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The Deacon laughed, throat vibrating. His shadow seemed to move. To shake with his laugh. “Ah, that word. I admit it sounds nice, such lovely letters, lovelier fairytales. Or what do you call them? Horror stories.”
“Just say it,” I gritted out.
“That word means nothing to me,” the Deacon stated. “That little brain of yours cannot fathom what I am. You want to know what I am? I’mtheFather. Address me as such.”
“I thought you were a Deacon,” I mocked.
He smirked again, shaking his head. “Family is everything, boy. Family is blood, life, community. You don’t appreciate the women in your life, boy. Valerie feeds you, clothes you,savedyou. And what did you do? Ignored her as soon as you got to this little town. Running around in the night like a dog with a bone. She saved you. Just like I told her to.”
“She saved me from a man who thought Jesus Christ was a vampire. A blind lunatic who controlled people, used fear and the wrath ofthe Father in the sky.”
“People need a savior. A veil. They can sleep at night knowing all the bad things they’ve done will be forgiven if they just ask. They just have to ask me.Youjust have to ask me. Ask me for forgiveness,” he commanded.
“I don’t follow him. Nor do I believe inhim,” I sneered. Kyrie turned in my arms, looking into my eyes. As if the most horrifying thing in the room was me not believing in God. Not the man across the room. But maybe she thought this was the end, and she wanted my soul right.
“Ah, but what of heaven and hell?” the Deacon asked.
“More made-up shit to keep people in line, to play games, like you said,” I replied.
“But who doesn’t love a good game?” The Deacon smiled. Then he whistled, and Kyrie jerked her head, looking into his white eyes. “Go home, little girl. You don’t feel well. You had fun at the dance, you danced with your friends. You bid them goodnight before your departure. When you hit your bed, you will fall into a deep sleep.”
Kyrie jerked from my arms, and I reached for her, trying to make her stay, but she was strong, slipping out of my arms.
The Deacon looked at me, smiling wide, his voice deep when he spoke. “Go home—”
I laughed, staring at him, and I saw his eyebrow raise and his nostrils flare, his white eyes narrowed.
When he spoke, his voice was toying. “Dear Valerie wasn’t wrong. You’ve taken to that skin a little too well. Rebellious. Raging with hormones. Petulant. A little lost, like most teenage boys. But you’re not that, and you need to remember what you are.”
“What am I?” I asked between clenched teeth.
“Your existence is steeped in the legends of humans, boy. But in reality, I let you have it. I let you exist, Skoll,” the Deacon said, smiling.
“My name is Nicholas,” I seethed.
“Ah yes, the name the humans gave you. Cling to it. But it’s not who you are. You and your brother are meant to take care of the thorns in my side.”
I stepped back; the wind knocked out of me. “I don’t have a brother. I don’t have any siblings.”
“Boy, why do you cling to what you think you know? The lies you’ve been fed? And from those whoslightedyou. You know your father was not your father. But your mother was also not your mother. You were gifted to them, meant to be in safe keeping on the ranch until I saw fit to set you free.”
I growled, something guttural rising to the surface. “I was there because of you?” I asked. “They, they—”
“You can’t be broken, not by them. Not by anyone but me. Your time there has prepared you for this. They sharpened your claws. The flesh has a long memory.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped.
“You’ll see, once you wake up from the fog she’s put you in.” The Deacon chuckled, looking at Sorina. “I allowed you the gift of sleep for centuries. This town you love to wander? You wander it because you’ve spent years sleeping, and now your body rejects it. You’re never tired, are you?”
“I have nightmare because of what you let them do to me,” I said.
The Deacon waved off my answer. “And nothing nourishes you, does it, boy?” He motioned to my slim form. “You have an insatiable hunger, don’t you? Nothing tastes as sweet as … well, as sweet as she would.” He motioned to Sorina. “Your destiny is to devour the sun.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” I asked.
“You think you love her but you were born to end her shining. Yet she hasn’t shined in years. So ungrateful. I should have punished her for meddling and biting at my ankles years ago. But I haven’t because, just like you, she serves a purpose.”
“And what’s that?” I asked.
