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I gritted my teeth, refusing to let Prophet Andrew see the pain on my face.
I knew it would give him pleasure.
It always did.
He wasn’t the only prophet in The Valley. There were three altogether, but Andrew always dealt out the punishments. It was like you could see pure joy fill anytime he could order a beating or some kind of sick ritual that I was almost sure he made up.
“Say what you will, Taylor Noble,” he continued with a scowl, though the corner of his mouth twitched. “We will let the snakes decide whether your heart is with The Valley or whether you are unsavable.”
He nodded to the tank of deadly serpents, and a man wearing thick gloves stepped up beside it, reaching in and grabbing a snake in each hand, tugging them from the writhing mess.
Don’t struggle.
Don’t fight.
Keep your heart rate low.
This was the test.
If the snake bites killed me, I was a sinner. If I somehow miraculously survived, it was God’s will for me to be here.
Had I ever seen anyone survive?No.
My father and uncle stepped back, leaving me kneeling at the prophet’s feet while the man with the snakes advanced. My heart wanted to race, run, and scream in fear, but I knew the more I panicked, the faster my veins would force the poison through my body and the quicker I’d die.
“It is time.”
It was almost like the snakes heard Prophet Andrew’s words, like they understood, because they both lurched from the handler’s gloves, each with their aim focused on my right arm.
Their fangs sunk into my skin, and for a second, I felt nothing.
The shock protected me for a single moment.
But it couldn’t protect me forever.
I wasn’t prepared for the scream that burst from my mouth—the pain was so excruciating and overwhelming that I had no power over my body’s response to it. My breathing was short and sharp, and my arm felt like it was on fire.
The snakes finally withdrew, but my arm did not feel lighter with their absence, as it had been pumped full of venom.
I wrapped my fingers around my arm above my elbow and squeezed—trying to keep the poison from pumping into my body, ultimately stopping my heart.
I was so focused, so determined to fight the odds and win, that it took me a moment to notice the chaos that had erupted behind me. Booming voices, doors slamming, and screams from the pews had my head spinning.
Hysteria.
Around me.
Inside me.
“Enough!” The deep roar of his voice felt like it could have lifted the ceiling. It was otherworldly, and for a second, I wondered whether the poison had already begun to alter my perception of reality. The second time he spoke was much clearer. It’d been a long time, but I knew his voice. I’d heard it before. “I’m taking the kid.”
“You haveno authorityhere,” Prophet Andrew screamed back, though there was a slight shake in his tone.
My consciousness was fading, whether from the toxic wave infecting my bloodstream or my body simply going into shock because of the pain—I didn’t care. I welcomed the darkness. The end of a life where I’d spent my days praying to a god I didn’t believe in, watching my sisters forced into marriages with men twice their age, and being compelled to work hard labor, only to hand over every cent we earned to the prophets.
A life where I’d been beaten more days than not.
“I’d like to see you try to stop me,” the godlike voice growled.
