Page 27 of A Harmony of Procellarum

“Bitch,” Victor hisses as his plans are revealed, and something inside of me snaps with relief. We can leave now and Shereen is surely done being punished. Then the cold realization dawns on me. They will come for Victor if they believe her.

My hand grips back over his mouth as the silence of the room descends on us like a suffocating blanket. “Go get Victor,” Sister Jane demands. “And hisbigfriend, Sval.”

“Yes, Sister,” Sister Mary mumbles, and then we hear the shuffle of her feet as she hurries up the aisle. She’s coming directly for us and there’s nowhere we can go to avoid it. Victor realizes it a second after I do and when Sister Mary’s skirts appear beside us, her gasp has Victor slashing that knife outward. I watch as the sharp tip grazes the material and snags in the folds before her foot connects with his head.

She reaches forward and yanks him to his feet, forcing me to get up with him. Sister Jane laughs from the dais, her cackle sounding like a witch’s as we’re dragged to the front.

“They really had a knife,” Sister Mary says, her voice filled with shock. “They were back there waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”

We are both forced to our knees in front of a trembling Shereen. She has her arms wrapped around her thin legs, and I can see from here her shirt is shredded on her back. Tears are running down her cheeks, making her eyes look lighter than the deep brown they usually are.

“You fucking sold us out!” Victor snaps at her.

“I had no choice,” she whimpers. “They wouldn’t stop.”

“I wouldn’t have done that to you!” Victor straightens just as Sister Jane’s whip lashes against his back, making him fall to the ground with a scream.

“Stop!” I bellow as I scramble in front of him, willing to take the next blow.

“Look at that,” Sister Jane sneers to Sister Mary. “These two are budding gays.”

“That is punishable by stoning,” Sister Mary adds, as they both snicker. “We have large stones in the garden.”

“They aren’t gay,” Shereen sniffs.

That gets her another lashing, making her fall forward to the floor in front of us with a scream. Her back is now fully visible and the skin beneath her shredded shirt is angry and swollen, a few spots welling with blood.

I watch with horror as Sister Jane’s arm raises again with every intention of hitting Shereen one more time when I cover her with my own body, taking the lash for myself. The pain is sharp and immediate, like striking flame to gasoline. I clench my teeth to keep from crying out because I’m getting the feeling these twisted Sisters are enjoying the sounds.

“He really is a big protector,” Sister Jane says to Sister Mary with a chuckle. “But he can’t protect both at once, can he?”

I turn in time to see her kick Victor in the face, his nose immediately spouting with blood and then her whip comes down onto the thin material of his shirt over his stomach. I choke on a sob as the tender flesh is easily ripped open and blood quickly colors his shirt red.

“No!” I stand, clenching my fists at my side. “Touch him and I’ll kill you.”

It’s a quick flash, but I saw it. Fear was nestled there in Sister Jane’s cold, gray eyes, and when she blinks it away, it’s replaced by a cunning glance. “You are a big boy, aren’t you?” she purrs, giving me a slow once-over. “Okay, I have an idea. You choose who gets the rest of the deserved punishment for the antics today, and that includes the attempted murder of Sister Mary’s skirt.” This causes Sister Mary to snort as I mull over her words.

“What?” I ask, not quite sure if what I’m hearing is real.

“Pick who gets the discipline.” She juts her chin to Victor, who’s clutching his bleeding stomach and moaning, and then to Shereen, whose heavy pants of pain fill the basement.

“No!” I scream. “Neither of them. I will take the punishment.”

“Sorry.” She shakes her head. “You are not deserving of it, are you? Did you light the Bible on fire at the church? Did you try to slice into the flesh of Sister Mary’s legs?”

“Yes.” My voice wobbles as I finally piece together where this is going. “It was all my idea.”

“Now, I should punish you for the lie, but I find it an admirable quality to protect those you care about. I know it wasn’t your idea, Sval, because I’ve been watching these two all week. They’ve been conspiring against me. Who will it be?” Her foot stomps down onto Shereen’s back, forcing her to cry out, and I suck in a breath as she moves toward Victor, the leather of her boot gleaming from the candle’s flames as she raises it.

“No!” I cry out before I even realize what I’m saying. “Not him.”

Shereen lets loose a wail, my name intertwined with the shrill sound. “You’ve made your choice,” Sister Jane dismisses me and Victor as she turns to Shereen. “Get out of here and clean him up before I change my mind.”

I grab up a crying Victor, wrapping his arm around my neck as I drag him quickly off the dais. Shereen’s cries for help echo behind me as I move toward the door.

“Get her back up on that altar,” Sister Jane instructs. “Let’s make sure those fingers never play with fire again.”

TORRENT

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