Sacrifice (Ritual Sins #2)

19. Sebastian

19

Sebastian

I jolted awake, body stiff and cold against an unforgiving stone surface. I blinked slowly and tried to move, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t see properly, either. The world around me was a blur, shapes and colors blending into each other, and my head was pounding like crazy, a relentless throb that made it almost impossible to think.

Where the fuck was I? And where was Rose?

I grunted and tried to move again, but my arms wouldn’t respond. Something rough was biting into my wrists, holding me in place. Panic stirred in my chest, but my body felt sluggish, disconnected, like I was trapped in a dream. I could hear voices, but they sounded far away, like they were muffled by a wall of fog.

I blinked again, trying to clear the haze from my mind. Slowly, the world sharpened into focus. There were bright flames from a roaring bonfire and tall burning torches, and there were also… people. Familiar people. So many of them—probably the entire Alderwood community—gathered in a crowd in the massive clearing around us.

None of them appeared to have noticed that I was awake yet. Some of them were chanting and clapping, their faces lit by the flickering flames of countless torches, while others were swaying to the rhythm of the chants and waving twig-and-bone talismans in the air, their smiles wide and eyes gleaming with excitement.

The air in the clearing was thick with the scent of smoke and damp earth, and when I looked up, I saw the final Tetrad blood moon, hanging ominously in the sky like a glowing wound, casting a slight reddish hue over everything.

Jesus. It was like something out of a fucking horror movie.

I swallowed hard, trying to focus, but nothing about this situation made sense. The Alderwood crowd, the blood moon, the ritualistic chanting… how the hell was this happening? Didn’t Rose and I leave this place two days ago so we could avoid this shit? Or did I dream all of that?

I shifted my legs on the hard surface beneath me. It wasn’t until I tried to move my arms again that I realized I wasn’t alone. Rose . I could feel her tied to me, back-to-back. She wasn’t moving.

My heart lurched in my chest. “Rose?” I said, my voice coming out hoarse. “Rose, are you okay?”

She didn’t respond right away, and for a moment, the panic inside me surged higher. Then I finally felt her stir against me. She was awake, at least. That was something.

“Rose,” I said, shifting my weight to make her stir again. “Baby. Wake up.”

While I waited for her to respond, I turned my face toward the gathered crowd again. I spotted Augustus and the other elders standing in a neat row by the central bonfire, their crimson-robed figures clutching silver chalices. Their mouths were moving in low, rhythmic chants.

I heard a sharp intake of breath a moment later, followed by Rose’s voice. “Oh, no,” she said. “No, no, no .”

“Baby, it’s okay. I’m right here,” I muttered. “Just breathe.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, voice catching in her throat.

“Me neither. Any idea how we got to Alderwood?” I asked, trying to turn my head to glance at her. “Or what the fuck is going on?”

“Your father,” she whispered urgently. I could feel her struggling against the rope, her breathing ragged. “He tracked us down and drugged the champagne. Then he made a deal with my father.”

“A deal?” My forehead wrinkled. “What deal?”

“He wants you gone so you can never tell anyone his secret, but he doesn’t want to do the dirty work of killing you himself,” she said. “So he gave you to the Covenant to be sacrificed. In return for doing it, they got me back too. For the Tetrad ritual.”

“Wait.” I blinked again. “No, that’s not possible. Your father knew you didn’t want to be sacrificed. He let you go.”

“Adam—I mean, your father called him and told him I changed my mind. He threatened me with a gun so I wouldn’t scream,” she said, voice cracking with a mix of terror and desperation. “Then he drugged me again. That’s all I remember before now.”

“Don’t worry, baby. We’ll get out of here,” I said, eyes flicking around the clearing.

“No. This is it, Sebastian,” Rose murmured woodenly. “They’ve obviously made up their minds. They won’t let us go.”

“I won’t let anyone touch you,” I said. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get you out of here. I promise.”

“He’s here,” Rose said, voice turning shrill. She was panicking so much that my words didn’t seem to be registering with her at all. “Your father. He came to watch.”

I scanned the crowd until my gaze fell on a figure near the bonfire. Rose was right. My father was here. He stood apart from the elders, his expression a strange mix of smug satisfaction and unease, as if he wasn’t entirely sure how this would end but was confident enough that it would be in his favor.

“I want to fucking kill him,” I muttered, jaw tightening.

It was one thing for the heartless bastard to get rid of me to save himself, but to get Rose killed in the process was another thing entirely. I wouldn’t let it happen. Wouldn’t let him get away with this shit.

