by Bane, Lucian
Bo stifled his sobs and gasped for breath.
“You’re my brother,” Sade yelled at him. “You’re my fucking blood, pain won’t kill you!”
He wailed lowly now. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, so sorry, I’m not strong.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Sade gasped, his voice shaking like he was the one sorry. “I’m your brother. I love you, I’m right here. I’m here with you,” he gasped then roared, “Nobody can take that from you!”
Abraham paused a moment, shaking his head. “Wow.” The skeleton eyes looked at Mercy. “Did you feel that? The power? In his words? I felt the foundation of hell shake with that!” He aimed the little tool at Sade. “You have so much potential Johnny, I knew that,” he hissed excitedly. “I think God is going to make a way to redeem you from your sins, I do,” he muttered softly, back to burning Bo again. “I know it hurts little lamb, I’m going as fast as I can.”
The nightmare proceeded in slow motion as Abraham chattered and burned Bo’s mile long incision closed. The sound of slow pouring liquid drew Mercy’s gaze and she began to cry when she realized Bo had peed.
“I’m sorry,” Bo wailed.
“Fucking nothing to be sorry for!” Sade yelled at him. “Piss all you fucking want, take a fucking shit if you need to man. Purgatory doesn’t care, do you Purgatory?”
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m rather impressed you haven’t yet, little lamb. Most would have by now.”
“Five more minutes,” Sade heaved. “That’s all you got, then you can rest, okay?” Mercy heard the restraint in Sade, heard the murder lacing each syllable and word. “Remember what we’ve been through, this is nothing.”
Bo was wailing now, sobbing without restraint. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” The hook swollen cheek made the words barely intelligible.
Sade’s body heaved and Mercy could feel his agony and fury building.
“Done!” Abraham announced like he’d just won the gold and they should all applaud him. “How do you feel? All clean? Like a new person?”
Bo’s head remained lowered before him, a steady fragile wail putting a dense rock in Mercy’s chest that she couldn’t breathe around.
“And now for our next lucky lamb.”
“Me,” Sade growled. “Me. Do me.”
The skeleton face angled at him for several moments as though thinking. Then it finally shook slowly. “Afraid not, Johnny. Seems like part of your purging requires you to go last.”
“Don’t do this. Don’t you fucking do her next, do me, just do me, you can make that decision.”
“I can’t,” he gasped. “If I could I would!” He went before Sade and knelt, his filthy large hands on his thighs. “Do you think this was a game to me? A cruel joke? Do you think I’m doing this because I get off to hurting people?” The squealed words reeked of hurt insult. “I’m not a monster, Johnny.” Mercy followed the sensual stroke of his hands on Sade. “I would very much like to give you what you want, I would. And I will. I promise. And when I do… I know you. I know that you…” the skull face lowered to Sade’s groin, “…are going to really like it.” He looked back up at Sade. “Don’t be ashamed.” He shook his head and ran his hands over Sade’s chest. “I know it makes your cock hard to have pain, it’s not your fault. It’s part of who you are now. But I can help cleanse you. I can help you be clean,” he whispered fervently. “You do want to be clean, don’t you, Johnny?”
Sade finally turned his head right and lowered it and Abraham stood and made his way before Mercy. She fought to remember her survival training but it came in erratic mixed up strands. She watched the skull face angle left for several seconds, then right, as though contemplating what to do.
“What are you going to do, talk to us,” Sade ordered.
“Shhhhh,” Abraham said, finger to skull lips. “The Spirit is speaking to me now about it. The fact that she belongs to my brother Kane makes her very special. Even though the blood relation isn’t there, the spiritual one is strong.” His body slowly began to move in sensual swaying, leading with his erection. “Ohhhh,” he said, sounding slowly shocked. “I think the Spirit wants to join us. My seed in Kane’s vessel.”
“You can’t do that!” Sade said, his voice trembling. “She belongs to another man.”
