Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“You insult me, John. You and the rest of your pathetic flock,” Adam spat, circling the armchair to approach the cowering form. “Did you really think you can compel me, one of the princes of Hell, to do your bidding?”
Father John’s breathing became raspy as he stared up. “But our goals… they were sacred. They still are. God has spoken to me in my youth and told me to do this. To call upon you, to cleanse the world of the vileness soaking through it. Of the blasphemers, fornicators, of the immorality of the modern world, so we can go back to a simpler life.” He rocked from side to side like a charmed snake. “I went to Brazil to help people in need, and that’s where I’ve been chosen.”
“‘Chosen’?” Adam uttered, shriveling on the inside.
“I used to be ignorant and preached against the very plants the Lord gave us to open our minds. But a group of young people have enlightened me, and as I truly saw His light for the first time, God led me to a street painting that laid out his intent. A new world without Satan’s distractions, where people can truly focus on their higher selves. I’ve been listening to him each night ever since. He was the one who told me to call on you, so I made this vessel for you with Clara!” he said, waving his hand in Adam’s direction.
It took all of Adam’s self-control to not flinch, but he kept his gaze on the old, balding man who’d committed so much evil in his lifetime. What was the point of laughing at his drug highs, or pointing out he’d likely dreamed up the need for a body for Abaddon because he secretly wanted to fuck a fresh-faced heiress to a great fortune? He was too pathetic to warrant revenge. Too overcome by the false reality he’d imposed on the world to understand what he’d done.
Abaddon would give him an easy way out, because making things harder would have helped no one. “You misread the signs. The Lord has made you the messiah of the new age, but you were deaf to the truth behind what he’d made you see and hear,” Adam said, lowering his chin to his chest in an effort to make his voice boom.
He put the gun away and extended his arm back, wordlessly inviting Gabriel close by wiggling his fingers. “He is your only path to salvation,” Adam said as the boy left the shadows.
Father John hit the side table, sending uneaten food, trash and books to the floor. “How? How so? What have I done wrong? The Demon Star aligning with Saturn, the planet of discipline, and stewardship. Am I not the Saturn to you?” he uttered, wheezing. “Three cycles of six sacrifices to make the number of the Beast.” In his madness, he had the guts to focus on Gabriel and speak on. “You would have spent eternity at our Lord’s side. The suffering of innocents wouldn’t have been in vain!”
Gabriel’s discomfort was like a charge of electricity in the air, and Adam growled, “Silence! T’was you who was meant to be sacrificed, not children. So many innocent lives ended by a sinner who doesn’t even live by the rules he preaches,” Abaddon hissed, scooting so rapidly Father John looked away in fright. “Pornography. The Internet. Children born out of wedlock? Aren’t those things you say humanity would do better without?”
Father John’s face fell, and he squeezed his fists on his thighs. “All those children…? For nothing? That… that can’t be.”
Adam’s heart felt as if there was a black hole forming inside it. Rogers had treated Gabriel as the subject of a sick psychological experiment. Mother was a sadist. For Sister Beatrice, who used to live an unsavory life before being born again in the cult, her beliefs justified her sense of superiority over others. And while Watson’s motives were an enigma, Martinez was a psychopathic piece of shit who’d participated in all the vileness for entertainment. Could it be that Father John genuinely believed his actions were God’s will?
That would have made all the deaths and suffering even more tragic and meaningless.
“And you have to suffer the consequences!” Gabriel spat, but his fingers trembled.
His distress made Adam’s heart heavy, but they were here to end this, so he continued playing the role of the vengeful angel. “I brought your last victim to make things right.”
Father John broke into a sob and hung his head, crawling their way like the maggot he was. He grabbed Gabriel’s leg. “How… can I make up for what we did?”
Gabriel’s breath quickened and the white glow from the TV gave his face an unearthly glow. “You die,” he rasped, showing the dagger in his hand.
“But first, you need to confess. Sins cannot be forgiven if they aren’t revealed,” Adam said mercilessly as Father John looked up, his face streaked with tears.