Sacrifice (Ritual Sins #2)

3. Rose

3

Rose

As dusk settled into night, two men came for me. They gave me a white ritual gown and told me to change into it, and then they escorted me out of the cell and through the cathedral.

When we were outside, the men wordlessly turned me onto a new path, leading out of the village. With each step, I felt as if I were drawing closer and closer to my own death, but I kept my chin up and my jaw set, swallowing my fear as we walked along the torch-lined trail that led to the main ritual clearing.

At the clearing, we were greeted with an unsettling yet awe-inspiring sight. The entire village had turned out to watch my Confession, gathered around a massive bonfire. Its flames roared and crackled, sending sparks spiraling into the night sky, and the heat was so intense that it warmed my face even from a distance.

In front of the bonfire was the ritual altar, adorned with Covenant symbols and hanging charms. The ritual tools were laid out carefully on one side of it: a silver chalice, a pot of freshly boiled water, and a large ceremonial dagger.

The elders stood behind the altar, their presence commanding respect and a touch of fear from the regular Covenant members. My father stood off to the side with a grim expression, unable to take his usual place in the proceedings. His close relation to me could be seen as a conflict of interest, so Jean-Pierre Leclerc had been granted the right to perform the Confession in his stead.

The burly men flanking me pushed a path through the excited crowd and led me up to the altar, upon which Jean-Pierre stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. A horn sounded to mark the beginning of the Confession, and the murmuring crowd fell into a solemn silence.

I kept my head held high and my vision fixed on the trees in the distance, refusing to meet the judgmental gazes of the villagers. If I was going to be caught in my lies tonight, I would not give any of them the satisfaction of seeing the guilt and fear flashing in my eyes.

Jean-Pierre called out an ancient incantation, lifting one hand to the sky. Then he fixed his steely eyes on me for a moment before turning to face the crowd once more.

“Tonight, we are gathered to witness Rosamund Trudeau’s confession before the Entity, our Eternal Master. If she speaks the truth, he will grant her mercy.” He squeezed my shoulder and went on. “First, she will imbibe a chalice of truth tea to loosen her tongue. Gilbert, if you will…”

One of the other elders stepped forward to pour some of the boiled water from the altar into the chalice. After it was full, he picked it up and held it toward me. “Drink,” he muttered.

I followed his command, tipping my head back to swallow the entire contents of the chalice. The bitter-tasting tea was made from a combination of dried moonshade and whisperwort plants, gathered from the surrounding woods. The combination had long been known to induce the truth from those who drank it, but there were ways around it.

For example, if you knew the truth would get you into trouble, you could simply tell a carefully worded version of the story that made you seem pure and innocent… but you had to be very careful. Only those with serious mental fortitude and a silver tongue could get away with it.

Luckily, I’d done it before, so I was fairly certain I could do it again.

My eyelids soon felt heavy, and a sense of calm began to wash over me, as if I were being lulled to sleep by a soft melody. Beneath the tranquil surface, a compulsion was stirring in me, urging me to open my mouth and spill any secrets that might stop me from falling into a peaceful slumber.

“Rosamund Trudeau, I urge you to tell us where you have been in recent weeks,” Jean-Pierre said, squeezing my shoulder to snap my attention back to him. “We must also know if you are still pure.”

I took a deep breath and raised my head again. “The night I was taken, I could not sleep,” I began, speaking loudly and clearly. “I went for a walk in the woods, as I often do when I have trouble sleeping.”

That was true. I was known for taking long walks when I was unable to sleep. It had always annoyed my father.

“As I walked, I came across a strange place where the ground suddenly opened up before me.”

Also true, technically speaking. I was talking about the tunnel, but I hoped they would interpret my carefully chosen words as some sort of gaping chasm or cave in the wilderness, as our founders had experienced centuries ago when they discovered the cave where the Darkness lurked.

“I felt compelled to step inside, drawn by an unseen force.”

I was compelled by the sinful force of lust that evening, but they didn’t need to know that.

“I went inside, and I quickly realized I was about to undergo a test from the Entity. A test to see if my faith was true and unyielding. To see if I was willing, truly willing, to retain my purity and devotion to Him,” I continued. “I also realized that I needed to be tested in this way before the Tetrad in order to prove my worthiness of such a ritual. So I kept walking, and I eventually found myself all the way down in Hell with the Devil himself. That is where I spent the last few weeks—having my faith tested under torment and suffering at the hands of the Devil.”

This was also technically true, considering how many times I’d thought of that cell as Hell and Sebastian as the Devil.

“I endured many hardships and tortures down there, but I made it through with the Entity’s hand on my shoulder to guide my spirit,” I said. “I survived Hell itself, and I walked right out of there so I could return to the Covenant in time for the Tetrad.”

