Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen, #3)(101)

I turned to see Judah watching me. And I saw real fear in his face. “Cain?” he tried to calm, palms high.

I cut him off. “You think this is okay? You think raping little kids while they scream, being ripped apart by f*cking old men, is okay?”

Judah eyes scanned the floor, staring absently at the burning incense and discarded devices, which kept the young girls’ legs apart. “It is the Lord’s way. It is one of our most fundamental beliefs. The men, the men need this. It is part of our faith.”

As I regarded Judah, my jaw clenched and, sweeping an arm over the scene, I proclaimed, "I am the prophet. And as such, I will be changing our practices. Starting with this.”

I turned, intending to leave, when Judah reached out and grabbed my arm. I whipped back round. With a hard face, Judah asserted, “The brothers will not accept such a change. Not even from you.”

With genuine incredulity, I stared at my twin brother and pointedly asked, “Are all the men here f*cking pedophiles? Are they here in our commune for God and their souls’ salvation, or to f*ck young girls?”

Judah staggered back. He shook his head. “Those men. The evil men you lived with for five years. They have corrupted your beliefs. Look at how you are acting. Hear how you are speaking! Hear the sinful words slipping from your lips!”

“I am nothing like them. But hear this; as f*cked up as they are, as evil as their actions may be, they do not f*ck innocent children!” I stepped back, and said quietly, “How am I alone in seeing this?”

“They infected your soul,” Judah snapped.

Laughing without humor, I pointed at his face, and said, “No, brother. What you don’t understand is that I f*cking hate those men. I want them destroyed as much as you. They sin, they whore, and they disregard God’s laws day in and day out. But what living with them did give me is f*cking context. You never left our childhood home, Judah, not once. It was me. It was me who lived in the outside world for five years, and as much as I hated every f*cking second of being in that hell, it has convinced me that these f*cked up sessions are wrong. Maybe if you had been the one sent on that mission, you would not be standing here like a pedophilic fool, defending the indefensible!”

Needing to get the hell out of this stifling place, I made for the door, when Judah announced, “You have lost our faith, Cain. You have been corrupted. You do not deserve the prestigious mantle of leading our people, not acting like this.”

I stopped dead, and turned round to warn, “Careful, brother, that sounds dangerously like treason. And treason against the prophet is punishable by imprisonment.”

Judah’s face turned ashen and, face tight, he fled from the room. I raced back to my mansion, and into my office. I began poring over the scriptures, set on creating my own version.

I worked for hours, deciphering and burning old, often unintelligible, revelations by my Uncle David from his later life. I purged the practices that so offended, and I put pen to paper, creating new laws and practices that wouldn’t jeopardize the innocence of our children.

I work so hard that the moon fell, giving way to the lightening sky of a new day. I worked so hard that I fell asleep at my desk, pen still in hand…

Suddenly, a blow to the back of my head ripped me from sleep. My eyes stung with the pain of the strike, and my vision blurred. I turned to fight off my attacker, when a sack was pulled over my head, plunging me into darkness. I fought to get free, but tight ties were wrapped around my arms and feet. I was picked up, many hands holding my arms and legs. And I was ripped from my home into the cold dawn air.

As a light breeze whipped through my tunic and pants, I heard the unlocking of a door, and the echo of feet pounding on stone floors.

I tried again to get free, I tried to loosen my ties, but they were too tightly bound. I breathed hard as the opening of another door sounded out. Then pain racked my body as I was tossed onto a hard floor, the impact causing my head to crack against a hard wall.

Shuffling sounds surrounded me, then the sack was roughly lifted from my head. I blinked against the hard bright light. As I focused, I saw four gray stone walls, the smell of damp and sweat filling my nose.

Then I looked up. Looked up to find Judah and Brother Luke, along with two other disciples dressed in black, all peering down at me.

Judah was staring down at me as though I were a stranger. “Release me, now!” I snapped. My head throbbed at the blows I had taken. When my twin did not react, I fought against the restraints, then snarled, “As your prophet, I demand that you release me!” Nobody moved, until suddenly, they turned to leave.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I thundered, “Judah!”

My twin stilled, and walking back into the cell to stand at my feet, he said, “You, Judah, brother of the prophet.” He pointed at my face and my eyes widened at his words. “You are charged with treason against The Order. You are to be incarcerated in this cell until I decide your punishment.”

He turned to leave, when I again screamed, “You can’t do this! JUDAH!!!”

Judah froze in his steps, and turning to me, he shook his head. “No, brother. You, are Judah.” He reached up and pulled his long brown hair from its band, the long brown strands falling down his back in the style I, as the prophet, always wore. “I am Prophet Cain. I am the destined Prophet of The Order. And I have a holy war to prepare for.”