Page 110 of The Last Session

“Ah.” There had to be a simpler explanation, like the shared group delusion. But that still didn’t explain how Moon had known what I would see.

“Have you guys done—regressions before?” I asked.

“With Catherine, yes. That’s how we knew that you two met a spirit in the desert when you were dying. Since her eyes were closed, she never knew what the spirit looked like.” Moon blew out a breath. “But now, thanks to you, we know. A snake spirit. I wish I could’ve seen it. I’m sure it was magnificent.”

I shivered. Those marble eyes still burned in my mind, like too-bright lights lingering in my vision.

“But I’m sorry.” Moon put a hand on the bedspread. “I thought I was helping you cut through the fear, the pain. But maybe I pushed you too hard.”

Wasshe sorry? Her face looked sincere, but then again she was an actor.

This was yet another example of why Catherine shouldn’t be here. Moon and Sol didn’t respect people’s limits. No wonder Catherine had broken down.

“Thanks for the apology.” I forced a smile. “So was that part of the healing work?”

“Of course.” She smiled back. “One more session tomorrow night, then the last one on the equinox. And the healing work will be completed. You can go, or stay, if you’d like. We’d love that.”

“What do the next two sessions look like?” I asked. “Because the sweat lodge—”

“No, no more in there.” She shook her head. “They’ll be in the cave.”

My body froze. “The cave?”

“Yes.” She scratched her bare knee. “It’s a powerful energy vortex. A portal to another world. So for the most important work, we meet down there. Don’t worry, we’ll make it cozy.”

“What will happen?” Sol’s words came back to me:I’d say we have our confirmation.“Does this have to do with the sacrifice thing?”

“It does. You agreed to offer yourself as a sacrifice to heal the world. So you’ll do that.” She brushed back a long strand. “Symbolically, of course.”

“You think I agreed to the snake spirit’s offer?”

“Yes. Catherine refused; we were pretty sure, but now it’s clear.”

Maybe it was the heat, or having passed out, but I was having trouble keeping everything straight. “So I agreed to come back in a future lifetime—this one—and somehow sacrifice myself for the good of theworld? And the snake gave me that opportunity because it somehow knew I’d been betrayed by my entire community?”

“Exactly.”

“But why the future? Didn’t we already die? I mean, think of the story of Jesus—he sacrificed himself in his lifetime. He didn’t have to come back thousands of years later.”

“Jesus is a good example of this. But his situation’s different. He was already enlightened during his lifetime. Hecould’vesaved himself, but he chose not to.” Moon explained slowly and patiently, like an elementary schoolteacher. “Now, you and Catherine never fully came into your powers. You weren’t able to save yourselves. So thechoiceto sacrifice yourselves was offered for a future lifetime. When you could actually make the decision.”

“Gotcha.” There was a certain logic to it. I had to suppress a wild giggle. “So how am I going tosymbolicallysacrifice myself on the equinox?”

Moon shrugged. “Obviously, we’re not going to ask you to do anything crazy. I need to meditate on it more, but we’ll come up with something everyone’s comfortable with.”

“Great.” Wow. Did she really believe I’d be cool with that? After what had happened in the sweat lodge?

Of course, I didn’t think I was in real danger of Moon and Sol forcing me to cut my heart out with a dagger or anything like that. But I was still extremely relieved that I was leaving soon—before the next session.

“Thanks for explaining everything.” I smiled, wishing her away.

“Sure. Try this.” She handed me the matcha, then watched until I took a sip.

After she left, I went to take a shower. I waited for some heaviness to fill my limbs, for my body to slump to the ground.

But nothing happened. Of course. Moon hadn’t drugged my matcha. I was being paranoid. This group delusion was strange, and Moon and Sol were cult-y boundary-pushers, but it seemed like a jump to believe I was in actual physical danger.

When I walked into the dining room, the place settings looked different.It took me a second to figure out why: there were wineglasses by each plate. For mocktails, I assumed.

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