Sacrifice (Ritual Sins #2)

16. Sebastian

16

Sebastian

Back at the hotel, I set the laptop on a small desk near the window. The bulky old machine felt out of place in the modern room, and my skin prickled with a mix of anticipation and concern as I stooped to plug in the old charger that I’d managed to track down at a secondhand tech store.

I pressed the power button, half-expecting it to do nothing. To my surprise, the screen flickered to life, casting a dull glow as the ancient system booted up with a slow, mechanical hum.

“Shit. It actually works,” I said, brows rising.

“Will there be one of those password things?” Rose asked.

“Probably,” I replied as the startup screen appeared, pixelated and outdated. Then I nodded curtly as the password prompt appeared. “Yup.”

“Can you guess it?”

“Don’t need to.” I smiled thinly, fingertips flying across the keyboard. “These things were always easy to break into back in the day. Easier than it is now, anyway. I used to do it all the time to play games whenever Mom left it lying around.”

The desktop finally loaded, a clutter of icons scattered across the screen. The background was a faded photo of a long- forgotten moment at the Central Park Zoo. It felt like unlocking a time capsule.

“We’re in,” I whispered, my pulse quickening.

Rose pointed at a yellow folder icon on the screen. “This says ‘Field Research’. That would probably have everything she wrote about the Covenant, right?”

I nodded and double-clicked on the icon. The laptop whirred, and the screen remained frozen on the desktop for a moment. Then it flashed, and a snippet of my mother’s old research notes appeared.

**Field Notes – Day 7**

The Covenant’s Relationship with Nature

The community’s daily routines are deeply intertwined with nature. I’ve observed them offering small offerings—usually seeds, herbs, or food scraps—to the soil, which they believe nourishes the land's spirit.

They cultivate their crops in specific cycles, which follow the phases of the moon rather than the traditional growing seasons. This lunar-based agriculture is said to yield stronger, more spiritually pure crops.

There’s a marked reverence for the wilderness surrounding their settlement. No trees are felled without a communal ritual. One of the elders told me that cutting down a tree requires the permission of their deity (the Entity) granted only when a member has a specific need for the wood.

That wasn’t particularly relevant or useful. I scrolled farther down.

**Field Notes – Day 16**

Healing Practices and Medicinal Use of Plants

The sect’s approach to medicine is largely natural, relying mostly on herbs and plants, along with a small selection of modern medicines they purchase from ‘outsiders’ for emergency cases. Their healers use a combination of prayer, plant-based remedies, and modern medicine to treat pain/illness.

They have an extensive knowledge of the local flora. For instance, I’ve seen them brew a concoction from a combination of what they call ‘moonshade’ and ‘whisperwort’ that can be used as a truth serum. It isn’t 100% effective, but it is scopolamine-based, just like so-called ‘truth serums’ in the outside world.

Their remedies are shared from generation to generation through books, and are considered sacred knowledge.

“Hmm.” My lips tightened as I scanned the screen. “These look like the same notes as the handwritten ones she left behind. I read about the truth tea in those years ago.”

“I suppose we just have to keep reading,” Rose said, forehead wrinkling. “There must be things in there that she never wrote down by hand. Otherwise, your father would’ve had no reason to hide the laptop.”

I nodded and scrolled again.

**Field Notes – Day 48**

The Eclipse Ritual

Tonight, I was allowed to witness something I’ve only heard whispers about until now. The Covenant holds a secretive and deeply unsettling ritual during eclipses. According to their beliefs, an ancient evil, referred to simply as ‘the Darkness’ is trapped in a cave on their land known as ‘the forbidden cave’ (note to self – where is this cave? Requires more research). They claim that during an eclipse, the boundary between their world and this dark entity weakens, and a sacrifice is required to strengthen the seal and keep the Darkness trapped.

The sacrifice (referred to as a celestial virgin) must be a motherless virgin from the community, who is offered to appease the darkness and prevent it from escaping. The ritual is cloaked in layers of spiritual significance—they believe the purity of the sacrifice keeps the balance between light and dark, ensuring their safety and the fertility of the land.

The ceremony takes place at night after a service in the cathedral. The Covenant elders, wearing ceremonial robes, lead the community in a joyous procession from the church to a ritual clearing known as ‘the Red Rocks’. The chosen woman is dressed in white, symbolizing her purity, and appears to be entirely willing in the process.

The chosen woman is placed on an altar, facing the sky. Her head hangs off the edge of the smooth rock. A dagger is then used to perform the sacrifice, which involves throat-slitting. The sacrifice’s blood spills onto the earth, and the Covenant believes this strengthens the land (and therefore also strengthens the seal that binds the Darkness within the cave). There is no mourning, no outcry. It is seen as both a joyous occasion and a necessary act for the survival of the world.

