Page 36 of Sinful

“It compels people to admit their sins, but it isn’t completely accurate, because there are certain workarounds for those who are mentally strong enough,” Rose went on. “For example, you could tell the truth when you’ve had it, but not thewholetruth. Or you could tell the whole truth, but worded in very specific ways to make you look better.”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“The second part of the confession process is the firebrand rite. The person is laid out on an altar while a knife is heated in the bonfire nearby. Once it is hot, it will be pressed against part of their body. If they feel any pain, it is because the Entity hasn’t protected them. That means they are guilty. If they are innocent, the Entity shields them from the pain, and they are absolved and set free.”

“So if you scream or even wince, you’re guilty?”

“Yes.”

“And after that?”

“The prescribed punishments are related to what the person did wrong. They must offer up a part of their body that was used to commit the sin. For example, if they stole, they could offer up a finger, or even their whole hand. If they cheated on their husband or wife… well, you catch my drift, I’m sure. Theoffending body part is removed and cast into the flames as a burnt offering to the Entity.”

I stared at her, skin crawling with revulsion. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Yes, of course.” Rose looked confused. “You wanted me to teach you our ways, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I just…” I rubbed my jaw, shaking my head. “I haven’t seen anyone around here missing any body parts, so I was surprised to hear that.”

“Ah.” Her face brightened again. “That’s because crime is extremely rare here. People know the consequences of sin.”

I fucking knew it.

This so-called paradise, where everyone walked around looking dazedly happy, had a dark side after all. Just like every other cult or fundamentalist sect. The peopleseemedhappy on the outside, but they lived in perpetual fear. Not only that, the vast majority of them were also never permitted to leave, and they faced punishment if they even made an attempt.

I stared at Rose, dark possibilities creeping into my mind.

Perhaps, as my prisoner, she would have more freedom than she ever did here.

9

Sebastian

Rose glancedup at the sky and narrowed her eyes with concentration, seemingly noting something in the position of the moon. “We should leave,” she said. “Tonight’s ritual begins soon.”

I stood and extended a polite hand to help her up. She accepted it with a smile, and with that small gesture, I knew I was earning her trust.

She led me to the main street of Alderwood and then back down to the town square. A lot of people were still there, simply milling about or finishing the last of the food, but a heavy stream of other locals was slowly moving toward a path that led away from the north-east section of the square.

Rose nodded toward that same pathway. “That’s the way to the main ritual clearing,” she explained.

Now that the locals were good and drunk, a lot of them were far more open in the way they stared at me. A few waved and smiled, but the vast majority regarded me in a wary manner, as if they were afraid of what I might do while I was here.

They really didn’t need to worry about that. They needed to be afraid of what I would do when Iwasn’there.

“You might be the first outsider to see this particular ritual,” Rose said as we joined the procession. The path was lined with flickering torches, casting shadows all over her face.

“What about my mother?” I asked. “Wouldn’t she have seen it?”

“Maybe. I can’t be sure, because I was only four or five when she was here,” she replied. “I don’t remember many specifics from that time. I just remember what it was like to have her here.”

My lips tightened. “I see.”

“I remember the feeling she gave me so clearly,” Rose went on. She hesitated and tipped her head slightly to one side. “Remember what you said earlier, about your college society feeling like a second family?”

“Yes.”

“I felt that way about Miranda. I remember wishing she would be my second mother,” she said softly. “She was so kind and attentive to me, and I attached myself to her because of that. It’s very hard growing up without a mother.”

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