Page 16 of A Harmony of Procellarum

“Stop spreading your lies,” she hisses, giving Victor a heated look. This is where he would usually flip her off, or call her Jesus’ whore, but today he just lowers his head in defeat. It breaks my heart to see the fire inside of him extinguished, but the relief is immediate. I don’t want them hurting him further.

When Sister Mary’s footsteps fade, Victor lifts his head to look at me and say, “I tried to search for the hatchet last night in the boiler room. I wanted to get it and kill those bitches, but it’s gone.”

“What are you talking about?” Shereen asks as she sits at the table with us, Haynes not too far behind.

We’ve all been separated for chores lately, and Raiden is usually the last one to eat since he helps with daily mass at the church across the street. The children from the home aren’t allowed to attend, but the new priest comes every Sunday to do mass in the basement, so we still have to endure the Word of God. At least we’re not handing out blessings each night anymore.

“Killing those sister bitches,” Victor says without much thought. I eye Shereen’s face and see a fresh cut on her lip.

“What happened?” I point it out with my spoon.

“I wasn’t quick enough with serving lunch yesterday,” she says with an eye roll. “Got me a slap in the mouth with the soup ladle.”

“So you want to kill them with us?” Victor gets that gleeful look in his eye that’s been missing for a while now, and even though it warms me to see it, I’m worried about what he’s trying to incite.

“Guys,” Haynes groans. “This treatment is ten times better than what we went through with the priest. Just take the fucking beatings and know we’re out of here in a few years.”

“You guys will be out before me,” Victor snarls at him. “I will have to stay here longer, and I’ll be damned if I deal with this shit alone.”

“You’ll be coming with us,” I vow as I push the empty bowl aside. “I will break you out of here myself.”

“Yeah, well, in case that doesn’t happen, I need to get rid of the evil,” Victor snaps as he tosses a look over his shoulder. Standing at the head of the room are the Sisters, both of them watching us with looks of contempt.

“I don’t want to fucking hear it,” Haynes retorts as he gets up from his seat, leaving behind half of his broth. “It makes me sick to my stomach.”

We watch him leave, his shoulders set in a firm line and his hands fisted at his sides.

“He’s had it bad,” Shereen whispers. His scars will last forever.

“We all had it bad,” Victor reminds her. “My scars may not be visible, but they’re there.”

“I know,” she mumbles as her hand lands on his shoulder, only for him to shake it off.

“They need to die and if I have to do it by myself, I will.” He sets his jaw and looks once more over his shoulder, the Sisters still watching us closely. “It’ll be my birthday present to myself.”

We fall into silence at the table, and once we’re all done with our soup we stay seated, listening to the slurping sounds around us. The food here barely sustains us. There’s no flavor, and I can’t actually tell if any of it is nutritious. We’re weak most of the time, and when we take too long to complete chores, we’re punished for it.

Shereen is sitting quietly, her finger twisting a piece of her hair, and her eyes downcast. I know her abuse was atrocious and most of it was done with Haynes. That’s why they’re so close. I wonder if she has the same need to get rid of the Sisters, or if she’s fine with their treatment so long as it’s not as horrible as the priest’s was.

The door of the hall opens, and I look up to see an exhausted-looking Raiden slowly making his way toward us. Shereen glances over her shoulder, then straightens, her eyes briefly meeting mine before she leans in close to Victor.

“I’m in,” she whispers before she gets up to leave, passing Raiden on the way.

“Hear that, Sval?” Victor’s face lights up. “We’re killing them.”

Chapter six

Torrent

I’monceagaininLuciphia’s office. The room is shrouded in dark fabric, the walls looking decadent in dark red velvet. The blinds on all the windows are shut, keeping out the blinding sun’s rays and keeping the room looking mysterious.

“I am proud of you and what you did. All without being caught,” she praises, her eyes warm.

“You know I’ve always been good at killing people.” I shrug, bringing her back into the past. I watch as her smile falls and her eyes glaze over with a memory, something so familiar to me because we all do it every now and then.

“Yes, I do know that.” She finally nods, pulling herself out of the memory and firmly back into the present. “We are far from done.”

“And the stripping whore I have to share a room with? What about her? When do I get to kill her?” I ask, my hand forming a fist with my anger.

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