I am still grappling with what I’ve witnessed. The Covenant leader described it to me with a calm acceptance, convinced that without this sacrifice, the Darkness would consume not only his community but the entire world. There is no remorse, no rebellion—this is a deeply entrenched belief, passed down for centuries. The girl chosen for the sacrifice is considered honored and seemed almost ecstatic in her duty.

“Holy shit,” I muttered. “Your dad actually told my mom about the sacrifices and even let her watch one of the eclipse rituals. Do you remember that at all?”

Rose shook her head. “No. I suppose his judgment was clouded by his feelings for her,” she said, voice tinged with sadness. “I can’t imagine any other outsiders being allowed to know about it. He didn’t even let you know, and he really liked you.”

I continued scrolling through the notes. My mother had known about most of the Covenant beliefs and practices that I’d discovered myself over the last several weeks—the origin story about Dubois and Brouxard, the weekly festivities, the monthly fertility rituals, the education system, the gender divide between certain jobs and duties, the Confession ritual, and the existence of the Entity and the Darkness.

However, there were no notes on the forbidden cave—aside from the very brief mention of it on Day 48—or the psychedelic mushroom crop within it. There was no mention of the IVF embryo scheme, either.

I sighed and leaned back. “I don’t get it,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s nothing in here that incriminates my father. Or anyone else in the Thorne family, for that matter. My mom didn’t seem to know about their connection to the Covenant.”

“What about that?” Rose asked, pointing to the top of the screen. “Could there be something in there?”

I looked at where she was pointing. At the very top of the document was a tab that said ‘Personal Notes’.

“Huh. I didn’t even see that. Good catch,” I said, clicking on the tab.

The field notes were instantly replaced by a far more casually worded set of entries.

“This looks like a diary,” Rose said, eyes widening.

“Certainly does,” I muttered, scanning the first entry.

I don’t even know how to begin this. Maybe by admitting what I’ve done—what we’ve done. It feels like a confession, but there’s no one here to forgive me, only this empty page.

I didn’t come here for this. I came to study, to observe. To remain professional and objective. But every time I’m near him—Augustus—I forget who I’m supposed to be. He’s not just the leader of this community. There’s something magnetic about him. Something that pulls me in despite everything I know.

It started innocently enough. Conversations at the edge of ceremonies, lingering a bit too long. His words are so measured, so calm, and yet beneath them, I always sense something more. In those private moments, he looks at me in a way that makes me feel seen, like he knows something about me that I can’t explain myself.

But now, after what we’ve been doing, and how far we’ve taken it… I can barely look at myself in the mirror. The first time it happened, I told myself it was a mistake, that it would never happen again. I was weak. Vulnerable. Angry at Adam, too. But then it happened again, and again, and again…

And truth be told—I want more. I know I shouldn’t. I’m supposed to be impartial, a researcher. Yet here I am betraying my principles, my ethics, and worst of all, my marriage.

Augustus is the leader of this community, and I’m an outsider. But when I’m near him, I can’t help myself. I feel something I haven’t felt in years—a real affection, a connection that defies reason. Something I haven’t felt with Adam in years.

I find myself waiting for those moments when we’re alone, when the rest of the world fades away, and it’s just us two. It scares me how much I crave that feeling. I know it’s wrong. I know better. This is not fate. This is a weakness I have to confront before it consumes me. But despite all this guilt and shame… I don’t know if I really want to stop.

What does that say about me?

“There it is,” Rose murmured. “Evidence of the affair. I’m sure the police will be very interested in that.”

I nodded and went to the next entry.

Today, I convinced little Rosie to take me to the forbidden cave. She is so young, not even five yet. Very bright for her age, well beyond her years, but still, so very young. I felt awful for tricking her, but it was the only way I could come up with to get to the cave. I’ve sensed since my first day here that there’s something hidden up there. Some reason why 99% of the villagers are too afraid to go there or even speak about it.

Anyway, I told Rosie that Augustus wanted her to show it to me. She was frightened, because she’s previously been told that she isn’t supposed to go there, but she still led me to it.

In the end, my nagging suspicions about that place were right. I KNEW there was something in there, and I suspected it was connected to the Covenant’s origin story (the founders were clearly under some sort of psychedelic influence). I never anticipated what this community is actually hiding, though. I am still shaken beyond belief.

They have a laboratory set up in the cave, along with a large grow room for mushrooms, so I now believe they are running some sort of drug trafficking operation out of the cave. The mushrooms must be some variant of psilocybin aka ‘magic mushrooms’.

But that’s not all. I found a freezer containing the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. EMbrYOS.

Human embryos!

I don’t know what to think right now. I don’t want to confront Augustus about it. I worry how he’ll react, because despite his willingness to share so much with me, it was always made very clear that I cannot enter the forbidden cave.

There’s something else, too…

There were several boxes in the freezer that said: ‘Metropolitan Mercy Hospital’ on the side. That’s Adam’s hospital! I saw others too, with the names of his brother’s hospitals.

