Page 89 of Bloodmoon Ritual

“Want me to read to you?” I asked.

I had always used to read the Holy Writ to him in the evenings.

“Would you?” he asked eagerly. “I’d love that.”

And I took the thick, heavy book, flicking through the pages heavy and worn from Rhyder’s devotion, and I flipped to one of the least awful passages, the story of the End of the World Serpent, and how she had killed the Allfather’s enemies with her venomous fangs, how she had broken and then remade the world, over and over again, capricious, confident in her ability to break and rebuild, and then I put the book carefully aside and turned around, and I was in his arms, Rhyder kissing me as hard as he could, and was it me or the serpent rebuilding piece by piece as his tongue curled over mine?

Chapter 18

It was the night ofthe Bloodmoon Ritual.

“Stay in the house,” Rhyder reminded me, his hand a caress on my chin. “And lock the door.”

“I will,” I said.

I had no desire whatsoever to get tangled up in whatever they were planning.

“Oh, I found something for you,” Rhyder said. “Before I go.”

And he reached out for his motorcycle bag.

I watched his motions as he did. For a big man his movements were so smooth and efficient, a crease appearing between his brows as he dug in his bag. The dark tattoos ran up his arm, and by now I could pick them out, and I knew if I ran my fingers down the raised marks that were my name, I’d feel a shiver down my spine. The words of Holy Writ mixed with my name or the symbols that represented me, his religious devotion shot through with his carnal obsession until I wondered which one was the stronger.

Then he was in front of me, and he turned over what was in his hands.

I couldn’t repress an unguarded squeak.

It was a copy of theWind in the Willows, the book he had burned up in a jealous rage. This copy was much older than mine, half of the cover missing, some of the pages water-damaged.

Butoh Allfather.

My fingers traced the title, lips curving up at the pieces of bright illustration I could see on the front.

“T-thank you,” I stammered. “It’s—beautiful.”

“I will give you everything you want,” Rhyder said. “You can even read it to me if you like. Now be a good girl and keep this door locked.”

---