Silence of the Nine

by T. Styles

  Was Nine his beautiful wife coming back to haunt him like she promised on the last day he saw her? Coming back to condemn him for all of the evil, which caused her horrible death?

  The questions were many but he had no answers. What he did know was this. If she were there to take him to hell, he would gladly go with her.

  Nine took a moment to observe the pictures in the room. They were of all of her family members, even her sisters Lydia and Paige who she never met. Although they were different complexions, and Paige was heavy set, she marveled at how much she looked like her older sister and she wondered where she went. She focused on the gold necklace she was wearing and thought it was beautiful. Did her mother and father buy her the pretty piece?

  Finally, she settled on something that took her breath away. It sat on the wall boldly as if it were more important than the other photos. “Who is this, grandfather?” she asked as she approached a picture of a woman whose skin was so chocolate she wondered if it were sweet. She turned around and looked at him, desiring an answer. “She looks like,” she focused on the picture again, “me.”

  She was right. The woman did favor her greatly which was part of the reason his heart was captivated by her. “Her name is Thandi and she was my first wife.”

  Nine observed her again. “She…is beautiful.”

  He smiled and watered the plants he kept in the room. His love for plants had never changed to keep his hands busy. They were the only things in life that would die without his attention and for that, he loved them.

  “In the small village where I was born, men fought for her. They wanted just one ounce of her attention,” he boasted. “But she gave it all to me until her dying day.” He put the watering pot down and slid his hands in his pockets.

  “How did she die?”

  For the first time in days, he frowned at her. He was displeased. “Those are things I don’t speak about.”

  Realizing her youth had allowed her to make a wrong move and make him upset, it was time to clean up her mess. She was playing chess not checkers. Nine spun around and looked at him. “I would have chosen you too, grandfather.”

  Kerrick’s heart beat skipped before going back to normal. “Why do you talk about things you don’t know?”

  She glided toward him, her eyes never leaving his. Nine moved as if she were prepared to kiss him and he would have gladly allowed her if she had. Instead, she placed her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. “In my world, grandfather, you will always be king. There will be no other.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He needed to know that she would always look upon him with admiration and love, above any man, even Leaf. From that point on, Nine would have anything or anybody she wanted. No questions asked.

  Suddenly Nine Prophet had become his new favorite. Perhaps she always was. But now the world would know.

  ****

  Two weeks later, Nine was sitting at the dining room table watching the movers bring in elaborate furniture pieces and sculptures to her bedroom. Earlier in the week, the walls had been knocked down in the basement to build Nine a fortress fitting of a queen. After the walls were demolished, the painters came in and brightened the place. Everything went from gray to vibrant white in an instant. It looked alive.

  Now that Nine knew that Kerrick saw his first wife when he saw her face, it was important that she played upon it. She seduced him to the point of obsession, causing him to dress better, wear expensive cologne and refrain from bleaching his skin. When Nine asked for anything, she got it. Point, blank, period.

  Nine was careful when she tested whether or not Kerrick was under her control. When she wanted new furniture she didn’t say, “Grandfather, can you buy me a new bookcase?” She said, “I love our visits, grandfather. And I would feel much better if my place was as handsome as you are when you come see me. I’m ashamed when you come because I feel like it is unworthy of your presence, King.”

  The next day, three designers were sitting in front of Nine with books in hand asking her a million questions to get the basement to be what she envisioned, a castle that resembled one of the pictures in her Cleopatra books, who was one of her idols. Nine had not only learned seduction, she mastered it.

  Kerrick’s biggest gift was a spectacular bookcase, which stored all of her many novels. It was magnificent and Nine almost cried when she looked upon it.

  But there was one major problem with the relationship she was building with her grandfather. He had forbade her from spending time with Leaf. Meetings, when the family was together were the only times she got to see his face and it broke her heart. Because despite the announcement of their kinship, both of them had fallen in love.

  With the parties out of the way, it was now time to discuss business. As Nine sat at the head of the table with Kerrick on the far end, she looked around at her relatives. Alice, her uncle Blake and her cousin Noel were present. Kerrick’s loyal goons Riley, Mox and Jameson were also in the building. And of course Leaf was present.

  They stole glances at one another and Nine’s body felt aroused.

  The Prophet family was discussing what could no longer go unaddressed. The fact that Gates had made a move on Kerrick’s family member in his home. The penalty was death.

  Although Nine had not been given an official seat in his council, the murders she committed on the perpetrators who almost killed Leaf gave her a right to sit at the table. Also, whenever possible, Kerrick loved looking at her.

  “We can’t just go into his house and pull him out,” Noel said stating the obvious. “We have to be smart, grandfather.”

  “And I’m not smart?” he yelled.

  “I would never disrespect you in that way,” he admitted. “You’re the most brilliant man I know. It’s just that the plan you presented is flawed.”

  “So if that is the case, give me another one,” Kerrick demanded as he looked around at his council. “Because right now every plan I raise is being shot down and not replaced with another.”