Again, totally true.

I reached for the buttons at the front of my ritual gown and undid the top three. When the gown was loose enough, I slipped it over my shoulders and turned, letting the fabric fall away to reveal my back, which still carried faint bruises and stripes from Sebastian’s whip.

A collective gasp went through the crowd. I gave them a minute to stare. Then I pulled my gown back up, rebuttoned it, and cleared my throat.

“These are some of the marks left by the torture,” I said. “You can see I did not imagine any of it. It was a divine test given to me by our Eternal Master; one which I am endlessly grateful for.”

The crowd was enraptured now, hanging on my every word. My father was staring at me too, but he looked troubled rather than enthralled. He had a lot to lose tonight if things didn’t go well. In the event that I failed to convince everyone that I was telling the truth, he would be viewed as an unworthy leader whose poor control and lack of proper guidance had led to the ruin of our community.

I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, casting my mind back to the confusion I’d experienced when I lost my virginity to Sebastian. I’d expected to feel completely different after such a significant moment, but that hadn’t happened at all. Instead, I felt exactly the same, and Sebastian had reassured me in his usual gruff fashion that what I felt was normal. You’re still you, Rose. You aren’t impure or dirty now. You’re just a version of you that’s had sex. That’s all.

“Regarding my purity… despite what happened to me in that place, I am still wholly myself. I am not impure,” I finally said, opening my eyes again. “I hope what I have said is sufficient to answer your questions, Mr. Leclerc, and I apologize if I have droned on for too long.”

Whispers and mutters spread through the gathered crowd like wildfire. I caught a few fragments of conversation here and there.

“She’s telling the truth!”

“I knew she was with the Entity. I never doubted her, even with all the naysayers.”

“She has been behaving strangely lately, but that’s only because she knows it’s her time to go soon. That would be hard on anyone.”

“Don’t be so hasty to believe it. Everyone knows you can get past the truth tea if you’re smart enough, and a lot of what she said was ambiguous. Not a single yes or no answer, was there?”

Those last sentences came from Ana?s, who was lingering near the front of the crowd, hazel eyes glittering with haughty malice. That smug little… bitch. That was the word Sebastian had taught me regarding her, and he was right. She was a bitch. A nasty, jealous harpy who would revel in my downfall.

I would not allow her to have that satisfaction. Not if I could help it.

“Thank you for your testimony, Rosamund,” Jean-Pierre said in a somber tone. “It is now time for the Firebrand Rite to ensure that the Entity has granted you his mercy in return for the truth.”

I swallowed hard, hands trembling at my sides. It wouldn’t be easy to pass this part of the Confession. The pain would be excruciating. I had to try, though, or else I would be proven a liar for failing to obtain the Entity’s grace.

At Jean-Pierre’s behest, I unbuttoned the top of my gown again, lowered it to my waist, and climbed onto the ritual altar. I kept my face still, not even wincing slightly as I rested my bare back on the freezing-cold stone. That was important during this part of the Confession—show no emotion, and certainly don’t show any pain.

I watched from the corner of my eye as another elder stepped forward to pick up the ceremonial dagger that lay on the other side of the altar. Its blade, already gleaming with sinister brilliance from the moonlight, was plunged into the bonfire. When the elder withdrew it from the flames a few minutes later, the metal glowed red-hot, casting a hellish light that struck terror into my heart.

The crowd held its collective breath around me, mouths agape. I took another deep breath too, recalling my time in the torture dungeon Sebastian had set up next to my cell. I’d coped with the sting of the whip by forcing my mind to go elsewhere. Now I had to do it again.

Without a word, the elder suddenly pressed the burning blade to my abdomen, right below my ribcage. A searing hiss filled the air, mingling with the stricken gasps of the crowd.

The smell of my burning flesh was nauseating, and the pain was the worst I’d ever experienced, making me want to writhe on the stone and scream until my lungs were empty. Instead, I kept my mind on Sebastian, picturing the time he’d plunged inside me, filling my body with rapturous, leg-shaking pleasure.

The blissful memory was just enough to keep myself distracted from the terrible pain coursing through me, imbuing me with the fortitude to keep my body stock-still, my mouth firmly shut, and my facial expression hard as granite.

The elder finally pulled the red-hot dagger away and lifted it in the air as a symbol of the rite’s completion. Jean-Pierre pulled me to a seated position on the altar and rested a hand on my shoulder again. “Rosamund has passed the test with the blessing of the Entity,” he said, deep voice booming through the clearing. “This means she has spoken the truth!”

The Covenant erupted in cheers and supportive shouts, voices rising to a fever pitch. Only a few still appeared to be unconvinced, like Ana?s, who stood with her arms folded and her beady eyes focused on my face instead of the burn on my abdomen.

