5

 I placed the dead head on the altar, just above Peter's neck.

"Lord!" I shouted, raising the axe. "Look upon your faithful servant, and let your will be done on earth as in heaven!"

The axe came down with a whistle, cleaving the mutilated skull in two halves, which rolled to opposite sides of the dungeon.

At this sight, Eva lost all her courage. She screamed piercingly, as if she hadn't yet accustomed herself to the sight of her husband's mutilated corpse.

I raised the axe again and struck it with all my might, severing the neck and part of the sternum. I was surprised by the ease with which the old, long-unsharpened weapon dealt with the corpse's muscles and bones.

It was the Lord who gave me strength, I thought with conviction, taking another swing. Euphoria slowly overtook me. I felt light, like I had felt in childhood when I drank my first glass of vodka. Only now the pleasure was a hundred times stronger.

"Stop!" Eve screamed, thrashing in her bonds. "I beg you, stop!

" "You wanted to sacrifice me to Satan," I replied, continuing my work. "But the Lord saved me.

" "I had to. Do you hear me?! He forced me to do it. I didn't want to end up on the altar!

She was lying, I was sure of it. They all lie when they see what awaits them.

" "You're a witch, and you'll die for it," I gasped. I was almost finished with the man. One, maybe two strokes left. Then I'll move on to the woman. It'll be more interesting with her.

The sanctuary was filled with the stench of blood and filth that had spilled from the split entrails. I believed it pleased the divine nostrils, as it had in the days when the Jews, obedient to his will, slaughtered the pagan Canaanites.

"Listen, I'll tell you what you want. We'll call the police." If you kill me without hearing what I have to say, the other members of the community will go unpunished. What do you say to that?

I cared little for others. What mattered was what the Lord wanted—and he wanted revenge here and now. However, I decided to give her false hope. Just for fun.

"Speak," I turned to her.

I must have looked terrible—bloody and stinking. The terror etched on Eve's face made her as ugly as her filthy soul.

She overcame herself and looked me in the eye.

"Ferdinand had a brother, Lucian. After the death of their father, Simon, the Great High Priest, he became the Heir to the Mystery. In each generation, one child was sacrificed, the other raised to be High Priest. Our power is linked to the Firstborn, Ferdinand. This house was built from a tree planted on his grave. Adepts draw knowledge and power here...

" "But why me?" Even if you sacrificed me, you would not have a second child, an Heir, as you call him...

She hesitated, as if in a quandary.

"I'm pregnant," she confessed.

"What? But..." "

That's why I went to Warsaw. I wanted to be sure. I was supposed to tell you today.

Enough! She tried to dissuade me from fulfilling my mission. She played on my feelings. She lied!"

Anger, fueled by hard work, flared anew in my heart. Furiously, I slammed my axe into the man's groin, ultimately splitting him in two. "

Now it's your turn," I muttered, dragging the mangled remains toward the other side of the altar.

But I was destined for nothing.

Suddenly, all the torches went out, and the dungeon was plunged into total darkness.

Ewa screamed horribly.

Disoriented, I dropped the axe. The blade clattered mournfully against the rock.

"He's coming," Ewa sobbed. "He'll kill us." "

Shut up," I hushed her. The sound I'd only just heard as a barely audible whisper now resembled the hissing of gas escaping from open valves.

A moment later, I caught its scent. It resembled smoke rising from a spit, the stench of burning fat. It grew stronger with each passing moment, until breathing became impossible. I yearned to escape the Sanctuary, regardless of the consequences.

Ewa finally fell silent, likely fainting. I briefly considered taking her with me and bringing her to justice at another time. But I guessed that whatever was coming would take care of her best.

Coughing and tearing up, I headed for the exit when a flame shot from the center of the altar and began to consume the smoke. The flame quickly grew into a column of flame that filled the space between the two halves of the corpse. The blood and slimy entrails that had lingered on that part of the altar instantly evaporated upon contact with the flame.

In that same instant, I felt an overwhelming desire to throw myself into the flames. Their shimmering glow tempted me, the heat radiating from them enticed me. They were like Abraham's bosom, where all the righteous long to rest.

And yet you are righteous.

A fearless warrior.

An obedient servant.

A child.

Fascinated, I moved toward the wall of fire. I felt loved, respected, saved...

Suddenly, a woman's shrill laughter, an expression of pure madness, rent the air. It brutally pierced my soul, sullying the sanctity of my infatuation with its presence.

I turned and ran to Eve. With a hard blow to the jaw, I knocked her unconscious. I pulled a knife from my cassock pocket and cut the ropes at her wrists. Like a sack of straw, she slid to the ground. With considerable effort, I lifted her up and staggered toward the door.

The fire screamed after me with love, despair, anger, hatred...

And I ran. I ran.

It was almost over.

I left Ewa unconscious in my room. In the garage, I found a canister of gasoline, a pack of nails, and a hammer. I poured the gasoline in every room on the ground floor and set it on fire. I nailed up the door and window—just in case I was afraid of death when she looked me in the eye from between the cleansing flames.

Ewa was still asleep. She looked like a small child. If she didn't accept her fate, I'd have to kill her.

Surely you wouldn't mind?

Heat bulged the walls of the room. We still had a moment left.

Ferdynand had just stopped smiling. He was furious with me.

Are you too?

But my greatest crime is that a blasphemous thought occurred to me. What if Piotrek was wrong? What if we hadn't isolated your dark side at all, and it still benefits from your shared omnipotence?

Because if he was right, then who did I meet in the basement?

A wall had cracked. Flames were consuming the air.

I remember no more sins. I sincerely regret them, and I ask your forgiveness.

Whoever you are...