The skull face regarded Sade then her. “Always exceptions to rules, Johnny. The spirit takes precedence over the flesh.” He nodded more. “Yes, my seed in her body, a merging of two lights to become one.” He was stroking his penis now while Mercy latched on to hope. He’d have to undo her to manage that, wouldn’t he?
“Too bad I can’t take a chance on untying you. We’ll have to make do with her swallowing it.” He said it like they were all in agreement.
But the only thing Mercy could think about in that second was Sade’s mother, and what she’d done to that man. And whether or not she could manage to bite this motherfucker’s nasty penis clean off.
****
Sade’s hatred had reached lethal sadism. He saw seven different deaths in a blood red haze, seven different ways to make Abraham suffer long and brutally. “I have a confession!” Sade roared as Abraham approached Mercy. “I need to confess, Father. Please.” Sade gazed at the monster face frozen on him, giving his best remorseful and desperate act, praying that the psycho’s obvious fondness for him would make some kind of difference in his sick decision.
Abraham hurried to him and knelt down. “What is it my son,” he whispered, the lust in his tone causing Sade’s skin to tighten with repulsion.
“I can’t say it in front of them,” Sade whispered, lowering his head.
Abraham grabbed hold of Sade’s neck and pulled him so that his forehead pressed to his. “Tell me my son,” he whispered. “Say it quietly. What is in your heart? I’m listening.”
“I…” Sade hadn’t anticipated needing something to confess, he’d anticipated having a six-inch space to ram his forehead into his nose. But his sadism was not lacking ideas and another one presented itself eagerly. “I have to see you when I confess.”
Abraham yanked off the mask so quickly that Sade again lost the opportunity for a head butt. Forehead to forehead again, Sade lifted his head just a little so his lips could graze the bridge of Abraham’s nose. “I just… I want you. I want you first.” Sade leaned enough to press his lips against his cheekbone.
Abraham’s sour breath came warm and shaky on Sade’s mouth while his eager fingers massaged his neck. “Me too, I can’t wait to have you. Shhh. I’ll do her quickly.”
Sade turned his head an inch and opened his mouth, sliding it along his sticky face. Abraham gasped, letting him. “I want to taste you,” Sade said, opening his mouth more.
“Yes,” Abraham nearly whimpered, allowing Sade his way just long enough.
With the speed of a viper, Sade opened wide and bit as much of his fucking nose as he could. Abraham roared and adrenaline shot through Sade as he took orgasmic punches to his head. Bellowing in shock and pain, Abraham wrapped lethal fingers around his throat. Sade jerked his head right with a hungry roar, taking a large piece of his nose with him. Before the monster got too far, Sade rammed his forehead into Abraham’s and knocked him back. Murder burned a furious path through Sade as he ripped his feet free of the nails. He didn’t feel anything but the hunger to kill, fueled by Mercy and Bo’s screams to “Kill him! Kill him!”
Still tied to the chair, he spun to hit Abraham with it, only his legs refused to move the way he needed them to. The room spun as the floor raced up and slammed into his face.
“Move! Move!” Mercy screamed above Abraham’s insane roaring.
Sade tried to roll out of the way of what was coming, but the chair prevented any real movement. A large object rushed down and Sade managed to put the chair between him and what was coming. His body and brain jolted from the jarring hit and he blinked away the dizzy suddenly swimming in his head. The screaming pain in his shoulder and feet saved him from being sucked into darkness. He focused on it and
let it fuel his adrenaline—anything to keep him conscious.
“He’s coming! He’s coming!” Mercy screamed. “Move!”
Abraham had officially flipped and was a raging lunatic, throwing things, slamming them into the wall before clobbering Sade with any and everything.
Mercy let out an ear splitting painful scream just before she dove for Abraham. Panicked, Sade squirmed along the floor, managing to turn enough to see Abraham pick her up, chair and all.
“Noooooooo!” Sade roared as Abraham threw her into the wall.
Bo screamed and Sade watched in horror as Mercy hit the floor like a rag doll still tied to the chair.
