Chapter 5 Scarlett #2
Poppy turned back to Azrael, but her anger had dissipated ever so slightly. “Malachi has been trying to contact you.”
Azrael looked me over from where he had stopped just a few feet from Poppy, his cane gripped in his right hand. “And it hasn’t been an effort to ignore him,” he replied easily.
I smoothed out my dress and folded my hands behind my back, poking my chest out a little just to grab a little more of his attention.
I wanted to tell him to come chase me in the woods, but I wasn’t sure if Poppy was allowed to know that we could communicate.
If he wanted to keep that secret between the five of us, I wanted to keep it too.
“Azrael,” she tried, but this time it wasn’t as accusatory as it was worried. “The last time I was here, I told you things were getting worse.”
“Things always get worse, Red.”
“They had a funeral,” she revealed, stepping in front of him. “Three tiny caskets,” she went on.
My eyes shot to the back of her head, my heart scraping to a halt, hands falling to my sides. Tiny caskets? Kids.
“They had them on the stage last Sunday morning,” she went on. “Thomas led the sermon, and it was clear that it was directed at the Favorites. To sum it up, ‘if you don’t follow our laws, this is where you end up’.”
My eyes found Azrael’s, that burning flooding through me, consuming my bones.
Azrael’s eyes had never left mine by the looks of it. His gaze was ever steady. “Where was his father?” he asked.
“In the front pew,” she answered.
He watched his son while he put on a display. How had Thomas managed it? If Poppy had been there, it meant the regular congregation had been there. They had put three little caskets on that stage for the whole church to see simply because he was angry that Azrael had won.
Why?
“A child throwing a tantrum,” Azrael spoke evenly, his voice quiet and deadly.
I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or to Poppy, but his eyes were still on me, so I replied, “Bad children need punished.” That’s what happened when I had been bad. Mother had punished me. Thomas had punished me. The Leaders had punished me.
If Thomas was throwing a tantrum, didn’t he deserve to be punished?
“What did she say?” Poppy asked.
Azrael didn’t even spare her a glance. “You’re right, they do.
” He watched me for a long time before finally turning to Poppy.
“What is it he wants?” he asked. “If he wants to know about the nonprofit, tell him I’ll finish the assignment when I finish it.
If he’s looking for an update on the woman I branded, give him one. She’s standing right here.”
Poppy turned my way, looking me over carefully before finding my eyes again. “Is she sick?”
“She knows how to be unreadable,” he answered coldly.
I couldn’t allow them to know how much the church hurting children got to me.
I couldn’t allow them to know how angry I was, how badly I wanted to leave this place with Azrael’s cane and slice through their necks until their heads rolled through their precious sanctuary.
Those were secrets the world would never be allowed to see.
Her shoulders fell half an inch. She glanced at Azrael before turning to face me completely, taking several steps towards me. “What is your name?” she asked me kindly.
She was my sister, and by the sudden shift in tone, I knew that she was giving me a choice. She wouldn’t be angry if I didn’t answer. She might get angry at Azrael, but that was their relationship, not mine.
Azrael had given me his family wrapped in a bow, and despite our first meeting, I wanted to show her that I could be a good sister to her, just as I could be a good sister to the brothers.
“S.C.A.R.L.E.T.T,” I spelled out slowly.
She watched my hands diligently, but when I was done, regret filled her eyes. She shook her head and looked back at Azrael. “I’m sorry, I don’t know sign language.”
“Scarlett,” he answered, his tone softer than before. “I suggest you learn it if you want to talk to her.”
“She doesn’t speak at all?”
“You don’t have to use your voice to be heard, it’s just convenient.” He walked by Poppy, his eyes locked on mine. “The world thrives in convenience,” he went on, coming to a stop in front of me, “we strive to ruin their comfort.”
I inhaled his scent, my head spinning. I had missed him today.
“Did you treat Alaric well?”
My spine straightened, a smile touching my lips. “I stabbed him in the arm.”
Azrael chuckled. “What a good little sinner you are.” He turned back to Poppy. “Do what you will with the information I’ve provided for you, but she still has another two months of training before we finish.”
She frowned. “Two months? You’re only going to train her for three months before you take her out? Even Emily went through a longer training course than that, and she doesn’t even go out.”
“The mouse never trained with me,” he responded.
“Az—”
“Scarlett,” he interjected, turning to me.
I straightened, finding his ocean eyes. I missed him so much today. When would we be able to spend time together, just us? I liked Poppy, but she was interfering with my reunion.
“Would you like to go outside and demonstrate to the nonbeliever what you’ve learned?”
Poppy clicked her tongue. “I’m not a nonbeliever, I just don’t think anyone can learn what we do in such a short amount of time.”
But Azrael didn’t break his eyes from mine. “You may play with Havoc.”
I beamed, turning to the brother.
Havoc checked the watch he had on his wrist and shrugged. “I’ve got time. No stabbing though,” he warned me, raising his brow.
