Page 42 of Sacrifice

“I assume we can’t go to your house there?”

“Definitely not. My apartment is the first place my father would go to look for me. He’s probably hired some fucking goons to watch the place, too, in case I return at any point.”

“Could we stay with someone you know?” I asked. “Like Jesse. Or those old college friends of yours that you told me about a while ago. Or some other friends, maybe?”

“We could do that, but I don’t want to put any of them at risk.” Sebastian’s lips twisted in contemplation. “I think we should book a hotel room, but only if I can find a place that accepts cash.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, cocking my head. “Don’t all outsider businesses need payment from customers?”

“Yes, but most people don’t pay for things with physical money these days,” he explained. “We use credit or debit cards instead. And most hotelsonlyaccept card payments.”

“Oh.” I nodded slowly. “But they can be tracked, I assume. That’s why you said we need a hotel that takes cash.”

“Exactly.”

“Will it be hard to find a place that does that?”

Sebastian rubbed his chin. “It could be. But if I offer them enough money, they might be willing to waive the card requirement.”

“You have lots of money, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” He glanced over at me, lips curving upward in a small, wry smile. “Partially because of the Covenant, as it turns out.”

I slowly shook my head. “I still can’t believe your family was connected to Alderwood this whole time. Forcenturies. Over mushrooms, of all things.”

“Me neither. Fucking crazy shit.”

The hum of the car and the rhythm of the road began to lull me into a strange calm. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy, and my body was sagging in the seat as if I were being pushed down by some invisible weight. It had been such a long day. Emotionally and physically draining in ways I’d never expected.

Sebastian was still talking to me, but his words were starting to blur together. I blinked, trying to stay engaged, but with each passing second, the effort became harder. The last thing I saw was the faint glow of the dashboard lights before I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up again, I blinked, disoriented. The soft hum of the car still surrounded me, but everything else had changed.I sat up straight, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and looked out the window.

My breath instantly caught in my throat at the sight before me. Towering buildings, so tall they seemed to touch the sky, loomed around us. Crowds of people moved like rivers along the sidewalks, and the streets were alive with blaring horns and flashing signs.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Sebastian said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.” I snapped my wide-eyed gaze back to him. “This is New York City?”

“Yup. What do you think of it?”

I peered out the window again, my heart racing, trying to take it all in. The scale, the energy… it was overwhelming and fascinating all at once.

“It’s huge,” I said, turning back to look at him. It seemed like such a silly, obvious thing for me to say, but I was so shocked that I couldn’t quite figure out how to put my thoughts into words.

“Certainly is.” Sebastian grinned. “It might take you a while to get used to all the noise, but you’ll get there.”

“I always imagined what it would be like to be in a real city, but my imagination could never produce all of this,” I said, looking back outside.

He reached over and squeezed my thigh. “I hope it’s not too jarring for you. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to only see a mountain village my whole life, and then suddenly be thrust into a place like this.”

I smiled at him. “I’ll be okay. I’ve always wanted to explore the outside world, remember?”

“Yeah.” Sebastian returned my smile. “I remember all your paintings.”

“Now I can paint the real thing.” I paused and cocked my head. “Did you find a hotel yet?”

He nodded. “I called a few places while you were sleeping. Found one with a receptionist who seemed amenable to cash bribes,” he replied. “Now I just need to hit up an ATM.”

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