Page 46 of Eternal Obsession

Orpheus lingered at the furthest edge of the sarsen circle. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, staring.

In the blink of an eye, he breached the circle and stood dangerously close.

“During part of the ceremony,” he said, “they cut off her hair, her long and beautiful hair. You should have seen her. She was exquisite. Her ashes now lie in the stones behind you.”

I followed his gaze. His sinister expression turned calm. “You are to become the next Stone Master. You are destined to continue these rituals.”

“And you are destined to continue to murder the innocent,” I said.

“No one is innocent. No one, not even your Catherine.”

“She is of no consequence. I am here now. Our arrangement is made.”

“I shall put you out of your misery.” Orpheus drew near, grabbing hold of my arm. He pulled me onto the central altar, forcing me down. The towering stones loomed.

Orpheus pushed strands of hair away from my face.

I longed to fight back, but I had to place my faith in this fragile gentleman’s agreement, trusting, perhaps foolishly—that he would honor what this moment appeared to be.

“You look so similar to your brother. You share the same bone structure, same eyes.” He climbed upon the altar stone, sitting astride me.

I swung my hunting knife and buried it into Orpheus’s stomach. Thrusting it deep, I pushed him away and scrambled off the stone.

A strong arm dragged me back. His blood covered both himself and me and the wetness of it made my hands slip against him.

Orpheus held me down.

He pulled out my knife and held it against my neck. The sting from the tip persuaded me to hold still. With his other hand, he lifted up his shirt for me to see his injury heal. The wound closed with eerie swiftness, erasing the cut as though it had never been there.

Orpheus smiled, amused.

All that I had read in my father’s books came to mind, and I cursed myself for not believing. What a fool to think I could take him on.

He threw the weapon to the ground and held me. “Impressive. I never knew you had it in you,” he said.

With shocking speed, he bit into my neck.

I will not die like this.

With the sharp sting, I struck out, shocked by the assault, alarmed by my irregular heartbeat. He was locked against me.

I fought to stay awake.

Flashes of thoughts came and went.

“Jadeon, Jadeon!” Catherine called to me. I wanted to warn her, tell her she was not safe. Unable to speak, I willed her away.

Wait, where was I?

Confusedly aware that none of this was real and yet somehow entirely real at the same time.

I had somehow escaped this thing. “Catherine?” I called to her from the door of the chapel. She appeared at the altar, an ethereal vision of loveliness.

I was calm.

“Rest a while,” she said. “Here, you must drink, and then you can lay down and place your head upon my lap.”

I felt the ridge of the cup. Its cold stung my lips. I gulped the thick, warm elixir.