Sin and Sacrifice (28 page)

Dragging a hand through his
black hair, Dracht tried to absorb the story. It sounded
impossible. Daughters of Eve. Eden. Immortality. A man who never
aged. Yet he was faced with women who were being slaughtered
without remorse and here was one of his own brethren spinning a
tale that he couldn't just dismiss.

What had Rhett
said?
You won't believe it.
He resisted the urge to glance at the one-way
mirror.

“
What if the captive man
had been lying? To save his own ass? In the face of his own demise,
he might have thrown them to the wolves. As a Templar, you know
that you're required to find out what
all
the possible answers might be in
a situation like this. Besides that, you and the others engaging in
murder--”

“
It's not
murder,”
Saul
spat.

“
It is,” Dracht said,
leaning his back against the wall. “What happened to the
man?”

“
He eventually died. His
mind was gone for the last twenty years.”

“
How many women have the
Templars killed in the name of erasing evil?”

“
There were supposedly
twenty-two girls born to the sinner. No one can be exactly sure. We
have killed twelve.” The zeal kicked up a notch in Saul's voice
when he made the announcement.

Twelve.

He remembered the uneasy
feeling he'd had standing before Genevieve as she'd hung from the
ceiling by her wrists. That uncomfortable sensation that something
pristine and beautiful had been lost. For a moment, Dracht was
overcome with the desire to end Saul where he sat.

“
Where are the other
Templars staying?” he asked, forcing calm.

“
That I cannot tell you.
After Rhett's raid we split off into two groups. So even if I
wanted to tell you where the others were, I don't have the
information. Safety precaution.” Saul sat back in his chair with a
satisfied grin. “Father Valanzano, in fact the whole congregation,
is going to be terribly put out with you when they discover that
you have interfered with our plans.”

This was why Saul hadn't
fought him for the information. Saul honestly believed the Church
would stand on their side, that they'd been carrying out God's work
all this time.

“
I doubt it. You over
reach. You and everyone working with you.” Dracht exited the room
without any more questions. If he stayed any longer, he might give
in to the urge to beat Saul to a bloody pulp.

Half expecting the viewing
room to be empty, Dracht found Alexandra and Minna standing right
where he left them, eyes wide, faces pale. Wary, too, that much was
easy to discern. He couldn't blame them. Shock, maybe at the news
one of their brothers had been held for so long as a prisoner, or
that he had turned against them, was plain on their
expressions.

“
Ladies.” He gestured them
out of the hallway and back into the main quarters of the
stronghold. Dracht wasn't sure what to say to them at the moment.
He needed to consult with Dragar, Christian and Rhett.

“
What are we going to do
now?” Alexandra asked, quite subdued from her earlier belligerent
attitude.

“
I need to speak to Dragar
and Christian while Rhett and Evelyn make the trip back. Until we
have the rest of that other group contained, I'd like you both to
stay here in the stronghold. We have guards at the front gate and
at the back and we'll be changing all the access codes shortly. I
need to know you're both secure so we can act without worrying
you'll bolt the second our back is turned.” Dracht laid it all on
the line, no nonsense, no bullshit. If the women wanted help, they
had to give him a little.

“
Just point us in the
direction of a shower and a bed,” Alexandra said.

The plush interior of the
private jet was far more comfortable than commercial airplanes.
Colors of fawn, cream and dark brown were accented by touches of
red and gold trim. Evelyn spent most of the flight sitting in a
leather chair across from Rhett with a small table between them.
All her doubt about Rhett's loyalties and intentions fled between
the time in the warehouse and their arrival back at the
hotel.

In the peaceful atmosphere,
with the roar of the engines in the background, Evelyn eased into
the details of her life.

Out of twenty-two girls,
eighteen of them had been given the choice to go forth in the world
from the Garden.
The other sisters had
died natural deaths either from childbirth or injury. She explained
that although they had innate healing abilities, they were still
susceptible to mortal wounds and could die like anyone else.
Reliving the murders of her sisters was difficult even without the
two most recent deaths, and she fought back fresh tears as she
rolled out the horror the Templars had visited upon them. One of
their sisters had escaped, only one, and had urgently relayed the
intent of the Knights, sending the sisters scattering across the
globe. Evelyn had spent the ensuing centuries watching humans
populate the lands and adjusting to the changes that took place
with each generation.

She had seen Christ rise
and fall, witnessed the unbelievable massacre of the Jews, lived
through too many wars to count. Sometimes she and a few of her
sisters would reside in the same city, always watching over their
shoulders, always wary. As the population swelled, it became easier
to hide. Travel was more convenient, giving them a wide range of
countries to enjoy. Every year they returned to the Garden to
reconnect with each other.

By the sixties, there were
only seven sisters left. In nineteen-eighty-four, the Templars
found them and killed two more. One had been Galiana's twin
sister.

Rhett asked quiet,
intuitive questions of her with serious eyes that studied her with
the intensity she was used to. Perceptive, he seemed to know which
questions not to ask that might upset the fragile balance she'd
acquired since leaving Las Vegas. He served her drinks and made
them a late dinner of teriyaki chicken and rice, handling the
preparations with as much efficiency as he handled everything
else.

Later, he drew her onto the
long couch and encouraged her to rest. Evelyn, exhausted, leaned
against him and fell into a dreamless sleep. When he woke her it
was with a light press of his lips against her temple. The pilot
announced their final descent and landed without
incident.

Disregarding his wound,
Rhett drove them through the last minutes of an Athen's sunset
toward a safe house. Each mile they drew closer, Evelyn grew more
excited to see Minna and Alexandra, until she was wringing her
hands and scouting the streets in anticipation.

