4. The Protector
The horror of the situation that we find ourselves in races through my mind. Fuck, there are too many of them for just the four of us to fight off, weaponless. I watch with terror as the guard holding on mercilessly to Dinah snaps her wrist, and dislocates her arm. The scream of pain she releases has acid rising in the back of my throat. I have to get to her, and I have to get her out of here before they kill her.
She continues to try to break free from the guard’s hold, her arm hanging limp and useless at her side, as another guard holds a sharp blade at her throat. “Stay still, whore,” the one with the blade growls to her, tightening his grip on her dark tresses. One jerk of motion is all it would take for him to slit her throat, and I would be forced to watch her bleed out in front of my eyes. I could lose her right here, right now, while I am powerless to stop it from happening. It’s my greatest nightmare brought to life. I can’t fucking lose her, fuck, no, I have to get us out of here.
“Dinah, baby, don’t fight, please,” I shout in panic, my voice loud in the room before I get punched again by the gorilla holding me captive. Dinah tries to turn in my direction, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to beg her not to anger them further, even though I know she won’t listen. How am I going to get her to safety? How am I going to kill everyone in this room who has played a role in hurting her?
Ezekiel is still missing from the room, having been dragged out by a few guards and his tyrant of a father. Further, worry is starting to set in on whether he will return at all. Would his father really murder him out in the hall? Yes, Noah Rothesay is a psychopath, and murdering his only son would be the lesser of his sins. I’m wracking my brain, trying to understand how any of this is happening. I was in the room with them. I watched his father and Abraham’s take hit after hit of coke. How is he here now, completely sober? Impossible.
Did Ezekiel and Abraham betray us? Was this all a setup? Were they only interested in using Dinah, and now that they have, are they ready to discard her? Is that what is happening here? My eyes roam over to Abraham, who is actively trying his best to break free and get to Dinah. The panic all over his features, and how he won’t stay down no matter what they do to him, has me backtracking on my thoughts. No, I can’t believe he would be a part of this, because he cares for her. He’s willing to risk his own life to save her.
“Motherfucker, I am going to kill you!” Abraham shouts and tries to dislodge his captor’s grip once again. His body is already covered in so much blood and red blooming marks, but still, he persists in trying to get to my Nightstar.
“I’m going to feed you both your dicks,” Dinah rages against the two holding her in their vicious and unrelenting grips. She tries to get to her knees, but they force her right back down. Even in this deadly moment, covered in blood, bruises, and in so much pain from her injuries, I can’t help but admire her strength of will. She will never go willingly or meekly into death if that is to be our fate, which right now is almost a certainty.
The minutes drag on, feeling like a never-ending terror-filled eternity as we all continue to fight against our captors. Ezekiel has not gone peacefully; he’s fighting back just like we are. I regret doubting him and his intentions towards Dinah. He is one of us. We can hear the proof from the shouting and fighting coming from the hallway, before it all goes deadly silent. Fuck! Have they killed him? Is Ezekiel dead, and will they come for Dinah now? Nausea and fear race through me, as I try to take out the feet of the guard next to me.
The sound of retching has my attention returning immediately to Dinah, as she tries to lean her face away from her trembling body and vomits all the contents of her stomach, as she cradles her broken arm to her chest. Fuck, how many hits has she taken to her head? Does she have a concussion? I have to get us out of here. I have to fucking save her. We can’t die here, and I can’t allow them to kill her.
The guard closest to her leans down and whispers something I can’t hear, but based on the sickening look on his face, I can guess how horrid it must be. Dinah strikes forward, her teeth latching onto his cheek, as he screams in pain and slams his fist into her jaw, so hard that I hear the crack from where I am trying again to push against the two holding me. DINAH!
I use all my energy, pushing hard and raising my knee into one of their stomachs. I don’t make it any further before the door opens, and Ezekiel is harshly shoved back into the room. His bottom lip is bleeding, and one of his eyes is starting to swell shut. As he trips forward, falling to his knees, I immediately notice all the blood dribbling down his bare leg from a deep cut on his inner thigh. He tries to fight off the impenetrable hold the two fuckers have on him with no luck. Jesus, what the fuck!
His terrified eyes meet Dinah’s, and in their depths, I see the reality of our deaths before he forces his gaze to meet Abraham’s. There is almost an apologetic look on his face, as if he is already begging for forgiveness. The question is, forgiveness for what? Was he the one to put this all in motion? Is he a traitor, after all?
