Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(90)

Hector's head swiveled over to Xander and his eyes narrowed on him. The crowd all shifted nervously, glancing between Xander and Hector.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it again. If I said something, I'd likely make this worse for all three of us. Every muscle in my body was tensed for fight, and my brain started working out the path I'd take to Eden and how quickly I could get there.
Hector leaned forward casually on the podium. "Xander Garen," he said, pushing his now overly long hair out of his eyes. "Where is this necklace?"
Xander hesitated. "I'll go retrieve it for you, Father."
"No, I'll send someone to retrieve it. Tell me where it is."
Oh no.
I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them, looking down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Xander open his mouth and then close it again. He was stuck.
"The truth is, Father, I couldn't explain it exactly. I'd need to accompany the person."
Hector stared at Xander with narrowed eyes and I held my breath. "Very well," he finally said and I exhaled. Maybe if Xander went along, he'd have time to push the other items out of the way. Something. Anything. If not, we'd be back to square one. I felt like I might vomit.
"Clive," Hector barked, "escort the boy to retrieve your stolen property."
I dared to glance at Eden and her face was blanched of all color, her expression shocked. I looked away.
Clive walked to Xander slowly, took him by the arm, and they exited the Temple as my heart rate tripled. My mind raced, too, trying to figure out what I could do. I looked back up at the stage and Hector's hand was still on Eden. If I ran after Xander, making a spectacle of my disobedience, I'd be leaving Eden alone with Hector. Would he do something to her to punish me? Something had come unhinged in his mind. I didn't even want to consider what it might be.
Hector stood with Eden at his podium, finishing his sermon, although what I focused on sounded disjointed and Hector stumbled over his own words several times. Eden stared down at the floor, the color barely returning to her face.
What seemed like a lifetime later, but in reality was probably only twenty minutes or so, Hector began the final prayer. When we all filtered out, I noticed people looking at others with questioning expressions on their faces. Everyone knew something was happening in Acadia that no one could exactly explain. And everyone was uneasy.
Suddenly, the sight of Xander, kneeling on the ground with his hands tied around a post came into view. Clive Richter stood behind him, a long cord in his hands. My entire body tensed and I didn't even have time to consider before I started running toward them. "Grab him!" I heard Hector yell and somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I heard Eden scream.
Strong arms grabbed me from the side and pulled me back, and as I turned to fight the person off me, someone else grabbed me from the side. Council members, Garrett Shipley and Ken Wahl, held me as the first whip crack sounded. It enraged me, sending adrenaline coursing through my system. I elbowed Ken in the face and then used my free arm to punch Garrett, sending blood spraying as he yelped and brought his hands up to his broken nose. As they both let go of me, I ran forward again.
"Stop, Calder," Xander yelled. Reluctantly, I stopped in my tracks. His head was hanging and his jaw was tight, but he widened his eyes and shook his head, instructing me to stay back. I didn't know what to do. Everything in my body was screaming at me to fight for my friend, but he was asking me not to. I brought my hands up into my hair and raked my fingers across my scalp, wanting to roar with anger.
Garrett and Ken came up behind me and grabbed my arms again. I didn't resist, didn't look at them.
Clive brought the whip back and let it fly again and this time I watched as it hit Xander's naked back, opening his skin in a long, raw, red line. Xander jerked, but remained quiet. Oh, Xander. My brother, my friend. I grimaced, closing my eyes briefly.
Clive brought the whip back again, the expression on his face filled with some sort of disgusting glee, and let it fly, creating a third welt on Xander's flesh.
Two more times the whip flew and two more times Xander jerked but didn't utter a sound.
"That's enough, Clive," Hector called. Clive looked over at him, seeming to come back to himself, his chest rising and falling in heavy pants. "I think justice has been served for the thievery. Did you get your chain back? Do you feel vindicated?"
Clive seemed to consider the question, looking back at Xander who was hunched over, his back a mess of blood and open wounds. "Yes," he said, dropping the whip on the ground and turning to walk back toward the main lodge.
Hector nodded over at Garrett and Ken. "Let him go. I think this served as a lesson to him, too. You can accompany your friend to the sick tent." I heard women crying around me, but I didn't turn to look at anyone in the crowd.