Page 10 of Decimation

I was played. Was it Konstantine who did this, who put Antonio up to this? I glance at the witch and she’s smiling, smirking. Fuck, was it Ines? Did she do this to ensure my position as my brother’s righthand man is no longer tenable?

“She’s already being blamed for this,” I state, my voice echoing through the room. “We can’t leave her there to die.”

Konstantine’s expression doesn’t change. He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t react. He just sits there, calm and composed, as if my words mean nothing to him.

Ines sets her teacup down and rises from her chair, moving to stand behind Konstantine. She places a hand on his shoulder. “The deed is done,” she says, her voice soft but firm. “Whatever your intentions were, we shouldn’t muddy the water after the fact.”

I turn to her, my eyes blazing. “Muddy the water?” I repeat, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “She’s blood. Holy blood. She needs to be protected.”

Konstantine’s hand slams down on the table, the sound echoing through the room like a gunshot. “It is done,” he growls, his voice low and dangerous. “Let the bitch die. It’s too late to do anything now.”

I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “Our father…” I begin, my voice trembling with anger.

Konstantine’s eyes narrow, his gaze cold and unyielding. “Our father is not in charge.” he replies, his voice harsh. “I am. I am Grand Master now, not him.”

I open my mouth to argue, but Ines cuts me off. “She is Esau,” she says, her voice firm. “She was against us. Just because she is of your blood, it does not excuse what her family has done, what crimes they have committed.”

I turn to her, my lip curling in a sneer. The irony is not lost on me for a minute. “We could say the same about you,” I spit, my voice dripping with venom.

Konstantine’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands, his towering frame looming over me. “Enough,” he growls, his voice like thunder. “I am Grand Master. It is my decision, and I say the deed is done. The girl will die, and that will be the end of it. We need to focus on the future, on rebuilding after all this destruction you’ve caused.”

I stare at him, my chest heaving, my fists clenched at my sides.

Antonio steps forward, his face pale, his eyes filled with conflict. “Grand Master,” he begins, his voice hesitant. “As Paitlyn’s Guardian, I…”

Konstantine cuts him off with a sharp gesture. “You have more important things to focus on, don’t you think?” he says, his voice cold. “You need to ensure whoever is selected as new Chapter Lord is a suitable choice. The fate of the entire UK Chapter is in your hands, Antonio, but instead you also seem to be distracted by some insignificant whore.”

Antonio inclines his head, his expression conflicted but obedient. “Yes, Grand Master,” he says quietly.

Konstantine dismisses him with a wave of his hand, and Antonio turns and leaves the room, his shoulders slumped, his steps heavy.

My brother turns to me, his eyes cold and hard. “You should be more careful with your words,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.

I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “What do you mean?” I ask, my voice trembling with anger.

Konstantine’s eyes narrow, his gaze piercing. “You know exactly what I mean,” he says, his voice like ice. “And just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I’ll let you get away with insolence as well as disobedience.”

Insolence? He wants to pull that fucking card? The tension in the room is palpable, thick and suffocating. I can feel the weight of his words, the coldness in his gaze.

He’s serious. He’s not going to budge.

Well, fuck him. Fuck both of them.

The room is dimly lit, the only light coming from the flickering screen of my laptop. Papers are scattered across the desk - manifests, hospital records, reports - all of them useless. Paitlyn is gone. Not just gone, completely erased. As if she never existed. I’ve been at this for weeks, pulling every string I have, calling in favours, bribing officials, and still, nothing.

She’s vanished without a trace.

My contacts have come up empty. They’ve combed through every inch of the Palace, every known safe house, every contact her immediate family might have reached out to. Nothing. It’s as if she’s been swallowed by the earth itself.

I lean back in my chair, rubbing my temples, feeling that near constant throb behind my eyes. I can’t stop thinking about her, about what happened that night after I left. The man that appeared after me, the man who switched the knives, he must have been Esau. It’s the only thing that makes sense but Paitlyn is also Esau, or she was. So did they get her out? Did they save her? Did they smuggle her out, and that’s why there’s no record of her anywhere?

My phone buzzes on the desk, startling me. I glance at the screen, at the words ‘unknown number’. I hesitate for a moment before answering.

“Lazarus,” I say, my voice low.

“It’s me,” the voice on the other end says. I recognize it immediately. Chris Casey is someone who’s proven reliable in the past, someone loyal to me and not my brother. In my world, that makes him invaluable.

“What do you have for me?” I ask.