It’s all started to make a sick, twisted kind of sense now. Adam told me he knew Augustus from a young age, but he always made it sound like it was because they attended college and law school together. But now I realize the relationship runs deeper than that.

How could I not see it before? The Thornes have been in this area for generations. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but it seems clear that they’re involved in whatever scheme the Covenant is secretly running out of that cave. They obviously all know each other, and they’re helping each other with… something.

I can’t quite put my finger on it just yet. I’ll have to sleep on it, I suppose.

“There it is,” I said, looking at Rose. “Proof that she knew what my father’s side of the family was doing. Or suspected, anyway.”

She nodded. “It looks like there’s more as well. Can you move the screen down again?”

I scrolled to reveal the next entry.

I visited the hospital today to look at the archives in the hope of finding some sort of proof regarding my suspicions. They didn’t let me in at first, but I have certain persuasive skills (you really have to in my line of work!)

I found evidence of missing embryos, dating back almost two decades.

I now believe that Adam (and the rest of the Thorne family too) is providing the Covenant with embryos stolen from reproductively challenged people, along with IVF technology (perhaps this is how they’ve avoided inbreeding issues in recent years?). But the connection to the psychedelic mushrooms… I don’t know. Clearly, there’s something there. I just need to figure out what it is.

Re. our marital relationship - this sounds terrible but, to be honest, I don’t even feel guilty about the affair anymore. Adam has lied to me so much. Hidden so much. He is a complete hypocrite.

Part of me wants to pack up and leave him. But I’m afraid of how he’ll respond. I have a feeling he’ll get vindictive and try to take full custody of Seb. He already harps on about what a bad mother I am for having a career. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got his lawyers to argue the same thing. His family has money on their side and access to the very best legal teams, too, so I know I would get utterly squashed in court.

So… is leaving him the wisest course of action? Should I stay quiet about this enormous secret instead? Not just to keep my own life from blowing up, but also to avoid hurting Seb? He would be devastated if Adam and I divorced; I know that.

If I did leave Adam, where would I go? I know Augustus wants me with him, but I couldn’t pull Seb out of his world and make him live in Alderwood. I couldn’t even live there myself. I love him, despite everything, but I love the modern world too.

God… what to do. What to do…

“She was thinking about leaving him,” Rose said softly. “Even without all the other stuff, that alone could be seen as a motive for your father to snap and kill her. No wonder he hid this.”

I nodded, gritted my teeth, and scrolled down again. The final diary entry was much shorter than the others.

I did it. I told him about the affair, and I also told him I knew about his family’s secret. Knew about all his lies. We have betrayed each other, so I said the only way our marriage can continue is if we seek therapy as a couple. I want to get past it for Seb’s sake. Perhaps we can, perhaps we can’t. I suppose we shall see.

I was too nervous to say any of it to his face, so I put it all in a letter and left it on his pillow before I left with Seb for his birthday trip to Pinecrest Falls. I’m writing this from there now. I haven’t heard anything from him yet - no calls or texts. Perhaps he is still thinking about it and trying to find the right words.

Who knows? I hope he will drive up here to join us for Seb’s birthday tomorrow, at the very least.

“That’s it. The very last entry she ever wrote,” I said, staring at the words until they blurred together. “Fuck… it’s all there. All the proof we need that my father did it.”

Rose put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Sebastian. It’s so awful.”

I pressed my lips in a thin line, one hand rubbing my forehead as I sagged in my seat. “I already knew he did it after everything your dad told us, but some tiny shred of me was hoping—”

I abruptly trailed off, shaking my head.

“Hoping he was innocent after all?” Rose asked, eyes filling with sympathy. “That it was all a huge mistake?”

“Yeah.” I grunted and shook my head again. “Fucking stupid.”

“No, it’s not stupid at all. He’s your father. He raised you. It’s understandable that some small part of you was holding out hope.”

She was right, I knew it, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like a total fool as the suffocating weight of my father’s culpability settled over me. It felt like a knife was twisting in my chest, even worse than the other night when Augustus first told me the truth.

My breaths quickened as the storm of emotions rose inside me. Fury, grief, betrayal, all swirling into an unbearable heat. It felt like I was burning from the inside out, my skin prickling from the intensity of it.

“Sebastian,” Rose said, placing a hand on my forehead. “You look and feel very hot. Perhaps you should cool down with a bath?”

Her soft voice pulled me out of my spiral, and I nodded and rose to my feet. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“You know I’m here for you, don’t you?” she said, wide eyes filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be here for you. Just like you’ve always been here for me.”

I stared down at her, slightly shaking my head. “I don’t deserve you,” I muttered. “How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“You do deserve me. We deserve each other.” Rose smiled and went on, squeezing my hand in hers. “I’m so glad we found each other. So, so glad.”

“Me too, baby girl,” I said gruffly, wrapping her up in my arms and holding her tightly against my chest. “Me too.”