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They hated each other from the moment my father took his bride. Now we hated each other. Every single one of us hated each other.
Or we used to. Before me and Lucian fell in love and broke tradition.
I let the thoughts simmer for long minutes, thinking it through, over and over. I hated the Morellis, right? They were sons of bitches worth hating. For sure they were. Every single one of them was a piece of shit—apart from Lucian—and all that stuff between our families must have been a long time brewing with a whole load of backbone to it. Bryant Morelli and my father were close friends growing up. Surely it couldn’t have only been my mother that tore them apart.
Lucian must know some stuff. There must be a whole stack of stuff that led to the war between two families who used to like each other.
I was kidding myself. Of course I was. I knew full well, in instinct as much as in sense, that it was my mother who destroyed them – just like she tore everything apart. She’d caused us a family divide destined to end in death for so many names on the family trees.
Maybe mine and Lucian’s deaths would be next.
The thought made me shiver, and that made me smile just a little to myself. Oh, how quickly things can change. There was no doubt about it. Not in the slightest. I didn’t want to die anymore. I wanted to live forever, for all time, for every breath I could possibly breathe in this world.
In his world.
I wanted it all alongside Lucian Morelli.34LucianHe was a pathetic looking man. Even more pathetic than I’d imagined. His pitiful face was shallow and vile. His eyes were beady and his lips were pursed. Hardly a welcoming reverend by anyone’s standards. I’m sure my eyes were as evil as they’d ever been as I closed the distance between us with a smile on my face.
“Terence Kingsley the journalist?” he asked, and his voice was weakly curious, as though he knew right from that very first sight that I was nothing of a journalist.
I took my Terence Kingsley glasses off and slipped them into my pocket, and he shrank in his seat.
“You’re not Terence Kingsley, are you? Wait, I know you. I know your face.” he said. “You’re him. Him. Lucian Morelli. Why are you here?” He swallowed hard. “Are you a member of the fellowship? Do you wish to be a member of the fellowship?”
I stepped up to one of the pictures on his wall. It was a garish piece of crap showing a benevolent Lord Jesus reaching down towards the children at his feet.
“Tell me about this fellowship,” I said, feigning interest in membership. “I heard you used to offer Elaine Constantine as a prize toy.”
His smile made me rage like a beast inside.
“Ah yes, Elaine,” he said, and his expression was one of relief. “Unfortunately, Elaine is now out of our offerings. She was a delightful creature, but she outgrew us as they all do. We have other girls very similar though. I can certainly introduce you.”
I didn’t speak to him, just stared until he continued talking.
“I really didn’t believe the Morellis wanted to be a part of this fellowship. I didn’t believe you crossed over with the Constantines. Lionel was adamant that you didn’t.” He paused. “May I ask who introduced you to our order?”
“One of the Constantines,” I told him, and he let out a laugh.
“That’s quite a surprise. I really didn’t expect there to be any communication between you and the Constantines. I guess our world is changing. We can thank the Lord for his blessing in friendship.”
“We can certainly thank the Lord for my presence here,” I said.
“Take a seat,” he offered and gestured to the chair opposite him. “We can discuss the options. Joining the order is expensive, but most certainly worth the investment. Our handshake goes a very long way in this world.”
I took the seat, leaning back and crossing my legs at the knee like a truly relaxed potential member. My gloved hands flexed, fingers stretching.
“Who else does this handshake belong to? I want to know exactly who I’m signing up with.”
He paused. “I’m not permitted to disclose the full details of the order until after initiation into our group. I can assure you that our members are very established fellows who would be extremely pleased to have a man of your stature among them. I must say I’m pleasantly surprised by your interest.”
I didn’t speak, just sat there. I had two options available to me. I either tortured him until he gave me the member list slowly, or I got the stupid piece of shit to spill all before I knifed him. Or both. I opted for both.
“I want the membership list, or I’m out of here. I’m not joining with nobodies or pussies.”
