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What the everloving hades did that mean?
“Your hand,” she said, and, grabbing my wrist, she yanked it to her face, pressing her nose into it, inhaling deep. Then she licked my wound, groaning, “The pure of blood.”
Startled, I instinctively jerked it back but her grip held fast and she raised it. Before I knew what was happening, pain shot through me.
The snake had struck, biting me, and blood poured from a new wound. “Your contribution to the goddess.”
I gasped in agony, my arm shaking as Vashti held it over a silk cloth.
“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.” she gave me a proud, demented grin, “I milked it this morning.” Dropping my hand, she turned her back to me. “Follow me.”
I clasped my hand to my chest protectively, pain throbbing up my arm, in shock. Olivia pushed me forward as we made our way back to Vashti’s altar. She placed a small pile of dried herbs, a strand of calamus root, and a large coin on the cloth. Then she tied it with a black ribbon and hung it around her neck, nestling it in between her breasts. As she worked, the snake around her neck and shoulders slithered down her arm, coiling on the altar.
Taking a step back, Vashti raised her hands to the crowd behind us, “It is time for the initium occultum.”
The noise of the crowd behind me swelled once more. Shouting and chanting and stomping of feet.
As her gaze met mine once more, her expression changed; her eyes seemed to be lit with something other-worldly. They were glazed over with a fervent madness, an excitement for what was to come next.
Taking a candle from her altar, she poured oil over it, then sprinkled it with salt and black crystals. Within seconds, the candle had been lit by the fire and the smell of salt and camphor filled the humid air. It burned my eyes and nose.
“Woe unto you, Summer Duvall! Our goddess, Makedra, has struck like lightning from heaven.” Passing the candle over me in the sign of the cross, some of the wax landed on my face and chest, scorching my skin. I hissed, gritting my teeth. “I have authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. To overcome all the power of mine enemy. And so wilt thou. The Goddess will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Be still, my ass.
When she was done, she threw the rest of the candle into the fire with a pop and hiss.
She now stepped forward, and wiped a thumb across my lips. “Newest handshade, daughter of the Veritas Magnolia, kneel at my feet.” The man behind her stepped forward. He was large—warrior size—with a wide chest and bulging arms and legs. He stepped behind her, placing one hand on her hip. He began to skim his lips over her neck, kissing her and murmuring, “It’s an honor to stand by your side this night, my love.”
Her eyelids fluttered at his touch, as his hand moved over her skin, across her breasts and stomach. “Tonight, the world will tremble at your feet.” Then he placed something in her outstretched hand, and my eyes widened, my heart racing.
I couldn’t breathe. My whole body began to shake again.
“Summer,” she hissed once more, collecting herself enough to focus on her task. “From henceforth you will owe your life and your allegiance to the Magnolia.”
I didn’t move, and her eyes flashed.
“Kneel,” she commanded. “You must prove your loyalty and swear fealty to the Magnolia for the rest of your life.”
I couldn’t. I was frozen in fear.
She was holding a branding iron. The Magnolia insignia glowed a bright white.
“I…”
I couldn’t go through with this. I couldn’t.
Heart stuttering, I took a step backwards and another, straight into a solid wall behind me: a warm body.
It was Fallon.
His arms held me by my elbows, keeping me steady, his low voice a calm in the storm. “Have trust and faith, Summer.” Then louder, “She has a right to ask for miseri.”
Him sticking up for me was another jolt to the system.
The priestess narrowed her eyes at him but, after a long hesitation, she nodded. “You’re right. Those are the rules.” The man was now kissing over her shoulder but her face moved to the crowd behind me, her snake-like voice hissing through the swampland. “She asks for misericordia. Are there any who dare to take her place?”
There was a long silence, except for the sound of my heart pounding and a soft moan from Vashti. Though she was watching the crowd, the man had slid his hand under the front of her skirt, the material bobbing.