The house Rhett pulled them
up to was large and imposing, almost cold. 'House' was an
understatement for the expansive structure that reminded her of a
small museum or state building.

“
What is this place?” she
asked after the guard let him in the gate.

“
It's one of the Templar
strongholds,” Rhett said while he parked the sedan.

“
One of them?” She glanced
across the car. Rhett met her gaze.

“
Yes. We have them set up
all over the world.”

“
It seems the Templar
business is thriving.”

“
They keep us pretty
busy.” He pulled the keys out of the ignition and came around to
open her door.

“
Thanks,” she murmured and
got out.

“
Of course.”

“
I hope your brothers and
father won't be angry.” Considering she'd shot him. She brushed a
piece of hair away from her cheek and stared up at the imposing
facade of the building.

“
I've explained. Not
everything, not yet, but enough.” After retrieving their bags from
the trunk, he guided her toward the stone steps leading up to the
carved, double front doors.

Christian swung one open
just as they reached the landing. Evelyn studied his neutral
expression, detecting no open hostility. He seemed welcoming and as
calm as she'd ever seen him. His size was the only thing she
thought he had in common look or build with Rhett. The black hair
and blue eyes, the whole structure of his face was quite different
than his brother.

“
Hello,
Christian.”

“
Good to see you well,
Miss Grant,” he said without sarcasm or mockery.

“
Evelyn, just
Evelyn.”

“
Evelyn.” He inclined his
head and closed the door after she and Rhett entered.

The brothers exchanged
claps on the shoulder while she surveyed the soaring foyer ceiling,
arched and painted with a mural. There was a classical feel to the
atmosphere enhanced by the random carvings of lions on the
banisters of the stairs and more around the archways to other
rooms.

Rhett dropped their bags at
the foot of the stairs.

“
I think they're all in
the back,” he said, gesturing deeper into the expansive
home.

Evelyn heard voices even as
he spoke. Passing through the high archway, she saw Alexandra and
Minna standing near a tall fireplace speaking with Dracht. Her
sisters seemed relaxed and comfortable, a surprise considering what
surrounded them.

“
Alex, Minna!” The girls
broke away from Dracht and met her halfway across the room, arms
tangling in a tight embrace. Alexandra was as awkward about her
affection as she'd ever been, giving a few stray pats to her
back.

Nevertheless, the hug
relieved her. It felt like years had passed since she'd seen them,
smelled them, kissed the downy softness of her sister's cheeks.
Under the skin the subtle heat assured her they were real and not
figments of a fever dream.

“
What the hell were you
doin' in Vegas anyway?” Alex asked after untangling.

Leaning back, Evelyn
checked them each over head to toe; Alexandra looked beat to crap
but not seriously wounded and Minna seemed fine.

“
It's a long story. I'll
fill you in later. It's so good to see you.”

Genevieve's missing
presence was as much a black hole in Evelyn's life as Galiana's.
She saw the similar looks on the faces of her siblings. They spoke
of their sorrow with their eyes instead of their
tongues.

“
Hey, that Dracht guy made
arrangements to hold Galiana and Genevieve so that we can give them
a proper funeral,” Alexandra said.

“
I know, Rhett told me on
the way over.” It dawned on her that Alexandra and Minna hadn't met
him yet. Glancing back, she saw him in conversation with Christian
and Dracht. Catching his eye, she gestured him closer.

Rhett broke away from his
brothers and approached.

“
Girls, this is Rhett.”
Introducing him felt more intimate than it should have. On the
plane, Rhett had showered and changed into simple, nice fitting
clothing in dark colors. It accented his golden skin and hair and
as yet, he'd neglected to get rid of his whiskers.

“
Nice to meet both of you,
finally,” he said, and shook both girls' hands.

Alex clicked her tongue
against her teeth, shaking firm and vigorous. “Yeah, you too.
What's wrong with your arm?”

Alex and Minna were the
type to notice the small things. Galiana, bless her, wouldn't have
noticed anything but the cut and fabric of his clothing. How his
skin smelled. Genevieve would have pinged in on his intensity,
facial expressions and mood. She had always been empathetic and
intuitive that way.

“
Oh, that. Evelyn shot
me.” Rhett brushed off the remark like it was nothing.

Alexandra gaped like a
landed fish and Minna darted a startled look at her.

Evelyn shrugged her
shoulders helplessly. “He cornered me after I saw the tattoo. What
was I supposed to do?”

Alexandra in her typical
manner, resiliently bounced back from their strange circumstances
and snagged Evelyn with both arms. “Way to go, Ev! There's hope for
you yet.”

“
Hello, Dracht,” Evelyn
said after she pried Alex off with an exasperated huff. Relieved
that none of the brothers were offended at her extreme course of
action, she gave him a smile.

He inclined his head from
where he stood near the fireplace. “Evelyn.”

“
All right. We need to
figure out what we're doing next,” Rhett said, gesturing to the
available seating.

Evelyn sat between Minna
and Alexandra on a deep set leather sofa. Alexandra sprawled,
despite her injuries, one foot hooked up over the opposite knee.
There was just nothing feminine about her. It was useless to try
and correct her wayward sister's habits.

The brothers stood in a
semi-circle in various poses of relaxation.

“
Dracht suggested going to
Italy to talk to Father V-someone or other, but I dunno if that's
such a good idea,” Alexandra said.

“
Why not?” Dracht
inquired.

“
Because what if they see
it the
other
Templar's way? What if they agree we should be wiped off the
face of the earth once they hear his side of the story?” Her
paranoia would not be shed so easily.