Page 25 of Sinful

Sounds like an acid trip,I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “Hm. Interesting.”

“The Entity presented himself to the two men in that time, during a shared vision. He shared the truth of the world with them, along with everything that needed to be done to preserve the safety and sanctity of mankind,” Augustus blathered on. “He showed them how the Darkness lurked in the deepest bowels of the caves, always searching for an opportunity to be released. He also shared the knowledge of how to keep the Darkness at bay so as to keep the world safe from the reign of terror it would bring if it were ever to be released.”

I grunted. “Heavy stuff.”

“Yes. It was a very heavy burden to be placed upon the men’s shoulders, but it was their holy mission, given to them by the Entity himself. They could not refuse, and they did not want to, either, because they understood the importance of it,” he said. “When they finally emerged from the cave, they were enriched and energized, despite the lack of food and water for so many days. They returned to the encampment and informed the others about the encounter, and then they began to develop the doctrines of the Covenant based on everything they had borne witness to in their visions.”

“How did the others respond?” I asked, lifting a brow.

“They could clearly see that Dubois and Brouxard had been touched by something holy. Something that had bonded the two men and bestowed them with sacred knowledge. They venerated them and followed their commands, the first of which was to settle permanently on this land in order to protect it and keep the Darkness at bay. In return for their great service to the world, they would receive the land’s bounty.”

“Some bounty, huh?” I glanced around us. “It’s a great place to live.”

“Yes, truly heaven on earth.” Augustus smiled again. “There’s magic in these mountains, and we are very fortunate to be the guardians of it all.”

“I can see that.” I rubbed my jaw. “I have to admit, it’s a very interesting origin story. I can see why my mother was so fascinated by it.”

I could also see why she was so desperate to find the cave. Obviously, there was something significant in there, but there was no way the Covenant would ever share the location with an outsider. Not when it was supposedly such a sacred place.

“You may have noticed that I’ve been walking on your left for the past few minutes, in order to keep your gaze over here,” Trudeau said. A small, secretive smile was playing on his lips, and a gleam had appeared in his eyes. “I’ve been distracting you so I could surprise you when we finally arrived at what I wanted to show you.”

Forehead wrinkling, I snapped my head to the right, where a short tree-lined road sloped into a valley. “Holy shit,” I muttered.

At the end of the steep road stood a magnificent Gothic cathedral, its towering spires reaching for the sky like dark, skeletal fingers.

“It certainly is holy,” Augustus said, smile widening. “We are very proud of our church.”

Upon first glance, the building only seemed to pay homage to Dubois’s Catholic background, but as we drew closer, I noticed touches of Brouxard’s pagan background interwoven in the structure. Twig effigies and animal bone charms dangled from the eaves, swaying gently in the breeze, and strange esoteric symbols were carved into the slate-gray stone walls and embellished in the stained-glass windows.

“How the hell was this built?” I asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “It’s huge. And the attention to detail… it’s exquisite.”

“It took over a hundred years to complete,” Augustus replied. “Members of the Covenant had to journey far and wide to trade with other communities in order to source the materials.”

“And the construction?”

“Four of the founding families had backgrounds in construction, including Dubois himself,” he explained. “They passed their knowledge onto the others, who then passed it onto their children and grandchildren, and so it continued.”

“It’s impressive. Very impressive,” I admitted, staring up at the spires. “I can’t believe more people don’t know about this.”

“Yes, well, as you know, we’re—”

“Very private people,” I finished for him, raising my brows.

He chuckled. “Exactly. But you are our guest now… so would you care to take a look inside?”

“Sure.”

We stepped into the church, and I cast my eyes around in astonishment, taking in the painted fresco on the ceiling and the elaborate stained-glass windows that bathed the interior in a faint reddish light. Every detail seemed to tell a story, from the ornate carvings on the pews to the flickering candles that cast dancing shadows along the stone walls.

“I really have to ask,” I said, turning to Augustus. “Where do you get the money to maintain all of this, along with such a big town? Surely trading isn’t enough.”

He dipped his chin in a curt nod. “You are correct in that assessment. When the modern world and its economy rolled around, we had to adjust and deal with money. But that was a net benefit for us, because as I mentioned earlier, our lands are so fruitful. We sell our products to many surrounding towns. Our berry wines, for example, are very popular with outsiders.”

Given what I’d seen so far, I knew there was no fucking way a few bottles of wine would provide enough capital to pay for everything in this place. I didn’t say that out loud, though.

“Anyway,” Augustus continued. “Over the years, we’ve made enough to purchase everything we need, such as cars to replace the old transportation method of horse and cart, and farming equipment for our fields and vineyards in the valley along with the home refrigeration units we discussed earlier. Anything that improves the lives of our citizens is considered a good investment. On that note, we also use the money for education. Our brightest minds are sent to universities.”

I stared at him, shocked. “People leave here? Forcollege?”

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