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It would surely be the same in this.
God’s hand is heavy on those he looks fondly upon, son.
Bishop returned his gaze to the table as The Seer’s soft words rang in his ears from those many years ago. He’d not understood them then, but he understood now. He forced himself to the rational side of things. He had Beth. That said something about the heavy hand’s fondness, didn’t it? He sure couldn’t steal an angel, so he had to believe he was permitted to have her. That meant something. It had to. But to believe he was on somestreakof divine favor was a big joke. A glitch, yes. A one off, perhaps. A momentary blink between judgments for his sins, likely.
“So, if they’ll be back tomorrow afternoon, we’ll schedule to meet at the Basilique for a Fate Roll the following morning,” Mah-Mah announced.
Whispered mutters of agreement broke out with The Twelve as Bishop realized he’d missed most of the details. Fate was already speaking. And as usual, nobody argued with her even while he silently begged forsomebodyto sayanything.
“Bishop? I have your vote?” Mah-Mah asked.
The dark fingers of his old friend pressed in from behind, bringing fighting instincts. He remembered who he was in The Twelve and who sat watching him from across the table. He slid his palms along the warm varnished surface, his sights on the familiar skull shaped knot in the pine as the need to speak to The Seer began to burn like a fire inside him. He’d know what to do. Now that he had his own woman to protect, he’d know.
He finally gave the required nod followed with “You have my vote. Seer?”
“I’m here, my Eveque.”
He paused at the affection in his tone. “Meet me at the dry dock in an hour.”
“I’ll be there.”
Bishop pushed away from the table and left without looking at his wife. She’d think the worst as she was prone to, but he couldn’t let her see what was growing by the second. He’d despised The Fate Dice for a greater portion of his life but now, having more than his own misery at stake, it wasn’t hate or contempt he had, but utter terror. To have his life in the Dice’s hands had been scarring but to have hiswife’slife in its hands was…fuckingunforgivable.
But the Dice didn’t care, andclearly, neither did his mother.
CHAPTER FOUR
Samuel eyed the heavy gait of his Eveque as he made his way to the porch at the back of the Dry Dock. His Bishop attire fit the black mood he was in after that not-so-shocking announcement from Mah-Mah. He didn’t look forward to telling him he’d seen it but hadn’t realized what he was seeing.
Samuel moved to the edge of the porch as Bishop came to a slow stop at the bottom of the steps, gazing at the mist hovering above the bayou’s warm waters.
“I saw it,” Samuel confessed quietly, earning Bishops dark gaze. “I didn’t know what I was seeing at the time.”
Their eyes remained locked as Samuel made his way down the steps and stood before him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and sucked in a slow breath as the tidal wave of darkness rushed in. It was familiar, but not from the past. These were new and potent and immediate terrors that Samuel was intimate with of late. He nodded at his Eveque. “I hear you, brother,” he said quietly.
“I’m sure you do,” he muttered, making his way up the steps.
Samuel dove right in with, “You ready for what I think?”
Bishop gave a dry laugh, sitting on one of the wooden pews. He leaned forward with his forearms on his knees, hands hanging with his head.
Samuel sat next to him and kicked out his legs with a sigh as he crossed them at the ankles.
“God’s hand is heavy on those he looks fondly upon,” Bishop muttered.
Samuel regarded him. “You remember that,” he said, pleasantly surprised.
“More like can’t forget it.”
He nodded, surely understanding. “Those were dark…darkdays, my Eveque.”
He shook his lowered head slowly. “I think I preferred when I was yourson.”
“You still are,” Samuel said, grinning at him. “You will always be seven years yonder to me.” He got serious, eying his lowered profile. “You know…even though terror rages in your bones, you’re still a fearless leader, brother.Ourfearless leader. Because it was out of fears that the man sitting before me was conceived. And out of fire that the man before me was purified. Good news is…this terror you now face will be a sanctifying deliverance. For all of us.”
This got his Eveque’s full attention. “This what you see, brother?”
Samuel nodded. “It’s what Ijustsaw. Clear as the sun rising in that sky. You just have to trust the lies of the darkness.”
