Conall by Reana Malori

Grabbing him by the arm, he practically pulled it from the socket as the boy had no choice but to stand. Conall yelled out in pain, but knew it would do no good. If Danny Sullivan thought one of them needed to be taught a lesson, nothing would get in the way of that.
    “Leave my brother alone!” Shannon had moved to stand and yelled at the large man holding him.
    Conall had shaken his head; his eyes were scared, but he refused to cry. There was no way in hell he would allow even one tear to fall. “No, Shannon,” he said in a low voice.
    “Stop it, you motherfucker! I’m gonna kill you!” Fionn, ever the avenging angel, had also adjusted his stance, as if prepared to pounce. Grabbing onto Conall’s leg, he tried to hold onto his brother and save him from what they all knew was coming.
    Kieran stared at the foul man, his face scrunched in rage, but his voice calm and quiet, which sent shivers along the skin of his three brothers. “One day, Danny Sullivan, I will find you and I will kill you for what you have done to me and my brothers. You will never escape me. You will look over your shoulder for the rest of your life. The one time you don’t expect it, I will bring the Angel of Death to your doorstep. I will deliver you as a gift to the Devil and he will tear your skin from your flesh as an offering.”
    Nervous laughter filled the room as the older man tried to make light of the untamed rage reflected in Kieran’s eyes. Sweat dripped down his face and he knew without a doubt, that boy would kill him one day. But it would not be today. At this moment, he was still the one in charge. Pulling out his pistol, he pointed it at them as he backed out of the room. “Sit yer asses down! Don’t try to get out of this fucking room either.”
    Jerking on Conall’s arm as he pulled him along with him, he closed and locked the bedroom door, trapping the other three boys in the room, unable to escape and come to the rescue of their brother, or carry through on the promise Kieran had just made.
    Conall stayed silent through the entire exchange. He knew his brothers and more importantly, he knew the rage that coursed through Kieran’s body at that moment. The man took turns beating on each of them. All in the name of making them stronger. Danny Boy had claimed that Old Man O’Shea had asked him to toughen up his sons, by any means necessary. Based on what they had been told, if they were going to run the business with the old man, they needed to know how to fight. To maim. To kill.
    The beatings were always masked as a “boxing lesson.” It was always that way, but there was no real contest. Danny seemed to loom larger than life to a nine-year-old boy. Inevitably, the punches would begin and the man would yell and scream at them to “Punch back, you fucking sissy!” or “Are you sure you’re an O’Shea? You seem like a limp-dicked coward to me.” His large fists felt like cinder blocks raining down hellfire on their bodies.
    The punches would be focused on their upper body, but other than that, nothing was off limits. One time, he’d beaten Fionn so bad, the boys were sure he was gonna die right then and there. The prayers of three children to a God they felt had abandoned them filled the room. Fionn had survived, but that moment had changed them. Never, would they ever, be the same again.
    If Paddy O’Shea wanted to create men in his image he had achieved his goal, and now his sons would be the ones to end his life.
    “Are you even listening to me, Conall?” His brother’s annoyed tone interrupted his trip down memory lane.
    Getting back on track with the matter at hand, he nodded. “Yeah, I heard you.” In actuality, he’d only heard snippets of what was being said, but it didn’t matter in the end. Conall trusted Kieran with his life and if he said there was a plan to get rid of their old man, he knew it had already been well thought-out.
    Lifting up from the chair, Kieran came to stand next to him. It