Page 41 of Anger

“Lanie, this is an army. We are preparing to take the Hunters on and wipe them out,” Mac said with a serious look on his face.

Lanie stared at him mutely.

Chapter Eight.

Lanie/Lamia

Did I hear him right? They were preparing to take on the Hunters? Mac offered a small smile.

“I’ve shocked you. However, that’s why we’re all gathered here. So, the children can be raised without fear of being slaughtered. Women will have families and be safe, and men aren’t frightened of coming home to a massacred family. Five hundred years have passed since Refuge was created. Our numbers have grown from the ragged four hundred that started it to the city you see today,” Mac said.

“We understand what the Hunters don’t. If you’re killed, the Sins run rampant without a host. They would destroy the world in a matter of a few paltry years. Somehow, the Hunters are blinded to this possibility. Why or how is not our issue. What is, is stopping them. Some might call you monsters, but we do not. Those who live here understand all too well what will happen,” Mac continued.

“We have been tracking them for years. Our intelligence knows where their bases, homes, and families are. While we don’t condone the massacre of a family, we’re aware that, with Hunters, we need to wipe them out, even down to the children. So many times, we’ve raided a nest over our lifespans and left kids alive, and they always, always come back at us with more hatred,” Chimera stated.

“Not this time. They will be put down, just like they did to the Saviours,” Mac explained.

“You’re talking about killing women and children,” Lanie replied, shaking her head.

“Let me show you the Hall of Memory,” Mac said, and Lanie got to her feet as he stood.

Her siblings remained where they were.

“I can imagine how hard this is for you to understand. However, when you see the Hall, you shall realise that we didn’t reach this decision lightly,” Hydra added.

“Keep an open mind, sister,” Tisiphone added.

Lanie nodded, and Mac grabbed her hand and led her through several streets. At the heart of the city stood what Lanie had assumed was a temple. In Ancient Greece, it would have rivalled the temple of Zeus. Mac stopped at the golden doors of the white marble building and removed his boots.

“Please remove your shoes. We have slippers in there we can use,” he said.

Lanie slipped her shoes off and entered behind him.

The first room was an ante chamber, and Mac handed her some slippers. He washed his hands and face in a bowl of water and bade Lanie to do the same. Then he pushed through a second set of gold and wooden doors and led Lanie inside.

Lanie gasped as her eyes took in the multitude of statues standing on plinths around them. There were too many to view at once, and Mac took her hand.

He guided her to the first. “Ogre, he was the first to fall.”

Lanie looked at the date with tears in her eyes. Ogre had been caught four months after their transformations and had been tortured for a year while Hunters figured out how to kill him. He’d been the first of them captured and murdered. The statue’s likeness was unbelievable; she could blink and believe he was there in front of her. It was so realistic. On his plinth was a plaque.

It read his God’s Protector name, Tor’und Melina, and the age he was when changed. The plaque continued with the Sin he’d held, the monster he had become, and the date of his death. It also stated who had killed him.

“Note this killer is in gold writing,” Mac said, and Lanie nodded. “Press that button.”

Lanie did and gasped as the statue shifted, and Tor’und Melina stared out at her. His handsome visage was etched into her mind like all her siblings, but seeing this… it choked her.

“Every child from the moment we can walk is brought here to learn their names and stories,” Mac explained. He pressed another button and Tor’und faded, and Ogre reappeared. He began speaking, telling of his capture and murder.

“Children shouldn’t be exposed to this,” Lanie stated.

“Saviour kids should. They should understand the sacrifices made by God’s Beloved. That is what your squadron was known as. They should learn about Pandora’s betrayal and what led to this. Come, Lanie, let’s check the others,” Mac said.

Lanie wasn’t sure she was ready for this as her gaze landed on the next plinth, Behemoth. He was followed by Troll, Frost Giant, Moth Man, and Typhoon; they were all here. Then Lanie noted the difference in the name of the killer. Some were in silver, others in gold.

“What does it mean?” Lanie asked.

“Those in silver, touch their name,” Mac encouraged.

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