The problem with being in Temple so much during the day was the crops were being neglected and under the intense heat of the Arizona sun, the neglect began to take its toll. Only a few weeks later, our beans and vegetables were wilting, and the fruit from the fruit trees ripened and fell to the ground where the birds pecked at them.
If this went on much longer, we'd all starve to death. Hector had to know that.
One quiet morning in Temple, Hector walked to the front and stood looking at us quietly for several minutes before he finally spoke. "There is a thief among us."
My heart dropped and I glanced very quickly at Xander who continued to stare straight ahead at Hector, unblinking.
Hector looked around at the crowd. "There was a gold necklace stolen from one of the council member's cars. Who knows something of this?"
Holy hell.
No one said a word. You could have heard a pin drop on the other side of the room.
"No one?" Hector questioned. He leaned forward on the podium and waited, looking around again, his eyes landing on me and staying there for several beats. Finally he looked away.
"Eden, will you step forward, please?"
Eden's eyes rose to Hector, a confused look coming over her face. She stood and walked to him.
"If no one has the courage to stand and confess to their crime, an innocent will suffer the punishment. My own true love will suffer the punishment. For you see," he stood back, "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, I AM WILLING TO SACRIFICE MY OWN FOR YOUR SINS," he shouted. Eden startled and stepped back. "I WILL MAR MY BELOVED'S PERFECT SKIN FOR YOU."
My whole body tensed and fury raced down my spine. I saw Hannah in my peripheral vision looking over at me, but I didn't look back.
I started to step forward myself when Xander's voice rang out. "It was me, Father. I stole the necklace."
Hector's head swiveled over to Xander and his eyes narrowed on him. The crowd all shifted nervously, glancing between Xander and Hector.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it again. If I said something, I'd likely make this worse for all three of us. Every muscle in my body was tensed for fight, and my brain started working out the path I'd take to Eden and how quickly I could get there.
Hector leaned forward casually on the podium. "Xander Garen," he said, pushing his now overly long hair out of his eyes. "Where is this necklace?"
Xander hesitated. "I'll go retrieve it for you, Father."
"No, I'll send someone to retrieve it. Tell me where it is."
Oh no.
I closed my eyes briefly and then opened them, looking down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Xander open his mouth and then close it again. He was stuck.
"The truth is, Father, I couldn't explain it exactly. I'd need to accompany the person."
Hector stared at Xander with narrowed eyes and I held my breath. "Very well," he finally said and I exhaled. Maybe if Xander went along, he'd have time to push the other items out of the way. Something. Anything. If not, we'd be back to square one. I felt like I might vomit.
"Clive," Hector barked, "escort the boy to retrieve your stolen property."
I dared to glance at Eden and her face was blanched of all color, her expression shocked. I looked away.
Clive walked to Xander slowly, took him by the arm, and they exited the Temple as my heart rate tripled. My mind raced, too, trying to figure out what I could do. I looked back up at the stage and Hector's hand was still on Eden. If I ran after Xander, making a spectacle of my disobedience, I'd be leaving Eden alone with Hector. Would he do something to her to punish me? Something had come unhinged in his mind. I didn't even want to consider what it might be.
Hector stood with Eden at his podium, finishing his sermon, although what I focused on sounded disjointed and Hector stumbled over his own words several times. Eden stared down at the floor, the color barely returning to her face.
What seemed like a lifetime later, but in reality was probably only twenty minutes or so, Hector began the final prayer. When we all filtered out, I noticed people looking at others with questioning expressions on their faces. Everyone knew something was happening in Acadia that no one could exactly explain. And everyone was uneasy.
Suddenly, the sight of Xander, kneeling on the ground with his hands tied around a post came into view. Clive Richter stood behind him, a long cord in his hands. My entire body tensed and I didn't even have time to consider before I started running toward them. "Grab him!" I heard Hector yell and somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I heard Eden scream.
Strong arms grabbed me from the side and pulled me back, and as I turned to fight the person off me, someone else grabbed me from the side. Council members, Garrett Shipley and Ken Wahl, held me as the first whip crack sounded. It enraged me, sending adrenaline coursing through my system. I elbowed Ken in the face and then used my free arm to punch Garrett, sending blood spraying as he yelped and brought his hands up to his broken nose. As they both let go of me, I ran forward again.