by Kim Faulks
My nails buckled against the concrete, knees scraped as I crawled.
“I knew He’d show me the way…knew my faith would be strong. I’ve waited for you for a long time, Harlow. And now you’re finally here.”
My gut tightened, shooting acid into the back of my throat. The shit seared and stung as I turned to face him when he stepped out into the light.
His black shirt was smeared with dirt and mud. Dark blotches marred the fabric in an arc, and it was only when I froze at the white clerical collar and the mottled dark red flecks that I understood what it was.
It was blood.
“Do you know who I am?” He took a step closer, towering over me.
My heels skimmed the concrete, shoving…pushing—driving me further into the light as he moved closer and smiled. “I’m the Priest…and I’ve come to set you free.”
16
His scruffy beard barely hid pockmarked, greasy skin.
But it did nothing to hide dark, beady eyes.
Eyes that were fixed on me.
I punched the ground with the heel of my hand and shoved with my boot. A slow, warm trickle slipped into my eye. I blinked and felt the sting. Wet lashes stuck together as the heady, metallic scent of my own blood filled my nose.
“I waited for a sign…waited for so long. I thought He left. But He could never leave…not me. He’d never abandon one of his flock.”
Madness raged in his eyes, between the filthy strands of his beard, slimy yellowed teeth peeked.
My stomach clenched as he smiled. Desperation roared louder than The Mighty’s truck at full speed. Steel glistened with fresh blood as he raised his arm and sang, “And now, we begin.”
I cowered, and then lunged, scrambling out of the path. The weapon swung wide, snaring strands of my hair. My head jerked backwards, fire lashed my scalp as I drove my boot against the ground and scrambled to my knees, and then to my feet.
Agony tore along my side, making me weak…making me whimper.
I scurried as the fighter in me roared, shoving against the doorframe to get back outside.
Screams ripped through the air. Mine, his…and someone else’s…but the deafening pulse in my head drowned out the sound.
“Repent!” he screamed. “Repent to ME!”
The hard thump to the back of my head pitched me forward. I swung my fist blindly through the air as shadows descended.
Sparks flared behind my eyes, flashes so bright they were blinding. “Get away from me!”
Words burned like acid along my throat as he closed in. He shook his head, lifted the stainless-steel spanner, and smiled. “I’m here to save you, Harlow…there’s nowhere you can run.”
Cracked lips curled, crusted yellow teeth showed. He was madness…he was suffering. He was every nightmare rolled into one. I stumbled backwards, tripped on the long grass. My hands shot into the air, swinging wide as he closed the distance.
One hard push and I toppled. I hit the ground hard, rolled, and then shoved to my hands and knees as another blow caught my head.
“There’s no escaping,” he growled, as my eyes darkened. “Not from God, and not me.”
I clawed dirt and grass, pulling myself forward inch by inch. But night was coming, faster than I could hold it at bay, and, in the end, I couldn’t fight anymore.
Darkness opened its welcoming arms. My hands slipped, face pressed into the mud. The faint sound of footsteps came to me, and, before I finally succumbed, I felt the hard brush of his hand against my back, and the whisper of his words. “You’ll be good for me, won’t you?”
***
A whimper tore free in the dark, and a hard rasp followed. There was a burning in my chest, one that stilled my breath.
And so the cycle continued…whimper, breathe…pain.
The screech of metal on metal made me flinch. In the darkness, hands touched me, pulling a blanket higher, before they were gone. I drifted back to sleep.
In my dreams they waited, riding in on their horses—ready to change the world. They were everything we needed…everything I needed.
Hope, salvation.
And life.
Even in Death there was life.
But when I woke, the dark world raged around me. I lost track of time, lost track of myself. The gnawing hunger that ravaged my thigh slowly quietened, and in its place came the shudders.
“I want you to tell me about them.”
I flinched at the voice. Didn’t know he was there.
Didn’t know anything.
“I don’t blame you. Even Judas dressed in disguise. But together…and I mean together, Harlow, we can overcome them. We can cleanse this earth of all wrong doing.”
I shook my head and tried to speak. But there was no sound, nothing more than a burning hiss. “You’re wrong.”
“What was that?” He was nothing more than a voice in the dark. “I’m never wrong, Harlow…never wrong. Our Lord…our Savior lead you to me…and others…”
Need raged, burning deeper than sickness ever could. The darkness spun out of control as I rolled. My hands trembled as I tried to shove upward. Wire cut into my hip and my thigh. I gently lifted my hand, fingers dancing in the dark, and reached.
And hit wire. My fingers buckled. Knuckles grazed rust. The twang raced, sending the quake in front of me, and then overhead.
