Page 48 of Sinful

The Covenant members slowly filed out of the church and made their way to a path on the edge of town, flanked by flaming torches. Two burly men were posted at the top of the path, presumably to stop me from following everyone.

I bade Rose goodnight and pretended I was heading to the tavern, but instead of going all that way, I doubled back through a narrow alley and crept out of Alderwood on a different path. From there, I forged my way through the woods, following the map I’d created when I found the Red Rocks in the satellite photos.

I was close enough to the others to hear their excitement and see the glow of their flaming torches slicing through the woods,but still far enough away that they wouldn’t catch a glimpse of me or hear my footsteps crunching over the forest floor as I made my way toward the clearing.

I stopped and consulted the map again ten minutes later, using the faint glow of my cellphone to illuminate it. Just ahead of me lay a thicket on a slightly elevated knoll that overlooked the clearing. That seemed like the best place to hide and observe the ritual proceedings.

After finding a decent spot in the thicket, I crouched down, peering through the tangled branches at the enormous clearing below. The elders, draped in their hooded black cloaks, moved around with slow, deliberate grace, serving chalices of communion wine to the gathered Covenant members, who eagerly accepted the dark liquid.

The people began to dance and sway, movements growing increasingly unsteady and feverish. The wine must’ve been laced with something other than celestial virgin blood, heightening the crowd’s state of ecstasy and enrapturement. No doubt things would soon descend into the same sort of orgy I witnessed a week ago in their main ritual clearing.

I finally spotted Rose, standing with her father near the middle of the clearing. She looked just as excited as everyone else, cheeks flushed pink and lips spread wide in an enthusiastic grin. Augustus leaned in and said something to her before patting her on the shoulder and moving closer to the center.

The Red Rocks were mostly obscured by the massive crowd, but eventually, enough people moved away to reveal Elise Dubois sitting on the largest rock, which was a low, reddish-brown monolith surrounded with flickering candles. She was still clothed in her simple white gown, a serene smile affixed to her face.

When Augustus arrived, the other elders gathered around the rock too, chanting in low, rhythmic tones. A horn finally blewon the edge of the clearing, and the Covenant grew quiet, save for a few giggles and murmurs.

I inched closer, straining my eyes and ears to catch everything I could, and my heart pounded in my chest, a steady drumbeat of excitement and anticipation. Augustus’s voice rang out, declaring something in an unfamiliar language, and Elise’s smile widened. She lay down on the stone and clasped her hands on her abdomen.

Augustus’s right hand moved down to the lower front part of his robe, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what was about to happen. He would remove the robe and mount Elise, claiming that the Entity was working through his body. Then he’d fuck her, and she’d gladly take every second of it, truly believing she was submitting her body to the Entity.

The elders’ chant rose again, louder this time. Elise moved farther to the edge of the stone, head hanging right off the edge. Augustus’s hand was still fumbling with his robe, but a moment later, he produced a gleaming blade.

With mounting horror, I watched as he drew it across Elise’s exposed throat in a swift, practiced motion. Blood sprayed in a gruesome arc, painting the rock and the ground beneath it. Elise convulsed slightly, then lay still, her lifeblood pooling below.

With that, the Covenant crowd erupted into cheers and chants, their bodies writhing in a collective frenzy of ecstasy.

My stomach churned, acid rising in my throat.Holy fucking shit.

I should’ve realized what was happening tonight. It was the oldest fucking practice in the book—virgin sacrifice. Murder disguised as spiritual devotion.

But even after what happened to my mother all those years ago, I didn’t see it coming. I was swayed by the radiant excitement and lust in Rose’s eyes every time she discussed herupcoming ritual of submission, and so I’d assumed it was a sexual thing. Notthisshit.

My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for Rose again. As I expected, she looked elated, her face alight with fervor and joy.

A cold fist clenched at my gut as I watched her lift her arms and sway to the drumbeats that were now filling the clearing. I had to get her the fuck out of this place. Not because I cared about her, but because I needed her for my plan to work. If she was dead, sacrificed to the fucking Entity, then I’d be right back to square one.

I couldn’t have that. Couldn’t risk it. That meant I had to ramp things up and get my little Rose the fuck out of this toxic place as soon as possible.

Not even God—or the fucking Entity—could save the people who got in the way of that.

12

Rose

With a spring in my step,I left the house and headed for the bakery. It was only six o’clock in the morning, and I’d barely slept a wink, but I still felt refreshed anyway.

I always felt this way after an eclipse ritual. Everyone did. The blood that flowed from the willing sacrifice infused the air with magic that revitalized every soul in the community, and a palpable sense of power surged through our veins. It was as if the very essence of life itself had been poured into us, strengthening our bonds and reaffirming our devotion.

Right now, I was practically giddy with excitement. In four short weeks, it would finally be my turn, after all these years of waiting. All these years of praying. All these years of tamping down my desires for sex and love and children, knowing that it simply wasn’t my place to have any of that.

It would all be worth it in the end. I would go to the Red Rocks with a rapturous smile on my face, just like Elise and all the others before her, and I would keep smiling as the blade severed the ties between this life and the next. After that, the Entity awaited me, hands outstretched to welcome me into his heavenly kingdom.

A smile stretched my lips as I pictured it all, wondering just how incredible it felt to be filled with such joy and light and satisfaction.

When I spotted Sebastian sitting on a bench outside the bakery, half-eaten pastry in one hand, my smile faded. He looked troubled, his dark brows furrowed and eyes distant, as if he were wrestling with thoughts that refused to be tamed.

I approached him slowly, my joy evaporating as concern took its place. “Are you all right?” I asked, hoping to break through the dark cloud that hung over him.

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