Page 58 of Prodigal Son

Cain frowned. “Do you think it’s some sort of abnormality in our bloodline?”

“I think it is God’s will.”

Cain struggled to understand a God that would cause such suffering. “How long after Uncle Isaiah’s ominous prophecy was he called?”

“More than a decade had passed. I believe he knew before it happened. I found him in the barn one afternoon, sharpening a metal rod. He later impaled himself.”

“Intentionally.”

“Yes, but my brother was strong and the wound kept healing. He was distraught. He asked if I planned to permit your mother and father’s marriage, and I told him I would. He warned that Jonas was not your mother’s true mate and great heartache would come.”

“Why didn’t you stop the union?” Of course, had his parents not married, Cain and his siblings would not exist, so he was grateful the marriage was permitted, but confused by the logic nonetheless.

“Isaiah said there was no stopping it. Your mother and father were in love and would marry one way or another. He saw you and the others—three sons and two daughters.”

“Three sons?”

His grandfather grinned and nodded. “Perhaps now that Jonas has faced his calling and dealt with the matter, this babe will survive. Your mother has suffered so much loss.”

“I hope so.”

Ezekiel caught his arm and they stopped walking. “Your father hindered fate, Cain. Every choice we make carries a consequence. Isaiah saw something that day that scared him close to death. When he tried, again, to injure himself, I fought him.”

“Did you win?”

“There are no winners when violence is chosen. An oil lamp was kicked over and flames the size of ten men engulfed the barn. Isaiah begged me to leave him there to die, but I could not.” He gripped Cain’s arm and looked at him with solemn eyes. “I’ll never forget what he said to me as I wrestled him through the clouds of black smoke.”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘It is better that I die here tonight than live to sacrifice a hundred innocent souls.’”

“The others.”

“Yes. He knew what would come of him. He made me promise I wouldn’t wait too long, that I wouldn’t hesitate to end him, but in the end…”

“He was your brother.”

His grandfather turned his head in shame. “I waited too long. When we finally found him in the woods, the stench of blood and decay was suffocating. I thought there was still hope. If we could find his mate and possibly sedate Isaiah. But it was too late. My brother was gone. The moment he saw us, he fell into a rage. I hesitated and he nearly killed me. I was nothing to him. His mind and memories and all that we shared was gone.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Cain knew the story of the day The Elders tried to hunt his uncle.

“Because I want you to understand that there is no bringing my brother back. I appreciate everything you said at the meeting tonight, but my brother is not in those woods. A monster is out there, and Isaiah was no monster. He was kind and good, and that is how I intend to remember him.”

“You don’t want them to bring him back here?”

“If bringing him here serves a purpose without endangering The Order, so be it. But do not expect me to celebrate his return. I grieved my brother many years ago, and I only want to move on in peace now.”

They had reached his grandfather’s gate. “I can talk to Eleazar and tell them not to bring him here.”

“God will guide them to do what is best. I appreciate you walking with me.”

Cain stood by the gate as his grandfather walked the path to the door. He wasn’t like the others. He didn’t feel a connection to God or sense when he was being guided.

“Sleep well, Cain.”

“You as well, Grandfather.”

As Cain walked home, he considered the situation in the woods and what the band of brothers would face. He wished he could go with them, but his vow to Annalise kept him honor bound to the farm. Isaiah was a grave threat, a danger to anyone who approached him. The others were a danger as well. They would die protecting their sire, and kill for him as well.

---