Page 109 of Delirium
“The real Order?” God, I had no idea what was happening in Winworth.
“Yeah, it’s complicated. But the Order that was led by Judah isn’t the real Order. Or well, they’re sort of a branch of the Order that went slightly wayward. Judah was excommunicated years ago for not following the rules, but it turns out that the real Order of Black Dahlia is even more fucked up.”
“Fucked up how?” I asked carefully. I didn’t want us to get entangled with someone who was worse than Nikolai, Logan, and Judah. None of us were saints, but lines had to be drawn somewhere, and getting entangled with people who did things in a way that wasn’t acceptable for us, wasn’t something I wanted to have.
“The Order of Black Dahlia is everywhere, Birdy,” Cillian said. “They have their claws in the government, elections, health care, and they are more powerful than our parents. They don’t care who gets hurt as long as they get what they want. They don’t believe in God. They don’t do things like other organizations, and while I don’t know all the details, I do know that they worship Satan.”
“Oh, justtheSatan?” I scowled.
“Yeah, justtheSatan.” Cillian laughed. “Casimir is their leader.”
“But he’s so young.”
“It doesn’t matter. He climbed up the ranks over the last couple of years and he got what he wanted. What he wants the most right now is to kill Judah Blackwood for what he did to his sister.”
“So, Skylar is really his sister?”
“Yeah,” Cillian murmured. “Ash isn’t exactly happy he’s here, especially because of how the Order functions.”
“Which is?” I asked again. I needed a manual at this point to figure out all the organizations, orders and all the other shit surrounding us.
“They marry siblings,” he murmured. “They groom the girls and boys from a very young age, keeping it in the family, so to speak.”
“Holy shit.”
Revolt started in my body, disgust—
“They sacrifice people during their rituals. The people they believe are bad.”
“Jesus,” I breathed out.
“Ash thinks Casimir is here to steal Skylar, but I don’t think so. I don’t trust him, but I think he just wants what’s best for her.”
I just hoped he wasn’t here to destroy us. The problem with people in power was that they wanted to control everything and everyone, and Casimir could destroy us all, trying to conquer the world.
22
STORM
The stenchof blood lingered on my skin even as I changed the shirt I wore, but it was still there, drowning me, clutching to my skin. But that wasn’t what annoyed me or what had me rushing down the hill.
It was the fact that a completely unfamiliar man came tonight, along with Ash and Cillian, claiming to be Lars—the man who contacted us about Winworth and what they were doing there. I knew of Casimir Lacroix, I just never thought he would be Lars.
As soon as I came down, seeing Ophelia glaring at him, I knew something was wrong. I knew she didn’t like him. I knew we made a mistake trusting Lars before, but what could we do now? Nothing at all.
He helped Skylar, Ash, and Dylan when they needed him, and I couldn’t fault him for that. But I would gouge his eyes out if he kept staring at Ophelia as he sat opposite of us in the diner, drinking his tea.
Belladonna and Judah weren’t there when we finally entered the warehouse, leaving only their goons to fight against us, thinking they could win. Felix was on the way to the hospital now. Hector broke his arm trying to push through the door, but no one else got hurt.
At least, none of us got hurt. I couldn’t say the same about the other guys.
“So,” Cillian murmured, breaking through the silence enveloping us. “Is anyone going to say something or—”
“There’s a reason you’re here, Casimir,” I said, glaring at the man. God, I really wanted to strangle him. He was making Ophelia uncomfortable, and I hated that he affected her this much. “And for fuck’s sake, can you stop looking at her?” I blasted, unable to contain my fury.
Her hand landed on top of my thigh, reassuring me, but it did nothing to appease the beast living inside of me. I just wanted to hold her, to get out of here, to tell her about the plans and letters we found in the warehouse, but I had to sit here, cooped up in this tiny booth, because Casimir Lacroix wanted to talk to us.
And if I didn’t want another war on my hands, I would listen to what he has to say. I wasn’t an idiot, and I knew what he was capable of—what all of them were capable of, but that didn’t mean I had to kiss his butt and pretend I was happy with having him here.