“There is one more test tonight,” Jean-Pierre said, addressing the crowd again. “The proving ritual. At this point, it is all but a formality, but still, it must be done. Healer Fontenot, if you will.”

Healer Fontenot stepped out of the crowd. I instantly stiffened, heart racing. I’d never liked this man. The other healers were cool and detached when they inspected girls and women in the proving rituals, but Healer Fontenot had always looked a little gleeful instead, as if he genuinely derived pleasure from having his hands between the legs of young women, for something other than spiritual reasons. Even worse… the younger they were, the more gleeful he looked.

I swallowed thickly and lay back on the altar, dreading what was coming. I’d managed to delay the unmasking of my true self until now, but deep down, I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. I couldn’t fake it anymore. Couldn’t fake my purity. I’d given it away to a man two days ago, and Healer Fontenot would realize that the second he reached between my legs and discovered that it was missing.

“Just relax, darling,” he muttered as his right hand snaked between my thighs. “Open your legs a bit more.”

I gulped again and spread my legs wider, granting him easier access. His clammy hand slipped beneath my dress and slowly probed between my legs, making my skin crawl as icy tendrils slithered up my spine.

In a last-ditch attempt to save myself, I clenched my muscles as tight as I could, just like Sebastian had taught me. I knew it was futile, though. The healer would notice that my virginity was no longer intact, and then he’d announce it to the entire Covenant. I would be exposed as the fraud I was, and I—

“Rosamund is still pure.” Healer Fontenot pulled his hand away, letting the skirt of my dress fall back into place. “She has told us the truth.”

My mind reeled.

What?

How?

Sebastian… he was right. The healers couldn’t tell whether I was pure or not.

Was there even such a thing as purity, or was Sebastian right about that too? If so, did that mean he was right about everything else as well?

It’s all bullshit, baby girl, he’d said to me so many times. All total fucking bullshit.

Jean-Pierre helped me off the altar, lips spread in a prideful grin as he lifted my right hand above my head. The crowd before us whooped and cheered, and my father caught my eye and dipped his chin in a nod, looking immensely satisfied. Even Ana?s looked thoroughly convinced now, staring up at me with saucer-wide eyes and an open mouth.

Every single member of the Covenant was completely certain that my story was true—that the Entity had taken me as a holy test, and my virginity remained intact. But it was all bullshit, as Sebastian would say.

All fucking bullshit.

I stared out at the elated crowd, mind still whirling with shock as the whole world seemed to crash down around me.

For as long as I could remember, my life had been shaped by my beliefs. From childhood, every facet of my existence had revolved around prayers, rituals, and the strict moral code laid out by the Covenant founders. I was taught that our way of life was the only true and proper one, and I believed in it with unwavering certainty.

But now, everything I held sacred was crumbling beneath the weight of this devastating realization. Sebastian had been right all along. I’d been lied to all my life. We’d all been lied to, by those who were in charge.

Another torrent of emotions overwhelmed me then—disbelief, fury, and a profound sense of loss. The teachings that had shaped my entire life and worldview felt hollow and meaningless. Like a big, cruel trick had been played on me since the second I was born.

How could I have been blind for so long? How could I have made such a terrible mistake?

As I stared out at the sea of rapturous faces, I wanted to scream. It’s all bullshit! The founders made it all up! But I held my tongue, knowing there was no arguing with this many devoted men and women.

Besides, even if I tried, they’d demand to know how I knew it was all a lie. Then I’d have to tell them that I wasn’t with the Entity at all, and that I actually ran off with a man and had incredible sex with him, and then I’d likely encounter a wrath so terrible that I couldn’t even begin to imagine the punishment.

“Behold!” Jean-Pierre boomed, lifting my hand higher. “Rosamund Trudeau is the only person since our founders to have been taken and returned by the Entity! She has always been, and still remains, our most cherished celestial virgin!”

As another cheer rose in the crowd, a new fear struck me like an ice-cold hatchet to the chest. The final Tetrad blood moon was happening in four days, and it didn’t matter if I no longer believed in its significance. The rest of the Covenant did, their faiths thoroughly renewed by my successful Confession, and they would sacrifice me at the Red Rocks come hell or high water.

Adrenaline kicked in, urging me to break free from Jean-Pierre’s firm grip and flee. But I knew there was no point. The entire town of Alderwood was like an inescapable prison. The secret tunnel beneath the boundary fence had been filled in now that my father and the other elders had learned of its existence, and I could forget about ever being allowed through the main gate.

There was no way out. Nowhere to run. My fate was sealed from the moment I returned.

In four days, I would be dead.