them, my love, keep me safe.

Not with the rebels? Does that mean they have turned on her too?It doesn’t matter, she abandoned me.I need to stop my emotions from overtaking my reality. She’s left me to die, left me to the Brotherhood. She knew full well what I would suffer at their hands, and yet she’s done nothing to rescue me.

Grayish-blue eyes appear in my mind, filled with sorrow, and pleading for me not to betray her like she’s done to me. How I long to see them in person. Would I embrace and forgive her, or would I stab them out, for breaking faith with me? A hand fists my hair and forces my head to rise from its slumped position. My broken fingers spasm, useless with the urge to fight against this cunt, but I know I don’t have the energy left.I’m broken, Nightstar. I can’t keep holding on.

“It’s been days since I took you, Samuel, and she hasn’t even made a single attempt to save you, and yet you’re rewarding her treachery with loyalty. You reward her spreading her legs for my son, and that psycho, Abraham, while you’re here half dead at my hands.” He releases a frustrated sigh and his grip on my hair, stepping back from me with disgust on his malevolent face. “My sources say she’s going to go after the Holy Father. She will die,Samuel, either at his hands or at mine. I will make it quick. He will parade her before the Brotherhood, as a broken symbol of what happens to the resistance when they fight his control. He will have her raped by every man that wishes to have a taste of her. Wouldn’t you rather her die without having endured that? You still love her, so make the right choice.”

The images he paints fly through my mind. I see a terrified Dinah, fighting back against the Brotherhood men who are loyal to the Holy Father. I watch her succumb to their overwhelming numbers. They will make it a public shaming and punishment. She will be tied down where any man, regardless of station, can use her until she begs for death, and even then, they will continue to hurt her. My stomach lurches with the image of her beaten, battered, and bleeding from all her orifices. The depravity and horror are too much for me, and I vomit the bile that is in my stomach, until the only sounds I can hear are of me retching loudly, mixed with the rushing of my blood in my veins, and my heart pumping in my chest.

Can Abe and Zeke protect her against the Holy Father and his men? What has caused her to split from the rebels? Neither one of us genuinely believed their promises and intentions. They say they would do anything to decimate the Brotherhood, yet despite claiming to fight oppression, they will only do that as long as it’s convenient for them. Power calls to evil men, and corrupts all. I should know; look at what it’s done to my Nightstar. She used to be so innocent, my perfect beauty, and then she got a taste of power, vengeance, and rage, and became the Unholy Ghost. I should have never allowed her to act out her revenge. This all came from indulging her wishes to avenge her family. We could have been safe, and we could have still been together.

“Sammy, please, I need you!”Her sweet voice echoes in my mind, but I know it’s as false as her heart. Even still, no matter how her treachery stings, I still can’t allow the fate Noah paintsto occur. A quick death is merciful, and unlike her intentions for me, I can still save her unnecessary suffering. Hopefully, they will allow me to die with her, so we can be reunited in hell, and I can take my retribution on her.I love you, Samuel Wendover, you are my everything.Lies, it’s all lies, every word from her viper’s tongue. My hesitation costs me, and the whip sails through the air once more, connecting with my ruined chest, and a hoarse scream leaves my lips. “House, where... she... grew up. She’ll... hide there.” My betrayal tastes like ashes in my mouth, mixed with acid, as what was left of my heart splinters into rubbish.I still love you, Nightstar, but I hate you more right now.

“Excellent, Samuel. I promise you death when we capture her, so that you can say your goodbyes in person.” Footsteps echo as they leave me to my desolate solace, knowing that I just murdered her, as sure as if I was the one holding the blade to her heart.

I am sorry, Nightstar, but we both need to die.My only hope is the other two have to live a painful existence without her, for having taken her from me.That would be justice served.