My left hand moved on the smooth stone altar as I shifted my weight yet again, and my fingertips met with something hard and jagged.

“What’s this?” I muttered, turning my head to the left. Under the moonlight, I spotted a sharpened stone sitting on the altar beside me and Rose. Someone from the Covenant must have accidentally left it there earlier. A careless mistake for them, but a boon for us.

“What?” Rose replied. “Did you find something?”

“Yes. There’s a stone here,” I said. “I think I can use it to cut the ropes around our wrists. I just need to grab it properly.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Just move when I move. Ready?”

“Yes.”

We shifted, bodies moving in sync. I twisted my wrist, trying to angle my hand toward the stone, but the ropes were too tight, biting into my skin with every small movement. My fingers strained, brushing against the jagged edge. It was so close now. So fucking close.

"Rose," I muttered. “Lean to your right. Just a little."

I felt her shift behind me again, her body tensing as she moved. The ropes stretched, loosening just enough for me to reach the stone.

“Got it.”

I clenched my jaw, focusing on the rough surface beneath my fingertips.

“You really think you can cut us free?” Rose asked, voice tinged with a blend of hope and anxiety.

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

Slowly, carefully, I dragged the sharp edge across the binding at my wrist, wincing as it scraped against my skin. The rope frayed, but not fast enough. The crowd was still cheering, chanting louder now, their excitement growing with each passing second. We didn’t have much time before someone noticed what we were up to.

“Come on,” I muttered under my breath, sawing at the rope with renewed urgency.

Rose shifted again, keeping pace with my movements. “Is it working?”

“Yes.” I gritted my teeth. “I just have to keep going.”

A sudden shift rippled through the crowd, and the jubilant singing and chanting faded into an eerie, expectant silence, leaving only the crackle of fire in the night air. The energy in the clearing had changed, as if everyone knew something big was about to happen.

I glanced to my right as I continued sawing at the rope. Augustus had moved away from the bonfire and was now standing in front of the crowd, flanked by the other elders. In one hand, he held the large ceremonial dagger I’d seen him draw across the previous Tetrad sacrifice’s throat four weeks ago.

He raised his free hand high, and his voice rang out, clear and commanding. “Brothers and sisters,” he called, his tone filled with reverence. “Allow me to address you on this most sacred evening.”

The crowd obeyed, not a single voice daring to break the tension. Several sets of eyes turned toward the altar. Toward us. I could feel their gazes burning into my skin, their anticipation thick in the air. My pulse quickened, the stone still hidden in my hand, but there was no moving now. Not with so many people watching so intently.

Augustus lowered his hand, stepping forward, and began to speak again. With the crowd’s rapt attention back on him, I was able to return my efforts to the rope without anyone noticing.

“Tonight, the elders and I come to you with some somber news,” Augustus said. “It will be extremely difficult for you to hear. A great shock. I must offer you my deepest and sincerest apologies for that.”

A murmur of confusion rippled through the crowd, but they quickly hushed again.

“Tonight marks the final blood moon of the Tetrad. It was meant to be a joyous occasion, culminating in the sacrifice of our final celestial virgin. My beloved daughter, Rosamund,” Augustus went on, gesturing to the stone altar. I froze again as everyone turned their gazes toward us once more.

“Is the rope almost broken?” Rose whispered.

“Yes. I just have to wait until they stop looking,” I muttered, eyes on the gathered crowd. “Or they’ll realize what I’m doing.”

Augustus finally began to speak again. “The elders and I have served Alderwood to the best of our abilities over the years. We have devoted ourselves to the Entity and followed the words of his doctrine to the letter in order to keep everyone safe,” he said. “However, it is with great sorrow and regret that I inform you… despite our efforts, we have failed in our mission.”

There was a collective intake of breath from the crowd, followed by shocked murmurs and whispers.

“Twenty years ago, we allowed an outsider to join us in Alderwood for a period. I’m sure many of you recall this,” Augustus went on. “Those who are too young to recall it at least know of the havoc that this outsider’s presence wrought upon our community. It was not her fault. It was mine. I should not have let her in. But I did, and much to the chagrin of myself and the other elders, she ventured into the forbidden cave.”

He paused again to let his words sink in. The people in the crowd looked terrified now, eyes wide under the flickering firelight.

