The sound of soft crying came from the cell behind Phebe. Her eyes widened, and her hand dropped to her side in defeat. “Phebe?” I asked and moved her aside by her shoulders. I crouched down and saw a huge pair of blue eyes looking up at me from the tiny cell. A little girl with long blond hair.
I knew in an instant what she was. I straightened and met Phebe’s eyes. “She is called Delilah,” Phebe whispered. I stood still, fucking stunned. Phebe’s eyes closed tightly. When she opened them again, she said, “She is two months away from her eighth birthday.”
My blood turned ice cold.
“He has already declared her a Cursed . . . and . . . ” she cried. “He has decided to be the one to awaken her when the time comes.”
Judah. Motherfucking Judah!
Phebe’s eyes fell to the little girl, who was looking up at her like Phebe was her sun. Phebe bent down, and the little girl reached through the bars. Phebe kissed her hand. “She arrived not long before Harmony and the others did. I saw her being brought to him by his men. As soon as I saw the happiness in his eyes at her beauty, I told him I would care for her until it was her birthday . . . but, Cain, I always planned to get her out somehow before then.”
Phebe kissed the little girl’s hand once more, then stood to face me. “Sister Ruth was to take her if for some reason I could not get out too. I cannot see her hurt, Cain . . . not like I did my sister. She looks just like Rebekah did when she was her age. And . . . and then he named her Delilah. He named her that awful name too. I knew it was because he saw the resemblance. I have to protect her. I cannot see another child suffer. I cannot . . . I cannot take this life anymore. There is so much pain . . . ”
I pulled Phebe into my chest and held her while she cried. Truth be told, the embrace kept me from screaming out in rage. My brother . . . my motherfucking brother! He did all this. Everything had gone wrong.
“There’ll always be another one,” I said. “Mae, Lilah, Maddie, Harmony . . . now this little Delilah too. Even if we save all the Curseds in existence, he will always find another, brand another. He will always strive to keep this bullshit prophecy alive.”
Phebe nodded. “I . . . I think that too. He will never stop hurting these children. All because he finds it too hard to resist their beauty. He wants to own them, possess them, control them. Like he does us all.” Phebe stepped back and gripped the lapels of my leather jacket. “You need to get her out for me. Just get her out.”
“Where are Stephen, Ruth, Solomon and Samson now?” I asked, checking my watch. Fuck. The Hangmen would be coming in less than two hours. What the hell did I do now?
Phebe watched me closely. “They are coming . . . aren’t they? The devil’s men?”
I nodded. “I need to get the innocent out, Phebe. The plan has gone to shit. I don’t know what to do—”
“Judah has them in the public cells,” Phebe interrupted. “So all the people can see who was responsible for thrusting us into chaos. So they can see the souls that the devil polluted. They are in the cells that face the Great Plain.” The Great Plain—the area where Judah held his sermons.
“Fuck!” I spat. That land held no cover. It was exposed.
Phebe reached for my arm. “No one is gathered there at present. The congregation are loading guns into vehicles and are preparing everything for the attack, on the farthest side of the commune.”
I felt a flicker of hope. “Stay away, do you hear me? Wait here. Don’t come to the plain. The Hangmen will be coming through this way. They were coming for the guards and Judah. Take off your headdress and show them who you are. Ky, Lilah’s husband, is coming. He knows who you are, what you look like. They will protect you.”
Phebe’s eyes closed with relief. “Thank you,” she whispered.
I moved to walk away. Phebe began talking to the child, soothing her. I turned around. “Phebe?” Phebe looked at me. “Leave her in there and tell her to be quiet. No matter what, tell her to be silent. If something happens . . . ” I let that hang in the air.
“To me,” she finished.
“I will return for her. Or Sister Ruth will. I’ll make sure she is freed. Somehow. I promise.”
Phebe nodded, and as she glanced down at the little girl in the cell, I saw the love she had for her, the affection. I also knew she was trying to save her in place of Lilah. She was saving this child, almost the mirror image of the one she, in her eyes, had failed.
“What’s her name?” I found myself asking.
A smile stretched on Phebe’s face. “Grace,” Phebe said, reverence in her tone. “Her name is Grace.”
“I’ll be back for you and Grace. But try to get to Ky first. If we’re lucky, you’ll be back with your sister by tonight. As will Grace.”
With that, I raced up the hill, staying tucked into the line of trees. When the Great Plain came into sight, I saw that Phebe had been right. It was deserted. The public cells were on the far side. Checking no one was around, I darted over the manicured grass. I didn’t have time to circle the perimeter first. Too much time had already been wasted.
I ran as fast as I could, my chest blowing out as I pushed myself to the limit until I arrived at the cells. My stomach fell when I saw my friends sitting inside.
“Cain . . . ” Sister Ruth’s head rolled to face in my direction. She was badly beaten and was struggling to move. Something about seeing this sweet woman in this much pain tore a fucking lethal amount rage from me.
“Ruth,” I whispered back.
Sister Ruth tried to smile, but her lips were too broken.
Solomon shuffled painfully to the steel bars. He was black and blue. “We failed, Cain. Samson and I managed to cut the fence while the ceremony was happening, but this morning, Judah’s guards came for you and caught us. We had no choice but to own up. I showed them the hole in the fence you used yesterday, but kept the one you used today a secret.” He dropped his head. “I am so sorry. I failed you. I came here for one reason, and I failed.”