Din Eidyn Corpus (Book 2): dEaDINBURGH (Alliances) by Mark Wilson Read Free Book Online Page A

nodded in recognition. Suzy stayed quiet for a few moments.
    “For most,” she said, finally, “that's a good thing and the only reason they still exist.   For others, it has warped them into clinically cold killers.”
    “Bracha.” The name dripped from Joey’s lips venomously.
    Suzy nodded. “Yes. And people like him.”
    “Do you know him?” Joey asked darkly.
    “No. But I’ve met enough people like him over the years, Joseph.”
    “No, you haven’t,” Joey replied, growing angry again.
    Suzy didn’t press the point. Changing her approach she spoke softly to him.
    “He’s a monster.”
    “Yes.”
    “In a city filled with them.”
    Joey’s voice grew colder. “Yes.”
    “Don’t be one of them, Joseph,” she said, face passive, voice steady, matter of fact. 
    Joey sat up in his armchair, fighting hard to keep his temper under control.
    “You know me better than that, Suzy.”
    “I do,” she said, softly. “I know you well enough to be able to see that you’re poisoning yourself with anger and plans for violent deeds. You have to let this go, Joseph. All of it.”
    “And let him get away with killing Jock?” Joey’s voice grew in intensity and volume. “Let them,” he threw a hand at the window, indicating the outside world, “let them use our struggle to survive as a source of entertainment?”
    Suzy shrugged.
    “If you have to. Depends on how things play out. But what I do know is that the pain you’re feeling right now is not like the casual everyday pain you’ve lived with up until now. It’ll burn hotter and more viciously. It’ll destroy every decent thought in your head and each scrap of love in your heart. You might encounter Bracha again, you might not.
      “You have to shift your purpose away from wanting to kill this man. You have to accept what you’ve learned about the outside world and use it to your advantage. If you continue to drive yourself, define your every moment, by what should be, what you need , what you don’t have … well, you’ll lose that mental resilience that keeps you so vital and alive and able to survive this place. Able to be a part of it and not limited by its fences.”
     
    Joey sighed. Tears began to flow like burning mercury down his cheeks once more. Wheeling herself to him, Suzy took his face in her hands, still warm from the fire.
     
    “You can take pain, Joseph. You’re not like the people of the old world. To them, pain was not having something they thought they needed. Physical pain was a terrifying concept. You’ve lived with it your whole life, but that’s not what makes you a fighter, a survivor. Your mental strength is immense; it’s had to be, because of how you were raised. You were the only one, the only person, in a whole cult, hundreds of defeated people, Joseph. You were the only one who looked at the surface, who wanted more.”
    Suzy placed a hand on his chest.
    “You never knew love as a child, but you had space for loving others in your heart. You allow people to love you in a way that simply should not be possible for a boy… a man like you. With your past. Your life here is a fucking miracle, Joseph.”
    Suzy crossed herself, an old habit in response to swearing, and began crying too.
    “That’s what keeps you strong, not your anger. Anyone can be angry; anyone can use the strength of rage and badness and vengeance. Not everyone is courageous enough to use the strength that practically explodes from you, Joseph MacLeod. Your dignity, your love and your bottomless capacity to want more for your life. That’s your strength. Don’t let anger’s flames burn it from you. Make a better life, here.”
     
    Suzy smiled as tears soaked both of their faces.
    “Live strong, Joseph. Make that fighter you had for a mother proud.”

Chapter 6
     
    James Kelly
     
    Kneading the nape of his neck with his right hand, James slowed his pace slightly and retrieved some dried meat, probably rabbit, from his satchel.
    Tearing