“We chose to hide this incident from the community, because we didn’t want to cause a mass panic, and we were sure we could contain the Darkness in the cave despite the outsider’s intrusion,” Augustus said. “This is where we have failed. We have spent the last twenty years praying, abiding by the doctrines, and making every necessary sacrifice… and it has not worked. The Darkness has slowly seeped out and infiltrated our lives over all these years, and our existence on this land has been threatened to the point where it must finally come to an end. I apologize for being so blunt about this, but it is the hard truth. We have failed you. Completely and utterly. Every single eclipse sacrifice that we made was in vain, because the Darkness has come for us despite it all. The pain and anguish that this brings me… it really cannot be put into words.”

As Augustus went on with his morbid speech, I resumed my work with the stone, gritting my teeth as I sawed at the rope.

“After tonight’s sacrificial ritual, things are going to be very different for the people of Alderwood,” he said. “I do not know where this new path will take you; only that I cannot lead you any longer. Nor can the other elders. We must acknowledge that it is over for us due to our monumental failure. But wherever you end up, we hope you find peace and happiness, and we want you to know that it has been our greatest honor to serve you over the last few decades.”

The air filled with more murmurs from the crowd, the sound a mix of confusion and fear. My father also looked confused, his eyes narrowing and his head tilting slightly to one side.

Augustus cleared his throat and continued. “You all came here tonight expecting to see the final Tetrad sacrifice,” he said. “And you will have a final sacrifice. However, due to the aforementioned troubles that the elders and I have been unable to lead us all through, we have determined that this sacrifice must be far greater than we initially planned. Only then will you—our beloved people—have a chance of emerging from the Darkness unscathed.”

“That’s a lot of words just to say that he’s going to kill two people instead of one,” I muttered to Rose.

“Please tell me the rope is almost broken,” she whispered back to me. “It sounds like he’s getting closer to coming over here and going through with the sacrifices.”

As if her words were a charm, the rope finally began to give. Another few strokes and it snapped and loosened. I stifled a sigh of relief as our hands finally broke free.

“Don’t move,” I said, voice barely above a murmur. “We don’t want them to know we’re free just yet.”

“What are we going to do?” Rose asked, her voice equally hushed.

“When your father approaches the altar with that knife, I’m going to catch him by surprise and tackle him. As soon as I do that, you need to run. Run for your life.”

“But… no! Sebastian, it’s too dangerous!”

“Baby, you know every single corner of these woods. You can find somewhere to—”

She cut me off. “I meant it’s too dangerous for you ,” she said, voice thick with emotion. “The ceremonial dagger is so big. He… he could…”

She didn’t need to finish her sentence for me to know what she was getting at. Tackling a guy with a huge knife was never a good idea. Especially when the knife was sharp enough to slice through a throat like it was merely warm butter.

“I’ll be okay,” I said in the most reassuring tone I could muster up.

Truthfully, I had no idea if I would survive this. Even if I successfully tackled Augustus and dislodged the dagger from his grip, there were over a thousand other people here, each of them desperate to prove their loyalty to him along with their god. The chances of me being able to fight my way through such an enormous crowd were near zero.

On top of that, Rose had also informed me that my father had a gun. He’d told Augustus he didn’t want to do the ‘dirty work’ of killing me, but if it became a necessity, I had no doubt that he’d pull that trigger.

I didn’t share any of those concerns with Rose, though. I knew she’d never agree to run and hide if she knew I was probably going to die, and I needed her to do it. I needed her to survive, even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process.

“How could you possibly be okay?” Rose asked. Her voice was cracking again. “There’s so many of them.”

I affected a calm, almost-nonchalant tone. “I’ve got a plan, but it’s too long and complicated to say it all out loud right now,” I said. “All you need to know is this: run when I tell you. Got it?”

I heard her swallow thickly. “Got it.”

“Good girl.”

Augustus cleared his throat and lifted the ceremonial dagger high in the air. “It is time,” he announced. “Our first sacrifice awaits.”

He slowly turned to face the altar, bright blue eyes fixed on me. I glared at him as he approached, jaw tight and heart racing. When he was finally within spitting distance, I readied myself to move, every muscle tightly wound and ready to spring.

Just as I was about to lunge, he spoke to me in a hushed tone. “I trust you found the stone I left for you,” he said. “Your hands must be free by now.”

I stared up at him, my stomach roiling with confusion. “ You left it?”

“You wanted us to be free?” Rose said at the same time.

“Of course. You made your choice to leave, and I told you I would respect that choice,” he said. “I apologize for all these theatrics. It was an unfortunate necessity due to the presence of a certain guest.”

With that, he turned the dagger around and presented me with the handle. “This is yours now, Sebastian,” he said. “Make the sacrifice when you are ready.”

Finally, I understood. I nodded curtly and accepted the dagger, gripping it tightly in my right hand.