Chapter three

The Holy Father

Iwatch her from the shadows as she searches for me, my little girl, the Unholy Ghost, and a deadly woman, all wrapped into one. She’s even more beautiful than her mother ever was, my stunning little Dinah. Braver and stronger than any female I have ever met. If there had been more women like my fierce and strong-willed daughter, when the Brotherhood took over theworld, we would have had a more challenging time oppressing the females of our society. Alas, greedy, power-hungry men allowed their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters to be ruined, and become chattel. The women of the old world either didn’t see the horrors coming their way, or were too weak and trusting to fight back. They believed men would protect them,fools.

That’s not the case now though. My daughter can, and does, pose a real threat to the Brotherhood. To all that we have spent years building, and all the countless deaths we have caused, all in the name of power. Not God, as they proclaim; there are no true righteous intentions behind the Order of the Sacrament. That is all smoke and mirrors, to deceive the masses, and lessen the revolt. How easy it was to pull the cloth over the sheep’s eyes, while the wolves ravaged the flock. Humans never learn. Men will always seek power over others, especially women. We don’t see them as equal, and we can’t allow them to have the rights over their body autonomy, or destinies. Without them, we can’t create this new world, and a constant replenishment of soldiers and servants for the cause.

Does it pain me to know that my daughter is a pawn for me to move along my chessboard? It should, but I am no better than any of them. I’ve suffered at the hands of the Brotherhood, an Order I worked tirelessly to help establish, putting aside my own ambitions and moral code. Yet, after everything I sacrificed for them, they were so quick and willing to end my life, when I had a pang of conscience. I now seek to overturn them, not for the betterment of humankind, and the safety of the world, but for my self-gratification, and my deep-seated desire for vengeance. I have lost so much to the Order: my life, my wife, and my son. If I have to lose my little girl, so be it, but I will have my revenge.

I notice the minute she realizes she’s not alone, and her body stills as she points her gun at me. My hand moves in the deepcover of my gilded robes, pressing the hidden button for the odorless hallucinogenic gas, that will instantly disperse around the room, and cause my daughter to become my unwilling captive, all while I have immunity with the antidote in my bloodstream. Her head shakes, and her eyes grow large and frightened, as I take measured steps closer to her. Is she seeing a monster from her worst nightmares, or can she see past the masquerade? Her gun clamors to the floor with a bang as I halt before her, and I watch as the gas causes her mind to be overwhelmed by confusion. I press another button, and I know now she’s hearing high-pitched sounds, and a fragrance is being spread that will cause her to lose control of the rest of her senses. It’s always humorous to watch, as my parlor tricks render them powerless, and entirely at my mercy. They believe me to be omnipresent, a reincarnation of their beliefs, a god amongst the folk, foolish humans clinging to a world long gone.

Her frightened eyes rise from the hem of my elaborate robes to the ornate mask I wear. Her body begins to tremble as all the drugs take effect, and I cock my head, watching as she attempts to fight against their oppression. Will she be able to defy, and thwart, the chains I’m slowly weaving around her? For my sake, and that of my plans, I hope not. I would then need to kill her, as she would be useless to me. A loud, ragged breath leaves her, and I’m filled with sick satisfaction that I can still control and subdue her. “Hello, Sacred Daughter, or should I just call you daughter, since you are my flesh and blood?”

I take another step towards her, and watch as her body recoils at my proximity. My hand slips below the mask as I lift it out of the way, and dispense with all the shrouded secrecy. Both excitement and pity soar through my blood, with the knowledge that I am about to shock and frighten her, but also anger her with my revelation. Her breath catches, and the gasping, choking sound she makes causes me almost to reachout in comfort, but I halt my movements. There is no room for sentimentality here. She’s no longer the little girl who once sat on my knee, while I told her stories of a world that was never real, and I am no longer a doting father. We are the Holy Father and the Unholy Ghost, yin and yang to each other, and emotions must be left to the side.

