The atmosphere as they descended the stairs only grew more oppressive with each step. Sweat began to bead on Lenore's forehead, the air was stagnant and humid and it sat in her lungs like wet, warm cotton balls. It didn't help that the steps were steep and narrow and there was only a dim light visible at the bottom. She stumbled a few times, but thankfully Emilio was close enough to keep her from tumbling down. Lenore began to question if these stairs lead to the basement, because this felt like hell. 

When they reached the bottom, Lenore noted that the only light was the single bulb that hung above them. Beyond that was darkness. The stillness was unnatural. It left her skin crawling with unease.

She stared into the inky blackness. "Where are they?"

Kaiser materialized out of the darkness. He wasn't there then he was. It startled Lenore enough to rip the air from her lungs. Her sharp gasp echoed through the basement. 

"What is she doing here?"

"She asked to be here," Emilio answered.

"She can speak for herself," Lenore said, sending a pointed look in Kaiser's direction. Emilio silenced his chuckle with a swift cough.

There was a tension in the air that Lenore had experienced the other night at Kaiser's apartment. It was easy to forget how dangerous he was—how easily the switch could flip. She saw the debate happening in his hardened gaze, 'let her stay or make her leave'.

He was trying to keep his secrets, Lenore knew that. She understood that they weren't exactly enemies but they weren't friends, either. Their relationship was based on their shared desire to destroy the Gillard family. Beyond that things got a bit gray and complicated. Kaiser had a long term goal, something she had no real desire to be a part of.

"I just want to ask a few things—then I'll leave." 

Kaiser held her gaze for a moment, silence settling over the room again. Her attention shifted to the darkness behind him for a second. It was moving; rippling like the surface of water. He released a heavy breath, agreeing to her request, "A few questions."

She watched him stretch out his hand and grasp the darkness. Then he was ripping it away like pulling back the curtain on a stage.

And there was the Apostle. In the flesh—very battered flesh.

Lenore wondered if he was dead as she took a few cautious steps forward. His chin was pressed to his chest, revealing a small bald spot on the crown of his head. Blood was smeared all over the left side of his face and down his neck. It probably had something to do with his missing ear.

A shudder rushed through her and she resisted the urge to turn away. This was revenge. They deserved this, she told herself—and worse. Lenore took a few more steps, determined to get a closer look.

There were what appeared to be spikes of calcified darkness holding him restrained to the chair. They were lodged into his legs and arms, blood staining and dripping down to the gray, uneven concrete below. It was clear in the time that Lenore was unconscious that some amount of torture had taken place. 

"He's not dead, right?"

Kaiser gave her a look before approaching the Apostle. He gave him a hard slap on the back of his head. "Time to wake-up. You've got a guest."

The Apostle startled awake, sputtering and choking. Blood dribbled from his mouth onto his nice button up shirt. He let out a groan, head lolling back and forth as he attempted to lift it. Unexpectedly, Lenore found satisfaction in his misery—watching the pathetic display made her stomach flutter with anticipation. She wondered how great it would feel to see her uncle in such a state. What kind of expressions would he make?

Kaiser must have sensed her growing excitement because he met her gaze over the Apostle. And he smiled, a wide and toothy grin. It wasn't a friendly gesture—more like a proud predator. As if he were teaching his child how to hunt and watching it feed. 

"I told you it would be fun."

"Shut up."

He let out a laugh before grabbing the back of the Apostle's neck and forcing him to lift his head. Kaiser's gaze remained fixed on Lenore as he spoke, "Behave yourself, answer the questions you're asked, and I'll give you a quick end. I think I made the alternative pretty clear."

The Apostle jerked away from him, swollen face mimicking a sneer. "Go to hell you crow bast—"

Faster than she could track, Kaiser had a dagger of darkness pressed to the Apostle's throat. Those ruby eyes gleamed with desire—desire to spill blood. "Consider carefully. Or there is the third option. You could always accept my deal and hold onto your pathetic life a bit longer."

Lenore straightened at those words. She wanted to know what kind of offer he had made to the Apostle. Was he really going to spare his life? Her brow furrowed but she kept her mouth shut. 

The moment the dagger left his throat, the Apostle turned his head and spit blood into Kaiser's face. Silence fell over the room. It was an unbearable stillness. Lenore was afraid the Apostle was going to get killed before she got the chance to talk to him. And from the look in Kaiser's eyes it was a real possibility.

But he took an easy step back, reached up and wiped his face with the back of his hand. Which only smeared the blood across his cheek. "Lenore–"

"Y-yes?"

"Didn't you have something to ask your...Uncle? Cousin? Second cousin? It's all hard to keep track of."

"I've never had the chance to meet many of them. So, I couldn't say."

The Apostle turned to her then, peering at her through one eye–the other too swollen. Even beyond the swelling and bruising, he bore a resemblance to the other people in her family. They all had the same narrow eyes and dark, thick hair. His nose, which was now slightly askew, was longer and rather pointed. His eyes were also a deep shade of blue.

"I've heard of you. Gods, you look just like your mother," he choked out a laugh, head bobbing forward. "Ellie, that bitch, tried to ruin the family, too."

Lenore clenched her hands into tight fists. What was this about trying to ruin the family? That wasn't what she wanted to ask about but he had her attention.

"What do you mean?"

His head rested on his shoulder, clearly too weak to hold it up. His good eye narrowed before he shut it—body relaxing against the chair. The demeanor pissed her off. He wasn't taking this seriously.

"You should be dead. I've never heard of a sacrifice surviving." Well, that answered one of her questions. The entire family had known about her–known why she was the only one spared from her family. The Apostle let out a labored breath. "Leave it to James to make such a stupid blunder. They should have just cut off that entire rotting section of the family along with Ellie."