“You made me, Johnny!” Abraham screeched, coming for him. He grabbed Sade by the head and threw him. Sade’s only thought while airborne was, please don’t let me land on Mercy. His head slammed into the wall and he fought for air as his vision tripled, making it look like three wide-eyed lunatics raced for him again.
“Me, me!” Bo screamed. “Come get me you fat bastard with your stupid fucking god! Your god is a whore bitch!”
Abraham spun with a roar and stormed to his little brother.
Sade fought to yell or move but managed only grunts and gasps as he watched the monster raise both hands in the air, clasped together like a fucking sledgehammer.
A vision of red crosshairs danced on the back of Abraham’s head like an angelic apparition. Sade’s heartbeat slowed in his ears as sounds faded in and out. It seemed like slow motion when blood and chunks exploded from Abraham’s head. Sade watched in a daze as the monster fell slowly backward onto the floor.
His line of sight blurred as the door banged open and the real Angel of Mercy raced in. His blood smeared face and terrified blue eyes were suddenly before him. “We’re leaving….”
Sade wanted to hear what else he said as he stared into that immaculate gaze. But darkness passed a soft hand over his mind and turned out the lights. Something about they were coming, and they needed to hurry.
Chapter Five
Sade’s eyes fluttered open constantly from the chatter coming and going in his head.
“I need you to wake up, Sade!”
He fought to wake up, turning his head. A face kept flashing toward him. Kane. Panicked Kane.
Sade jolted awake as the memory hit him. “Mercy!” he tried to say.
Kane put his palm on his chest. “Shhhh! She’s fine, Bo’s fine. Liberty has them in the back. We’re headed to a safe house. I need to know what you know, I need to know what’s happened.”
Sade’s vision crossed and he blinked and gasped as pain shot through his shoulder, head, and up from the soles of his feet. “Abraham,” he hissed.
“Abraham is dead. Was there anybody else besides the other man?”
Sade thought and shook his head. “I don’t… I don’t think so. Abraham… he’s…”
“Clinically insane. I tried to text you.”
Sade groaned and held onto the van door when Kane flew around a curve. Morning sunlight streamed through the passing trees and he squinted in pain. “I got it. The text. Too late.”
“What happened to Mercy?” he asked.
Sade shook his head, knowing exactly what her father wanted to know. “Nothing sexual. Thank God,” he barely managed. “Bo… Bo’s hurt.” A flash of Mercy hitting the wall jolted him forward again. “She’s hurt!” He fought with his seat belt, adrenaline turning him into a mad man. “He threw her into the fucking cement wall,” he gasped.
Kane grabbed his arm. “Stay put!” he yelled, startling Sade enough to make him stop. “She’s as fine as she can be, Liberty’s got her. She’s our best medic. I’m taking you to a safe house. It has supplies—everything you possibly need. Mercy’s strong.”
Sade covered his face with both hands, his body trembling. “Not that fucking strong,” he rasped, his chest suddenly too tight. He roared to get the pain out of him and a loud banging erupted on the metal door behind them.
“He’s upsetting her!” a voice yelled.
“She’s awake?” Kane nearly yelled back.
“Negative. Reflexive, please keep him calm!” she hollered.
Kane’s face was drawn in silent agony as he sped to wherever they were going. “This was my fault,” he whispered. “Thank God you were with her.”
Sade’s mouth tightened. Thank God he was with her? He caused all of this. Being who he was and daring to be with a fucking angel. “What’s going on, who’s after us?”
“I had to call in my old team.” Kane shook his head. “I tried, son. I tried to make a new life, I did. I was so close too. I mean I got one more move in this game and it’s such a fucking long shot but at this point, I don’t think it could go more wrong.”
Sade wanted to stop him right there and introduce him to his best buddy, Karma.
“You’ll hide at the safe house, heal there until I come with plan Z. All or nothing. What do you know about Abraham, I have to figure out how deep the shit is I’ve stepped in.”
Sade regarded him and let his head rest on the seat. “He mentioned people at the Vatican.”
