Chapter 39 #2
But Williams was stepping forward again, and in his hands gleamed something that made my heart stop. An iron poker, its end glowing red-hot, shaped into the unmistakable sigil of Covenant House.
"No," I breathed, horror washing over me anew. He was going to do it; I had never heard of the branding being done. But here Williams was, looking like he took sick pleasure in what he was about to do. "No, you can't."
"The final stage of the Second Offence Punishment Protocol," Williams announced to the crowd. "The mark of betrayal, to be carried for all time."
Cade's head lifted weakly, her eyes widening as she saw the glowing brand.
"No," she whimpered, renewed terror, giving her strength to struggle against the chains. "Please, no!" I lunged at Williams, blind with rage and desperation, but strong hands held me back, Logan and one of the housemen, restraining me as I thrashed and cursed.
"You can't do this!" I screamed. "She's innocent!
This is fucking barbaric!" Williams ignored me, approaching Cade with the brand held high. The stench of hot metal filled the air, mingling with the copper tang of blood. Only now, from this angle, could I see the damage that now covered Cade’s back.
It was a mess of crisscrossing welts, some split and weeping blood, others already darkening to angry purple bruises.
"For betrayal of the sacred covenant," Williams intoned, "you are marked.
" The brand pressed against the centre of Cade's already ravaged back.
The sizzle of burning flesh was drowned out by her scream, a sound so raw, so primal that it seemed to tear the very night apart.
The smell hit me then, acrid and sickening: burning skin and hair, the sweet-putrid stench of cooking flesh.
I retched violently, my knees giving out beneath me.
Cade's scream cut off abruptly as her body went limp, consciousness finally, mercifully deserting her.
She hung from the chains, head lolling forward, the brand of Covenant House stark and terrible against her bloodied skin.
Williams stepped back, satisfaction in his eyes as he examined his handiwork.
"The punishment is complete. Let all bear witness to the price of betrayal.
" I crawled to the post, my body shaking so badly I could barely coordinate my limbs.
Pressing my forehead against the rough wood, I dragged myself to my feet and reached up to hold Cade's limp hands in mine, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry," I chanted, the words a broken litany. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
A commotion at the edge of the clearing cut through my grief. Shouts, the sound of running feet, and then Luce's voice, high and frantic:
"Stop! You've got it all wrong!" I looked up through tear-blurred eyes to see Luce pushing through the crowd, Max at her heels. Her blonde hair was wild, her face flushed with exertion and panic.
"She's innocent!" Luce shouted, stumbling into the clearing. "Damien attacked her. I was there! I saw the whole thing!" The crowd erupted in confused murmurs. Williams turned, his ceremonial composure slipping for the first time.
"Miss Purcell, this is not the time or place-"
"It's exactly the time, you arrogant bastard," Luce snapped, rushing toward the platform. "Damien cornered her after class, he choked her against the wall, and I pulled him off her. That's how she got those bruises!" I looked at Logan, whose face had drained of all colour.
"The video," he said hoarsely. "It must have been edited... or filmed from an angle that made it look like..."
"You fucking idiot," I spat, venom and grief making my voice shake. "You goddamn fucking idiot." Luce reached the platform, her eyes widening in horror as she took in Cade's unconscious form, the blood, the brand.
"Oh my God," she breathed. "What have you done?
" What had we done? The question echoed in my skull, pounding in time with my heartbeat.
We had broken her. Betrayed her. Marked her forever with our cruelty and our doubt.
I collapsed against the post, clutching Cade's hands, my forehead pressed against the rough wood as sobs wracked my body.
The smell of blood and burned flesh filled my nostrils, the echo of her screams still ringing in my ears.
Around us, chaos erupted, accusations, denials, Julia's shrill protests, Williams' attempts to restore order, but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered except the broken girl hanging before me, innocent and destroyed by the very people who had sworn to protect her.
"I'll kill them," I whispered against her fingers, a vow more sacred than any Trivium oath.
"I'll destroy them all for this. I swear to you, Cade.
I'll burn it all down." But promises couldn't undo what we'd done.
Couldn't erase the scars we'd carved into her flesh and her soul.
Couldn't wash away the guilt that would stain us forever.
I had failed her in every way possible. And no amount of vengeance would ever be enough to atone for that sin.