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Cal didn't waste another second. He picked up a broom someone had dropped nearby. It wasn’t a weapon, but it was better than nothing. He rushed into the fight just as Pierce was tackled from behind by another Blue Robe who’d materialized from the crowd.
“Hey, assholes!” He swung the broomstick and hit one of them square in the back. The man grunted and staggered away from Pierce, freeing him to deal with the other guy.
“Enough.”
The command wasn’t shouted, but it carried over the crowd with an authority that sent chills down Cal's spine. Hopeful emerged from the crowd, his long hair falling around his shoulders. He wore a robe of white with the hood pulled back, his pale face lit by the moon casting an eerie glow over the scene. His eyes, deep and dark, bore into Cal.
The fighting stopped instantly. Everyone turned to look at their savior and guide.
Cal straightened, broom still clutched in his hand like a lifeline as he met Hopeful’s cold gaze.
Pierce scrambled to his feet. Sweat and blood trailed down his face in messy rivulets. His fists were clenched at his sides. He watched Hopeful with barely contained rage, then his gaze shifted to his dog and his relief at seeing Razzy up was palpable. Raszta lumbered to his side and glared at Hopeful, a low rumble coming from his chest. Even so, he wasn't exactly intimidating—a thirty-pound mop dog with his dreads pulled up into a now-lopsided ponytail. A rottweiler would've been more helpful in this situation.
"Are you hurt?" Cal asked.
Pierce shook his head and swiped at the blood streaming from his nose. The guy was seething.
Cal turned back to Hopeful, broom still in hand. “What happened to all that shit you preach about love and harmony?”
“This is love.” His smile was thin, brittle, a shard of ice in the moonlight. "Love is achieved through discipline, through obedience."
"That's not love. That's fear."
Hopeful sighed. "And here I thought we were finally starting to see eye to eye." He nodded to the Blue Robe that Pierce had been fighting with, and the man moved forward to stand beside Hopeful.
Sincere.
He wiped his split lip on the sleeve of his robe and gave a smile that was all white teeth and arrogance.
That lying fucker. He’d said he wasn’t in the inner circle. Had Vigil known? Clarity? She was a Blue, too. Were they spies, too, or had they meant what they said?
Cal took his eyes off the men long enough to scan the crowd. He didn’t see either of them among the faces, but he did spot Jeff and Marla, who both looked shell-shocked, and Tyler and Nico, who looked like they had no idea what was going on.
Hopeful turned toward the crowd and held out his arms as if to embrace them. “I have learned tonight that we have traitors among us.”
Gasps filtered through the crowd as everyone eyed their neighbors suspiciously.
Hopeful patted the air in a calming gesture. “We have found them, and they have been properly punished for their betrayal.” His gaze shifted back to Cal and Pierce. “However, these outsiders pose a far greater threat. They represent everything we swore to leave behind. The corruption, the greed, the lies!"
A murmur of assent rippled through the crowd.
“They want to tear us apart. To dismantle this sanctuary we have created. To steal away our Mother. Will we let them?”
“No!” The response was immediate and vehement.
“Will we protect Her?”
“Yes!”
“What should their punishment be for threatening Her?”
“Re-education!” The crowd chanted, several members raising their fists in the air. “Re-education! Re-education!”
From both sides of the crowd, two men stepped forward. Pierce made a hand signal to his dog and Raszta bolted through the crowd.
“Let it go,” Hopeful called as several people tried to catch Razzy. “The animal can’t harm us.”
Pierce smirked, and that small, knowing smile seemed to unsettle Hopeful more than anything else that had happened. His expression hardened. “Take them to the Re-Education Chamber.”
