My Maddie (Hades Hangmen #8) - Tillie Cole Page 0,97

and I waited for the pain to come. Maddie said I didn’t have to release them…

… it did not burn up…

I gasped and dropped to my knees. The flames. I felt them. They were rushing through my veins. “They’re not evil. The flames are good.” I studied the veins in my arms. They burned, but they didn’t hurt. I breathed easier. They didn’t hurt. The flames carried away the evil from Poppa. God took you away, so you were spared from poppa’s evil. You were spared from a man who would seek to do you harm. In death, you received protection… you were granted peace…

My body felt weak. My arms ached. My legs throbbed. Isaiah was looking up at me. “I’m sorry,” I rasped. A teardrop fell on his chest. “I’m sorry,” I repeated. Isaiah began to disappear. “Goodbye…” I whispered. My chest felt too tight. I saw my Poppa’s face in my mind. He hurt me. He hurt Isaiah. He hurt Asher... He even hurt Maddie. “Goodbye,” I repeated, and Isaiah completely vanished. My body shook. It vibrated with fucking rage. Hot anger filled all my muscles.

Throwing back my head, I screamed. I fucking screamed and sank my hands into the soil. Poppa did this. Poppa fucking hurt us all. Isaiah left us, because Poppa was bad. I was fucked up, because Poppa was bad. Ash… my head snapped to the side. He was watching me. He was fucked up too. Then all the rage left me with one single look at Maddie. One hand was over her mouth… and the other was over her stomach. Her baby—our baby… like Isaiah. I turned my head to look at the river. Isaiah was put in there. Poppa and the pastor scattered his ashes into the water.

I pushed to my feet and walked to the edge of the water. Isaiah was out there somewhere. God received Isaiah’s soul, but his body was in this water. “Isaiah,” I whispered then walked into the edge of the water. I dropped to my knees. I pushed my hands into the water, then into the mud beneath. “Goodbye,” I whispered. I cupped the water in my hands and poured it over my face and head. “In death, you received protection… you were granted peace…”

Isaiah would no longer be red hot and in agony. He was happy with mama. He wouldn’t be crying, he’d be laughing. His breathing would be normal, and he’d be with mama. She would be happy too. There would be no blood on her wrists. I poured the water over my head and face and arms. She would be at peace too. Isaiah and mama would be granted peace. They would receive rest.

Suddenly, I saw someone next to me. Ash dropped to his knees beside me. He stared out at the water. “Goodbye, Isaiah,” he said and, cupping the water, poured it over his face and head. “Bye, Mama,” he hushed out and his facial expression changed. Ash’s hands pushed into the riverbed and his back started shaking. He was crying. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what the fuck to do! I looked for Maddie. She was watching us from the riverbank. Ruth had her arm around Maddie’s shoulders. Maddie was crying too. I squeezed my eyes shut. Lifting my arm, I looked at my veins. What if your Poppa and the church were both wrong? What if the flames were not devil-cursed, but instead were beacons of good awarded to you by God… Maddie said the flames weren’t bad. Maddie never lied to me. What if the flames are keeping back the darkness? What if they are not to be extinguished, but fueled?

I felt the flames, but they didn’t burn. Ash cried harder. “Bye, mama. Bye, Isaiah.” He choked on his words. The flames didn’t hurt Isaiah. Maddie has always said my touch didn’t kill Isaiah. Then, right now, they wouldn’t hurt Ash. It would hold back the darkness. Swallowing, I placed my hand on Ash’s back. I wanted to pull it off. I wanted to tear it away. But I kept it there. Ash froze. He looked up at me. He wiped his tears away and sat back. I kept my hand on his back. I didn’t know when to take it away, so I just left it there.

“I didn’t mean it,” Ash said. The river was slow. I kept my eyes on the ripples. “You’re nothing like Poppa,” he stated. I froze, and something in