I frowned, rolled my eyes, and turned for the door. Fine. I didn’t need to stick a knife into someone to win, I was sure of it.
I hopped down the stairs to the driveway, moving closer to Azrael’s bike on my way to the more open space.
I liked his motorcycle. It was black with red accents, sleek, and fast looking.
I hadn’t left the house since we started training, but I did hope he would take me on it the next time we did.
It had space for two people, so I knew I could fit.
When I reached the spot I had my eye on, I turned back to the house and waited.
Azrael and Poppy were on the top of the stairs, Havoc making his way towards me.
“You gonna go easy on me, doll?” he asked, taking his place.
I smiled and shook my head. Easy? No way, I gave it my all every time. It’s the only way I knew how to fight.
I saw the moment his eyes changed. Havoc was fun to fight.
He wasn’t as calculated as Alaric. He was more like a rabid dog.
He pushed and pushed and pushed until his opponent gave up.
I had given up every time we fought, the last time being a few days ago.
His touch was bruising, and he wore me out quickly, but fighting him was always a challenge I wanted to face.
He made me better. If I could beat Havoc, then I was one step closer to beating Azrael.
Havoc lunged.
I immediately jumped to one side, grabbing his arm, trying to use his weight against him while sticking my foot out.
He easily avoided tripping, spun around, and wrapped his hand around my throat, pulling me close.
My hands wrapped around his wrist, our eyes locking.
“Your form is better,” he hummed.
I glared at him and wrapped my legs around his waist. Releasing his wrist, I reached over his shoulders, grabbed his shirt, and jerked it over his head, blinding him.
I slammed my fist into his face over and over and over again until he released my neck.
Inhaling sharply, I took the advantage, released my legs, dropped to the ground, immediately wrapped my arms around his knees and pulled them towards me.
I managed to flip myself away from him, landing in a crouched position, just before his knees hit the ground.
He finally yanked his shirt back down, a snarl on his lips.
“You look good on your knees,” I signed as I stood, making sure I was just out of arms reach.
He shoved his hair back. “Only for you, doll.” He jumped up in one smooth motion and pulled his belt out of his pants.
I kept my eyes locked on his, watching his hands work his belt out of my peripheral. Azrael said it was like a superpower. Training my peripheral would allow me to see far more than I ever would without it, so I strived to make it better every chance I got.
He walked forward as if we were done, wrapping that belt twice around his left hand.
I adjusted my stance, studying every miniscule muscle twitch to try and figure out what he was doing. Why was he just walking? He should have been lunging, jumping, crouching, swinging. Walking? No, that didn’t compute—
He shifted his hips and I jumped, trying to avoid the leg swipe, but it never came. Instead, holding the other end of the belt in his right hand, he shoved his hands forward, quickly wrapping the belt around my neck while I was mid-jump.
My fingers immediately went to my throat, digging at the leather as he maneuvered himself behind me.
He kicked my knees out from under me, tightening the belt unforgivingly while placing a knee in the center of my back, pushing my chest forward.
I gasped, my knees scraping the ground, black spots dancing in my eyes, my neck pinched in the leather.
I was quickly losing air. Faster than I ever had before.
My head was pounding as my hands stopped fighting the belt and went for his legs, scraping up and down his pants, trying to find any way to force him to let go, but he had me pinned.
I couldn’t get out of this. I should have been able to get out of this, but my brain was growing fuzzy, my mind working slower and slower. It wasn’t until my eyes started fluttering and my arms started to feel too weak to lift that I finally tapped his leg.
Havoc immediately let go and I fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air, head pounding. I had failed. I wanted to impress Poppy, to make Azrael proud, and I had lasted less than five minutes. It was humiliating.
I felt a hand slide over my ribs, a warm presence in front of me. “You did good,” Havoc hummed, pushing the hair from my face. “Poppy seems to be impressed with what you could do.”
I opened my watering eyes, the world too bright for several seconds before my eyes adjusted. “I lasted far longer with Alaric.”
Havoc chuckled, leaning back on his heel and offered a hand. “Flattery.”
I took it, allowing him to help me to a stand, although I was unsteady while the feeling returned to my toes.
“They don’t watch how long you last, not this early in the game,” he explained as my eyes found the two on the stairs.
Azrael and Poppy were talking, both expressions smooth, Poppy’s expression a lot lighter than before.
“Your form was perfect for someone who’s only trained for a month,” he told me while I rubbed my throat.
“You were quick in your reactions, effective, and you didn’t focus only on the belt, which most do purely on instinct.
Others dig and dig and dig, not searching for another way out until it's too late. You spent less than five seconds digging before you fought against that instinct and searched for another way, that’s what’s important. ”
I frowned, finding his eyes. “I want to beat you.”
Havoc smiled and leaned in as if he were about to tell me a secret meant only for us. “Azrael’s never beaten me, doll. Don’t get your hopes up.”