Will the devil take me or will my maker protect me

HIDDEN DARKNESS CH 16

“May the Lord be in your heart and help you to confess your sins with true sorrow.”

Unconsciously the words came out of Ore’s lips. It had been drilled into him so well in the seminary, it wasn’t until the last word faded away he realized he had uttered them.

“Wait, did you say you are about to sin?”

His mind still playing catch up, Ore became aware the beginning of the confession was not as it should. Who comes to confess a sin before he commits it. No longer sure what was going on, he waited for the man on the other side of the iron grate to tell him he was wrong. His expectation was met with disappointment.

“I has been quite some time since my last confession.”

“Should you not be confessing your sins since then? This is not how things work.”

“It will work how I say it will work Ore.”

A shiver climbed from his fingertips to the nape of his neck when he heard his name. He knew that voice. How could he forget the creator of the ordeal that had sent him scurrying to his now invaded refuge. All that was in his mind was to do nothing to set this man off, making a firm decision to give him whatever he wants.

“Do you remember what makes the confession box so sacred Ore?”

The question sounded simple, but for Ore it felt like his life was precariously balanced on the edge of a suya mans sharp knife. One misstep and he would find himself in pieces.

“Yes, whatever is said here is between a man, his priest and our Maker.”

“Good, good, good, I think you and I will get along just fine. ”

Ore let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. His hand reached up to the small beads around his neck ending in a simple wooden cross pressing against his chest. With a practiced motion he removed it, his fingers caressing each bead lovingly. It brought a tranquility to him, his tense body relaxing to the bone.

“Priest, I am about to begin a killing spree. My life will soon be a walkway of pain, a road of violence and a river of blood. The innocent will not be spared. The darkness will embrace me once more as what was finally hidden within will be unleashed and I will once again assume the name that has been thrust upon me.”

The onslaught came through the grate, soft and without emotion but still containing the deadliness of a carpet viper. Ore heard it all, unable to tune even a single word out. The beads kept his mind at peace, a whisper guiding his words.

“Why are you telling us this?”

“I managed to leave the life behind though a lot was left unfinished but still the city calls me back.”

“Must you return to such a life?”

“I have no choice.”

“We all have choices. It is never to late to become someone new.”

“I killed a man today Priest. Shot him clean through the head. There was no hesitation in me. Though it was self defense, I felt nothing from snuffing out a life. Even now I hold no sorrow.”

“We were brought into this world for a reason.”

“A reason? A village was massacred because of me, the two that survived I did nothing but give them a bag full of cash.”

“Child, then will you accept your penance.”

“Don’t call me child. What penance do you have in mind?”

“Do not willingly bring harm to the innocent. Change the lives of two people for the better.”

Ola heard this and snorted.

“Priest, no Hail Marys? or Act of Contrition? and you have nothing to say about the likely havoc I plan to inflict on this city?”

“We all all have our part to play in the world our Maker has created. I can only offer direction, free will leaves our choices to be ones own.”

“Very well. Priest, you seem to have become a different person when in the safety of this box. You will not be meeting your Maker today. Tonight you’ll find a phone under your pillow. We will meet again.”

The door closed with a click, leaving Ore alone once again. The rosary fell from his hand, landing on the wooden floor with a clatter, breaking the spell that kept his tranquil state. Rushing to him was the reality of what just happened. The thought of having to meet that man again nearly drove him mad. Collapsing to the floor, his body curled up into the fetal position as he failed to stop the trembling.

Ola was not surprised Malaozi remained where he left her. His grasp of her nature was increasing.

“I’ve called in a vehicle to take us to the cemetery.”

“I’m not going.”

The corners of Malaozi’s mouth curved down slightly, a minute detail Ola did not fail to notice.”

“Why?”

“Where did you learn those combat skills?”

Ola did nto bother answering her question, instead asking one of his own. There is so little I know about this dangerous girl.

“I don’t owe you an answer.”

“Then I don’t have to answer you as well.”

They stared at each other, Malaozi having the higher ground, forcing Ola to look up to her. He could see the stubbornness in her eyes. Coming up with nothing to break this deadlock his hand reached up to run through his hair.

“Israel, a combat training center in the Southern Negev desert. That is all I can say about it.”

There must be more to it but I doubt standing here silently will get me anything more. Turning, Ola headed for the door.

“Wait! You said you would tell me if I answered you.”

“Sweet Malaozi, when did I ever say that?”

She was about to argue when she thought back to his words, his back facing her. Jaws tensing she gritted her teeth her next words shocking Ola to the core.

“Please.”

It was devoid of any of the domineering and haughty nature she had always expressed in spades carrying an unmistakably pleading tone. Who the hell are you and what have you done with the angel of death that has followed me all day. 

“I hate cemeteries.”

“We have to go, I need to…”

Her words faltered, her eyes facing the ground unable to look up. He could see pearly white teeth biting her lower lip in frustration, an image that melted away the lethal aura that surrounded her and left her vulnerable and as adorable as anything he had ever attributed the word too. I must be out of my mind but damn she is cute right now.

“It doesn’t matter. He’s not in the coffin. They probably have him stashed somewhere. You want to say goodbye right?”

She didn’t answer but Ola did not need her to, the tensing of her body told him all he needed to know. She probably wouldn’t answer if I ask her why.

“Let’s go.”

“Where too?

“I need a place to think.”

“Your family owns a high rise building not too far from here.”

“No, I need somewhere more down to earth.”

Making his way out the church, she followed, the cuteness fading away to be replaced by the lethal aura he had become familiar with. Walking past the fallen door, he began to say something but thought better of it; working his way onto the streets of Marina.

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