Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I feel my ears lift with my smile. I will protect her with my being and every ounce of power I have. I already love her.
Taylor.
You Failed
“Why do you come to me empty-handed?” the bishop drawls as we walk into the sanctuary.
This is exactly what I expected. The team last night failed as well. He’s losing his patience with us all. However, I’m glad she got away.
I still don’t know what that was that attacked Ross and Byron, but it gave me a chance to slip away before I was turned to ash. That light … didn’t come from one of ours, but it felt like it could have.
“Bryon and Ross were attacked. I had to let her go to help them. We need all our assets. I will have another shot at retrieving the girl,” I say.
“And where were you, Edward? Were you not capable of helping your brothers?” The bishop asks as he glares at Edward.
I give Edward a side glance and shake my head slightly. That woman is not with child. She is not the one we need. I didn’t sign up to harm innocents. Neither did Edward.
“I was too far away. The plan was for me to wait on the other side of the parking lot. They were across the street, Your Grace. I wouldn’t have made it to them,” Edward says.
I close my eyes and release a relieved breath. There are a few of us who have been questioning what our true assignment is. We have been told the prophecy says we will restore the balance of the world with the child who lives through time and space.
I’m beginning to question it all. With each decade, each century that has passed, it feels like we’re hunting something else. Not balance and restoration for our kind, but vengeance.
“And the girl? You weren’t able to secure the girl while your brother helped the others?”
“The fire wielder appeared to take the girl with him. You told my ranking level not to engage the brothers if we came across them, Your Grace.”
The bishop snorts. “We need all our assets, you say? You can only be an asset if you have value. Name one among you who has shown value,” he bites out.
“Forgive us, Your Grace. I will count this failure as my own. It’s not on them,” I plead.
The bishop looks me straight in the eyes. He then lifts his hand and flicks his wrist. Ross and Bryon’s necks snap with the motion and they both fall to the ground.
I ball my fists and clench my jaw. They didn’t deserve that. I grow tired of the senseless killing.
What righteous cause is this that causes so much bloodshed? I swallow back the bile that rises in my throat. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.
“Edward, you take care of the bodies. Ferg, I want you to stay here with me,” the bishop commands.
Edward rushes to use his magic to lift both men from the altar floor so he can dispose of the bodies properly. I stay behind, staring down at my feet as I try to fight back my anger.
“You are angry with me. You are beginning to question my authority. Am I right?”
“No, Your Grace. I am not questioning your authority. I wish to understand, but I am not questioning you.”
“It is all the same. This is why I’ve asked you to stay behind. Azar, you can reveal yourself,” he says.
A woman with dark-red hair appears and moves to his side on the altar. At first, I’m not sure if she’s a fairy or a witch. The one thing I do know is that she carries the stench of dark magic.
It’s the same scent those tracking charms carry. The main reason I don’t trust them. It’s not as if I don’t know the bishop has ties with dark magic. Our very existence testifies to as much.
Ben proves as much each day he walks among us. Could this be the evidence I’ve been waiting for to prove that we’re the problem? I have followed the bishop blindly for so long, as many in the church have.
For so long, this has been our way. Nothing is questioned, nothing is challenged. I once thought that was the way it should be, but now, as this woman stands here with dark magic seeping from her pores, I know this isn’t right.
The only issue now is understanding the depth of our wrongs. Is this balance we seek really ours to attain? Or are we just pawns in a game not of our understanding?
“Azar, Ferg here has failed me once again. However, he is indeed an asset. An asset who needs to remember his place. Why don’t you punish him to prove your loyalty to me? Then and only then will I forgive what you have done,” the bishop says dryly.