16. The Liar
Chapter sixteen
The Liar
Abe
I ’m astonished by the statement leaving my mom’s lips, not to mention seeing her dressed in combat gear, filthy, and covered in blood. I’m not even sure I can reconcile the two. One was a perfect Brotherhood wife and mother, perfectly coiffed, baking me fresh cookies and singing to me, as she tucked me into bed as a child, and the other has a machine gun strapped to her back, and a look of pure violent glee across her aged features. Just as I’m about to question how she knew David was manipulating everyone, Sammy yanks Dinah back forcefully against his body, with a muscular arm wrapped tightly around her neck in a chokehold, closing off her airway. He’s still bleeding from his forehead, from the last punch I landed, that split open his skin. The crimson mess makes him appear even more unhinged, with glowing, manic dark blue eyes, through a mask of sickly red. “It’s time to die, Nightstar. I’ll meet you in hell, baby.”
Fuck , I push my mother and Zeke out of the way, until I’m stumbling without my crutch, and standing in front of the woman I love, being slowly murdered by the man she would have done anything to save. It no longer matters that she walked Zeke and me into a trap unknowingly, or that she would have sacrificed anything for Sammy, and her need for vengeance. All I glimpse is her fear and remorse across her features, and it guts me right down to my soul. She’s prepared to let him kill her, even as she holds a gun loosely in her grip that could stop him.
“Release her, Sammy!” Zeke shouts from behind my shoulder, but Sammy doesn’t even flinch. He’s lost in the horrors of his mind, where he sees nothing, but her perceived betrayal, in front of him. He no longer discerns that it’s Dinah, his Nightstar, and the woman he would have laid down and died for, in his brutal grip. Now, all he witnesses is the monster Noah has made him believe she is. Sammy bares his teeth at me, resembling a fierce predator protecting his kill, as I take another step closer. Dinah’s face is rapidly turning a bright shade of pomegranate as she loses the remaining air in her lungs. That, coupled with her bleeding wound, scares the fuck out of me, and I know I have to do something. My fear is, he will snap her neck before I can get to her. I can’t allow that to happen. None of us will survive without her. He will destroy himself and us, as much as he will her, with his actions. Jesus, this is worse than any fucking nightmare I’ve had.
“Atasi, fucking shoot him. Shoot him now, baby!” I yell and watch as her eyes flutter. She’s not going to do it. She won’t make any attempt to save herself, believing that she deserves this punishment. I can’t lose her, not now, after everything that we have been through. I’ve been so fucking stupid, acting like a petulant child and refusing to speak to her. She wasn’t to blame for what David did to me, any more than she’s to blame for what Noah has done to Sammy. These evil men have broken something inside of each of us, and instead of banding together, I have spent all this time pushing her away. “Snow, please!” Zeke begs with desperation from beside me, his hands trembling as he reaches out, pleading with her. A crystal tear slides down her face, followed by another, as her gray-blue eyes fill with anguish, as if she’s trying to communicate her goodbyes to us.
“I don’t have a clear shot,” my mother yells, but I’m too terrified and consumed by the image in front of me, to tear my eyes from my Atasi. “Please, Atasi. Don’t leave me, don’t leave us. He’s not seeing you. He’s seeing what Noah told him to see.”
“Sammy! You’re trapped in a nightmare, and whatever Noah has pumped you full of is doing this. You don’t want to hurt your Nightstar, she’s the love of your life. I swear to you, Noah has lied to you. She never stopped looking for you. Never .“ I cry out in terror as Sammy’s grip tightens, forcing Dinah to the tips of her toes, as she makes a horrific choking noise. Please fight, baby, please, my heart begs as I watch her losing the battle with consciousness. “If she dies, I’ll rip your fucking heart out, Sammy!” Zeke shouts, his hands clenched, and fear riding him. He feels as hopeless as I do, knowing if we charge him, he’ll snap her neck, and if we don’t, we will watch her die either way.
“Fuck this shit!” I roar as I prepare to charge him. If she’s going to perish either way, then I’ll take my chances, and hope I die with her, and we are reunited where she goes in the afterlife. “I love you, Atasi!” I rush forward, and, at the very last second, it’s as if something in Dinah clicks. Some form of self-preservation that refuses to bow down and die. Her hand, with the gun, strikes back and slams into Sammy’s face, causing his head to thrust backward, and forcing him to release his tight hold on her. She turns in his arms, headbutts him, and uses all her strength to push him away, following with a kick to his stomach, causing him to stumble backward. Immediately, two of my mother’s men grab hold of him and wrestle him to the ground, as he kicks, pushes, and shouts like a wild animal being contained. Once they have him restrained, and he’s snarling viciously, and foaming at the mouth, Dinah shuffles forward, her breathing heavy, and her eyes large. She stares down at him with such devastation that my chest tightens painfully. I wrap my arms around her, cradling her carefully, so as not to hurt her injured arm further, and try to give her some of my waning strength, even though I know she doesn’t need it. This petite woman, with a fierce heart, and an even stronger sense of determination, continuously surprises me, and proves to me I should never underestimate her.
“I was prepared to die, if that’s truly what you wanted, Sammy. I would gladly take my last breath at your hands, if I believed the real you wanted me dead, but this... this is not you. This is a monster Noah has conjured up in some dungeon, and unleashed, hell-bent on hurting everyone you’ve ever loved.” Dinah pulls away from me, and squats down in front of Sammy. “I never stopped looking for you, never stopped trying to get you back. I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you, and I still will, long after we are both gone, whether that is by your hand or someone else’s, and nothing will change that. I will always be your Nightstar, and you will always be my Sammy. Come back to me. I am your home. ”
“Secure him, and get him placed somewhere he can come off whatever Noah has given him. Check him for injuries, but don’t give him any drugs,” my mom orders, and it takes two additional men to help remove a thrashing Sammy from in front of us, and all the while Atasi never takes her eyes off of him.
