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“Summer,” the man spoke. Reaching out, he took my fingers and squeezed them in a comforting gesture. The voice was somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. I stared into the blackness of his obscured eyes, trying to figure out where I knew that voice.
There was movement in the crowd behind me—I could sense it. They were growing restless.
I didn’t know what the consequences would be if I didn’t do as they asked, but I knew it wouldn’t be good. I remembered Saul’s words: alligators can hold their breath for almost an hour.
Was there something in these waters, lurking? Waiting for an opportune moment?
The thought only made the pounding in my heart increase.
Oh god oh god oh god…
Suddenly, Fallon stepped behind the masked man, as if to block him off from the crowd, and the man’s hand went to his face. He slowly pulled off his mask, only enough so that I could recognize him.
My lips parted in surprise. “Hawke.”
He met my gaze, his expression serious, but not without compassion. “I’m the official Lorekeeper. I keep records of every official meeting. That’s my responsibility in the veritas—but no one knows this, except for Fallon. Not even Rook. You understand?
I nodded, my teeth still clattering, though the shaking was starting to calm down.
“I’m showing you my face only because I trust you.” He paused, his gaze straight into my soul. “And I want you to know that you can trust me, too. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
I hesitated, then nodded, “Yes.”
“I swear to you that nothing terrible will happen tonight. You may get hurt, but everything will be okay. I swear it,” he said, holding out his hand to me.
Though my heart was pounding, I decided to trust him. My hand met his and he led me towards the tub. I stilled when I saw what was in it—bobbing human skulls in black water.
“It’s okay,” he encouraged, urging me to get in.
Inhaling a deep breath, I climbed over and into the tub while he adjusted his mask back on.
When I was in, and Hawke’s face was once again covered, Fallon turned back towards us. Hawke held out his hand, and Fallon placed the crown in it. Fallon then dipped some oil on his thumb, and traced it over my forehead in the sign of a cross.
“Bathed in the darkness, I consecrate you in the blood and sins of this generation. Are you prepared?”
I nodded, “Ye-es.”
He pulled a knife from his cassock and my heart began to pound again.
“Give me your hand,” Fallon said and, even though my whole body was shaking, I held it out.
A slice of pain. He squeezed it tight. Blood dripped into the water.
Water from the bath poured over me, making me shiver in disgust.
“I baptize you in the name of God the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit that watches over the Obscura Veritas. From henceforth, you will be one with them, and they, one with you. Do you accept?”
NO! I wanted to yell. To scream and shout it from the top of my lungs. To turn into a bird and fly away. To escape this horrible world.
“Summer, accept the promise,” Hawke said, the warning clear in his tone. If I didn’t, they would kill me.
I forced the words through my lips. “I accept.”
Fallon nodded. “Good. From henceforth, you will be known to the Obscura Veritas, where shadows birth secrets, and darkness conceals the truth. You now reside in the veiled path, and may their shadow follow your every move.”
God.
Hawke handed over the deer antlers, then began typing on the iPad while Fallon solemnly placed them on my head. “Welcome to the internum-sanctua of the Veritas.”
