Chapter 45 #2
Maybe she went back to the children’s area to get them ready. The tension in my chest didn’t lighten, and it made every word harder to anchor when she didn’t show up.
I had to start. I couldn’t wait any longer.
But how do I do this without her?
I spent ten years reading this scripture by myself, but now it all felt like weightless words without her by my side.
“And so we gather not merely to pray, but to act,” I began, my voice measured, steadying myself. “To guide, to protect, to see injustice and stand against it.”
I glanced at the altar and the light streaming in, forcing myself to inhale slowly. That photo burned in my pocket like a secret ember that burned more deeply the longer I stood here. I couldn’t let it control me, not here, and not now.
I was halfway through my sermon when the back doors opened. Movement flickered at the edge of my vision. The Bishop entered the doors. His presence was sharp and authoritative, his walk marked by the rigid precision he always carried.
His cane glinted in the light, and I tried to continue speaking. Bishop Matthews wasn’t supposed to be here. I told Gloria to call him.
I gave a questioning look to Gloria, who shrugged.
He stopped at my podium and leaned in toward me, whispering words meant to be private, but the guests hung on every word.
“Jedidiah…I need to speak with you. Privately.”
Oh fuck. He’s going to yell at me for having to cover my ass for a few weeks.
“Is there a problem, Bishop Matthews? I am in the middle of a sermon.”
Bishop Matthews’s gaze darkened at my defiance, and he met my stare. “Very well. This is in regard to your conduct. I implore you to find time to speak in a private setting.”
My conduct?
Fuck.
“What is this about, Richard?”
I knew I was fucked for speaking so informally, but I was already on edge and didn’t have the patience for this shit.
“Jedidiah, must we really discuss this here?”
I didn’t move from the stage. “We can discuss it after the sermon, Bishop.”
Bishop Matthews’s jaw flexed, but he stepped down from my stage, and I continued my sermon.
Still no Sayuri.
After the ritual, I fixed my collar and walked to Bishop Matthews.
“You demanded my presence, Bishop.”
Matthews shook his head at me. “Yes. So charitable to make time for your superior, Father.”
I ignored him, waiting for him to blow whatever smoke he intended.
“There are troubling…reports. About you and Miss Ayakashi.”
My pulse hitched, and I felt the room tilt slightly. The photo flashed in my mind: that smile, that closeness, and now…the Bishop was putting words to it.
My throat felt like it was closing.
“Reports?” I said, my voice tight but controlled. “I…I’ve done nothing improper or untoward. I don’t know the source of these accusations, but I assure you it is hearsay.”
The Bishop leaned closer, his voice low, but not low enough. A few murmurs carried across the pews, and some heads turned our direction. The congregation was catching on.
Dammit, why hadn’t I discussed this in my office? Because he’s an asshole and didn’t give me the opportunity.
“Accusations have reached me,” he said, louder now, gesturing toward the congregation. “That you, Jedidiah Franklin, have been too familiar with your acolyte who has come to you seeking guidance and purity. I fear I have been shown damning evidence that your conduct is…questionable.”
I couldn’t help but flinch at his volume. That was all it took for my blood to heat, and I felt the sting of the humiliation creeping across me before I could even act.
“That’s preposterous,” I said, my voice firm, cutting through the murmurs. “Where…where did this come from? Who brought this to your attention? May I see this evidence you speak of?”
The front doors swung fully open again, the crack of the wood sounding like a gunshot from the ferocity in how hard they had been thrown. The figure of Kaito appeared in the aisle, smirking vividly and satisfaction written in every movement.
“Oh…” he said, his voice carrying, playful, and deadly poisonous. “You want the source? That would be me. Lucky guess, huh?”
Heat rolled through my chest. A mixture of emotions strangled me, each making my collar feel tighter: possession, anger, embarrassment, and…fear.
My hands gripped the pulpit tighter than I realized, and my sermon, my calm, my carefully cultivated control…it all teetered on the edge.
The congregation’s whispers swelled as the tension thickened, and Kaito revealed someone behind him.
It was Sayuri.
She was all but dragged by her wrists, and the Bishop stopped me with his cane when my body went instinctively forward to protect her.
“Go ahead and tell them, Miss Ayakashi. Tell them the truth, and accept your sin or reap the consequences.”
Sayuri was quiet, every eye on her as she opened her mouth, and tears rolled down her face.
She…was going to…
“I do have sin to confess, I am afraid,” she started, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and she looked right at me. “I came here to this beautiful church under false pretenses.”
