52. Lazarus
Three weeks have passed. Three weeks of me play pretending, me being my brother and ensuring no one suspects.
I know things have happened, secrets, a certain kidnapping. Do I feel guilty about it? Do I feel conflicted at the idea of Grace Ratcliffe being used as collateral? Being hurt, traumatised, just so I can get what I want?
No. Not for one fucking second.
I have waited, I have planned, I have thought through every other alternative and this is the only way. This is the only option. So why agonise over it? Why waste my time and energy thinking about something that cannot be changed?
I have stayed away from Leandra, God help me, it has almost killed me to do it, but it too is necessary.
I cannot afford to fuck up now; I cannot afford for anyone to go down to the dungeons and accidentally find my brother.
I am so close to tasting victory, so fucking close.
I know a little sacrifice now on both mine and Leandra’s parts will allow us to reap all the rewards of heaven itself.
“The Esau have Grace,” Antonio says, cutting through my thoughts.
I have my back to him, have had my back to him as I hear hid approach. I’ve been standing on the veranda, staring out as if I am my brother, lost in my thoughts, lost in my grief.
I let my smile vanish, sharpening my gaze into something analytical, calculating, something so like Konstantine. “A pity. She was a beautiful creature. A somewhat reckless one, but beautiful nonetheless.”
I watch Antonio’s reaction, the way his jaw tightens, the way his temper flares at the casual dismissal of her life. Would I behave the same if someone said that about Leandra? Probably, but Antonio is not me. And right now, I’m the one holding all the cards, he just doesn’t know it.
“They are using her as a bargaining chip,” Antonio says, his voice tight.
“And what is their price?” I ask, though I already know. I just want to hear him say it. I want to see the treason twist his face as he speaks those words.
“They want me to kill you.”
For a moment, the only sound is the distant burble of the fountain. I watch him, letting the silence stretch, letting him feel the weight of it. Then I laugh, a dry, rattling sound, full of genuine amusement. It’s Konstantine’s laugh, but it’s mine too.
“Of course they do,” I say, shaking my head as if at a child’s foolish prank. “Having tried and failed so many times, now they seek to turn my most devoted man against me. They always did lack imagination.”
I lean forward slightly, emphasising that I have all the control here, all the power. “And you came to tell me this? To warn me? How loyal.”
“It’s not a warning,” Antonio snaps, the ice in his voice cracking. “It is a statement of fact. They have my wife, who happens to be pregnant.”
Now that I did not expect. My face reacts on its own, my eyes narrow and then I remember that Konstantine made a deal with Antonio. He allowed him to marry the traitor on the condition that he did not breed her, that they had no issue, no children together.
How fucking perfect that he broke this, that he too is a sinner, just like the rest of us. It certainly takes the pressure up a notch, doesn’t it? It’s not just his wife now but a child, an heir whose life is on the line. Fuck me, I couldn’t have planned this better myself.
“She is enemy blood, Antonio.” I snap, “You swore an oath to me, when you married her. You swore she would never bear you a child. That was the deal we made. That was the price you agreed on.”
“I might have made that deal then,” Antonio says, his voice low, guttural, barely recognizable. “But circumstances have changed.”
“Circumstances never change,” I thunder, letting my voice boom, echoing off the stone walls, silencing the birds in the trees.
The guards around us tense almost imperceptibly.
“The war does not change. The divide does not change. Our sacred duty to purge their filth from this earth does not change. You allowed sentiment to cloud your purpose. You became weak, you broke your vow. I’ve sent men to Oblivion for less. ”
I watch Antonio’s eyes sweep over the guards. There are four of them. All highly trained, all armed. I see the calculation in his gaze, the cold, clear thought of how he could kill me. I see it, and I marvel at how well I’ve already convinced him.
Besides, we both know what would happen if he does make a move, if he kills me, the guards’ bullets would tear into him a microsecond later.
He would die here, on this pristine gravel surrounded by the stink of jasmine, and his dear, pregnant little wife would still be in their hands.
His death would be a footnote, and theirs would be a tragedy of his own making. A final, ultimate failure.
I lean back, sighing to myself, shaking my head. “Your predicament is regrettable, but it is of your own making. The solution, however, is simple.”
“Simple?” Antonio echoes like he doesn’t believe it.
“We give them a death.” A cruel smile plays on my lips. “We have a ready-made substitute, do we not? We give them my brother, we let Lazarus be the sacrifice for us. In return, we not only get your whore of a wife back but we destroy them, we destroy the last of the Esau.”
“How?” Antonio replies.
“The Brethren will believe me dead, and in the carnage that unfolds, my men can take their vengeance. It will be a final purge. Every traitorous bastard will reveal themselves, and they will be gutted in their sleep.”
“There isn’t time for that, they’ve already mutilated her once,” Antonio says, taking a step forward, and the guards shift their weight just a little.
He ignores them, his eyes locked on me. “They are not bureaucrats. They are butchers. It will not take much for them to lose patience and carve my baby right out of her womb and send that to me next. Your brother’s corpse will be cold by the time their package arrives. ”
I look away from him, towards the laughing cherubs on the fountain. “What is your alternative, Antonio? You will not kill me. You are too pragmatic to die for such a gesture.”
I see the way the metaphorical knife twists. I see the way that right now, I have him so tightly in my trap that he cannot do anything but dance to my exact tune. Poor bastard, I’d almost feel sorry for him, except he’s the one holding things up right now. He’s the one slowing everything down.
“I will consider your plan,” Antonio lies.
“Do not consider for long, Antonio,” I say, dismissing him with a wave of my hand. “The Esau’s patience, as you note, is finite. And so is mine.”
I watch as he walks away, see the way his body is hunched over in defeat. It’s not that hard. Why is he making this so difficult? All he has to do, is do what he’s told and then we all win.
I flex my hands, knowing it’s going to be at least another week before I can see Leandra.
I’ve been hauled up here, in this villa, playing my part to perfection.
I’ve been meeting with the other Guardians, sitting through meetings, acting exactly as Konstantine would.
All the while he has been locked up in the basement, blissfully unaware that his days are numbered.
Keeping him drugged has ensured he cannot look for Leandra. Keeping him drugged has ensured that all of this plays out my way.
I just need to hold on a little longer.