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Two members of the cult carry in the mangled body of the boy that Chase fought. Like a bad car accident, I can’t look away from the destruction that remains. Lifeless gray eyes stare at nothing, his reddish, purplish skin and the putrid stench of death assault my senses and turn my stomach. I shudder but try damn hard to repress it. Chase looks down at me, his lips pressed in a firm line.Crap. Of course, I can’t hide my reaction from my him. I can’t hide anything from someone who knows me so well.
I breathe in deeply, then on the exhale, give him a smile, not wanting to give the impression that my opinion or feelings toward him have changed. Nothing could change them.
The cult members lay the body on the altar, then perform some strange ritual that consists of chanting, bowing, and some odd, zombie-looking dance moves. Although the moment is fraught with fear and tension, I can’t help but lean against Chase, standing on my tiptoes so I can whisper in his ear. “Are they doing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance?”
His lips curl, and he snorts before he can mask the laugh that nearly bursts free. Luckily, Orpheus had his back to us, and the other cult members are so intent on their strange dancing they’re unfazed by us. I’m thrilled that I was able to coax a smile and laugh from Chase.
Once they’re finished with their celebration or whatever the hell deranged name they call it, Orpheus lifts the chalice overhead. “From our sacrifice’s blood, we shall drink the youth and essence of his life. This will imbue us into a new realm and aid me in my quest for accession.” His dark eyes turn to us, and two cult members rush forward, grabbing us. Chase and I immediately struggle and fight, but it’s no use.
My breathing accelerates as Orpheus stalks over to us, malice glittering in his dark eyes. As he gets closer, my eyes drop to the long blade in his hand. The feeling of the last one cutting into my skin is never far from my thoughts. I can’t prevent the hysterical screams from rising in my throat and pouring from my lips like I’ve lost my mind.
“No. Leave her alone. Use it on me.” Chase screams, the cords in his neck straining against his skin as he struggles against the cult member.
“There is noorboy. You both get a turn with the blade.” Orpheus grabs my right arm and the sting of the blade against my index finger makes me tremble and wince. He squeezes a few drops of blood into the chalice, then proceeds to move to Chase and does the same to him.
I stop screaming once it’s over and Orpheus moves away. The cult members release us, moving into position around us. Chase and I automatically gravitate together, our fingers entwined. We stand there, watching the cult members pass around the chalice. They swirl the cup twice, mutter a few words, then take a drink before passing it on to the next person. I’m appalled when Rosario takes a drink of it. When the cult’s gaze focuses on Orpheus, I see the disdain on her face before she masks it.
Chase squeezes my hand and I look up at him, realizing he saw it, too. Orpheus lives under the delusion that he has an idyllic cult, but there are cracks in the foundation.
Hopefully, Chase and I can capitalize on the strife, escaping this hellhole and regaining our freedom.
My thoughts are interrupted when the large doors are thrown open, and the two members of the cult behind us command us to move. Two of them grab the boy’s remains. Orpheus, followed by Rosario, marches to the back door. The other two members of the cult push at our backs, commanding us to follow.
Chase and I step out the back door, navigating through tall weeds as we are led deep into the thick forest.
I stumble over rocks, shivering from the cold air penetrating my clothing. Twisted thorns scratch at my clothes and skin as we march through the woods.
My gaze darts around, searching for any chance of escape. All I see is miles of thick, untamed forest. I keep searching for anything—a road, a house, an old building—to beckon in the distance, giving me hope for a chance of escape. But there’s nothing.
My eyes land on a small clearing where Orpheus and Rosario stand, waiting for us to catch up. Coldness blankets my body, seeping into the marrow of my bones when my gaze rests on it. A thick tangle of weeds and briars wrap around my skin, dragging me to the forest floor. I would’ve fallen if Chase hadn’t caught me.
I can’t take my eyes away from the massive graveyard stretching around us, various-sized tombstones as far as the eye can see. A litany of first names is engraved into the stone, though I don’t see any that have last names or a date of birth. But a date of death is written beneath the name, as though Orpheus needs a reminder of those he killed and when.
Orpheus points to a spot in front of him, and the two cult members behind us push us forward. I can barely swallow as the fear chokes me.What the hell are we doing here?
When Orpheus raises one large hand, we stop, standing silently before him, the cult members spread around us. Orpheus lowers it, grabbing the massive book from Rosario’s outstretched hand. Flipping it open, he begins speaking. “These markers house the names of my sacrifices and enemies. I have been preparing for this moment for quite a while. My followers have entrusted me completely and given me unwavering loyalty.” Orpheus’s gaze rests on the hooded guy to my right for a moment before continuing. “Our friends in the wild will take care of the remains. Once they have finished, we will return so I may collect the skull.”
The remains are thrown in front of a tombstone. My eyes drop to the name already engraved on it.Gage.
“I asked his name before…” Chase’s voice trails off. He swallows hard, his eyes on the battered body.
“Don’t, Chase. You had no other choice. I know he said something that pissed you off. I couldn’t hear it, but I saw the rage on your face.” I stare at him, waiting, but he remains stubbornly silent. “What did he say to you?”
Bloodshed is in Chase’s eyes when they flicker to mine. “You don’t need to know, Kenz. All you need to know is I stopped a monster from hurting you.”
Raising on my tiptoes, I graze his cheek with my lips. “My hero.”
Orpheus begins chanting and the others soon join in. An eerie feeling washes over me as though I’m being watched. My eyes lift to the trees, latching with the beady black eyes of several crows.
Chase follows my gaze, staring at them. “I saw them from the window of the attic the first day here.” He squeezes my hand, a haunting quality in his voice. “A group of crows is called a murder.”
I shiver, stepping closer to Chase, my eyes on the birds that watch us with interest. Morbid thoughts race through my head.Will Chase and I end up here, on Halloween night, with our names etched on tombstones in the thick woods while our flesh is exposed to the scavengers above?I shiver as the unstoppably ominous thoughts roll through my head.Once the crows finish with our carcasses, Orpheus will collect our skulls, hanging them on the walls of his house with the others.
My breath quickens, and I catch Orpheus’s eye when I turn. They glitter maliciously, excited about the horror that will be a reality on All Hallows Eve.My fucking eighteenth birthday.
As we are led away from the clearing, the loud caws and fluttering wings of the crows make my hair stand on end. I tell myself not to look back, but I can’t resist. One lands on Gage’s body, grabbing a piece of flesh and ripping it from his skin.
Bile races up my throat. I turn away so fast that I nearly give myself whiplash. But the sight is ingrained inside my head, along with all the other harrowing things I’ve seen since being captured and assaulted by the cult.
