His hand clenches in my hair before he rasps, “So, you saw?”
I grab his hand but say nothing, squeezing.
Enzo sighs, and in that sound, I hear a world of pain. My heart hurts for my friend, but he’s in a different place when he continues. “That’s his way of keeping us in line. Controlling us. If he makes us fuck each other, then we are just as culpable as he is.”
I hum in my throat, unable to form a response. My mind is awhirl with the possibilities and I’m disgusted that he’s forcing others to perform sexual acts for his pleasure. I guess I’m not surprised; give someone a position of power, and they’ll take advantage every time.
“What happened to David?”
“He turned,” Enzo says with a shrug.
“How?”
He sighs again. “I don’t know, Lola.”
I ponder his words because he didn’t seem surprised when David started chewing that man’s face off. In fact, he took the time to get dressed before leaving David alive to cause more mayhem. It could have been calculated, and perhaps it wasn’t. All I know is I can’t be sorry because anything to bring down Shepherd is sanctioned in my book. But maybe David and that man were being forced as well. But David . . . ugh, I’m not sure I can drum up any sympathy for him even so.
“I’m tired,” he says before pulling himself up and walking off into the bedroom.
Alone, my breath catches in my throat while I watch the sun cast a brilliant orange glow over the walls in the backyard, creeping over the ground in crimson light. It’s such a contrast to the ugliness of the night that I commit the beauty to memory because I’m afraid I’ll never get to see it again.
???
Enzo avoids me the next day. I guess I can’t blame him. Breakfast is a quiet affair, and I come in just in time to grab something and shove it down my throat before making my way into the sermon room. We all pile in as we usually do, and I glance around at the people around me.
After the events of last night, it’s hard not to look closer and try to parse out who has been targeted, who he’s victimizing in this crowd, but then I realize that he’s oppressing us all. I seriously hope Cole or Enzo takes the sick fuck out.
My eyes land on Cole when he steps in with Marie, but I quickly look away, unwilling to bring any attention to us. Is Cole part of Shepherd’s harem? Surely not. I swing my eyes back around and search his face. He’s whispering in Marie’s ear as they find a spot and seat themselves.
Sensing my gaze, he looks up, and his face creases in concern, but I shake my head slightly and turn back around, gazing at the front. Enzo is standing by the podium where David would typically be, and I shudder because his eyes are pinned on me, his face inscrutable. I smile hesitantly until he turns away.
Fuck. I shiver at his cold reception but push it away because Enzo wouldn’t be putting himself through all this for me, only to sacrifice me to Shepherd. Right?
Shepherd steps through the door, and the hall quiets as he skips through the usual pleasantries, his face grim. “Flock, we have experienced a great tragedy.”
People murmur around me, and I keep my gaze locked on Shepherd’s, analyzing his every expression. How is he going to spin this? And will he reveal how David died?
“A member of our flock, a beloved member, has died.”
Shocked gasps ring out and everyone looks around frantically, no doubt searching out the loved one now missing.
“David, who worked so tirelessly alongside us to rid the world of evil, has fallen. The devil has prevailed and stolen a member of our flock! We must fight that much harder against he who steals our innocent, who defies our God, who spreads sin to the world like a plague of locusts!” He pounds the lectern as he cries out, and my heart beats a strong thrum in my chest.
He doesn’t mention the other man, doesn’t state the particulars, but rages for another fifteen minutes about the evils of the devil and sin.
A woman is crying softly behind me. Is she afraid of the devil or Shepherd? He’s definitely masquerading as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
We trail out after his sermon, once again in a state of quiet shock. A woman beside me cries into her partner’s shoulder, and he leads her away with a solemn expression.
I shove my trembling hands into my pants pockets as I walk quickly away, breathing deeply in the May sunshine. I’m back to work, so I head to the makeshift stables and begin my day of mucking and cleaning. I’m halfway through the stalls when I hear two men speaking quietly outside the doors.
“What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. David was his favorite.”
“I know. Shepherd must be freaking out. This isn’t gonna be good, man.”
“Do you think that Enzo dude is gonna take David’s place?”