Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(61)
The man was twitching where he stood, scratching at himself some more as he struggled to bring his eyes into focus. Oh well. He probably didn’t comprehend a damn word I was saying at this point, and there was no bother wasting my breath.
“I guess I should get back out there and see what the sheriff is doing. It’s getting late and I’m sure he wants to get home and go to bed. Do you feel like I’ve saved your soul in here, son? Do you feel like you can walk out into the world and be a better man for the prayers we’ve spoken together?”
He didn’t answer immediately, but took the hint when I winked.
“Ah. I get you now. You’re going to help me out by telling the sheriff I’m a saved man.” Laughter bubbled from his lips, the movement of his shoulders shaking the hair loose from where he’d tucked it behind his ears. “Thanks, man, that’ll really help. I guess you’re not lying to me after all. You really are a sick bastard like me.”
I winked again. “Actually, I’m not like you, I’m a lot more polished in my games.” Pushing off from the wall, I stretched my back and neck before turning to approach the door.
“Hey, buddy. I just wanted to say thanks again. You know, before the sheriff is close enough to hear us.”
My hand gripped over the handle to the door and without turning to him, I asked, “Thank me for what?”
“For helping me out.”
My shoulders shook with laughter. “I hate to tell you this, friend, but I’m not sure you’ll like what my help looks like.” Glancing at him, I smiled and said, “Because the truth is you won’t live to see tomorrow.”
I laughed again and turned back to open the door. Before stepping out I added, “May God have mercy on your soul.”
EVE
After eating the soup that Elijah had fed me, I felt better than I had in days. I understood the tea was supposed to settle my churning stomach, but it never did, despite the assurances both Richard and Elijah had given me. My head always felt fuzzy and I couldn’t sleep when I needed to, couldn’t wake up when I was walked outside for exercise. All I wanted to do was lie in bed and wait for my husband to come back to me.
I hated that he spent so much time at the parish without me, but he was back now, and he’d promised to relieve me of the final bit of this demon that plagued my body. I believed him, believed he had the power to deliver me to the divine like he claimed. I know he wanted me to sleep after walking from my room, but the food had warmed me and given me energy. Knowing he would return tonight to our bed, I wanted to be ready for him even when I was so thin I didn’t feel beautiful. So, after he left, I jumped in a shower and scrubbed away the dirt and grime I always felt all over me. I’d crawled back in bed and grabbed the Bible hoping the words given to us by the Heavenly Father would soothe me until he returned.
Not much time had passed before the door popped open and a familiar face peeked through. The smile that stretched my lips made my cheeks hurt for how brilliant it was. “Joshua.”
I hadn’t spent much time with my brother since marrying Elijah, and for the week I spent at the parish after running away, I’d feared he would have been killed for running me off on the night of the ceremony. However, Elijah promised me that no harm would ever come to my family – he loved me too much to let that happen – and he feared the same evil attacking me had gone after my brother. He told me that the men had prayed together night and day, and that my brother hadn’t been infected as badly as me as a result. And now, here he was, fresh faced and handsome, visiting me while my husband was away.
“Come in,” I said, excited and laughing, the motion of my body from the sound causing a small ache to spread across my bones. It didn’t matter. Not with Joshua here, not with my life returning to normal.
It wasn’t that I disliked the parish and the time I’d had alone with Elijah, it was simply that I had always felt so unwanted and alone.
“Hey, Eve. How are you feeling?”
He walked across the room on unhurried steps, his broad shoulders and chest covered by the white button up shirt all the men wore. His brown hair had grown out so that it dusted his shoulders. I liked the way the longer hair looked on him. It perfectly framed his face and highlighted his cheekbones and square jaw. With eyes as green as mine, he sat beside me, the light of the room glimmering against those emerald orbs.
“I’m better now that Elijah is back. I missed him so much.”
“I know.”
I’m sure I looked sickly, that my skin was still pale and my bones protruded so much they pressed against the skin, but I would improve once Elijah was finished pulling the sin from my body and replacing it with his love. He was too powerful, even for Satan himself, and in the coming days I knew he’d make good on his promise to heal me and protect me always.
“I was able to keep down food, for once. I feel like it’s been weeks since I last ate.”
Joshua’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, and if I wasn’t mistaken, a bare hint of guilt flickered behind his gaze. Reaching out, he took my hand in his, the warmth of his skin sinking into my own. The cold hadn’t bothered me until it was obvious in contrast to him.
“I’ve been thinking,” he murmured, his voice soft, but not a whisper. It was gentle, like the way a person would talk during a lazy spring day spent enjoying company beneath the warmth of the afternoon sun. “I’d like to take you on a trip in the next couple of days, just some brother and sister time. We haven’t had that in a while and I feel like we’re falling too far apart, that if we don’t make more time for each other, we’ll end up as strangers. Mom and Dad miss you, too, but they’ve been keeping their distance, giving you time to get to know your new husband.”