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“You are not forgiven. You are damned to a soul of evil. Therefore, after your cleanse, you will go home to Morgan. You will be his willing servant, and he has my permission to punish you as he sees fit.”
She couldn’t argue. She couldn’t fight. His word was law, and those who chose to break it would suffer the same fate as her.
No matter how much she wanted
out, how much her heart screamed for her to run, her mind told her to be sensible. Bide her time. The trouble with that was, Morgan scared her more than bathing nude in a pit of snakes. There was an evil look in his cold eyes. Dead, lifeless. He savored the pain and destruction he’d witnessed on her. Being stuck with him, locked in his home, was going to kill something inside of her. An integral piece of her soul.
Sage wanted to run, desperately. She wanted to flee her home. For months, she’d plotted and prayed, and now the time had come for her to act or accept her fate. Without help, she feared not being able to leave.
When her father finished with her, she was once again locked away in her room. Forced to wait for the cleanse. Her dread held her tight through the night, pushing her into a state of anxiety so deep she was unable to put up any resistance once the time came to meet her fate.
Stripped of her clothes, the chanting began. Her distress pulsed so intensely that her ears rang, and she couldn’t make out a word anyone said as Morgan and her father guided her into the murky pit.
The sting from the dirty water as it caressed each cut from her lashing forced her to sputter. The snakes could be felt weaving around her body, their skin slimy as she tried not to move. Pushed further into the water, her arms flailed out to stop her momentum as she was submerged. A scream burst forth from her lips as she was bitten on the calf, the filthy water entering her mouth.
More bites.
More screams.
The chanting grew louder. Her father began a cleansing prayer as Sage struggled against her conscience, trying to shut down the horrors being borne on her. The biting intensified, and soon, she felt so lethargic her body collapsed. The water her buoy as she fought to stay afloat.
Jossilyn could be heard crying as Sage gave up the fight and began to sink into the pits of hell. Her body numb to the pain. Her heart broken. Her mind blocking reality.
Closing her eyes, Sage imagined drifting off on the wings of an angel as darkness took her.
For days, Loch kept to himself as he tried to formulate a plan to take Sage as his own. Pressured to leave his home on Hayes’ graduation, he cheered her on with his brothers, but he was distracted at her party afterwards. He had a bad feeling in his gut about Sage. Like something was wrong.
As he was about to congratulate Hayes and say his goodbyes, Levi followed her inside. Figuring his brother was stealing her for a moment alone, Loch started to walk away when a chilling scream rent the air.
Everyone rushed inside to see Hayes with her arms wrapped around a man and Levi with a shocked expression on his face. It wasn’t until her parents gasped and tears filled their eyes that Loch realized it was the man from the pictures all around their home.
Hayes’ brother. Not so dead after all.
“Ryder.” Mrs. Morrison’s single choked word conveyed everything she was feeling.
“Hey, Mom.” Ryder wasn’t unaffected by the emotions swirling around the room.
Placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder for support, Loch said, “I’m gonna head out. This should be a private thing.”
Looking at his brother, Levi was just as emotional. “Thanks, bro.”
Walking past Hayes who was still hugging her brother, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Congrats, Hayes. Happy for you, girl.” Too stunned to speak, she smiled up at him and nodded.
Driving away, he knew returning home wasn’t going to be an option; instead, he went to the shop he owned with his older brothers. When they started the family business, Loch had been every bit as thrilled as Nox was. Over time, he’d grown fond of their customers and employees. Asher, Mac, and Joey were more like family than anything. Even though Joey and Asher had only been there about a year and Joey could be a dick, they were all close.
When Elianna showed up, things got interesting real quick. Her and Asher were constantly going at it, fighting tooth and nail about anything and everything. Levi and Mac kept telling them to sleep together. Loch just wanted them to shut the hell up. He was tired of seeing them always at each other’s throats when it was obvious they were attracted to each other. If he had Sage around like that, he wouldn’t be arguing with her.
Loch figured that was why Nox had always insisted he was a different type of man. Not having an interest in beating around the bush, he was honest to a fault and always went for what he wanted.
Arriving at the shop, he saw Asher’s bike parked in the lot. They were working on restoring a ‘55 Thunderbird. The hood, door, and left rear quarter panel had dents that needed fixing before painting it a sky blue at the owner’s request.
“Hey man, what are you doing here?” Asher came walking out of one of the bay doors wiping his hands.
“Couldn’t go home,” he sighed.
A thoughtful looked crossed Asher’s face before he asked, “You still thinking about her?”
Shrugging, he walked into the shop. “I have this feeling in my gut like something’s wrong.”