“It’s for your protection, Harlow. You understand that, right? Everything I do, I do with you in mind.”
Terror tore free. “What did you do to me…let me out! Let me out of here!”
There was a scrape and then a scuff. Shapes blurred, rising in front of me. This beast with a white collar was Judas…he was the one who’d come to destroy it all. “You’re wrong. Even Judas thought he was doing the right thing. But in the end, he didn’t just lose faith, he lost himself.”
Movement rushed. He hit the cage with a bang, eyes flared wide, until all I could see where the whites. They glowed like the light at the end of a tunnel.
Hold on, that voice whispered inside.
Hold on, Harlow.
The shadow slowly straightened. Goosebumps raced up my arms. The darkness had an energy of its own now…a hunger that hadn’t been there a second before.
“I can see you’ve lost your way, Harlow. But that’s okay. I’ve been sent to guide you back.”
My heart thundered, fingers speared through rusted wire as he bent at the cage. The grind and twang echoed, something heavy unlocked with a snap.
No…no….no, don’t do this!
Screams rebounded inside my head as I gripped the cage and held tight. He jerked and pulled. My fingers burned, muscles howled. My bones shook until I couldn’t hold against his strength any more and, with one massive heave, the door swung free.
“I told you who I was. I told you why I was here, and yet you don’t believe me. You test my faith.”
The darkness blurred with the shake of my head. Fingers curled around the wire, desperate to hold on, I cried, “Please…please. I believe you…I believe anything you say.”
“The words of a lie indeed. But it’s okay, Harlow…it’s okay.”
My legs refused to work as he reached for me. Dark shadows blurred until something jerked my head.
He had my hair. Long strands pulled taut under his grasp, and fire followed, singeing and searing along my scalp. But the door to the cage was open.
I pushed forward and hit the ground. My legs were numb and heavy, like blocks of wood on the end of my body. My palms hit the concrete floor and shoved.
But there was no running, no sprinting for help. My hands pulled, feet dragged like stones. There was only crawling and crying.
Only weakness, and pain.
“I didn’t blame you. I never blamed you. You’re just a pawn in their game.”
He growled above me. Still I strained and pulled, dragging the dead weight of my feet higher, and tried to shove.
“But I think it’s time we got down to business…the business of being saved
.”
The splash of water hit the back of my head. Footsteps followed as I searched for the door.
There was a faint crack of light in the distance as the thunderous sound of hooves filled my head.
They were here…they were with me. They were all with me.
I was pushed, shoved, rolled onto my back. Metal snapped around one wrist. I fought with the other, clawed and screamed.
But there was only fire. Only the rage as agony tore along my body.
My movements slowed, my hands refused to work now as shudders ravaged my body.
“You’re sick,” he murmured. “You know he’ll come for you, right? Death…he’ll come.”
The ratchet of handcuffs filled my ears. I couldn’t move now…couldn’t crawl. I could only look at that crack of light before I was jerked and dragged along the floor.
“But that’s okay. Because I’ve been waiting…I’m fully prepared.”
The steel cuffs bit into my wrists as he snapped my arms taut. My neck buckled, chin smashed against my chest as he jerked and heaved, dragging me along.
Until he dropped the cuffs and my hands hit the floor.
“This is for your own good,” he whispered as he moved around the room. “You might not think it now. But I’m the only chance you have.”
Boots scuffed against the ground. I jerked, scanned the darkness, and tried to move. “Don’t do this. Please, whatever you want, I’ll give you!”
He gripped my arms and twisted until I rolled onto my belly. Something heavy hit my spine as he answered, “You have nothing left, Harlow…nothing but your corrupted soul.”
The tearing of cloth filled my ears before something sliced the air. My body jerked with the lash, the sting tearing along my back. I screamed into the darkness. Screamed and screamed as the whip bit once more.
“I have a purpose!” he howled, and then grunted.
Fire burned, carving through flesh and into bone. I jerked and shuddered, dragging my knees to my chest.
“This time…this Godforsaken time…they will not escape me!”
And as the lash cut once more, images filled my mind.
Thick, pale scars that marred perfect skin.
“They won’t escape me,” he grunted and swung.
The cry ripped from my lips as my body jerked.
Scars that cut jagged lines across their backs…scars left from a whip.
17
The real me had been tucked away somewhere. Down here in the dark, where the pain didn’t reach.
I sank down….down…down. Until the hoarse roar of my screams faded into nothing.
And in the darkest depths was a flicker of light. A light so pure I floated toward it. Warmth washed over me. The glimmer was loving arms wrapped tight. And that glow held me there, rocking, and soothing, whispering words I couldn’t quite make out into my ear.
