I tried to look at Cy, to gage his reaction, but Brother Lucas moved to block my view.
“Do not succumb to the fear, Sister.” He reached out slowly, like testing the boundaries of a cornered animal. His fingers brushed my arm, then slid down to my wrist. “You shouldn’t carry this burden alone. Let the Light guide you. Letmeguide you.”
My hand curled into a fist. I was seconds away from breaking his fingers, but I took a breath and steadied myself. Then, I leaned into it. It was no different from the other roles I’d played.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I mumbled. Not a lie.
Brother Lucas’ fingers tightened slightly around my wrist, and I suppressed a wince. He smiled—a sanctimonious curl of his lips that made bile rise in my throat. “You don’t need to be afraid of your power. Or of me.”
His other hand lifted, as if to touch my face, and I braced myself for the unwelcome contact. In the corner of my eye, I saw Cy stand. He grabbed Brother Lucas’ wrist and yanked him backward with enough force to make him stumble, the serene mask on his face cracking into startled anger.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
Cy kept his eyes on the priest. “Get your hands off my wife,” he said flatly, his voice colder than the room’s artificially controlled air.
Brother Lucas straightened, barely hiding his disdain. “You misunderstand our ways, Brother. We seek only to—”
He didn’t get to finish. Cy’s fist connected with his jaw before he saw it coming, the impact sending him sprawling into his chair with a grunt. He slumped, dazed but conscious.
“What the fuck! This wasn’t the plan?” I stood up as Cy loomed over the man. Brother Lucas tried to swipe weakly at him.
Cy batted his hands aside and grabbed the man by the neck. “Plans change, doll.” Brother Lucas’ body convulsed as Cy electrocuted him, knocking him out cold.
“We don’t have time for the whole initiation runaround, and we weren’t getting anywhere.”
I could still feel the phantom pressure of the priest’s hand around my wrist. I rubbed at it absentmindedly. “That’s the reason?”
He grinned up at me. “Should there be another?” The room’s neon lights glinted off a metallic surface as Cy pulled something from his jacket. A short blade that looked like a mini sword. He flicked a switch, and a serrated blade popped out of the pommel.
“What are you doing? How the hell are we going to sneak around without—”
He answered by grabbing the priest’s arm and sawing at the wrist with the blade. I covered my mouth as blood spurted,quickly followed by the nauseating stench of burning flesh as he cauterized the wound with his Flux. Two more solid strokes—the awfulcrunchof bone making my stomach flip—and the priest’s hand hit the floor with a wetthud.
Cy bent down and scooped it up like he’d dropped his wallet, then spun back to me.
Our gaze met over the hands still clamped to my face.
“What? DITA told us full palm biometrics, right?” He waved the hand nonchalantly. “Full palm.”
I couldn’t speak. My brain was doing a very accurate facsimile of the loading logo on a terminal screen. I finally got my legs to stop shaking. “You idiot! When they find him, we’re done.”
“Well, we better hurry then.” He slapped the hand against a panel next to the door at the rear of the room, and it popped open. He gave me that stupid grin and bowed, gesturing with the hand like a butler in a manor.
“My lady, if you would.”
I could’ve screamed, but I held it in. As I walked past, I heard him mumble, “Besides, a priest should know not to put his hands on another man’s wife.”
CHAPTER 49
CY
She was fuming. I could feel her Flux pulsing with anger, and honestly, I was living for it. It felt good to feel that kind of power radiating off her, like she didn’t have to hide around me.
“We still going the right way?” I asked, slapping the priest’s severed hand against another door scanner. The dull chime of access granted was almost cheerful.
“Yes, it’s…” She dry heaved, clutching her stomach. “The Echelon chapel should be behind the next set of doors.”
“Just think of it like a turkey leg at one of those street fairs.”