  Frustrated with the lack of war planning, Nine thought it was best to speak. “I have a plan,” she said in a voice so regal they looked around to see who spoke.

  Kerrick smiled proudly. “I’m listening.”

  “Why should she be allowed to say anything?” Alice interrupted, changing the mood abruptly. “She knows nothing about war. Or what it means to be a part of this family. Maybe she should continue to order things to fix her little apartment downstairs instead of dabbling in matters like this.”

  “That may be true,” Nine responded calmly. “I may need more schooling in military art. So teach me, my dear cousin. Teach me about war. So that I may learn from the best.” Although Nine was being sarcastic, it sounded as if she were really soliciting her cousin’s help to the others.

  Alice remained tight-lipped, unable to handle the wits of her cousin.

  “I judge by your silence that you are also at a loss,” Nine continued. “Perhaps we can learn together.”

  Alice rolled her eyes and stormed out of the meeting and the house.

  Nine grinned inside but appeared confused to everyone else. “Grandfather, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset Alice.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said waving her off. “I’m far more interested in this plan of yours. And if we can put it into action. What is it?”

  She smiled and exhaled. “I’m wondering if you good men have ever heard the story of the Trojan Horse?”

  Silence.

  “If not, I would be honored if you allow me to tell you a tale.”

  CHAPTER 29

  NINE

  “You lie in your throat.”

  -William Shakespeare

  Nine was sitting in Leaf’s Escalade at a park, miles away from the Prophet mansion. It was a dangerous meeting but they were willing to die for a moment of privacy. Kerrick did all he could to keep them separated and his plan had failed.

  Nine looked over at him, wanting to ignore what her heart was feeling. What the
world said was eternally wrong. Blood relatives weren’t allowed to fall in love. And yet the damage had already been done.

  “I love you,” Leaf said softly. The moonlight shining in the window bounced against her skin. “I know it’s wrong but I can’t help it.”

  Nine looked down at the diamond bracelet her grandfather had given her yesterday. It was magnificent. “He won’t let me love you.” She looked into his eyes. “Ever.”

  “And you gonna stand for that?” he asked.

  The way his eyes sparkled with an ounce of evil had her intrigued. “What are you saying? If you have a plan, don’t hold it back. Tell me. Let me see if it’s worth activating.”

  “He is going to die, Nine,” he said softly. “You and I both know it.”

  Nine hid the smile that wanted to stimulate her face. She already had a plan to eliminate her grandfather that she told no one. She needed to be sure she could trust him. “He’s sick?” Nine asked with raised eyebrows. “I didn’t know.”

  Leaf frowned. “It’s amazing. In social environments, you are always the brightest in the room. Yet with me you always choose to play dumb.” He gripped her wrist, removed the bracelet and tossed it to the floor of his truck. “Maybe you can be real now. Stop fucking around. Be the queen I see in you.”

  Nine laughed. She had been caught. “Okay,” she smiled. “I know what you mean when you say he’s going to die. I’ve always known he must go but everything has a season.”

  Leaf felt relieved that at least she was prepared to be real with him. “So what’s your plan? I know you have one.”

  “I haven’t worked things out fully,” she lied. “I just know his days are numbered.”

  “I don’t think for one moment that despite the gifts and the decorations in your apartment downstairs, that you have forgotten about what he’s done to you all of your life. What’s your plan? I know you want revenge.”

  “And I will have it.”

  “Then why move slow?”

  Nine’s skin was hot to the touch and she wanted to scream but she could hear Fran’s voice in her mind. She didn’t want to act using her emotions. “Do you know why most criminals get caught?”

  “Why?”

  “They rush,” she said plainly.

  “Meaning?”

  She looked out ahead of her at the beautiful water sparkling under the moonlight. “I have lived my entire life in terror. I have had people beat me for the fun of it, some who share my same blood and break bread at the table with me in the mansion currently. I have been starved for weeks at a time and forgotten about longer than I care to admit. Yet I’m sitting here, looking at the water with you, with a $50,000 bracelet that belongs to me resting at my feet. And you think the fact that I have restrained myself means I’m slow?” She paused. “A lesser woman would’ve reached across the table and snatched that monster’s throat a long time ago, only to be given jail time. But I want it all, so I will stroke him until he turns his back and for that, I will be King.”

  He remained silent.

  “When I finally make my move, it will be with precision, Leaf,” she continued. “And not one thing that happens to him will ever be traced back to me. All I’m doing is preparing to take my throne.” She touched his hand. “My next question is will you help me?”

  ****

  When Nine opened the door leading to her plush apartment in the basement, she was met with a pillow of smoke. She coughed and screamed. “Fire, fire! Help me!”

  Victoria rushed down the stairs but where was Kerrick? She didn’t know but the fire department was called and the fire was quickly washed out. Had she not found the fire when she did, the entire Prophet mansion would’ve gone up in flames.

  After the men did their job, Nine was allowed downstairs to assess the damage. Everything was wet and ruined. The furniture Kerrick bought her and the clothes she had grown to love were all destroyed.

