Page 24 of Salem's Fall
His gaze sweeps across the shop a bit warily.
“There’s a quiet spot in the back where we can sit and talk more freely,” he says and turns, gesturing for me to follow him to a small wooden table away from prying ears.
We sit down and he points to the book in my hand. “I see you’ve already foundBlood and Bone. Excellent choice. May I?” He takes the book from me and flips it open to the chapter I was just looking at, pointing to the Blood Rite symbol. “This is what you came for, right? To learn more about its dark history?” I nod and lean in closer, reading over his shoulder. “Tell me, what do you know about the Veil so far?”
I glance up to find him watching me, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
“Just some things my associate found online.” I pull out my laptop and begin to take notes. “I know it’s some sort of organization with ties to the witch trials that took place here in the late 1600s, but I don’t think Mark could find much else. It all seems very secretive.”
He lifts a brow, a teasing grin on his face. “Well, I suppose that’s the point with a secret society, hmmm?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I chuckle. “But that’s why I’m here. Mark found your name and knew you were an expert on this occult stuff. He planned to interview you himself, but… well…” I glance down awkwardly. “You know the rest.”
“I’m sorry about your coworker,” he says, eyes filling with sympathy. “Were you two close?”
“Not really, but it was still quite a shock.”
“I imagine it was.” His gaze sharpens, his expression turning serious. “I’ve been studying occult practices my entire professional career, and I can tell you that the Order of the Veilis one of the most dangerous, ruthless groups of individuals I’ve ever come across.” He plays with the corners of the book, almost nervously. “The Veil descends from an ancient secret society called the Order, which was created hundreds of years ago to address issues with supernatural entities existing in our world. At some point, the Order splintered into branches with different purposes. Some meant to protect humankind, others meant to control it.” He pauses, looking at me. “I presume you’ve heard about what happened in that small farming town in the Pacific Northwest last year? Allium Valley?”
It takes me a moment and then I remember. It was all over the news. Last spring, a series of mass murders took place during a local music festival. Hundreds died. The town was shut off from civilization, blockaded by the killers so no one could escape. The authorities still hadn’t figured out what happened or why, and the rumors were insane. Everything from a terrorist attack to supernatural monsters and aliens to devil worshippers.
“You mean the Garlic Groove Festival murders? Sure, who hasn’t heard about that?” I ask. “The latest theory I heard was it was a bunch of farmers that got sick on bad garlic and went insane.”
There’s a long beat.
“That wasn’t farmers…”
“No? What was it, then?”
“Vampire infestation.”
I hold back my snort, my hands pausing over my keyboard. “You’re messing with me, right? Vampires aren’t real.”
“The government and media won’t tell you the truth, but that’s exactly what it was,” he says, stone-faced and serious. “One of the Order’s factions—the Order of the Clove—is charged with protecting against vampires. I interviewed oneof the surviving members, a young man named Ethan Park. He was in Allium Valley during the siege. It’s all there in the research I emailed your colleague.” He taps a finger thoughtfully against the table. “The Clove are the good guys, but the Veil is… different.”
“Different how?” I ask, doing my best to hide my skepticism. Vampires?
Really?
It appears I may be dealing with a cuckoo conspiracy theorist, which I guess is unsurprising since conspiracies kind of go hand-in-hand with secret cults. I don’t believe in the supernatural, but I’m already here, so I might as well see it through.
“The Veil was founded in the late 1600s during the Salem’s Fall witch trials,” he says, thumbing through the pages of the old book. “Unlike the Clove, which sought to protect humanity, the Veil embraced darkness, using ritual magic to harness supernatural power. I’m sure you know the basics of the witch trials. The hysteria that swept through the colonies, neighbors turning on each other, innocents imprisoned or executed.”
He pauses, scratching his chin as he studies me. “But what you probably don’t know is that some of the accused weren’t so innocent. A small, elite group of townspeople—wealthy, powerful—were actual practitioners of ancient rites. Fearing for their own survival, they banded together, not just to protect themselves, but to ensure their influence would last. And over time, their ceremonies evolved into something else. Something… darker.”
“What kind of ceremonies? You mean like a church service?”
“Not exactly.” He smirks. “More like human sacrifices.”
I gasp. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Afraid not. They believed it allowed them to harness supernatural power.”
This time, I can’t resist rolling my eyes. A group that actually thinks they have magical powers? Like witches?
“But that’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” he asks. “There are lots of things in this world we don’t understand, but that doesn’t mean they’re not true.”
