Adam cleared his throat, once again wiping away his hot tears. “Did I… did I just imagine it or did she suggest that Father John is my father?”
Gabriel swallowed with a grim expression. “She did say ‘another’ son… and something about him planting seed inside her. It makes sense for him as the cult leader to want the vessel to be of his blood. I’m sorry.”
Adam wanted to puke, but if he wasn’t an angel, the last thing he needed was to leave his DNA behind. “So… that nun’s kid… it’s my…”
“Brother,” Gabriel finished for him.
This was so fucked up.
Gabriel cupped his face. “Do you remember at all why you came back here? Was it because of the upcoming ritual?”
Yes.
“I’ve come to stop them,” Adam said with absolute conviction, because that was the only thing he was certain about, apart from his absolute devotion to the sweet lamb who’d found it in his heart to forgive him.
The gentle smile on Gabriel’s face made his heart skip a beat. He was wanted. He was loved. He was good.
“I’m glad you’re not an angel. It means you don’t have to leave me.”
Adam’s heart leapt, basking in the warmth of Gabriel’s love. He leaned in, rubbing his face against the lovely skin, and despite not knowing what his past held, or whether there was something he could return to, with this boy by his side, he felt at peace. He had a future.
“Let’s finish this.”
20
ADAM
Adam just wanted this horror to be over. A week remained until the conjunction of the Demon Star and Saturn, but there was no point in prolonging the inevitable. Instead of taking the bastards out in a trickle, they would be wiped out in a single night. Gone and no longer able to hurt innocent kids for an imaginary purpose.
Still, as a grandfather clock echoed somewhere in the shadows of the orphanage, beating thrice, his skin covered in goosebumps. The man who started this madness was beyond a thick wooden door on the second floor, waiting for the ceremonial dagger taken from his own fucking altar.
Gabriel tugged on Adam’s hand, and feeling his touch was such a relief in the fog Adam had found himself in.
“Adam, I…” Gabriel stalled, as if unable to find words. “I would like to be the one to do this. For me and all those other children they hurt.”
His words were like hornets swarming on Adam’s flesh and climbing into his ears as he stood motionless, knowing he could do nothing to stop the turning of the tides. Adam wanted Gabriel’s conscience to remain unstained, but the boy had been disempowered all his life, and taking away his free will under the pretense of protection would have been cruel.
“Are you sure?”
Gabriel nodded. With only the moon for illumination, his eyes were bright in the shadowed face. After a moment’s hesitation, he leaned in for a kiss, as if needing to soothe the anxiety bubbling up in them both.
“He needs to look into my eyes and know that he failed.”
“So if he’s asleep, you’d want to wake him up?” Adam whispered, sliding his arms around Gabriel. This complicated things. At this point, his drive for revenge had burnt out, and all he wanted was to eliminate the danger before moving on. But if Gabriel needed this for closure, then Adam had to come up with a way to make it safer for them both.
“I would like that. He needs to know why it’s the end for him. The things he and Benson did to you…” Gabriel trailed off, stroking Adam’s neck with soft fingers.
Adam didn’t know if he’d ever be truly okay, or whether the man he’d become throughout the past decade had managed to move on, but in that moment he wanted to curl up in Gabriel’s lap and let him soothe the old hurt brewing in his heart.
It had to wait.
“Make sure you’re ready,” he whispered, glancing at the dagger in Gabriel’s hand before lowering himself to one knee, already focused on Father John’s lock.
Gabriel put his hand on Adam’s shoulder in silent support, and the weight of his hand was like that of a ceremonial sword, knighting Adam to be the lover and protector of his prince.
Vague sounds from inside suggested Father John wasn’t asleep, but they’d handle it. The priest was just one old man, and Abaddon had been using the secret passage to check on him daily. The odds were that he was high on hallucinogens, seeking visions to guide his ungodly path, and he wouldn’t even hear the lock open. If things got out of hand, Adam would end things his way, but regardless of the method, he and Gabriel would be gone by morning.
The lock clicked, and the finality of it made Adam’s stomach twist. He wiped sweat off his forehead, put the tools back into his unicorn pouch and rose, grabbing Gabriel’s hand. “Don’t do anything before I restrain him.”