“Snow!” Ezekiel shouts before one of the guards slaps him hard across the face. “Keep silent, broken prince.” He lets out a sinister laugh that raises my hackles even further.
Noah fucking Rothesay saunters back into the room as if this was a social event, and he wasn’t holding us all naked and captive at gunpoint. The metal of a bloody blade glints in the light and has my stomach dropping, as a menacing smile breaks across his face.
“Oh, little goddaughter, how wicked you have been. Who would have ever imagined that little Dinah Camrose was the Unholy Ghost?”
FUCKING HELL!Fuck, he knows, he knows that she is the Unholy Ghost. There is no way that he will allow her to live now. I have to get to her. I have to save her. He’s going to end my Nightstar’s life, and set himself up as the savior of the Brotherhood.
He resembles a demon as he stands there before the owner of my heart, threatening her precious life. “You, my dear, are a serial killer and a devil in disguise. The devil does send his minions in the most delectable packages. You are his daughter, a sinner.” Repulsion fills me as his eyes slide all over her naked and battered flesh, lingering on her exposed pussy, and the tattoos I placed on her skin.
Mine.
She is mine, and he has no right to look at her. I am going to rip his fucking eyeballs right from his fucking head and feed them to him, and then I’ll massacre everyone else in this room that had the audacity to look at my Nightstar, never mind fucking touch her.
“Ask for redemption, Dinah, and your Lord may still save you. Kneel at my feet, demon. Prostrate yourself at his altar, and I will pull you from the fires of hell.” Noah toys with Dinah, giving her false hope that he won’t be murdering her, but I know the truth. There is no possible way that he will let her go.
“Come closer and give me that blade, and you will see just how much of a devil I am.” Dinah strikes out quickly before her guards can stop her, and tries to land a blow to Noah’s leg, but he’s quicker and moves out of her reach.
“Hold her tight, since it seems she has yet to learn her place. The lesson must be repeated until she understands that she is nothing.” Noah nods towards the two guards, holding Dinah tight. She struggles in their grasp, but with only one arm cooperating, trying to free herself is useless. My heart pounds loudly in my chest, and my breathing is harsh as I try to get air inside with the overwhelming terror that is encasing me. Please don’t let her die, please don’t let her die. The mantra runs on a loop inside my mind.
“Father… please!” Zeke screams as he attempts to break away from the guard restraining him.
Noah quickly darts forward, the blade still in his hand, and in the next second, he plunges it deep into the side of Dinah’s stomach until only the handle is visible. An agonized scream tears from Dinah’s mouth, at the same time a scream leaves mine. She starts to fall forward, the guards releasing their hold on her before Noah yanks the blade out, and crimson blood gushes out of the wound and coats her naked flesh.
“SNOW!”
“Atasi!” Abraham shouts with desperation, as he once again attempts to rise to his feet, but one of the guards slams his arm into his back with a thud, and another kicks him in his side, and he goes down again.
“DINAH! I’m going to kill you, old man!” I scream with rage and terror, before another blow is delivered to my stomach that has me coughing out the air trapped in my lungs. I must save her. I can’t let her die.
I catch Noah turning to stare at Ezekiel out of the corner of my eye. “You see, Dinah, you cannot fully corrupt my useless son with your sinful ways. There is still a part of him that belongs to me and the Brotherhood. Isn’t that right, son?” Noah smirks as he stares at Ezekiel, and wipes his blood-stained hands on his pants. Blood that belongs to my beautiful Nightstar that is quickly emptying out of her.
“No...” The word leaves Dinah’s mouth, almost too low for me to hear it, as blood bubbles from her lips.
Noah crouches down before her, his hate and jubilation for her clearly on display. “You have made the right choice here, Ezekiel, just like you did when it came to that traitor Gabriel Camrose. He was a threat to our holy Order, just like she is.”
I watch with a sickening feeling as Noah drags a bloody digit down Dinah’s cheek while my brain processes his words. Motherfucker! He betrayed his best friend and lover; he betrayed Gabriel, after all, and now he’s betraying Dinah.
“Don’t touch her!” Ezekiel yells as he tries again to release himself.