The regret I believed I would feel at her terrified expression eludes me, and I know that I have done the right thing by putting this plan into motion. Tears slide down her face, as her lips and chin tremble at seeing the phantom before her. “This is not real. You are not real.” I halt my traitorous tongue, which wants to offer her words in sympathy, for all that she has had to endure. Every moment in her presence is more challenging than the last. The necessity for control and power war against the need to embrace her, and allow her to believe everything will be alright. Nothing will ever be alright again. I am about to do to her what no righteous man should do to his kin, never mind his precious child. Before I can utter a single syllable, her hand rises rapidly and strikes out, landing a harsh blow to the side of my face, and causing my head to jerk with the movement. Surprise fills me that she’s strong enough to break through my drugs. I’ll have to remember and remedy that.

Any sympathy I had for her begins to evaporate quickly, and rage rises within me at her violence. No one is allowed to touch me. I will not permit anyone to bring me down low again. Dying and suffering once in this lifetime was enough. “I can see that you are upset, rightly so, daughter. This has been a shock to you, so I forgive you your sin. Fair warning, however, my child, that is the only time you will get to assail me, Dinah. Do not mistake my love for you for weakness.” My hand strikes forward, wrapping itself around her slim throat and squeezing, until all the air leaves her in a vicious wheeze. I meet her angry eyes, and I don’tflinch or back down. She will learn to respect my authority, and come to heel at my feet, or I will end her life.

“Monster,”she rasps, and it causes the corners of my lips to rise in a scathing smile. How predictable that she sees a monster before her.Ah, my sweet child, all the monsters you fear are made of flesh and blood.

“No,survivoris the word you’re looking for, Dinah, just like you are.“ I release my grip and shove her away from me. Every second her skin is in contact with mine, emotions are trying to force their way back inside of my hardened shell. I can’t allow anything to distract me from my plan, which has taken years to bring to fruition.

She takes enormous gulps of air, attempting to clear her throat from my bruising grip, and I prepare myself for further violence. Dinah always had a short temper as a child, and it seems that has only increased with age. Her voice rises with panic and rage, “Why? Why let them die? You could have saved Gabriel and Mom? What the fuck is the matter with you?” I don’t give her the satisfaction of any reaction, even though she deserves to be struck, and chained, for daring to raise her voice in fury at me. I force myself to take deep, calming breaths, hold on to my control, and ignore my baser human emotions. I must adhere to the plan; there is too much at stake to lose if I don’t. Violence is only useful if I can force her to crack and bend to my will. Something tells me that won’t be so easy with Dinah.

“Just because I could not save them, does not mean I don’t mourn them, child. Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, daughter. I could not intervene to save your brother, as much as I wanted to, and I did not know your mother would commit suicide. She wasweak.“ I spit out the distasteful words, fury rising inside of me further that I have to explain myself to her. My words are truthful. If I could have saved Gabriel, I would have, but my son was a fool, playing at trying to overturnthe Brotherhood, when he had no real power, and her mother, Maria, was feeble, as she always had been. I’m not going to pretend that watching her blow her brains out in front of me, at our son’s funeral, didn’t cause me distress. I once loved her in the way I was capable of, but she and I were never truly a love match. Our marriage was a means to an end to obtain power, and a high position within the Brotherhood, and the horrors I allowed to happen to her, at the hands of its men, were unforgivable but necessary.

“Sacrifice? You speak of sacrifice while living lavishly, faking your death, and letting us all suffer? I’ve lost all of my family, all of it! Where is this sacrifice that you speak of? All I see here are betrayal and lies.”

Yes, that is what she would see, isn’t it? She’ll never understand all that I went through to pull myself back from the brink of death, and survive the hands of the devil, while clutching to life and my revenge. All the difficulties I faced as I was forced to remain in the shadows, while strategically moving pieces on the board, to ensure she stayed safe and untouched in a world filled with perils. “I gave you a new family with the three of them, Dinah. I provided you with the opportunity to keep living and breathing. I even delivered you years in peace away from the Brotherhood. I hand-picked Sammy to be your guard, so you would be kept safe. You rage against my betrayal, but I have never stopped protecting you.”

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