The Church (The Cloister Trilogy 3)

“And what’s that?” As if there wasn’t enough already riding on Sunday. Fuck.

“Take your father’s place—that you don’t deserve.” He’s quick to add that last part. “And follow your mother’s direction for the future of Heavenly. After the transition is complete, you have to deal with the whores. All of them.”

Noah leans against the doorframe, his head cocked to the side. “Which whores are we talking about? Dad seems to refer to all the women here like that without any distinction.”

“All of them,” Castro says. “No more Cloister. No more Chapel. And we’ll have to raze the Cathedral and all within it. It shouldn’t be difficult. A fire would take care of it. Bar the doors and burn it down.”

Noah looks past him to me. “Why do I get the feeling he means ‘bar the doors’ to keep the women and children inside?”

“Because that’s exactly what he means.” The cold bastard has bought into my mother’s vengeful scheme and intends to see it through to its bloody end. I didn’t think I could hate him more. But I do.

Castro nods. “None of the people there are on the grid anymore. They’ll just disappear. Some of the Maidens we’ll have to keep—make them Spinners to serve Rachel and yourself. Some will have to burn for the Father of Fire in gratitude.”

“And the Chapel girls?” Noah’s eyes are wide to an almost comical degree. But nothing about any of this is funny.

Castro shrugs. “They can’t leave the compound. We can either lock them in the Cathedral or do it some other way. Waste a few bullets on them for target practice, I guess.”

Noah stuffs his hands in his pockets. “So, let me see if I’m following here—you want to murder most of the women and all the children on the compound?”

“It’s God’s will.” Castro stares at me. “And it will be done at the order of the new Prophet. Understand?”

“What?” I smirk. “Mom is too shy to order the genocide?”

“You are the new head. You will follow her lead, but she will remain invisible. Much the way she is now.” He almost smiles, his lips twitching. “And I’ll be your second, though I answer only to Rachel.”

“Sounds like a shitty second.” I lean my head back, doing my best to remain nonchalant while Castro calmly explains all the terrors my mother has planned. “So, how’s Sunday going to go down?”

“All you have to do is be there. Get into the crowd somehow without a Protector seeing you. I’ll handle the rest.”

“No offense, Castro.” Noah pauses, then reconsiders. “Actually, all the offense. You’re a low life foot soldier with no clue what you’ve gotten yourself into. So why should we trust that you’re able to do anything to stop the Prophet?”

Castro whips his head around. “The more you sound like your brother, the more expendable you become. We only need one Monroe asshole for all this to work. Not two.”

I lean forward. “Keep speaking to Noah like that and you won’t live to see this glorious Sunday you’ve outlined.”

Castro turns his attention back to me. “All you have to do is be there. I’ve been by your father’s side long enough that I can stick the knife in and twist it before he even realizes I have a blade.”

“You going to execute him in front of the congregation?” I raise an eyebrow. “Seems like bad form. That would definitely start a panic.”

“You don’t need to know the particulars. Just be there. The Father of Fire has promised Rachel that this will work out perfectly.” He glances at his watch. “Fuck, I’m late.” Turning, he brushes past Noah. “Be there and be ready. The Father of Fire will make sure everything falls into place.” His steps thump away down the stairs and the front door slams.

“I fucking hate that guy.” Noah closes the bedroom door and sits at the foot of the bed.

“He’s an idiot to believe Mom.” I rub my eyes and second-guess myself. Should I have told Castro about the dynamite plot? Then again, maybe I just need to let things play out. Confusion and chaos are both to my advantage. “Any word on where Jez and the gals hid the dynamite?”

“No.” He pulls the blanket away from my foot and peers at the bandage. “I can’t go to the Chapel now. Jez has the girls on high alert. But I’ve searched all along the road in between the storage shed and the main compound. If they’ve hidden it out there, they’ve done a damn good job. I didn’t see anything out of place.”

“They wouldn’t be dumb enough to store it in the Chapel. At least I don’t think they would.” I wince as he unwraps my toes. Even though I expect the pain, it’s still a shock to my system, just like seeing my mangled foot. “We may not find it in time.”