Page 123 of The Last Session

“Good question.” He shrugged. “Maybe they’re planning to do them too. Maybe they already have. Who knows how this works. We really don’t need to be a part of it.”

“No. We need to keep an eye on Grace and Catherine.” I headed towards the purple door. Inside the room, the door to the stone steps yawned open. Two battery-operated lanterns waited for us at the edge.

I stopped above the hole and took a deep breath. The cold, musty air enveloped me. But this time I felt stronger. I knew what was down there. I knew Catherine was alive. I knew Jonah could protect us.

So I started down the steps.

Everyone was at the far end of the larger cavern. They sat in a circle, their lanterns beside them. Jonah and I started down the sloping, rocky floor. With the lanterns hanging over our arms, it was easier going than last time, trying to navigate the damp darkness with a flashlight. But I was still careful about where I stepped, avoiding the tiny pools.

As we got closer, it smelled like incense. Moon was fluttering a white feather over a bowl to blow the smoke towards people.

“Hey!” She grinned as we approached. “You made it!”

They were uncomfortably close to the hole. The burbling noises made me shudder.

“We did!” The words felt anachronistic, like we’d swung by a housewarming. I was glad I’d worn several layers; it was even colder than I remembered.

Moon directed the bowl’s smoke at my face and down to my ankles. She did the same to Jonah. “There. Now you can join the circle.”

I avoided looking at the hole, but saw the flash of white: the sculpture of Catherine’s head was still there on the little altar. I neverhadfound out who’d made it. There were two empty cushions between Catherine and Sol. I took the seat by Catherine, who was staring miserably down at her lap.

Grace smiled; her hair was loose over her shoulders, and she was wearing the same floaty white dress Moon had worn the first night of the retreat. For some reason, it creeped me out. I looked towards the entrance of the cavern. In the dark, I couldn’t even see the tunnel out. Had it been the right choice, coming down here? Witnessing whatever was planned?

“Tonight, we’re here to rectify a mistake.” Moon sat across from me, pushing up the sleeves of her slouchy sweater. “For a long time, we thought Catherine and Grace were the priestesses. And that cost us, didn’t it? Of course, everything happens for a reason. Catherine had to end up in New York to meet Thea. But still, that doesn’t excuse Grace’s lies.”

“I’m sorry.” Grace looked down into her lap.

“We’re not surprised.” Moon laughed. “After all, the sorcerer deceives, right? That’s who she is. That’s her nature.”

Even in the dim light, I could see Grace’s cheeks redden. I didn’t like this: Grace being blamed for not knowing her role in a play that Moon had made up.

“Because Grace pretended to be the other sister, we wasted time and energy. We went ahead with a ceremony we never should have embarked on. We sacrificed the wrong person.”

What?

“Wait, who did you sacrifice?” I asked, cutting into Moon’s monologue.

“Me.” Catherine said it in a small, childlike voice.

“But because it was the wrong person, the portal sent her back,” Moon went on. “Catherine rose from the dead. It’s a miracle that hasn’t happened for thousands of years.”

“Rose from the dead?” I tried to exchange a scared look with Jonah, but he was gazing at Moon. “What are you talking about?”

Catherine’s shoulders shook; was she crying? I couldn’t tell behind the curtain of hair. Goose bumps sprang up on my arms.

“And tomorrow,” Moon went on, ignoring me. “When light and dark are balanced, the rightful savior will fulfill her sacrifice. She’ll bring the world back towards equilibrium, exponentially increasing good. She’ll shrink the evil that has overtaken men’s hearts, the greed that allows them to kill.” Moon’s breath was ragged, and she paused to swallow. “Tonight, Grace will vanquish the evil that lives within her. She will go through the portal first and prepare the way for our priestess. She will magnify Thea’s great sacrifice with her own.”

“Stop.” I stood, knowing that something was wrong, that we were barreling towards a place with no return. Then everyone else stood in tandem, including Jonah.

Suddenly, Sol was by my side, his hand heavy on my shoulder. “You okay?”

I jumped up and pulled away from him. “I’m leaving.”

Sol’s hand returned to my arm, tightened. “I think you should stay.”

His grip was viselike, and I cried out.

Jonah was already stepping closer, confused. “What’s wrong?”

---