Priest was paralysed, unable to respond. Had he? He thought about Jessica and his depth of his attachment to her, a woman he hardly knew in reality. Would he kill for her?

‘I understand why Alexia and Dominique had to die,’ he said, recovering his self-control. ‘But not the boy. Why kill him, too?’

‘You put too much emphasis on death as a punishment, or an ending. Death is the first stage of rebirth. We three are the victims of a great crime and together we must take back what we have been deprived of.’

‘What have you been deprived of, Karl?’

‘Everything!’ He turned around to face Priest. The petrol was dripping from his black hair and beard and his eyes appeared as nothing but two dark, impenetrable voids. Standing on the altar with his shoulders square and legs apart, he was an imposing sight.

‘She was taken from us all, don’t you see?’ Karl glared at him manically. ‘She was corrupted and in that corruption I was denied her, so like any fault, I am reprogramming. I cannot undo what has been done to her, but I can be part of it, so she is not alone.’

‘And Julian?’ Priest said calmly. ‘Why does he need to be reprogrammed?’

‘Because it will end his bloodline, and the balance will be restored. All traces of that evil man, his evil wife, and their victims will have been carved out of this earth.’

‘Julian wasn’t abused, though, Karl, was he? You’re the one making him the victim.’

‘In what way is abandonment not a form of abuse?’

Karl brought the match up again. He seemed to be in a trance-like state, fixing his gaze on the wall above Priest’s head. In his other hand, he held the matchbox ready.

One spark, that’s all it’ll take.

Priest didn’t think it through any further. His stomach felt like it was already on fire, the fumes from the petrol were overpowering. He bolted towards Karl, head down, waiting for the feeling of flames to consume him, screaming incomprehensively as he surged forward.

He reached the altar quicker than he had imagined but Karl had already reacted and struck the match. Priest saw the flame take hold of the timber, waiver in the breeze, then settle down. Karl lifted his head to the ceiling and held out his hand before Priest charged into him.

Priest had surprised even himself at the distance he had covered across the chancel. He connected with Karl with enough force to bring him crashing down on the other side of the altar.

The flames danced across the vast pool of fuel, burning lustfully higher and higher, spreading out in all directions, quickly catching Karl’s saturated clothes and taking hold instantly.

Priest scrambled backwards, slipping on the wet floor but escaping, albeit temporarily, as the fire started to take hold.