The Prophet's Daughter (21 page)

“And so it is foretold,” bellowed my father, turning back to the altar. He placed the knife down onto a
cloth, picking up the lighter and holding it tight in his hand as he eyed the sticker. “That he shall spill the blood of his children unto a tarnished white lily and bring purity to our tainted lands.”

I felt dizzy and the urge to vomit washed over me. I c
ouldn’t keep my head up to see what was going on. I watched the basin, however, as my blood pooled beneath me, my arm outstretched so that it trickled into the basin. I lifted my head just in time to see Lovelock setting something on fire and throwing it into the pile of wood.

“Drink, my children,” called Lovelock as he turned back towards the ground. “Drink, for we soon shall be free.” I struggled to lift my head and watch as the crowd began to drink. I glanced back at Isaac, who winked at me and held up h
is cup – water. I grinned, blinking as my vision blurred.

“Smart,” I breathed, looking down at the basin. Flames began to crackle and I could feel the heat against my skin. I cringed, trying to move away from the flames as they began to reach towards me.
They were hungry for more, licking at the air in search of more to devour. I looked towards Lovelock, watching him as he set down his still-full cup. He stepped backwards and observed the crowd before he turned towards me, a grin stretched across his face.

“Say hi to my sweet Annie, will you?” he said, clasping his hands together at his chest.

“You see, I would,” I panted as I glowered at my father who raised an eyebrow, his smirk only growing as I spoke, “but I’m not going anywhere.” It took almost all of my energy to wrap my legs around his throat, tensing my muscles around him. He moved to duck away, but I pulled my legs in and dragged him closer towards me, my vision coated with black spots. His blue eyes widened, a strangle gasp escaping just as I flung him down towards the ground, my legs swinging as my body began to grow limp, glancing at my blood coated arms. Hearing the following
clang
and
crack
as Lovelock fell into the basin, I watched blood pour from a wound in his skull, his hair singed with flame.

Before I had the chance to take in the whole situation, however, the fire began to consume his body within near seconds of his connection with the hot flames – catching on his black cotton cloak. He began to scream, his mouth stretched open wide and ey
es staring up at me in terror as blood streamed into his eyes, filling his mouth. His skin began to blister, his hair burned from his face as it began to bubble, his arms and legs flailing. I could feel the heat stronger than ever, reaching out for me as if it hungered to take another of my kin, hungry for the wooden crucifix that it had been made to burn in the first place – it was as if the fire was alive, searching for its original target.

“Isaac!” I cried out, feeling the crucifix fall backwards. It was
burning, wasn’t it? Soon, I would be engulfed in flame and die the way my fathers had. I screwed my eyes shut tight, heart beating against my chest as if it was trying to leap out of my throat, blood roaring in my ears. I felt the heat move away from me, the crucifix sliding beneath me, and then the chains around my hands were gone.

Other screams of agony had joined Lovelock in those brief seconds, and as I opened my eyes, I struggled to sit up and see
everyone but Isaac, Ava and I in the church curled up, twitching or laying on the ground, howling in pain or making no noise at all. Screams echoed all around and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; it made me want to vomit again.

“Cyanide,” whispered Is
aac, tearing off the sleeve of his shirt to wrap around my arm. I leaned against the wall and looked up at him, my vision growing blurred again and soon everything grew black.

I woke up some time later, the sound of an engine rumbling disturbing my slumber. I blinked, my vision blurred and my head foggy as I observed the area around me. I was in a car, judging by the sound and the slight bumps. I looked at my arm to see it had been bandaged as best as it could have been, as well as a quick stitch job. It stung and I groaned, putting my other hand against my forehead.

“Arin,” Ava sighed, sounding relieved as she leaned back from the front passenger seat to look at me, eyes narrowed with worry.

“What’s going on?” I murmured, moving to sit up. I used my good hand to cling to the back seat, hoisting myself onto my rear, my head throbbing at the movement.

“Careful, you lost a lot of blood,” she cautioned, patting my leg.

“Where are we going?” I persisted, closing my eyes.

“Away from Cobalt,” Isaac responded, glancing at me in the rear view mirror. “The Chapel was burning when we left, I didn’t want to stick around for the rest of his followers to catch up and find us there.”

“Isaac, why did he kill everyone?” I asked, glancing at Ava, who turned away to look at the window.

“Think about it,” he began, “he lied to them all and manipulated many of them into killing and destroying the lives of so many people. When it was proven that his word was false, they would not have reacte
d well.”

“He killed them so they wouldn’t kill him.” I looked out the window, watching as the houses flashed by us.

“Right,” Isaac sighed. Ava looked down at her feet, digging through a bag that sat at her feet, before she pulled out a picture frame. She passed it back to me, a small smile on her face.

“I figured you would want that. We grabbed what we could after we got your arm handled, but the entire place started to catch on fire and all I could smell was-”

“Thank you,” I interrupted her, holding the picture frame to my chest. I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning against the back seat, the dull throb in my head numbing most of my senses.

“Arin, there are more of them out there, you know,” Isaac stated, glancing back at me through the rear view mirror.

“I know.” I fell silent for a moment, touching Olive’s necklace. I closed my eyes and nodded to myself, tapping my fingers along my collarbone.

“Isaac, take me to Felicity’s.” “Why?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“I have to tell her,” I said, lifting my head and looking into the rear view mirror, locking my gaze with his.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“It’s all I have left to do."

With a nod, Isaac turned back to face the front of the car, is hands tense around the wheel. I leaned back against the se
ar and closed my eyes.

“I did it, Mum.”