“You were right not to give him a warning, son, when we discovered that he was plotting with the rebels to overthrow our government.” Noah’s demonic lips tip up, ignoring Ezekiel’s attempts to free himself. “You shall do the right thing again, Ezekiel. You shall honor your vows to the Brotherhood, where you will grow in power, son,” Noah replies to his son’s demand with no fear evident.
A shocked gasp escapes from Abraham, causing him to momentarily cease his attempt to gain his freedom from the fuckers holding him. His enraged glare shifts from Noah to Ezekiel, devastation present on his face, before he returns to his reality and tries again to break free from the guard’s hold.
“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU. I’LL KILL YOU ALL!” A guard manages to slam his knee into Abraham’s face, the sound of something breaking, mixing with the sounds all around us, before Abraham falls to the floor with a grunt, and blood surrounds him.
“YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!” I yell as I push against the guards, managing to nail one with my elbow before being tackled back down. I will fucking kill Ezekiel Rothesay for betraying my Nightstar. If it is the last thing I do, I will ensure I take him to hell with me.
“ATASI!” Abraham tries pitifully to drag his large body across the floor towards Dinah, his panting loud and ragged, as blood continues to gush out of his face. I lose track of him as I try to force myself back to my knees, even though the weight of the guards is crushing me. I have to get to Dinah. I have to save her.
I should have fucking killed Ezekiel Rothesay weeks ago. I should have followed my intuition that he would lead us to our deaths. He never cared for her, only for himself. Fuck, how could I have allowed this to happen? I failed her. I failed her, and she will pay with her life.
Abraham continues to fight against those trying to hold him down, as he attempts to move toward Dinah and Ezekiel. “WHAT THE FUCK IS HE TALKING ABOUT, ZEKE! How could you fucking do this? Tell me they’re lying! TELL ME!”
“I’ll fucking kill you, Noah! I’ll kill you all! Release me!” Abraham’s hoarse voice vibrates across the room, as three guards try their best to restrain his large frame, and struggle with his momentum.
I lose sight of Noah, Dinah, and Ezekiel, as more guards jump into the fray of trying to hold Abraham and me back, but Noah’s words break through the madness. “I warned you, Ezekiel. When you made your threats, you forced my hand, son. I knew the day would come when you’d pay, and here it is wrapped in a pretty package.”
“Don’t make me do this, please. Please, Father,” Ezekiel begs loudly, but I can’t get him in my sights; too many bodies are between me and that fucking traitor.
Noah continues, as if his only son wasn’t begging him for mercy. “You see, son, just like Icarus, you flew too close to the sun. And just like him, you have fallen from the sky, crashing down into the merciless sea. You’ve fallen from grace.”
Noah briefly moves back into my sightline, his glare fixated on a struggling Abraham. “You have broken our laws, Ezekiel. You have allowed your Sacred Wife to be defiled by a man of sin, a lowly guard. You have corrupted another Order brother to commit sins against the Brotherhood, and our Lord and Savior, with you.”
A shout rents the air as, once again, the guards manage to tase Abraham, forcing him back down to the ground with a loud crash. “And if none of that was sinful enough, your Sacred Wife is a psychopathic murderer, who kills members of the Brotherhood. Her soul cannot and will not be redeemed. She has doomed herself to eternal suffering in hell, where she belongs. To save you, boy, and cleanse you of your sins, this temptress and murderer must die.”
“DINAH!” I shout, needing to hear her voice even if I can’t see her. No, this can’t end like this; I can’t fucking lose her after everything we have been through, everything we have survived.
“You fucking traitor! I’m going to fucking kill you, Zeke! How could you betray her? How could you do that to Gabriel?” Abraham shouts with panic, shoving as hard as he can to break the hold of the guards overwhelming him.
“You’ve finally done the right thing, son. By choosing to sacrifice the whore, this demon trying to corrupt you, and save yourself, you will be forgiven. All of your sins will be cleansed. The Holy Father doesn’t need to cast you into the fires of hell. When the time is right, you will be given another Sacred Wife, and this one will be wiped from the pages of history. Forgotten.”
“You piece of fucking shit!” I yell out, slamming my knee into the man in front of me. He wouldn’t dare sacrifice Dinah, would he? He wouldn’t fall in line with his father’s demands. FUCK! I will end him if he does. He won’t see another sunrise if my Nightstar dies.