“I hate you! You’re the real monster, Dinah! You need to die!” Sammy continues to shout, as he’s dragged out of the vast space by force. Zeke and I exchange worried glances, filled with concern and pity, as each word out of Sammy’s mouth seems to pierce through our girl’s tough exterior, and straight into her weary heart. Zeke looks angrier than I’ve ever seen him, as if he’s holding himself back from going after Sammy, and bashing his head in. All I want, however, is to wrap Atasi in my arms, and take her away from all of this. Fuck, I want to get down on my miserable knees and beg her forgiveness, for being a callous idiot all the days we have been captives of David’s. I do nothing, however, as I’m unsure if my words and touch will be accepted or spurned, and I can’t risk the rejection. It would gut me now. I have too much to lose, and not enough courage to see it through.
“Dinah, you’re injured, and we need to get you medical attention.” My mom grips the shoulder of Dinah’s dress, and tears the material, so she can get a better look. Her pale, tattooed flesh is coated in blood, and already blooming with bruises. Dinah flinches with my mother’s probing, but bites down on her lip to silence her cry. My brave, beautiful girl.
“It’s a flesh wound. It’ll be fine.” Dinah tries to shrug off her grasp, but sways in her hold. “Where is David, and my... father ? ”
“ Father? What the hell do you mean, your father? He’s dead?“ My mom questions with confusion.
“No, he’s not. He’s been alive all this time, and with David’s help, he managed to replace the actual Holy Father years ago, and has been playing the role without anyone realizing it, due to the stupid mask, and all the secrecy that surrounds that position. He’s the reason all of this shit is happening!” Dinah replies in aggravation, as we all look around at the chaos surrounding us, and all the dead bodies of fallen Brotherhood men, and rebel forces. It’s utter destruction, and it feels like a war was just fought, right here in the chapel of the Brotherhood of the Sacrament. I wonder how many are dead now?
“Then who the fuck is this?” My mom uses the toe of her combat boot, to push against the dead body of the man dressed as the Holy Father. She’s got rage painted across her face, and that causes a chill to race down my spine. She’s furious that the man sprawled, in a pool of blood, isn’t the real Holy Father. Is that because she needed him dead too? Did my mother really come to save us, or is something more nefarious happening here?
“A phony, used to distract the masses, so that I could murder the Holy Father, and reveal that I am the Unholy Ghost.” Dinah looks around with vacant eyes, as if she’s not really here, but somewhere far inside of her mind. “He... my father ... wants a revolution. He wants a new world order, one that the Brotherhood no longer controls.”
“What I still don’t understand is, if he was pretending to be the most powerful man in the world for years, why would he give that up? A revolution? To what end, Snow?“ Zeke questions, and mirrors my own thoughts. None of this is making any sense. Why would someone with all that power and control give it up, only to manipulate Atasi to reveal herself as the Unholy Ghost? What does he gain with the world knowing that information?
“You were going to be a puppet for him?” My mother questions, trying to work out Francis Camrose’s plans. A thought I hadn’t considered before in all this mess pops into my mind, and with it, a bonfire of rage erupts inside of me. “He could have stopped what happened to Gabriel. He could have saved him! Why the fuck did he allow that to happen to his only son? Why didn’t you tell us, Dinah?” I seethe through gritted teeth, but an image niggles at the back of my mind like deja vu, and unsettles me. I’ve seen him before, but where?
“I... I’m sorry. I had to put it out of my mind, so I could keep going. I couldn’t allow thoughts of Gabriel to bury me in grief, when our situation is so precarious. My father... He chose not to save him, when he could have stopped all of this years ago. Instead, he allowed it to play out. He told me he sent Sammy to me to keep me safe, and knew that the two of you would also protect me.” She drags her blood-tarnished hands down her face with distress. “He planned all of this years ago, laid the foundation for everything that has happened, and then sat back and watched the pieces moving on the board. We need to fucking find him and David, and ensure they both don’t take another breath.”
“Dinah, all of the world just watched you murder the Holy Father. This ceremony was being broadcast. They set you up. All of the remaining Brotherhood, and the populace, will be after you now. They made you a target. You’ll have to convince the masses to follow you now, or there will be an uprising.” My mother’s worried eyes meet mine. I can’t read what is going through her mind, as she’s holding her cards too tightly to her chest. Whatever it is, I hope she doesn’t plan to betray my Atasi. Mother or not, I’ll slit her fucking throat if she dares to harm a hair on Dinah’s head. I’m tired of everyone around us attempting to manipulate her for their gain. My mother is a rebel leader, and someone I no longer know. I can’t trust anyone outside of our tight circle not to harm us. With Sammy out of commission, and lost to his demons, that only leaves Zeke and me to protect Dinah from the world at large, and herself.
“Let there be. It’s time for the populace to take back their power. If they want my head, they’ll have to come try to part it from my body. I won’t make it easy for them either.” Dinah walks in the direction they took Sammy without a backward glance. After a quick look at my mother’s expression, Zeke and I follow her as two sentinels at her back, ready to wage war on anyone who comes for her. Game on, motherfuckers.