Page 38 of Prodigal Son

Destiny ripped the book out of Cain’s hand and threw it at his chest. “Are you listening to me? I. Want. To. Leave.”

“Enough!” Eleazar snapped. “I want her gone as well. She is not to return. Do we have an understanding, Cain?”

“No problem. I just need some assistance correcting the facts for her and she can be on her way. She’s a reporter for the English news, and we don’t want her spreading rumors about us or what she might have seen in the woods.”

“I’ll handle her.” The bishop turned toward the mortal.

Destiny’s anger shifted to fear. “Wait!” She backed into the corner and held out her hands. A stream of foreign words spilled from her lips before she switched back to a heavily accented English. “I just want to go home! I don’t want any trouble! You can’t keep me here! I have rights! Don’t do this—”

“Stop talking.” The moment the command left Eleazar’s mouth she fell silent.

She tried to make a sound, but failed and her hysteria doubled. Her dark brown eyes welled with tears of panic and frustration as she looked to Cain, her face a desperate plea that he intervene.

“Not very nice, bishop,” Cain reprimanded, knowing there were ways to calm mortals when compelling them.

Eleazar pinched the bridge of his nose. “I find the English utterly exhausting.”

“You could at least relax her nervous system.”

Destiny snatched the book off the floor and flipped rapidly through the pages. She slammed it down and formed a half circle with her right hand and tapped it over her heart. They all frowned at her.

“What is she doing?” Larissa asked.

Cain leaned forward and turned the book then looked back at Destiny. “She wants us to call the police.” He sighed and gave her back the book and then in a raised voice said, “No police.”

“Let the poor woman speak, Eleazar. You’re being cruel. The both of you.”

The bishop once again gave into his wife, restoring Destiny’s voice, and they all flinched at the shrill screeching of threats that followed.

“You’re all crazy! What the fuck is happening? How are you doing that? Don’t come near me! Help! Somebody, help me!” Frantic, she ran toward the door. “Let me out of here!”

The bishop caught her shoulder with a gentle hand and said in a soothing voice, “Calma mulher.”

Destiny stilled, her frenzy subdued as her eyes glazed with an unfocused stare.

“It will be more merciful my way, my lioness. Trust me.” The bishop turned Destiny’s shoulders so she faced Cain. “She thinks in Portuguese. I suspect that’s why you can’t compel her. But she is controllable, I assure you. See how docile she is now?”

Despite obedience being his goal, Cain didn’t like seeing Destiny’s eyes so vacant. He didn’t like knowing the bishop, or any immortal who spoke her native language, could have such control over her. He waved a hand in front of her face. “She’s completely non-responsive. Is that necessary?”

“At this point, the simplest solution is necessary.” Eleazar looked into her eyes and spoke softly.

“Quando você said daqui, você vai esquecer o que viu. Vai esquecer as pessaos e essa. Você vai esquecer o que viu na Floresta.”

Cain took a protective step forward, but Larissa caught his arm. Without knowing what the bishop said, he found it difficult to trust him. He owed Destiny nothing, but he’d witnessed her fear and she’d suffered enough in the woods. He didn’t want to see her unnecessarily punished.

The bishop stepped back. “She will obey now.”

Cain scowled. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her you were a man of the law and you were going to escort her home. Come dawn, she will have no memory of you or this place. She will only recall a nasty fall in the woods and believe that a doctor tended her wounds. I’ve also left an impulse to avoid the woods.”

“How am I supposed to lead her home when I don’t know where she lives?”

“I was able to extract her address with a few other details.”

Cain didn’t like the idea of leaving her in this condition for more than a few minutes. “Release her. I can get her to calm down and follow me without taking away her free will.”

“You can’t, and I won’t. My decision is not up for debate, Cain. Her address wasn’t the only memory I saw. I know what happened in the woods. This mortal is not a friend of ours.”

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