“Her fortune is yours, son. You have gained even though you have sinned. You will serve penance, but then you will see everything will be alright in the end,” Noah continues on despite everything that is going on around him, and Ezekiel does nothing to stop him. Fucking Judas.
“That’s why you betrayed us? Her fucking fortune?” Abe grunts out with pain.
“Take the blade, son. Do the Lord’s work. Cleanse the earth of this disgusting sinner. The Brotherhood commands you to do your duty. If you don’t, she will still die, Ezekiel, but we will torture her first. Each taking a turn with her and making her pay for each of her sins, one by one, and of those, there are many.” Noah glares down at his son, the look of pure madness across his face as he urges him to take my Nightstar’s life.
“ZEKE! Don’t… fucking… do… this,” Abe screams, his voice shattered from all his shouting and the emotions overtaking him.
Ezekiel falls to his knees before Dinah, taking the blade from his father’s hand. His head remains downcast, refusing to meet Dinah’s eyes as her face pleads with him for mercy. He swipes his hand across his face, painting it with the blood of the woman I love more than anything in this world—my only reason for living, my soulmate, my Nightstar.
“Don’t do this, Ezekiel! Please, don’t do this!” My screams are being ripped from my very soul as diamond tears slide down Dinah’s face. No, I can’t lose her like this. This can’t be where our love story ends. I haven’t had enough time with her. The years we spent together were too short. I can see that she’s giving up, accepting her fate. Her fate to die at this betrayer’s hands.
“What’s it going to be, Ezekiel?” Noah questions, one of his disgusting fingers sliding across Dinah’s bloodied skin. “It’s too bad I never got a taste of you, Dinah. I wonder if your cunt was as good as your mother’s?”
At the mention of her mother, a blaze ignites within her, and she begins to fight against the hold on her hair and swings her arms. FIGHT, BABY! Fight for me and for you, Dinah! Don’t stop fighting!
She stares daggers at Ezekiel, her last bit of defiance not to go meekly into her death. “You are the… worst of them. You have betrayed… people who would have… protected you. People… who loved you. You’re nothing… but Brotherhood scum.” A ragged gasp leaves her lips. “Death… will be a kindness… you don’t deserve. Gabe is… lucky… to be at peace away from you. He would… be disappointed, disgusted. Pathetic. Traitor.”
NO! I will not fucking lose her. I can’t live without her, and if she dies, I need to make sure I follow her into the next life. I refuse to be parted from her, even in death. An animalistic roar leaves my mouth as I fight with everything I have left to reach her.
My soulmate. My reason for breathing. My beautiful Nightstar. My love.
“NIGHTSTAR! Don’t you dare fucking leave me!” I yell as I throw myself against the force of the bodies, trying to prevent me from reaching her. “I’m going to fucking kill you, Ezekiel!”
“Atasi! Fuck! No!” Abe manages to break free, and he throws himself against Ezekiel. “What have you done, Zeke? What the fuck have you done? Don’t do this, please!” He’s dragged back by four men, yanking and forcefully lifting his heavy body off the ground before slamming him down again.
“Do it, Ezekiel, kill the sinner. Remove her stain from this world. The Brotherhood commands you. I command you. You must keep the Order safe from her sins!” Noah’s voice booms with derangement.
“KILL THE WHORE, EZEKIEL! RID YOURSELF OF YOUR SINS! If you don’t kill her now, Ezekiel, our agreement is null and void. Abraham will die here, a sinner and traitor just like her, and I will have his body burned. Both of them can go meet the fires of hell together.”
“Kill her, Ezekiel. Do it, or Abraham dies!” Noah’s shrill voice blares across the room, urging him to end my Nightstar’s life.
I push a guard out of my way, just in time to see Ezekiel lean forward, and whisper something to Dinah, too faint for me to hear, before he plunges the blade into her stomach, and her body jumps with the impact.
“NO! NO, NIGHTSTAR!”
“ATASI, FUCK! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
“If…” A gasping sound fills the air, and it’s almost as if the whole world stands still. “If… you… ever… cared for… me.” The sound of my Nightstar choking on her own blood has my heart plummeting. “If… if it… was… ever… real. Promise… me… you’ll protect them.”
“NO, PLEASE, NO!” I beg, unable to process that she may be gone. That the last words my Nightstar will utter, before submitting to death, are worries for mine and Abraham’s safety and not her own.
She can’t be gone. She can’t leave me. I don’t want to live without her.