Page 93 of The Temptation of Roan Island

“They’re a cult,” I whisper.

“What gave them away?” Anna replies.

“The robes,” Kay giggles.

“No, the masks,” Fiona says in an airy voice, only half present.

“Not the chanting?” I scrunch my nose at the hysterical giggle working its way up through my chest.

I’m lightheaded, and the realization sobers me. Anna and Kay press into my sides, clinging. The tight clutch of their fingers is the only thing that keeps me from floating away. With each passing moment, I feel more alert. Wherever we are, whatever they have planned for us, it’s not going to be good.

Dr. Reter suddenly cuts off and raises his hands up like a conductor coordinating a symphony. The other voices finish their chant and fall silent.

“Tonight, on Summer Solstice, the celebration of our goddess, the night we can become as she is, I bring you good news.”

The masked figures press in closer, eager to hear what he’ll say next.

“Too long have we tried and failed to invoke the goddess to create a new Mavarri. But each failure has led us here.” There is a sharper edge to his voice. “We have worked tirelessly to prepare these women as the first wave, filling them with the blood of the Mavarri homeland, cleansing them from that which keeps them mere mortals. We have done this, hoping that the Goddess will smile on us and do as she did before. Bless us with her power. Until recently, we thought we had failed. But tonight, I will present to you our greatest success. The first in a new line of Mavarri, and a plan for the future. Bring me the mother!”

I glance around, waiting to see who he’s ranting about. The women separate like ripped silk as several masked acolytes walk toward us, stopping in front of me.

I shake my head.

Someone behind me pushes me toward the masked creature before me.

“No!” I gasp. “No!” I can’t let the monsters take me.

“Stop!” Anna and Kay fight, holding on to me for dear life, but they’re ripped away.

I scream, reaching for them, kicking and flailing.

An acolyte grunts when I get them in the shin. Their grip loosens, and I twist away, but I don’t make it more than two steps before I’m caught again, too weak and disoriented to make it far.

“Cease!” a woman’s voice echoes through the cavern. “I have your son.”

My head swings to the side. Mrs. Darning wears the robes of the others, but no mask, and there, in her arms, is my boy.

“Mama,” he whispers.

Tobias.

40

SHEMAIAH

Don’t! Noah’s command locks me in place seconds before I lunge for Pippa. I glare at him, a silent plea. How can he expect me to just stay here when the woman I love—my wife, my mate—needs me?

Next to me, Zarah lets out a low growl, barely covered by the noise of the ocean waves behind us. Noah’s controlling her too, keeping us both from leaving the crevice of a rocky alcove inside the cavern.

After gaining the information from Nurse Potter, Noah sent Jafeth and Gray for the police, and the rest of us made for the caves. From the lake, it wasn’t difficult to see where they were. This cavern glowed with the warmth of hundreds of partially melted candles. What was once rough-hewn rock, forged by the sea, has been smoothed and chiseled into an elaborate room with an altar at the center and painted murals along the walls depicting what I can only guess are Mavarri, though the image is inaccurate on multiple accounts.

We found our hiding place at the entrance just as the women began descending the spiral stairs, guarded by armed and masked figures. The sharp knives are overkill, since none of the women put up a fight. They seem hazy-eyed and compliant.

Or they did until now.

Zarah flashes her fangs and hisses at Noah. But he doesn’t waver.

We have to be smart, Noah says inside my head. Timing is everything. We can’t let these other women get caught in the crossfire for the sake of your single-mindedness.