Chapter 26 #3
“You little b—” he says, about to pull the trigger, but my father grabs the gun from his hand just in time. Richmond yells and glares at my father, delirium fully taking over his mind and body.
“You had one bloody job!” Richmond yells, jabbing his finger into my father’s chest. “Get her to hand over the artifacts. I would have thought a Major bloody General would be successful at doing that.”
“And you neglected to tell me only one person is entitled to the artifacts at a time, and you planned to kill my daughter to get them,” my father fumes, being the most expressive I’ve ever seen him.
“Tell me, Richmond. Were you ever going to give the artifacts to my scientists, or was that whole impassioned speech about building up our military to be the strongest in the world just a farce for you to have them for yourself?”
And there it is.
My plan is coming to fruition as I’d hoped it would.
I see in my father’s eyes that he realizes he has been deceived—fooled.
Richmond never had the intention to give him the artifacts and planned to take them for himself as soon as they were in their possession.
A hint of fear lingers in his expression, knowing how dangerous Richmond already is and the destruction he will cause if he becomes the Eudaemon after me.
Our eyes lock again, and I know he has fully turned sides. His face looks tired, knowing this quest is now futile, while his body shows he is ready to admit defeat. My father shakes his head as Richmond remains silent, unable to admit his deceit.
“I should have known,” he mutters.
He accepts his reality. My father places a reassuring hand on Richmond’s shoulder, knowing his mission now is to ensure Richmond leaves here empty-handed. “It’s time to see reason, my friend.”
His words do not steer Richmond the way he wants them to. Instead, they backfire by fueling his desire and anger further.
“No! I’ve been searching for these all my life. If anyone deserves to be the Eudaemon, it is me,” Richmond grunts, shoving aside my father’s hand and taking his gun back.
“Would the deities themselves see that too?” I taunt.
Richmond glares at me, a devilish smirk slowly rising on his face. It’s the look of a madman who has never succumbed to defeat and will ensure he never will. I fear for what he is planning inside his head.
“You may be untouchable,” he says, pointing a finger at me. He glances between Henry and my father. “But you can’t protect everyone, especially from a man you cannot stop.”
Horror strikes me as I realize he is right.
A madman who knows how to protect himself from being compelled.
I shove aside my rising worry that this moment will lead right to the vision I’ve been dreading coming true.
I need to focus on defusing the situation.
In a desperate attempt to be in control, I try to compel Richmond to stop, but to my utter detriment, it doesn’t work.
He is both aware of my compulsion attempts and unwilling for me to do so.
As I see him grip tighter on the handle of his gun, I raise my hand to stop him, hoping to prevent him from lashing out.
“Richmond, don’t,” I plead.
But my words won’t sway him, as he aims right for Henry.
He must see the horror on my face as I watch him. I realize I failed to stop him. A wide, satisfying smile shines on his face. He stands straighter, knowing he now has full control over the situation.
“This could have been preventable if you complied, Miss Fairfax. Now you must decide which of the two you will save. Will it be him?” he taunts. Then swiftly aims his gun at my father. “Or him?”
I watch helplessly as Richmond keeps aiming his gun between Henry and my father, confusing me to the point where I do not know who his true target is.
Or worse, forcing me to make a terrible mistake.
He laughs, sinking deeper into hysterics as he tortures me, watching me stand frozen in fear as the scene unfolds.
Everything is unraveling so quickly that it’s preventing me from thinking on my feet.
Immense pressure settles on my shoulders when I sense Richmond is not bluffing.
He will pull the trigger. I know this is the moment in my vision.
I watch intently as Richmond adjusts his grip on the handle, curling his pointer finger tighter around the trigger.
I dash toward Henry, shielding his body with my own.
A gunshot echoes at the exact moment our bodies collide.
When the ringing in my ears mulls down and the blood ceases to pulse loudly in my head, I slowly turn to face the ramifications of Richmond’s outburst. Lying motionless on the ground is my father.
Fresh, deep maroon blood seeps through his jacket and pools on the ground underneath him.
Staring at his still body, I feel as though I am witnessing the vision coming true, but a slightly alternative version of it.
I know if I didn’t run toward Henry, it would have been him lying dead on the ground.
As I watch my father’s body go lifeless, I know I don’t regret my choice, nor will I ever. But that doesn’t mean my father deserved this. He may not have been a good father or a good man, but no one should have been killed by the hands of someone they called a friend.