  But through it all, the part that hurt the most was that her books were demolished. She picked up the only surviving copy of Shakespeare that Fran purchased for her years ago, which sat in the middle of the floor. For the first time in a long time, she dropped to her knees and wept. She wondered who did it. Who could be so cruel? Did Kerrick know about her secret visit and decide to stomp on her heart?

  When Nine considered the book again, she realized it was unscathed. She looked around the dripping, smoke-covered interior and wondered why the book was not burnt. Everything else was gone. Was it placed there after the fact? When she opened the thick leather cover, she saw Alice’s name written in yellow chalk.

  Now Nine understood.

  Shots were fired.

  And now they had their war.

  CHAPTER 30

  LEAF

  “As cold as any stone.”

  -William Shakespeare

  Leaf walked down the long hallway leading to Nine’s new room. With the basement burned, she was upstairs, closer to Kerrick as he preferred. Leaf wondered if the fire was his doing. Nine kept saying she was clueless about who would be so horrible and Leaf was left to his own thoughts.

  He knocked once and walked inside. Nine was sitting in front of a pearl colored vanity brushing her hair. She looked at his reflection through her mirror and smiled. “You know you’re being rude, right? By not waiting for me to give you permission to enter.”

  He stood behind her. “You know there aren’t any secrets in this house. So why knock? All will be revealed anyway.”

  She smiled. “What do you want, cousin?”

  “You.”

  Silence.

  “I guess you aren’t being tactful anymore, huh? You know grandfather is right down the hall and yet you tempt his anger anyway.”

  “There’s no need for tact. I know who we are to one another and how I feel about you. I need to know right now if I’m alone in this.”

  She turned around and looked up at him. “We talked about this in the car at the park,” she whispered. “You said you wanted to be with me and I said I needed time. Allow me that and you won’t regret it.”

  “Your nonchalant attitude kills me.”

  “Then why do you still want me?”

  “Because there is no one else. There has never been another person I loved more than you. I tried to walk away, Nine. But in the end I always come back.”

  “But he will kill you if you express it now, Leaf,” she said, allowing her emotion to spill slightly.

  “Then let there be blood.” She stood up and walked toward him. He wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly. “You have to be careful, Nine. My father is working closely with Kerrick to pay off the debt my actions have caused. In a few meetings, some of the family members have been talking about you. They’re saying how they hate that Kerrick has taken a liking to you, and that you are in a position to get it all. I don’t know what their intentions are but it sounds dangerous.”

  She raised her head and asked, “You think he’ll let them touch me?”

  “He may lead the pack. Especially if he doesn’t get what he wants.”

  She pulled away from him and sat on the edge of the bed. “And what’s that?”

  “Sex.”

  She laughed. “Sex is a weapon in war, cousin. Sometimes, it’s a necessary evil.”

  CHAPTER 31

  THE PROPHET FAMILY

  “O God of battles. Steel my soldiers’ hearts.”

  -William Shakespeare

  Gates slid up to the alarm panel by his front door and activated the top-notch system in his mansion. When he was done, he walked to the control room and viewed all of the monitors. From his vantage point, he could see it all. Everything was peaceful outside of his compound and he was prepared to get some sleep.

  There was one problem; Gates was so busy keeping the elements out of his house that he never considered the problem was already inside.

  Weeks back, when Nine thought of a proposal to kill Gates, her plan was not to attack his property from the outside. She suggested
striking from the inside using slow and precise methods.

  She told them about the Trojan Horse tale. The Trojan Horse was assumed to be a trophy gift to the Troy Army from the Greeks after a recent victory on Troy’s part. The large wooden horse, which secretly housed a Greek Army, was proudly pushed into Troy. Troy wanted to show the city how they beat the army. Under the cover of night, the Greek Army burst out of the Trojan Horse and attacked their enemy from the inside. They defeated Troy and destroyed the beautiful city.

  So, three days ago, Leaf and seven of the Prophet goons set up camp in a large landscaping truck outside of the Gates Compound. Kerrick paid one of the trusted men allowed to enter Gates’ property to tend to his landscape. Every day for eight days, this trusted man would bring a new member with him to work. But what Gates didn’t realize was that although two men would enter, only the trusted man would leave.

  Once inside, they set up shop in his unfinished basement and went over the plan of attack. They could’ve killed Gates by himself a long time ago but that wasn’t the plan. Kerrick wanted him alive so he could live with his loss.

  Instead, the Prophet army plotted. They ate the food they brought with them and when it was time, they moved out of the basement and into the house.

  When Gates eased under the covers to spoon his wife, he was startled when he felt leather gloves. He jumped out of bed, preparing to grab his gun but it had already been taken.

  The man in the bed was Leaf and he rolled out of bed and removed his mask. He wanted to come personally since Gates had done all he could to kill him. “You should’ve taken Kerrick’s money, instead of trying to take my life.”

  Gates shook his head and tried to remain calm. It was beyond difficult since he had no idea where his wife and thirteen-year-old twin girls were. “What do you want?” he asked, no longer as powerful as he usually was. “I have money downstairs.”