My Maddie (Hades Hangmen #8) - Tillie Cole Page 0,68
quickly looked back at AK and Viking, signaling for their help with a single nod.
“We need to get him down.” Panic began to take hold of me. I looked back to Flame, and his eyes rolled with the threatening unconsciousness. AK and Viking rushed over and began cutting through Flame’s ropes. They caught him as he fell. Flame’s eyes widened in shock, stimulated by the fear of being touched. I swiftly moved before him and caught the attention of his wandering gaze. He immediately relaxed.
“We will save you,” I whispered. Flame exhaled. I knew how far he had slipped into the darkness when I felt him take hold of my hand. Flame’s rough fingers wrapped loosely around mine. Our palms kissed and assured me that, even fighting the flames and the horrors from his past, Flame knew I was meant to be by his side. That I was his protector, and always would be. That any darkness he would travel through, I would follow behind, lamp in hand, on a quest to find him and bring him back into the light.
This little light of mine…
I held on to Flame’s hand as his body relaxed and his eyes finally closed. “Rider!” AK called. AK and Viking carried Flame to where Asher was being treated. I could smell the rubbing alcohol Rider had applied to Asher’s wounds. Bandages littered Asher’s body—his torso and arms. A choked sound left Asher’s mouth as Flame was laid down beside him.
Keeping Flame’s hand in mine, I wrapped my free arm around Asher and kissed his cheek. “Asher,” I whispered. “You are okay,” I murmured positively, more to assure myself. “You are okay.” I felt the wetness of his tears against my cheek.
“He broke, Madds. He just fucking broke. Started talking to our poppa, and Pastor Hughes like they were alive. But, in reality, he was speaking to the cunts who captured us.” Asher’s breathing hitched. “He thought I was Isaiah. He really thought I was Isaiah.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ward off the pain that threatened to destroy what was left of my heart. “Flame will be okay, Asher. We will fix him. We will heal him.” I dropped my head against Asher’s. “You are alive.” I exhaled in relief. “You are both alive.”
“Hello,” a soft voice sounded behind us. I turned my head to see Sister Ruth kneeling at the cage which held the naked girl with the sewn-up mouth. Ruth held out her hand. “I am Ruth. I can help you.” She smiled, kindly. I saw the sympathy in her smile too. “I understand your pain. I can help you.”
“Get the fuck back!” Viking shouted as he sprinted across the clearing. I did not understand what was happening until I saw the girl withdraw a knife from the leafy floor of the cell. Wrapping his arms around Ruth, Viking pulled her back onto the grass, well away from the knife. But I watched in horror as the knife did not threaten Ruth as we all assumed. Instead, the girl raised her hands, both clenching the handle of the knife, and she plunged it into her heart.
“No!” Ruth yelled, trying to scurry forward to help. She unlatched the door to the cage and took the blade from the girl’s clutches. My heart hammered in my chest as I saw the blood gushed from the girl’s chest. Even from this distance, I could see she had stopped breathing and her eyes had ceased to blink. Ruth struggled to cover the seeping wound with her hand. “No,” Ruth whispered as she fought to save the girl’s life.
“She’s gone,” Viking spoke quietly from beside her. He took hold of Ruth’s wrists.
“I had to try,” she stated, trying to pull away.
“She’s fucking gone. She stabbed herself in the heart. I ain’t no doctor like you and your kid, but I know that means she’s beyond fucked.” Ruth lifted her head and I caught the agony in her expression. Her brown eyes stared at the ground, as she let Viking lead her from the cage. Her white shirt was soiled by blood, lots of blood. My heart broke for her. I watched her eyes when she looked upon the girl. It was not just sympathy. It was deep understanding. I did not know what Ruth endured at the hands of The Order. But like us all, it would have been bad, very bad.
Rider worked on Flame’s surface wounds. “I’ve sedated him, Madds.” Rider went quiet, and then