Her anger rose like a great wave, threatening to wash away all her rationale. Lenore clenched her jaw, trying to hold her composure. "You're saying the entire family knew my uncle killed my mother?"

He snorted, opening his eye to gaze at her. She held his stare, any fear of his position or his power gone. He had been reduced to the pathetic man before them—she had helped make him this way. Even if the part she played was small, the knowledge of it brought her satisfaction. The bond vibrated in response to her thoughts—or it was better to say Kaiser was responding to her emotions.

"Did you know your mother was chosen to be an Apostle?"

She couldn't stop her eyes from going wide. Her mother? An Apostle?

He laughed, blood dribbling from his mouth. "But the moment she found out about the sacrifice—she wanted to turn it down. I heard she made quite the scene from the Apostles that were there. Foolish woman!"

"Are you saying they killed my family because she turned down her Apostle appointment?" Her voice shook.

"What? Of course not! Her father gave her a mighty beating I was told but that's all."

"You said she tried to ruin the family—"

"That's because she couldn't keep her head down. Kept trying to turn the family away from Arkaydian. She was making others doubt his will. If that wasn't enough—she broke into the Saints private quarters and stole a sacred offering he had prepared for Arkaydian. Then she disappeared, took her family and fled."

Her heart was pounding, the wave of anger had flooded her mind. Lenore could barely process what he had revealed. Her mother had discovered the truth—the full truth. She had tried to do the right thing but ultimately failed. And Instead of letting her leave, they had hunted her down and killed her.

Lenore had lost her family, her entire life because of a damned stolen offering? She felt the moment her sanity snapped. A strange numbness rose up in her, starting from the tips over her fingers. There was a quietness in her mind where there had been horrible memories and searing grief. There before her sat an object of her discontent—a symbol of her hate.

Kaiser was right. The entire system needed to be torn down. They weren't protecting or preserving life. These monsters were running around drunk on power and playing at being heroes when it suited them. Where was Arkaydian? If he was a god who cared for humans, why was he allowing his followers to sacrifice one another in his name? He was no god. And He deserved no followers.

The Apostle must have not noticed the level of anger he had stirred up in her. He only continued to poke and pull at her raw nerves. "James was the one who volunteered to clean up the mess. It was also his idea to keep you as a sacrifice —divine justice, I remember he called it. The idiot said you were to be an offering to Arkaydian to replace the stolen one."

The mention of her uncle was the last straw. Her body was moving on its own accord then, closing the distance between them. She reached out and grabbed a hold of his shirt, fisting it.

"I'm going to kill you. Every person who bears the name Gillard—anybody who is connected to the Gillard family. I will see every piece of them wiped from existence. There will be nothing and no one to remember them when I'm finished."

He grabbed her other hand, held onto it, and gave it a painful squeeze. Lenore jerked away, stumbling back but keeping her footing. There was a faint grin on his face; a satisfaction that seemed unfitting for his predicament. He had purposefully goaded her into coming close enough to touch, close enough to use his blessing. Then her body was heavy, too heavy. And it kept getting heavier. 

"Bastard!" she hissed through gritted teeth, forcing herself to take a step forward. Her legs almost buckled when she tried to move again, it was impossible to fight the force of gravity pressing in on her. A simple touch from the Apostle and he had brought her to this state. And this was only a sliver of Arkaydian's power.

This bastard was trying to kill her. Right here, in front of Kaiser. The rage burned hot and she fixed him with a vicious glare. Lenore was on the ground a moment later, it felt like her bones were being crushed. Her kneecaps were groaning, to the point she was concerned they would shatter.

Kaiser was on him within the span of a heartbeat, hand wrapped around his throat. He lifted him up, along with the chair that he was restrained to. The darkness rippled around his body like an inky aura, dripping down to the pool of black at his feet.

"I told you to behave." The Apostles face was beginning to turn red, eyes bulging. "I'll chalk this up to a lapse in judgment. You won't get another."

Lenore felt the weight release at the same time Kaiser set him down. She fell forward, panting. Large hands were grabbing her arms and helping her to her feet. "You good?"

Emilio had a look of concern on his face when she peered up at him. He was not at all like the other fiends, and she appreciated his gentleness. She nodded her head, turning to the Apostle.

"Just kill me already. This game is pointless. You won't get anything from me."

"Oh I don't know about that? Perhaps we need to play longer."

The Apostle let his head fall back with a humorless laugh. He must be on the edge of sanity or truly didn't care what happened to him any longer. Whatever Kaiser was trying to accomplish wasn't working and he seemed to notice that.

But he wasn't the type of person to fail. As if struck by an idea, the tension in his shoulders released and he strutted behind the Apostle, hovering for a moment. 

"Is your life not valuable to you?" he asked, placing his hand on the Apostle's shoulder. He leaned forward, bringing his face close to his good—well, only ear. "Perhaps, if I said I could cleanse the corruption from that blessing. Would your life be more valuable to you then?"

She turned to stone at his words. That was something he was capable of? Her hands began to tremble at the possibility–over the fact that he had the power to save her all along. Her heart began to beat a bit faster, making it hard to hear anything else. If only things were different—all of those people they sacrificed could have been spared.

There were too many thoughts rushing through her mind. Too many people to blame for the way things were currently. And her rage needed a target —or else she was afraid she might lose herself to it.

"...you can really cleanse it?"

Kaiser grinned then. He knew he had succeeded. "Of course, I can."

The Apostle looked eager too. No longer concerned about betraying the family or incurring the wrath of Arkaydian. All he cared about was maintaining his tiny slice of power for a bit longer. It didn't matter who he had to sell out in the process. This was the true face of the Gillard family—insatiable greed.

"Let's make a deal."

Those were the words that sealed the Gillard family's fate.