My father stared over at the altar, brows dipping in a frown as his expression of smug superiority morphed into shock and confusion. “Hold on… did you just give him the knife?” he said, one hand shooting toward his pocket. “What the fuck is going on, Augustus?”

I jumped down and lunged toward him, shouting at Rose as I went. “Duck behind the altar, baby!” I said. “Hide there until it’s over!”

Rose didn’t hesitate. I heard her scramble behind the altar, the sound of her quick footsteps fading as my focus narrowed on the man in front of me—my father. His eyes widened as I closed the distance, the confusion on his face twisting into a mix of fear and anger.

“Stop!” he barked, withdrawing his hand from his pocket. He had his gun now, but it was too late for him to fire it directly at me. I slammed into him, just in time to grab the barrel with my free hand and twist it upwards, and it went off with a deafening crack, echoing through the clearing like thunder.

The acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air as the bullet whizzed harmlessly into the night sky, and the sound sent panic through the gathered crowd. People screamed and skittered in every direction, talismans dropping to the ground as they scrambled away.

I kept hold of the barrel, trying to wrench the pistol free from my father’s grip. He let out a furious snarl, holding on with all his might as his gaze focused somewhere over my shoulder.

“You lying bastard!” he shouted. “You said no harm would come to me! You swore on your god! I thought that meant something to you people!”

“I swore on the Entity’s name that no one from the Covenant would touch a hair on your head,” Augustus said smoothly. “Sebastian isn’t a member of the Covenant.”

My heart hammered as I finally wrenched the pistol free from my father’s grip and tossed it away. It clattered against the altar, far out of his reach. He snarled again, face contorted with rage, but there was fear too, lurking just beneath the surface. He wasn’t in control anymore, and he knew it.

I knocked him backward, the dagger clenched tightly in my fist. He grunted as we hit the ground, my weight pinning him down, and I held the blade to his throat, my breath coming in ragged bursts. The entire clearing seemed to still, as if time itself had paused, waiting to see what would happen next.

“You made me do this,” I growled, my voice trembling with rage.

Dad’s eyes flicked from the blade to my face, disbelief still etched into his features.

“Son, wait,” he rasped, struggling beneath me. His left arm was twisted and pinned awkwardly beneath his body, and his right hand was clawing at the ground, desperately searching for something to grab onto. “You don’t understand. I wasn’t really going to let them kill you. I just wanted to scare you. That’s all.”

“You really expect me to believe that shit?” I spat, pressing the dagger closer to his skin.

“Please… son…”

“Stop with this ‘son’ shit. It’s over,” I said in a low voice, eyes locked on his. “I just want to know one thing. Was she awake?”

His brows furrowed with confusion. “What?”

“When you killed Mom. Was she unconscious from the crash, or was she awake?” I said, nostrils flaring with rage and disgust. “Don’t fucking lie to me . I’ll know if you do.”

He swallowed audibly. “I… she was awake. But… barely. I don’t think she knew what was happening. She wouldn’t have felt much,” he choked out. “I didn’t even mean for it to happen. I was just so angry with her. I snapped, and I didn’t—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I jammed the knife into the side of his neck. He gasped as blood spurted, right hand still desperately seeking purchase on the ground beside him.

“You didn’t raise me to be religious,” I muttered as I watched the light slowly fade from his eyes. “But I really hope there’s a hell out there, just for you.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but only a gurgle emerged, along with a torrent of blood. His right hand kept moving by his side. By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late.

I’d assumed he was clawing at the ground to find something to hold onto. It hadn’t occurred to me that he had a second gun in one of his side pockets, but he did, and now he’d grabbed hold of it, ready to squeeze the trigger in one final, desperate attempt at revenge.

“No!” I roared, immediately realizing where it was aimed—at the side of the altar, where Rose was crouched. I knocked it aside, but it was too late. The bullet had already exited the chamber. “Rose!”

I whipped my head around to see her scampering around to the other side of the rock. The bullet had missed her. Thank fuck…

I looked back down at my father. The light had vanished from his eyes, and his hand had fallen limp, gun lying uselessly on the ground next to him. I picked it up, flicked on the safety and stashed it in my pocket before hurrying over to the altar to find Rose.

She was crouched behind it, face flooded with tears as she held onto her father, who was slumped beside her.

“What happened?” I asked, eyes widening.

“I think the bullet ricocheted off the altar,” she choked out, pressing one hand to his robe. “It hit him in the stomach.”

“Just a flesh wound,” Augustus muttered, wincing as Rose pressed even harder.