Kaito gaped, and the rest of the partitioners gasped at her words. I was stunned, unable to look away.
“I joined this church to do something even the devil would not dare…and I am so sorry…”
I couldn’t comprehend her words.
“A long time ago, I met a man who I thought was selfish. I thought he threw me into the fires of hell…but he didn’t. He tried to save me from them. And I…”
No…Sayuri…She can’t be.
The rain streaked sky, and the blood in the pools of the water flashed in my mind. Dark hair, dark eyes. It was her. It was my Mortifera.
“I came here with anger and vengeance in my heart…but…I am leaving with understanding and love.”
Kaito was practically burning her with the rage in his eyes. Everyone else was stunned to silence, including me.
“The fire I light for revenge burns everything…even me.”
I could see tears running down her face now, and I slowly started walking toward her. She backed away from me.
“I am so sorry. I had no choice. I was born to the fire, and so here I burn…but I can’t let you suffer for my sins. I won’t.”
Kaito gripped her arm tighter, shaking her. “No. Tell them what you told me! Enough foolish words. You know what’s at stake. Speak your truth or else.”
What’s at stake…
Her son.
He’s threatening her with her son.
“I will repent for my sins, Kaito,” she said, turning to him and getting on her knees. Kaito’s eyes rose, and my stomach soured at the lust in them.
“I will worship my god for the rest of my life. I will repent for my sins and cherish my God’s mercy—no fight from me. I will succumb to my God’s will and never utter a defiant word. Please. Let me repent for my sins. Protect my soul while I repent to my god.”
This was a message, a hidden message to Kaito, but I could understand it all.
She’s…sacrificing herself.
She’s telling him to take her, and she won’t fight him. Protect her son, and she will become obedient to his demands.
No…
I drew in a breath, my voice low and deadly calm. I took a minute letting the room feel every inch of my control.
“Enough!” I said, and the church fell silent. My eyes locked on Kaito and his wicked glare. “You are not welcome here, Kaito. You are no man of God. You need to leave my premises. Now, let go of my acolyte unless you prefer I intervene with force.”
Bishop Matthews started to speak, but I cut him off.
“You can see yourself out as well, Bishop. I do not take kindly to baseless accusations of defamation, not only against me but also against a young woman under my guidance. Until you can prove to me with proof of this misconduct you speak of, I will continue my duties and report to the archbishop.”
Bishop Matthews sputtered, angry and flustered, while Kaito’s smirk faltered. The congregation, wide-eyed and whispering, waited for the storm to erupt.
And me?
My pulse was still racing from that damn photo, knowing exactly who left it. Tanting me with what I could never have.
Her.
Sayuri.
My Mortifera.
“Sayuri,” I said, trying to get to her, but the Bishop grabbed my arm, while Kaito grabbed her.
“Let her go!” I screamed, desperately trying to get out of the assholes grip. Kaito was dragging Sayuri away, and I couldn’t get to her.
“Sayuri! I will find you!” I yelled in the chaos, but Kaito pulled out a weapon and shot the glass.
Crack.
The shatter of the stained glass made the congregation scatter like flies, and I punched the Bishop square in the jaw, ripping free of his hold and running toward the closing doors.
“No! Sayuri!”
She was shoved into the trunk of a car, and Kaito smirked when he saw me bust through the church doors.
“Too late, Father. I got what I want. I don’t need you anymore.”
Everything happened so fast.
Sayuri screamed, and I fell to the ground.
Bang.
Another shot sliced through my torso, and I couldn’t scream.
Her voice faded, her pleas and tears.
“Stop! Please! You have me. I will not fight you. I will do anything you want. Please leave him alone. Please. If you don’t, I will tell them exactly where to find you! The Onyx will have your head if you try to take his!”
“You wouldn’t dare threaten your darling son.”
“Try me! I will make sure you are dead, and I will leave Jujiro to live. I will surrender myself and let them kill me before I let you take someone else I love away from me!”
Kaito’s growl was the last thing I heard, the darkness circling like a cloud I couldn’t escape.
“This isn’t over. False Prophet.”
“Say…uri…I…love you…”
“ōkami! It will all be okay. Just live for me. You have my heart, okay? Keep it safe. Please. Do you understand me? Keep my heart safe!”
I had to find her.
I had to find Sayuri and her son.
But how can I find anything when the darkness is blinding me?
“I’ll…find…you…”
The sound of the screams faded to a dull blur, and then I couldn’t hear anything at all.