Page 63 of A Silence So Divine

Within seconds of the door shutting behind her, sleeps tugs at me. I kick off my shoes and curl onto my side on the couch.

Nightmares evade me.

Twenty Six

Cecil

“So let me get this straight, you were dumb enough to offer up some girl to the Brothers, and now it’s our responsibility to fix it?” Jasper asks, shooting me a look of disdain through his glasses.

It’s been an hour of this, and I sound like a broken record pleading my case. It was my intention to ease into this. Eden’s little outburst made that difficult, and I’ve been forced to jump into the deep end without holding my breath.

Everyone has heard of Reapers, but assumed they were a myth used to scare children into compliance. When I told them what she was capable of, what Iwitnessed, some scoffed while others nervously touched their ears.

“If you don’t want to fight, I can’t make you. All I’m saying is, we’ve been waiting for the right moment. If we begin our training now, I think we really have a shot. She damn near deafened everyone within a split second. Imagine what she could do with some practice.”

A howl of laughter has me narrowing my eyes, and I search for the source. Jasper has a mocking smile on his face. “You reallyonly care about yourself, don’t you? Do you have any idea how many people you’re putting at risk? And for what, a piece of ass?”

Red floods my vision, and I struggle to keep my composure.

Not everyone in the Resistance holds me in high regard. It’s split down the middle; half of them see my work at the Sanctuary as a necessary evil. The others, well, they would probably dance on my grave.

In order to win them over, I have to play nice.

“It’s for all of us. I would doanythingto keep my brother safe.” I intentionally don’t mention Eden, though deep down I know I would do as much to protect her as I would my own sibling. (Which is a tough pill to swallow, I might add.) “But this has to end. We’re no closer than we were last year, or the year before. What’s it gonna take?”

Sylvie speaks up next, and I wish I hadn’t sat beside her. Our relationship has always been complicated. To be frank, I’m pretty sure she hates me unless I’m in her bed.

“You don’t trust us enough to be honest about your brother, so why would we trust you?” She retorts, her face hard. It’s obvious she’s taking the omission of truth personally, but I don’t have the patience to empathize with her feelings. Last time I tried to pacify her, I was rewarded with the outline of her hand on my face.

“Trust has nothing to do with it. I don’t tell people about Creed, period. It’s been that way since he was a kid.” I sign along with my words, ensuring everyone is included in the conversation.

Still sat at the picnic table, Creed offers support by nodding his head adamantly. At least one person’s on my side.

It’s then that Veda makes her return, choosing to stand off to the side. Her eyes are unseeing, as if she’s deep in thought. I want to know where Eden is, but now would be a bad time to ask.

There’s a lull in the argument, and I roll my neck on my shoulders. I’ve never craved a cigarette so bad in my life.

“How do you know you can control her? What if she… kills one of us?” The question comes from a shadowed corner. Barely visible is a meek teenage girl, balancing a toddler on her knees. While I understand the concern, I’m furious all the same.

My mouth snaps open to respond, but Veda beats me to it.

“She won’t,” she answers with absolution.

All heads turn in her direction, and those who have been arguing with me look less than thrilled at the ally I’ve made. Veda steps closer to the fire, the light dancing across her weathered stare. The vision of a leader, her chin is high and her back ramrod straight.

“We might not have an opportunity like this again,” she continues, catching the gaze of each individual member.

Sylvie is seething beside me, her eyebrows pulled together in frustration. I can only imagine the heated conversation that will take place in their RV later tonight. The expressions of everyone else is a mixed bag; some angry, some weary, some elated.

It’s enough for me to breathe a little easier.

“Cecil has the intel, the experience, the training. And most of all, he has a reason to end those fuckers. Isn’t this what we’ve been waiting for?”

There are hushed side conversations all around the circle, a few heads nodding along to Veda’s words. No one offers up encouraging sentiments, but no one outwardly disagrees either.

There’s no use prolonging this any further. Biting the bullet, I rise to my feet.

“I don’t want to do this alone, but I will, if that’s what it takes."