Kane glanced at him several times, confused. “Vatican?” He checked all his mirrors then muttered, “I need every detail you have.”
“I don’t think he was with the Vatican. He thought of you as his brother.”
“Sick fuck. Everybody is family to him in some way or another.”
“He saw you as his equal, working for the same cause.”
Kane shot out a derisive laugh. “Did he tell you by any chance where his Garden of Eden is?”
“He mentioned a Father Peters.” Sade thought harder through the flashes of the nightmare. “A Father Johnson. Some psychobabble about an eternal guardian of the abyss.”
“It may be psycho but it wasn’t babble. The man believed every word, and now I fucking killed the one lead we might have had in that nest of evil. I’ve been trying to crack that nut for years while staying out of his all seeing eye.”
A cold shiver passed over Sade. “Well, it doesn’t matter now?”
“I wish, son. But usually with all seeing eyes come many devils. I don’t think I’ll ever not look over my shoulder where that sick fuck is concerned.”
“He called himself Purgatory.”
Kane regarded him a few times. “I don’t’ want to know, not right now. Later I’ll get the details. Having all the dirty pieces on the board doesn’t hurt a thing in the big scheme of things, but let’s save that for another day, we’ve had enough for one.”
They soon drove up a winding dirt road for miles it seemed before they stopped. Sade looked around for anything besides trees.
Kane pointed right. “See that hill? That’s the backside of the entrance to the house. I’m going to help get you all settled in, then I have to go work plan Z.” Kane regarded Sade’s body. “I’ll carry Bo in first and come back for you. Liberty will take care of Mercy.”
“She’ll see you,” Sade said.
Kane sighed and looked around. “Nothing I can do about it.”
Sade was happy about that. He thought Mercy needed to know her father was alive at this point in her life. She could sure stand some good news.
Sade watched Kane carry Bo in and then the woman who was apparently Liberty, carried Mercy. His stomach tightened at the blood matted in her hair and the fact that she seemed out cold still. He gasped for air, unable to breathe, needing to touch her, hold her. Fuck. Please let her be okay.
Kane returned for him and Sade was prepared to walk in. “I’m carrying you in, deal with it,” he muttered.
“You can’t—”
But he fucking could and did. “You sure do eat your Wheaties, don’t you son?”
“So do you, I see.”
Liberty met them at an old rusted door half buried in a hill and held it open.
“Go take care of my daughter,” Kane said. “I want an update immediately.”
“Yes sir,” she said, all military before heading out.
“God, you’re a heavy bastard,” he muttered before hurrying out. “I’ll be back, don’t walk,” he called as he went.
Sade sat up on the bed, knowing he was going to check on Mercy. Sade also knew it was stupid to try and do the same. He made himself lie down, taking the pressure off his throbbing feet. And just when he was sure he’d never sleep, he was suddenly being shaken awake.
“Shhh,” Kane said, helping him sit up. “Mercy still hasn’t woken up.”
Panic slammed him. “What? How long has it been?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Not long, don’t worry. But we took her to the med room and ran a scan. There’s swelling on the brain, not uncommon with that kind of knock on the head. Liberty gave her Mannitol and by tomorrow we should know more. I can’t stay. I wish I could. I’ll be back as soon as I can and will keep in touch by Satellite SMS Mobile. It’s set up as a one-way communication so don’t miss my calls. Take care of her.”
“Absolutely,” Sade said, fighting the panic in his muscles, ready to go see her.
“Liberty is bringing you crutches to get around while your feet heal. Stay off of them as much as possible, I don’t know what is coming, but I need you healed. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, when can I see her?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“I don’t care, I need to see her.”
The door opened and Liberty entered with the crutches and Sade reached for them. Kane helped him stand and he grit his teeth from the agony. Once on his way, his body trembled from fatigue and something else he didn’t want to think about.
He made his way out of his room and crossed the hall to Mercy’s. By the time he made it to her bed, a sheen of sweat covered his body. He stared at her until he had to look down and steady his breaths.