The Book of Fate - Brad Meltzer [54]
“Nico—!”
Four muffled shots hissed out. Both orderlies screamed. The first two shots pierced their hands. Just like he did with his father. And with Boyle. The stigmata. To show them Jesus’s pain. Both slammed into the wall before they even realized the final two bullets were in their hearts.
Climbing to his feet, Nico didn’t even watch as the orderlies wilted to the floor, their bodies leaving parallel red streaks down the white wall. Spinning around, he turned the gun toward The Roman, who was on his back, clutching something close to his chest. The shot would be quick and easy, but as Nico’s finger hugged the trigger . . .
“Man of God!” The Roman shouted, holding up Nico’s red glass rosary beads. They dangled down from his fist, swaying like a hypnotist’s pocketwatch. “You know it, Nico. Whatever else you think . . . Never kill a man of God.”
Nico paused, mesmerized by the rosary shimmering in the fading light. The beads continued to sway, matching pace with The Roman’s quick breathing. A puddle of sweat gathered on The Roman’s lip. Staring up from the floor, he could see straight into the barrel. Nico wouldn’t make eye contact. Wouldn’t even acknowledge he was there. Lost in the rosary beads, Nico searched for his answer, never moving the gun. His brow went from creased to calm to creased again, as if he were flipping a coin in his own head. And then the coin landed. Nico pulled the trigger.
The Roman shut his eyes as a single shot hissed out. The bullet pierced his empty left hand, straight through the center of his palm. Jesus’s pain. Before he could even feel it, the blood puddled in his hand, rushing down his wrist toward his elbow.
“Where is he!?” Nico demanded.
“I-I’ll kill you for that,” The Roman growled.
“Another lie.” Turning slightly to the right, Nico took aim at The Roman’s other hand. “After everything you promised . . . to come to me now and protect him. What power does the Beast hold over you?”
“Nico, stop!”
Without hesitation, Nico pulled back the hammer of the gun. “Answer my question: Where is he?”
“I-I have no i—”
“Please move the rosary,” Nico politely asked, motioning to the beads, which were down by The Roman’s leg. As The Roman picked them up, Nico squeezed the trigger and a second silenced shot wisped through the air, burrowing through The Roman’s foot. Both wounds burned like thick needles twisting through his skin. He gritted his teeth and held his breath, waiting for the initial sting to pass. All it did was get worse. “Nnnnuhhh!” he shouted.
“Where. Is. Boyle?” Nico demanded.
“If . . . if I knew, do you really think I’d come here?”
Nico stood silent for a moment, processing the thought. “But you’ve seen him?”
The Roman shook his head, still struggling against the pain. He could feel his foot swelling, filling his shoe.
“Has anyone else seen him?” Nico asked.
The Roman didn’t answer. Nico watched him carefully, tilting his ear slightly toward him.
“Your breathing’s starting to quicken. I hope you don’t have a stroke,” Nico said.
The Roman looked away from the bed. Nico looked right at it.
On the covers, just by the edge, was the black-and-white photograph of Wes. “Him?” Nico asked, reaching for the picture. “Is that—? That’s why you asked me about him, yes? The one I broke . . . he’s the one who saw the Beast.”
“All he did was see hi—”
“But to communicate . . . to be in league with the Beast. Wes is corrupted now, isn’t he? Polluted. That’s why the ricochet—” Nico nodded quickly. “Of course! That’s why God sent the bullet his way. No coincidences. Fate. God’s will. To strike Wes down. And what God began . . .” Nico’s eyes narrowed at the photo. “I will make him bleed again. I missed it before, but I see it now . . . in the Book. Bleeding Wes.”
Looking up from the photo, Nico raised his gun and pointed it at The Roman’s head. From the window over the radiator, the panes in the glass cast the thick shadow of a cross directly onto The Roman’s face.
“God’s mercy,” Nico