Page 47 of Sinful

I asked her why she looked so afraid all of a sudden, and she told me that she hated walking past the entrance to this pathbecause of what lay at the end. Apparently, the path circled the valley farmstead before heading farther up into the mountains, where the forbidden cave lay. After that, she immediately clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing she’d revealed too much, but I promised her I wouldn’t go looking for it.

Unfortunately for her, my promises carried the exact same level of truth her own words did, when she told me she had no idea what happened to my mother.

At sundown, I headed downstairs to meet with the tavern owners, who had been tasked with accompanying me to the evening’s lunar feast. They escorted me to the town square and showed me over to a chair at the end of a long table, where the four town healers were already seated. Apparently, they’d figured I might have a nice time chatting to these guys while I ate, as all four of the men had spent multiple years on the outside in order to get their medical qualifications.

I had to admit, they were right. It was a lot easier to speak to these guys than most of the others in the village. Given how much time they’d spent on the outside, they understood a lot more about the modern world, and they weren’t afraid of discussing it. One of them even asked me for an update on the football team he’d followed while he was in college.

While they were all friendly and jovial and the conversation flowed easily, there was an undercurrent of distrust and suspicion, coming from both sides. The healers clearly didn’t understand why I was here, despite my explanation along with Augustus’s blessing, and I didn’t believe them when they said they didn’t remember my mother at all. The youngest one I could believe, as he was only a kid when she was here, but the others ranged from mid-forties to seventy-something. They were all fully grown adults when my mother was doing her research in the community, and yet they all went stiff or blank when her name was mentioned.

Just like everyone else in this town, they obviously knew what happened to her. They just didn’t want to admit it. Either that or they weren’t permitted to speak about her at all, to keep the coverup intact.

Somewhere around nine o’clock, a horn blew, signaling that we should all proceed to the cathedral for the lunar ceremony. The blood moon that the Covenant was celebrating tonight hung ominously in the night sky, casting an eerie red glow across the landscape, and several members had donned crimson robes and covered their faces with stag masks. As I followed them down the street, I was struck by the strange sensation that I’d stepped into another world entirely; something eldritch and dangerous.

The old cathedral loomed ahead, spires piercing the sky like jagged teeth. When I stepped through the door, the air was thick with the spicy scent of incense, along with wisps of smoke from wrought-iron candelabras. Many members of the congregation were already seated, their faces illuminated by the crimson glow of the moon streaming through the windows.

I spotted Rose in a pew at the front, and she beckoned me over. “My father thought you should have a seat up here,” she whispered when I arrived. “That way you can see everything properly. For your notes.”

I nodded, turning my attention to the altar at the front. A woman in a flowing white gown was kneeling there with a serene expression on her face, her eyes closed as if in a trance. Behind her, black-robed elders were chanting in low voices.

“Do you have a ceremony like this during every eclipse?” I asked, looking at Rose again.

She nodded. “Yes, it happens once or twice a year. Except this year, obviously, because of the tetrad.”

Augustus emerged from a back room, garbed in elaborate black and red robes. He raised his hands, and the chanting fromthe elders grew louder, reverberating through the cavernous space.

The woman in white smiled as he approached her. He briefly turned to the altar to wet one of his fingers in a dark, oily-looking substance, and then he anointed her forehead with a strange-looking symbol.

“The Entity’s mark,” Rose whispered to me. “It will guide him to her when she submits later.”

Augustus wiped his hands on a cloth that lay on the altar. Then he lifted his palms, and the church fell silent.

“Brothers and sisters,” he boomed. “Gathered here under the gaze of the blood moon, we stand at the threshold of the ancient and divine. We honor the celestial forces that guide and protect us, and we draw upon the strength of our ancestors, who understood the profound connection between heaven and earth, light and shadow, faith and magic. This union is not one of contradiction, but of harmony. Praise the Entity.”

A low murmur rose in the cathedral. “Praise the Entity.”

“We are here tonight to celebrate one of our most revered celestial virgins,” Augustus went on. “Elise Dubois kneels before us, a beacon of purity and devotion, prepared to embrace the path laid out by the divine. Please, everyone… show her the strength of your support.”

A cheer went up in the cathedral, and Elise beamed and rose to her feet.

Augustus lifted his hands to silence the space yet again. “As the blood moon bathes us in its light, let us remember the power it holds—the power to transform, to reveal, and to renew. Its cycles mirror our own journeys, reminding us that every end is a new beginning. Tonight, Elise will beginhernew life, submitted and bound to the Entity. Her journey is both a personal transformation and a testament to her faith, and through her, weall find strength and inspiration. In the name of the Entity, we give our thanks.”

A wide grin spread over Augustus’s face, and another rousing cheer filled the cathedral. The congregation rose to their feet, clamoring to reach the front in order to embrace Elise.

“What happens now?” I asked, looking at Rose again.

“Soon, we’ll head to the Red Rocks. Elise will meet with the Entity there and submit herself to him.”

“And that’s the part I can’t see, right?”

She gave me a rueful smile. “Sorry. It’s a sacred ritual, so you can’t witness it. In fact, you’re very lucky you weren’t asked to leave our land altogether while this goes on. My father must be feeling generous.”

I clenched my jaw and forced a smile in return. “I’m glad I was welcome to see the preceding ceremony, at least,” I said. I turned back to look at Elise. “She looks excited.”

“Sheisexcited,” Rose said, eyes crinkling at the corners. “She’s waited her whole life for this. Now she’s finally reaping the rewards.”

“And then it’s your turn in four weeks.”

She nodded again, looking positively giddy. “I can’t wait.”

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