AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What started this string of punishments?” Nate asked.
She took another drag. “I thought James was too young to fast. Ethan demands that everyone go without eating for twenty-four hours once a week. To show that we can master our bodies. But my son’s only two years old. I could see that he wasn’t growing like he should, so I began slipping him food on fast days. Rosie Lester, someone in my tent, caught me, so he took away some of my privileges.”
“How could he keep your son from you? Weren’t you living with your husband and son?”
“Each tent houses about twenty people, equal numbers of men and women, all married couples, unless someone’s been widowed. The children are in a nearby tent, with a caregiver who stays there during the night. My son was removed from the tent next door and placed in another one across the compound.”
“And you still made an effort to see him.”
“Yes, but the women in the other tent wouldn’t allow it. They didn’t want to get into trouble. My husband could visit James in the evenings and on weekends, but I couldn’t. When I tried, and wouldn’t quit trying, they told Ethan.” She grimaced. “The women are especially watchful. They get small rewards for helping Ethan and they’ll do anything to gain his favor. They’re all hoping to become the Vessel—the one to bear him a son.”
At this, Rachel’s fingernails curved into her palms. “Even the ones with husbands?”
Martha held her cigarette to her lips. “It’s a privilege,” she said through the smoke. “Like the Immaculate Conception.”
Only there wouldn’t be an immaculate conception. Rachel was quite sure this pregnancy would be accomplished the old-fashioned way.
Leaning forward, Nate rested his elbows on his knees. “How did he find out that you had sex with your husband? Did you confess?”
“No, someone told. I thought the others were asleep. We were very careful not to make any noise. But…”
Nate’s eyebrows shot up. “There’s no privacy?”
“None. A Covenanter is never alone. We believe that only those who have reason to be ashamed need to hide what they do.”
Rachel tried to mask her own horrified reaction. “What does the brand signify?”
“That I’ve taken the Covenant of Brotherly Love.”
“Which is…”
“A promise to live closer to God. It prepares you for rituals and worship the others cannot partake of.”
“What kind of rituals?”
She grew morose. “I can’t say. They’re sacred. Or, at least, I thought they were at one time.” She rubbed her face. “I don’t know anymore.”
“What if someone in the commune is unwilling or unready to accept the Covenant of Brotherly Love?” Rachel asked. “Can they still be part of the group?”
“Of course. For as long as they like. They’re learning and progressing toward that ideal. You should never take the Covenant until you’re ready. Ethan says it’s too sacred to do it lightly. Even if you decide you are ready, you first apply to the Spiritual Guides and get their approval.”
“They’re the governing body.”
“Sort of, although Ethan has the most say.”
“How does the application process work?”
She put out her cigarette in a slice of cold pizza and managed to light another one. “You go in for an interview. They bring it before the Lord. Then they vote.”
“What if they turn you down?” Nate asked.
“You keep trying to purify your soul, hoping you’ll be accepted at some point.”
Rachel cleared her throat. “Sounds as if everyone’s very serious about it.”
“They are. They have to be. If you take the Covenant and aren’t able to live up to it, the consequences are dire. That’s what this little line signifies.” She pointed to the small dash that cut through the C on her forehead. “If you break the oath of secrecy or your promise to keep the faith, you accept death as the punishment. Ethan claimed I broke the Covenant. That’s why he felt justified in having me stoned. That’s why the others went along with it.”
Rachel wanted to say, You’ve got to be kidding, but she bit her tongue. From all indications, this woman had taken the covenant of her own free will, so she must’ve agreed with the commune’s practices at that time, even if she’d become disenchanted since.
Fortunately, Nate spoke up, giving Rachel a chance to control her reactions. “Does sex have anything to do with these rituals?”
“Sex is the ultimate spiritual manifestation, a celebration of life and the procreative power. But that power is not to be abused.”
“Is that a yes?”
She didn’t respond.
“That’s a yes,” he said.
Apparently, Ethan got to designate how the procreative power was used.
“What about any babies that might be conceived?” Rachel asked.
“Babies are considered a gift from God. You raise that child with your husband and with the rest of your group.”
Ethan had thought of everything….
“What happened after Ethan learned you had sex with your husband?” Nate asked. “How did he pronounce his punishments?”
“Three of the Brethren showed up at the cheese factory where I worked and told me they were going to hold a council, which is like a…a trial. But my council didn’t last long. After they brought the accusations against me, they turned me over to Ethan to see if he could gather proof of…of my crime. At that point, he took me to his room.”
“He doesn’t sleep in a tent?”
“No, he has a whole wing in the Enlightenment Hall. Sometimes he invites members to stay with him. Or he visits various tents, spending one or two nights in each.”
“Availing himself of other men’s wives?”
“If that family is lucky and he’s willing to spill his holy seed into the female vessels prepared for him.” She spoke dully, as if by rote.
“So there could be more than one Vessel.”
“Lesser vessels. We’re still waiting for him to name the one who’ll be mother to the whole church and bear the son he’ll call his heir.”
To Rachel, it sounded as if the families were merely concubines for Ethan. He allowed the other men to coexist with him, probably because he couldn’t support so many women and children. He needed the men to work, if nothing else. “You said he was going to ‘gather proof’ that you’d had sex with your husband. How did he plan to do that in his room? He already had a witness or he wouldn’t know about it.”
