Page 19 of A Harmony of Procellarum

The sound of the saw ripping through the cast jars me out of my worries and I peek inside the small room to see Victor watching the blade intently, an elated look on his face. He’s been excited for the last few days, and the Sisters must feel something brewing. They’ve separated us during chores, sent us for meals at different times, and most nights, I have been put in the tainted room across the hall.

When I asked Sister Jane why I was being moved, I received a blow to the mouth and a split lip in response. The next day, when Victor saw it, I swear his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

“They’re dead,” he kept repeating, making the phrase sound like a mantra.

The saw stops, and the surrounding silence has my heart plummeting into my stomach. I’m so fucking nervous about what Victor has planned tonight and when I find Shereen standing at the end of the corridor, her arms crossed in front of her chest, I begin to feel nauseous.

“Look how fucking skinny my arm is,” Victor says, startling me. “Four weeks in a cast and I have a spaghetti arm.”

“It’ll be weak for a while. You shouldn’t do anything that could make it worse—”

“It’s happening tonight, Sval,” he cuts me off as he brushes by me, walking toward Shereen. “You can hide in your little room if you want.”

His words are sneered at me over his shoulder, each one of them like knives to my stomach. He knows I don’t have a choice when I’m moved to that room and his cheap jab does nothing but make me feel like shit.

Which is what he wants.

I don’t want any part in the nefarious plans he has for the evil Sisters, but I won’t stand in his way either. It’s not worth it. I want those bitches dead, too. I just don’t want to kill anyone.

So I turn in the opposite direction and head toward the yard, knowing I’ll find Raiden and Haynes out there doing whatever gardening needs to be done. The whole time, I can feel both Shereen’s and Victor’s eyes on me, the heat from their glares burning through the thin material of my clothes. I force myself not to look back, to just keep moving forward even though each footstep down the hall is more difficult than the last.

I should tell Raiden everything. He would want to make sure Victor stays out of trouble, especially after Father Robert. We lived in fear of Victor going to jail for months.

With my plan set, I hurry out to the yard without faltering. This is my way of saving Victor and repaying him for saving us all a few years ago. He doesn’t see past his anger to the consequences of two more people ending up dead under mysterious circumstances. We would only leave this prison for another.

I will hand it to Victor. This is the perfect night for what he has planned. We’re staying up late to help at the church across the street to set up for Easter, and there are so many darkened alcoves a Sister could find herself trapped in.

Raiden has been watching Shereen and Victor closely. The way they sit together and tip their heads to one another is all telling of their new alliance. It makes me tremble with jealousy. Shereen is only making things worse for Victor, and we need to make sure they don’t follow through with their plans.

“Shereen has a lot of hate left over from what happened to us,” Haynes says quietly as he sets the decorations on the altar. “She wants nothing more than to see that orphanage burn.”

“I get it,” Raiden murmurs as we all look toward the pews, watching them both sitting together as they dust the bibles. “But it’ll only end up badly. I want to get out of here, not be watched even more.”

“Victor will have to live with the lives he’s taken, even if they did deserve it. That’s going to be hard on him. He thinks it’s nothing now, but when he’s older…” I trail off, not wanting to think about how damaging this place will be for us.

“Trust me,” Haynes speaks up. “I know all too well.”

There are rumors around Haynes and what he did to his parents. Rumors of a cold-blooded murderer and his damaged soul. I trust him when he says murder follows him like a tainted shadow.

“Do you smell that?” Raiden asks, tipping his nose to the ceiling. “Is that smoke?”

I spin quickly on the dais as I look out to the pews, finding them empty, and my heart slams into my ribs.

“Where’s Victor?” My voice comes out hoarse and frantic. “Where are they?”

We scan the church and when we see smoke billowing from one of the confessionals, we dart toward it in a rush. Only Sister Mary gets there first, and when she opens the curtain to find a Bible on fire, her dark, beady eyes land on us.

“What did you evil boys do?” Her voice wavers with anger, the words punctuated by the grit of her teeth. “What did you do?!”

“We didn’t do anything.” Raiden shakes his head and steps in front of Haynes and me. “We were at the altar.”

“Where is your little brother?” Her eyes widen as it all becomes crystal clear to her. “Where is Victor and his new friend?”

“Stop!” Haynes cuts in front to scream. “Shereen wouldn’t do that!” He gets a sharp smack to the face, the sound reverberating around the church.

Sister Mary stomps out the fire. Thankfully, it hasn’t spread anywhere beyond the book and then her eyes turn onto Raiden. “If you don’t find your brother, I will punish you all tonight.”

“That doesn’t smell so good,” Shereen drawls as she saunters into the nave. “Did someone light too many candles?”

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