“A
risk? A liability? You want me to do the church’s bidding to appease its fear
of the unknown? I am so confused. How did you know Collin was going to be
possessed? Why did you kill him before it actually occurred? How can it be
God’s will that we kill each other out of fear?”
“It’s
God’s will because these beings are against God. They are unnatural; they have
no place in this world.” Darius paused, took a breath, and went on. “I have
sheltered all of you too much, haven’t I? Kept you here, taught you only good,
kept you away from television, the news, the Internet.”
Slate
started to feel slightly guilty. He picked up his bread and started to munch on
it, just to have something to do with his hands.
“Whatever
these things are, they have been changing things subtly, a little bit at a
time. People have been changing, Slate. It’s horrible, and people of God, like
us, seem to be the only ones who can stop it, and the only ones affected so
far.”
Slate’s
head was spinning. “People like us? What kind of people are we?” He asked this
open-ended question to assure that he would get a detailed answer. Sometimes
playing dumb was the best way to get what he wanted. Picking up his soup and
leaning back, he fixed the priest with a questioning stare.
“God-fearing,
religious, faithful, spiritual. We are harder for them to affect, to control.
To…enter.”
“Enter?
Just tell me,” Slate said matter-of-factly. “I can handle it. You said it
yourself; you’ve sheltered us too much. You didn’t answer my question about how
you knew Collin was marked for possession. I need to know what is going on.”
“The
dagger –”Darius was cut off by a knock at the door.
“Father
Darius?” Slate recognized Sister Angie’s voice.
“Yes,
sister?”
“The
bishop needs to see you immediately… in his chambers.” She added the last part
as if it were a condemnation.
Darius
looked down, his features dissolving into shadows. “Tell him I will be there as
soon as I can.”
Slate
looked away from Darius’s apologetic stare and ground out between his teeth a
sulky “Go.”
“Slate,
I will explain more. I’m sorry; I must go see what he needs.” He stood up and
patted the boy’s shoulder awkwardly, then left.
Excerpt Book I, Chapter 3
Cant wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amber, it's almost ready, Promise!!!
ReplyDelete