He was killing them. Draining them dry, sucking their power free, devouring it like a feast he'd earned, deserved, reveling in it, his arms to the sky, the tiny church emptying of life as his power took what didn't belong to him, the people who trusted him to keep them safe, to guide and protect them, their God, their Lord, betraying them in the worst way possible.
I arrived out of time, out of craps to give, with my heart in my throat and the desperate heat of some southern clime's morning sucking all the moisture from my body despite the fact I broke into immediate sweat from the sweltering demands of the sun-baked interior. My gaze scanned the space without my consent for the distraction, taking in the familiar environs though I'd never been here before.