Page 3 of Sinful

“You said it was those forest people that live near here. The ones people in town call witches,” I said stubbornly. “Last time we were here, you said you wanted to research a cave on their property, but you couldn’t find it.”

Something flickered in Mom’s eyes. She leaned closer and grasped my left shoulder. “Seb, I need you to promise me something,” she said in a hushed voice.

“Okay.” I frowned, wondering why she was suddenly in such a weird mood. “What is it?”

“Don’t ever talk about this to anyone else. Not even your best friends or your dad. No one.”

“Why?”

“Because I shouldn’t have said anything about it. I didn’t know this before, but it’s meant to be a secret,” she said hurriedly. “So now it can beoursecret, okay? Won’t that be fun? To have something just to ourselves?”

I shrugged and took another bite. “Okay. I won’t say anything.”

She exhaled and dropped her hand from my shoulder. She looked happier now. “When you finish your drink, do you want me to help you build something?” she asked, gesturing to the Lego pieces scattered on the floor.

“Yes. I want to make a cas—” I stopped midsentence when I saw headlights out of the corner of my eye. “Dad’s here!”

Mom frowned and got up. “Oh, that’s odd. He didn’t call or message to say he was on his way,” she said, stepping over to the closest window.

I ran over to the other window on the right. This one had the curtains drawn, but I always liked to lift the corner and peer out like I was a spy. It was fun.

I picked up the edge of the curtain and peeked outside. An old car was slowly making its way up the long, winding driveway. “Oh,” I said, shoulders drooping with disappointment as it drew closer. “That’s not one of Dad’s cars.”

Mom was standing rigidly now, lips set in a thin line. “Maybe a neighbor needs some help,” she said. She didn’t sound sure of that. She sounded worried.

The car finally pulled up at the front of the house. Two men in strange clothing got out and walked around to the hood before stopping to talk with their heads bowed close together. There was a small girl strapped into the back seat. I wasn’t very good at guessing ages, but I could tell she was younger than me. Maybe four or five, like my best friend’s little sister.

I rolled my eyes, hoping the men didn’t want me to play with her. I hated playing with younger kids. They were so annoying.

“Who are they, Mom?” I asked, looking over at her.

“They’re from the Covenant,” she said. Her voice sounded strangely thick now, like she had a cold. “The forest people I’ve been working with. The ones we were just talking about.”

“What are they doing here? I thought they didn’t have cars.”

“They do, but they only use them sometimes, when it’s absolutely necessary.”

“What are they doing here?” I repeated, looking back at the old brown car. The two men were still talking to each other in the driveway, and the little girl was looking at me from the back seat, eyes wide. Even though I didn’t like younger kids, I thought she looked nice. Maybe she could help me build a castle with the Legos. As long as she did what I told her and didn’t try to boss me around, it could be fun.

“I don’t know why they’re here, honey,” Mom said, clasping her hands together again. “But… maybe you should go and hide.”

“Why?” I asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

“It’ll be a fun game. You go and hide, and I’ll come and find you when I’m finished talking to the men. They probably just need gas, or something like that.” Mom smiled, but it was the same sort of smile she gave me earlier. A tight one that didn’t meet her eyes. “Don’t come out until I find you, okay?”

“Okay…” I let the curtain fall, still eyeing her warily.

“Sebastian, I’m serious. Go and hide right now.”

I didn’t want to upset her, so I turned around and ran across the living room. I knew a good spot from the last time we played this game. In one corner of the room, there was a small table with a large wooden deer figurine sitting atop a white tablecloth that went all the way to the floor. If I crawled under the table, that cloth would hide me.

I dropped to the floor and positioned myself under the table. There was a small gap between the floor and the bottom of the tablecloth, so I could see a few inches in front of me. I could hear everything from here, too.

I jolted with surprise as someone loudly rapped on the front door. The two men had finally decided to approach the house.

I heard Mom unlock the door and open it. “Augustus. Jean-Pierre,” she said. She was using the voice she always put on when she talked to people she didn’t know very well, or people she didn’t like. Friendly, but a bit high-pitched. “What are you doing here so late? Is there a problem in Alderwood?”

“Oh, you could certainly say there’s a problem, Miranda,” one of the men replied. He had a strange accent, one I’d never heard before in movies or TV shows. “But I think you already know all about that, don’t you?”

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