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ouble. They both looked exactly alike and were dressed in identical outfits. The clothing was similar to the dresses Nikki and the older women wore but were separate pants and shirts with beading on the sleeves and shoulders.
“So you’re the one, huh?” The vision on the left spoke.
They both eyed me up and down.
“Well, I can see why she likes him.” The one on the right giggled.
“Can I help you?” I questioned. I was not in the mood for any further bullshit at this point.
The one on the left held out her hand.
“I’m Helen,” she said. “And this is Heather. We’re Keith and Demetria’s sisters.”
“Oh…right.” I shouldn’t have been surprised since I did remember Tria saying that there were two girls in the family she grew up with. If I remembered right, she said they were a year apart, but they could have passed for twins. “I’m Liam.”
“You really shouldn’t be here,” Helen said. “You’re interfering with our life. You ought to leave Demmy alone.”
“Well, I won’t,” I responded.
Helen turned on her heel and walked away, and I could see the slight curve of her stomach in the light from the fires and wondered if Tria knew her “sister” was pregnant. I was left with Heather still looking me over, and it was starting to piss me off. I put my hands on my hips and just waited until she looked at my face again. She narrowed her eyes a little and took a step closer.
“You’re taking care of her, aren’t you?” she asked quietly. “I mean—you’re going to be good to her, right?”
Taken aback, I looked at her and blinked a few times before I realized what she meant.
“Yeah,” I told her. “I’ll take care of Tria.”
“Good,” she responded before she turned and followed her sister toward one of the fires. They leaned together, spoke in whispered voices, and then nodded to each other.
Everyone else seemed to be taking places around the center table. Through the canopy of evergreen foliage, the moon shone from the clearing sky, only partially obstructed by thin clouds. The tree trunks around us were covered in pale green ribbons, strung with feathers like some kind of natural streamers all over them. The two older women walked in a slow circle around the group—reaching out and touching the feathers hanging from the trees as they went. They made multiple trips around, and as they moved, everyone edged closer toward the center.
Tria moved in behind one of the women and hung seashells at the end of each of the feathered ribbons. The next trip around the circle, the two women knocked their long, wrinkled fingers against the shells and made them chime softly into the night air.
Movement from the far side of the circle caught my attention, and I saw an ancient man with one leg and a crutch to steady himself move slowly into the center of the group. He looked around the circle, taking in the face of each person as he went. When he got to me, his eyes lingered a little longer, and I thought I saw them narrow slightly before he continued to Steven, who stood a few feet to my left.
So this would be Leo—the council leader. This was the man who raised Tria when her own father was killed and the father of Keith, Helen, and Heather. Knowing he was the leader of the group and the father of multiple children, I wondered if he would take the first turn at Nikki once her husband was done with her.
My stomach churned, and the two old women began to chant.
The sound sent shivers up my arms and down my spine. The melody could only be described in cliché phrases such as haunting and mesmerizing. They continued the strange, rhythmic sound as they carried a large wooden bowl to the man with the crutch, who tilted the dish to his lips before passing it back to them. The bowl was then carried to the outside of the circle where each man stood behind a stone on the ground, and a woman stood in front of it.
The women didn’t drink from the dish but held it up for their men to take a slight sip from it before passing it to the next woman. The chanting continued as the bowl was passed around the group—from older men to younger ones, finally stopping at the man on the other side of Steven.
I could only presume he would be the last one to fuck the woman in the fancy dress who stood near the head of the table in the center.
As the last man drank, the old women took the still mostly full bowl to the center of the circle and handed it to Tria. She also took a sip of the liquid before handing it to Nikki. With a deep breath, Nikki took the bowl and drained it completely in several gulps. She stumbled slightly as she placed the bowl at the head of the table and took Tria’s hands. They kissed each other’s cheeks, and then Tria led Nikki to the other end of the table. The young woman climbed up on the table and lay on her back. Tria stepped back a bit and then wrapped Nikki’s arms in more ribbons strung with feathers, which I thought gave it quite a nice little bondage touch.
Images of the train porn Wade had once brought to my place flashed through my head, but I tried to push the thoughts away. It didn’t work very well because the image was just too similar, and the S&M theme was too much in the foreground.
I shook my head a little, trying to figure out if I was really watching this or if I had somehow dreamed up the whole thing. I glanced to my side and saw Steven looking at the ground, his face much paler than it had looked before. He clasped his hands in front of him and squeezed his fingers together repeatedly.
Apparently done with her part of the ceremony, Tria came over and stood in front of me. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist to pull her close to my chest. She didn’t resist, and I welcomed the familiar comfort of her warm body against mine in the chilled night air.
“The People have a need,” the ancient man in the center announced. “In the beginning, our numbers were strong, and many children were born every year. As the influence of the outside world prevailed, our young left the home of The People and made lives for themselves away from the path of the community. Our numbers decreased, and The People knew sacrifices were necessary for the good of all.”
Brandon walked up to the middle of the group and stood before Leo.
“This man will make such a sacrifice tonight.”
