Fear the Wicked (Illusions Series Book 2)(80)
I dropped down on one knee so I could look directly in her face. “Joshua’s not lying to you, Sedra. My name isn’t Elijah. It’s Jacob. Hell, even Elijah’s name isn’t Elijah. When we were young, he went by the name Jericho.”
She spit in my direction. “I haven’t done anything to deserve this! Why are you lying to me again! I’ve done everything you asked. You freed me of the last demon. Why are you doing this to me?”
Shaking my head, I knew there was nothing either one of us could say or do to convince her. She had to see it for herself. Had to see that there were two of us. The only way to accomplish that would be to have her present while I confronted by brother, but I didn’t like the thought of taking her along. Perhaps the benefits would outweigh the danger, because until she saw it, Sedra would always believe the lies he’d fed her while creating the perfect submissive.
“I’m sorry, Sedra. I really am. Not only for what my brother has done to you but for what I did to you myself. I took advantage and I lost control by being with you when you believed I was someone else. But I’m not taking advantage of you now. I’m ending this entire thing, once and for all. You’ll understand some day. Or, at least I hope you will.”
“She will,” Joshua responded. “If I have to spend the rest of my life convincing her that she’s been lied to, than that’s what I’ll do. I won’t let her continue loving a man who only hurt her and used her.”
In truth, he could have been talking about both Elijah and me. It had been wrong of me to have sex with her. It was wrong of me now to still want her despite everything that happened. But I couldn’t help it. There was just something about her that called out to the darkness inside me that begged to devour her.
“I’m sorry,” I said again before forcing myself to my feet.
Pacing the floor of the cabin, I thought about the stash of guns and ammo I had stored in the truck. It would have been enough for the bastards at the compound, but now that I knew the Sherriff was under Elijah’s thumb, how the fuck was I going to compete against that? After they discovered that Sedra was missing, he’d have every deputy out looking for me with the specific instruction to gun me down on sight. I had to take some time to think of a plan that would not only bring an end to my brother’s cult, but also keep Sedra and her brother out of harm’s way. I couldn’t blame the guy for having been fooled by Elijah for such a long time and I was thankful to God and everything holy that he’d seen the truth before I’d arrived.
“We need to figure out what to do,” I finally said. “We can’t just take off and leave the town to Elijah. After seeing what he did to those children today, I know he’ll end up killing them all.”
Joshua nodded his head in understanding. “But how? He has everybody believing that they’re fighting some holy war against demons. The entire town, Jacob. There’s no way the two of us can take that on and hope to win. The compound alone has a small arsenal and every one of the men know how to use those guns. I say we just take off and hope for the best.”
My teeth ground together as I thought up a plan of attack. Elijah may have the county sheriff on his side, but that didn’t mean he had influence over the state police or the federal authorities. I could call in the fucking Army if that’s what it would take to bring the son of bitch down.
On my way into town, I’d bought a cheap cell phone just in case I needed to get in touch with anybody outside of the state. Thankful for having thought to do so, I realized there was one person I could call for help, somebody with enough influence to make people in power realize they had one hell of a problem on their hands.
Stepping toward the door, I turned back to Joshua before running outside. “Do me a favor and keep Sedra inside. I think I know who I can call to help.”
Stepping outside, I closed the door behind me and marched to my truck to retrieve the phone. I also grabbed a business card that was given to me before leaving the city.
Nobody would believe me if I went to the cops and told them about a town that had turned into a cult, but I knew that if the right person called with enough influence and money, the state authorities would be sent out to raid the compound.
Dialing the number, I brought the phone to my ear and prayed someone would answer. When it stopped ringing and a familiar voice spoke, I felt some of the tension drain from my body.
“Father Timothy. This is Jacob Hayle. We need to talk.”
ELIJAH
I arrived at the compound about to explode from the rage that was a seething, rolling inferno inside me. Who the fuck thought they had the right to take Eve away from the parish without me? What son of a bitch was going to die for daring to touch something that was mine? I hoped it was one of the women, hoped like hell it hadn’t been some stupid brother that thought Eve could be touched by another male hand, but when I walked inside and questioned the family, they all looked at me with confusion behind their expressions, not one of them knowing where my wife had gone.
Richard had already walked the young girl to the cabin to assist her in the exorcism of the demon, so I was left alone to wander the compound and come to one conclusion. It wasn’t just Eve that was missing, I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her brother, Joshua, either.
Winding my way through the empty halls, I was in route to the men’s section with thoughts of murder echoing in my head. That stupid little fuck couldn’t possibly have made it far with Eve. I knew my wife well enough to know she would fight him the entire way as soon as she realized he wasn’t bringing her back. Joshua didn’t have a car, didn’t even know how to drive one if he did, so the only way he could escape would be on foot. He would have no clue where he was going either. I’d ensured that by keeping the family at the compound rather than allow them to travel freely around the county. I would find that son of a bitch and I would drag him back here by his damn eyelids so that he could answer for daring to act against me.