Page 117 of This Blood That Binds Us
His jaw tightened, and his dark eyes pinned me against the wall. “If you go with him, we will hunt you both down. Not to mention, if The Family doesn’t find him first. You will be on the run. Come on...you and I both know Presley won’t get very far without his brothers. You’re condemning yourself to a life you don’t belong in. Don’t let them drag ya further into their mess.”
“Presley won’t have his brothers, but he’ll have me.” I smiled through gritted teeth. “Their mess is mine now.”
William sighed and grabbed the sides of my face. My breath caught in my throat. His eyes were cold. In them, anger burned, bubbling under the surface, waiting to explode. “Fine. As you wish.”
Every minute passedstrangely, consciousness slipping and returning. Some moments, I felt alert and scared. Then my eyes would close for a few seconds and something else entirely was happening.
My older brothers chatted, waking me up, and every once in a while, they’d attempt to wake me up again.
My head lay on the floor that smelled of old cedar. The candles around me were starting to drip puddles of wax onto the dry wood. The assortments of colored wax swirled together into streams. Zach and Luke were chained just a few feet away. Rusty chains hooked into steel rods underneath the floorboards. This place was a prison.
It took me a minute to remind myself of where I was, which was, apparently, on the floor of an old church, about to bleed out. My brothers looked like they were going to suffer the same fate.
But Kimberly was safe, and so was Presley. Somehow, my mangled body didn’t hurt as much with that truth. The two people I needed to protect were safe. No matter what happened to us, at least I could die knowing that fact.
“How did you find me?” It took more effort than I anticipated to speak. The cloth from earlier was gone.
“You left your phone location on, dumbass.” Zach smiled, but his eyes were still scanning me and the trail of blood I left beside me.
“How bad is it?” Luke’s voice was more secure and, somehow, made me feel a little less worried about our situation.
“Pretty bad.” I groaned.
Kilian and the other robed figures were setting up what looked to be some type of ceremony, with a large, silver bowl full of some kind of liquid, set by the large cross. That’s when I realized how tall Kilian was. He had to duck every time he walked past the corners of the cross.
One of the girls in a black robe motioned to me, white hair peeking beneath her hood. “Does he need to be chained?”
“No. He’s lost a lot of blood. He isn’t going anywhere.” William’s eyes bore into mine.
In the dim light, I could see his expressionless face. His eyes were glued to Kilian, awaiting his instruction.
“Can we get this over with?” Zach groaned. “If you’re so holy, why drag it out? Don’t you want to be merciful?”
Kilian turned to Zach after lighting another candle at the altar. “You see, this isn’t an execution. While it’s true, we are dedicated to finding and hunting down members of The Family. William has discovered something very interesting in your case that I think may be useful. Therefore, this is your trial, a place for your sins to be laid out before our council. Then we will decide what to do with you.”
“That’s...fucking fantastic.” Zach sighed. He turned his attention to me. I could feel his worry.
Luke’s voice was softer. “Why does Aaron need to be on trial here? He hasn’t done anything.”
“I know. But he has been marked...meaning he’s of great value to The Family.” Kilian’s robe dragged behind him as he paced the floor. The wooden boards squeaking and the occasional flicker of the flame were the only things that could be heard in the silent room.
I sighed. My head was pounding, and all I could think of was getting on with our impending doom. “What does that even mean?”
Zach’s eyes were wide. “That’s impossible.”
“Our brothers never met anyone we knew in The Family. How could they be marked?” Luke said.
“Aaron’s memories revealed something he did not remember. A memory of...Her.”
The twins sat up straighter, their eyes trained on Kilian who was still slowly pacing the floor. “In this memory, She offered your brothers Her blood. We believe She planned to turn them herself and induct them in The Family, but it sounds like She was waiting...for what, we don’t know.”
“Does She have a name?” I asked.
“No. They are never named. Only worshipped. To name them would be to make them a part of our world, and according to any members of The Family, they are above us.”
He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Zach and Luke. I wondered what She had to do with my brothers. In my memory, She was...haunting. Terrifying. Not exactly someone I imagined you could actually have any type of relationship with. Were they obsessed with Her, too?
Luke spoke. “No. She was going to kill them. That’s why we did this. That’s why we ran away.”
