Pa$tor
by John Burrows

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He smiled to himself, taking a slow sip of the Scotch. God must really love him, he thought. How else could he explain it? All the lies, the scams, the sins, and he was still here. Successful. Respected. Untouchable. Maybe, he reasoned, God had forgiven him. Maybe all this was divine favour, proof of grace, not guilt. The moment was almost holy. Ex-convict Elijah “Eli” Penn is not a man you would expect to find preaching salvation behind a pulpit. Newly released from prison, he heads to the city, armed with a plan, a vision, knowledge of tax codes (thanks to a fellow accountant inmate who soon joins him on the outside) and human desperation, and charismatically reinvents himself as a trusted spiritual leader, slowly building a religious empire. But what begins as a calculated move to gain control and legitimacy soon evolves into something far more complex. As Eli’s holy realm grows—which must mean that God loves him, as He isn’t stopping him—so does his appetite for darker misdeeds and risk taking, until, eventually, this imposter messiah will stop at nothing to preserve his hard-earned criminal masquerade. But as the stakes get higher, so does the tension within himself and his network, culminating in blood and betrayal. With its bleak moral landscape, psychological tension, and sharp social commentary, Pa$tor is a gritty noir tale about corruption, faith, and the dangerous cost of redemption.

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John Burrows has always enjoyed writing, particularly stories that are inspired by his own experiences, places he has visited, and people he has encountered along the way. He loves travelling, exploring new locations and cultures, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and is an aficionado of past and current events. John lives in Ontario, Canada, with his wife and daughter.

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