“Let me look.” I knelt and ripped the robe open, revealing a gushing wound on his abdomen. I immediately motioned for Rose to press down on it again to stem the flow of blood. “Augustus… this is more than a flesh wound. We need to get you to a hospital. Now .”

“No.” He weakly shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. Alderwood is where I belong.”

“Papa, please!” Rose cried out. “It’s an emergency! Our healers can’t help with this!”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Augustus smiled. “I’m fine, darling. Really.”

“That’s the shock setting in,” I said. “We need to get you down to Pinecrest Falls right now.”

“Papa, come on!” Rose added. “We have to go now!”

“Settle down. Both of you,” Augustus whispered, still smiling. “It was never going to hurt me.”

“What do you mean?”

“After everything that’s happened lately, I knew how tonight would have to go. This is the end, and we prepared for it,” he replied, voice fading to a low murmur. “We… the elders… it was time. The final sacrifice.”

His earlier words flashed in my mind, along with an image of the silver chalices he and the elders had held when they stood by the bonfire.

‘ I have determined that this sacrifice must be far greater than we initially planned. Only then will you—our beloved people—have a chance of emerging from the Darkness unscathed.’

I looked over at the clearing, where villagers were still screaming, running around, or cowering in terror. By the bonfire, the elders were lying on the ground, stiff and silent. One of the healers was crouched by the closest one, eyes wild with panic as he shook the man’s still body.

“Oh, shit,” I muttered. I turned back to face Augustus. “What did you take?”

“A concoction of roots and leaves from the woods. One that ends suffering and eases pain.” He smiled again. “Even if that bullet didn’t get me, it was the end of the road for me anyway. It is time for the people of Alderwood to start anew.”

Rose’s breath hitched, her eyes wide with disbelief. “No… Papa, please don’t do this!” she said, cradling his face in her trembling hands. “We can still help you. Please, just hold on. I… I can find an antidote.”

Augustus shook his head weakly, his gaze softening as he looked up at her. “Rosamund, my darling… it’s okay. You need to let go.” His voice was barely a whisper now, each word a struggle. “We always suspected this day would come. I’ve made my peace.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clung to him, her shoulders shaking with sobs. “But I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

“We already said goodbye two days ago. Remember, darling?”

“But it wasn’t… it wasn’t like this! I thought you’d still be alive up here!”

His smile wavered, his strength fading. “You’re stronger than you think. You’ll be fine. You have to be.”

I stood frozen, watching the life slowly drain from him, unable to do anything but bear witness. Rose’s sobs filled the air, raw and broken, as she held him tighter, like she hoped she could somehow keep him alive by sheer force of will.

Augustus’s eyes fluttered closed, his final breath escaping in a soft sigh. “I love you, Rosamund…”

The words barely made it past his lips before his body went still.

“Papa?” Rose’s voice cracked. She shook him gently, desperate. “Papa, no! Please!” But there was no response.

She collapsed onto his chest, her grief spilling out in deep, heart-wrenching sobs that echoed through the clearing. “No! No, no, no…”

I knelt beside her, feeling helpless, my own throat tight with sorrow. Then I wrapped her in my arms, offering what little comfort I could. The weight of this loss was heavy—too heavy for words.

Augustus was gone. The Covenant elders were gone. Soon, the village of Alderwood would be gone too. We were sitting in the wreckage of its final moments.

The foundation the Covenant members had all built their lives upon—the rituals, the sacrifices, the unwavering devotion—had just crumbled before their eyes. Without their leaders, there would be no one to guide them, and without the business arrangement with my family, there would be no money either. At least not enough to sustain so many people. The village would be unable to function, and the people would have to find somewhere else to go. Some other way to live.

Rose’s sobs cut through the air as she clung to Augustus, refusing to let go. I looked out at the clearing—at the torches lying abandoned in the dirt, at the elders' lifeless bodies near the bonfire, at the crying villagers who hadn’t already scattered back to their houses in search of comfort.

It was over.

Really, truly over.

But Rose and me? That would never be over. No matter what we’d faced, or what we’d come to face in the future, we were a part of each other now. We were bound by a lot more than the chaos of this night. More than the dark secrets of our murky past. We were bound by love. Endless, undying, and forged in the fires of everything we’d gone through together.

It wasn’t just the shared pain and trauma that connected us. It was the way we kept finding each other, even in our very darkest moments. The way her presence steadied me. The way neither of us could ever walk away, no matter how broken things became. She was my anchor, and I was hers. Together, we could face anything. Survive anything.

The darkness couldn’t touch us.

Not ever again.