Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen 3)

“Maddie,” I said and heard my own voice. It was broken and it was rough, but inside. Inside, I felt… quiet. I didn’t feel anything.

My eyes dropped down to my arm. My fingernails on my skin had frozen. I hadn’t finished my counts. I hadn’t drawn blood. I blinked and blinked again, my body sagging with tiredness and confusion.

“I know you feel there are flames in your blood. I know you believe there is evil within you. But I am here to fight those beliefs. Because I think, like Brother Moses did to me, someone made you believe these truths. And you may never tell me who or why. I may never know why you sleep on the floor. I may never know why you slash your arms eleven times, but I know that you are not evil, Flame. How can you be evil when you ignite such hope in me?”

“I do?” I croaked.

“Every night you arrive below my window. And every day when I feel those dark eyes of yours watching me with a blinding intensity.”

I closed my eyes and my arms fell to my side. The heat in my veins was gone. With Maddie by my side, I didn’t want to cut. I didn’t need to spill blood.

“Sleep, Flame. You are tired.”

The heat from the fire warmed my skin and I wanted to sleep. I wanted to get stronger, because then I could be closer to Maddie. I could hear more of her voice, taste more of her food. And listen to her sing.

As my head lay on the hardwood floor, my skin warm and clean, I looked up at Maddie who was beside me and asked, “Sing again. Sing for me again.”

Maddie blushed and my lip twitched. She’d liked that I’d asked her. As the fire crackled, and my skin warmed, I heard her begin to sing…

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

And the flames let me sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Prophet Cain

New Zion Commune

“So the hit on the Hangmen drop off was a success?”

I looked across the table at Judah and his face lit up. Sitting forward, with his hands on the tabletop, he replied, “More than a success. The Chechens bowed out when they lost their man. Then as we hoped, they turned straight to the Klan for business. Which means we have another buyer. And this is just the beginning.”

“And fatalities?” I asked.

Judah sat back and shrugged. “Minimum. The Chechen’s dead. A woman was hit. She survived though.”

Brother Luke shifted on his seat. “The men the Klan hired were killed.” He paled and shook his head. “Murdered, and tortured, about twenty miles north of Georgetown. One of the Hangmen caught them and tore them apart with a knife.”

My stomach sank, as a familiar face flashed in my mind. “Flame,” I murmured. “The brother is deadly with a knife.”

“He’s the devil’s man. They all are,” Judah spat. I could hear the venom in his voice. “All of them will pay eventually. It is just a matter of time.”

I nodded, then looked to my brother and my adviser. “Is there anything else?”

They both nodded, but flashing a look to Judah, Brother Luke stood awkwardly and left the room. I suddenly found myself alone with Judah in the office. Judah sighed and got to his feet. “What is wrong, Cain? You have been quiet recently.”

I glanced outside of the floor-to-ceiling windows and sank farther into my seat. “I do not know. I feel 'off'. I feel like I can never get a sermon correct. I feel like our people are losing faith in me. And I feel like the battle that must be waged with the Hangmen is impossible. One Chechen contract does not seem like enough.” I stared at Judah and said, “I lived with the Hangmen for five years. I know how far their reach goes, and I know how many contracts they have. One Chechen deal is like hitting a lion with a plastic arrow—it will anger them, but it will not kill. In fact, it is the person shooting the arrow who stands to be torn apart.”

Judah walked beside me and laid his hand on my shoulder. “But we have the Lord on our side. And the Lord’s message lives within you.”

“I have yet to receive a message from God. Uncle David received them directly. God spoke to him as you do me now, but I myself have had no word, no contact.”

“It will come,” Judah soothed. “You are new, the commune is still being developed. God will speak to you when we are ready to receive a commandment.”

Running a hand down my face, I forced a smile. “You’re right.”

“Judah’s wide smile was infectious. Then he stepped backwards. “Come, I have something that will make you happy.”

I got to my feet and followed Judah into the living room. A stack of DVD cases were piled up on the coffee table standing before the sofa’s. Judah motioned for me to sit. I did as he asked.

Judah walked into the hallway and came back with a TV on a cart. I frowned. “Judah, what is this? You know we shun technology.”

He stopped and said, “Then how else am I to show you these. And the Lord would not disapprove, it is right that you see these videos. You need to relax more and stop over-thinking your duties. Jesus had Mary Magdalene to soothe him when his message and ministry became too much, you need someone to do the same.”

An image of Mae immediately sprung to mind, and for once, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to remember her black hair, her pale skin and those ice blue eyes that would smile at me when they lay upon me.

I remembered us sitting on the sofa in my room, her head laying on my shoulder as she slept. I had never felt anything like it before. Or since. I was convinced no one else would ever measure up.