I cracked open my eyes to the dark and stared into nothing, the sharp squeal of the cage a haunting reminder of where I was.
“You can’t provoke him,” a woman murmured. “Never provoke him.”
Careful fingers peeled the remains of my shirt from my shoulders and shone a light in my eyes. I flinched with the glare, squeezed my lids closed, and tried to find a voice. “Water.”
Something cold against my lips, my head cradled by unseen hands. I opened my mouth and the icy rush slipped in, soothing the fire in my throat. I swallowed and coughed until my belly clenched.
“Momma?” The familiar voice cut through the dark.
“She’s alive,” the woman answered…”Just.”
He was waiting for me. The Light. The Brilliance. The One with welcoming arms, and I was ready.
Ready to see my Dad, and Sarah.
“He’s a good man,” the woman whispered and lowered the cup. “You’ll see. He’s a real good man.”
I was ready to see Mom.
Mom with her slow smile that warmed me faster than an open fire. Mom with the voice of an angel.
“You’ll see,” the woman whispered. “He was good to me…at first. Good until Nat came along. He understood me. He believed me when no one else would. Everyone thought I was crazy, or a liar. But I wasn’t no liar.”
Her fingers tangled in my hair. I turned from her touch. I turned from her. Still, her voice slipped through the cracks.
“You see, I was touched by no man when I had my first child. Not even a pat on the behind, or a peck on the cheek. I was a virgin, even the doctors didn’t know how, and I was scared. I didn’t know what to do.”
She had me now. I opened my eyes and stared into nothing while her hand rested against my face.
“I was only a kid myself…and yet my belly swelled and kicked and bucked. I tried to hide it, saying I was getting fat, instead. Until the pains came. Pains so terrible I screamed and screamed and walked into that hospital.”
I wanted to care about her. Wanted to feel something more than this emptiness.
“And when the doctors broke my hymen and then my water, I knew it’d been for a reason. And when they told me to push, I pushed. I pushed and screamed for hours and hours…until I had no more push left. They told me the baby wasn’t going to make it. Too tired, they said.”
A pang of hurt cut across my chest. I could see Mom and Sarah in that moment, see the pain and the sacrifice.
“But I never gave up. I never gave up. Not then…and not ever. I found a strength I never knew I possessed, and I tried once more. God was with me in that room. God with his whispers and love. His words filled my ears, and he told me what I had to do.”
Concrete grazed my ears, bending them backwards as I found the faint outline of her face in the dark. The flare of a match filled the air before the soft orange flame of a candle shone bright.
The woman turned her face toward me, and the sight was a punch to the gut.
Dark hair, dark eyes stared back at me as she continued.
“He told me where to leave you. Told me what to do, said you’d be safe. Said he’d protect you.”
No. No, that wasn’t right. My Mom was dead. Dead.
“And I’ve been waiting every day for you to come back to me.”
My heart sped with the sound. It thundered like a stampede in my ears.
Like horses, riding toward me.
We’re coming, War’s voice echoed in my head. Hold on, Harlow, we’re coming.
“But with every great gift,” she murmured and lifted her hand, “there must be sacrifice.”
Steel glinted, flaring in the candlelight.
“I always loved you, even though you were never mine.”
She thrust the blade toward her belly and gave a jerk.
“Momma!” Nat screamed. “Momma, NO!”
But there was no fighting, only falling, as the woman slumped at my feet.
A whisper moved in, lips moving, over and over, drawing me closer.
“You have always belonged to Him, but now you are theirs.”
And as the steel cage twanged and the door was thrown open wide, the woman at my feet gave one long hiss and fell silent.
Also by Kim Faulks
A Human, a Hellhound, and an Archangel walk into a bar.
Sounds like the first line to a joke, right?
Only it's no joke…it's my damned life.
Witches are running riot.
Shifters are on the hunt.
Demons are eating humans.
There's a new drug on the street. Sigil is dark and deadly…to the paranormal kind, opening up their second sight, urging them to maim, torture and kill.
And the bodies are piling up.
For me it's an opportunity to get off The Circle's sh*t list and back in the black, because the Circle's Paranormal First Response Squad is more than my job, it's my legacy.
So here I am scoping out the only known distribution site, a Hellraising bar called Wicked, trying like Hell to keep my eyes off the Archangel who refuses my advances, and the Hellhound who wants me six ways to Sunday…
>
He's happy to share he says…and turns toward the Human, Inspector Titus Banks, and Archangel Gabriel and gives me a wink.
Oh my damn heart…this is gonna be a long ass night.
Hell really is a Harem.
*This is a dark reverse harem series. If you love your stories a little bloody with a whole lotta sass, bad language and hot as hell sex, then this book is for you.
Grab your copy today FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
