AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Except that was exactly what would happen. Jayne stumbled out of the cabin and, like the others before her, she collapsed. I moved as though I might dash to her side, but then I realized it was my turn. She already vanished into the crowd anyway, safe in Alex’s arms.
Hannah put her hands on my shoulders. “Go on. Don’t be afraid. Whatever it is, it’s already done. You just don’t know it yet.”
I might have power to spare, but Hannah was definitely more attuned than I would ever be. I stepped into the cabin and the door closed behind me—shut by the woman I’d rescued the night before. She nodded to me. The three ritual ladies were all inside with me, with veils over their faces. Candlelight flickered, making dancing light, but otherwise the gloom in the room could be that of midnight. Just the candles, the women, the sound of the drums outside beating time.
A strange looking orb hung in the center of the room, held in a black display case.
“Welcome, Sloane. This is an ancient ritual created when we rose from the ashes of civilization. If you are one of the gifted, you will be matched upon completion and become a Chosen woman, a wife of Warriors. If you aren’t, you will never remember what happened here today.”
So that is why Mama was so vague about it. She really doesn’t remember. How odd. Why is it designed that way?
“For something so important, it will be over very quickly. Put your hands on the orb. Soon this will all be over.”
Not soon enough. I sighed and placed my hands on the orb. Immediately, almost before my hands even touched the round object, the room turned green. I was falling but then I wasn’t? The cabin faded away and instead everything went black. Was I in the sky at night? I twisted, dizziness threatening to overtake me even as I reached for the stars. Can I touch them?
But then I was turning. The planet was around me again and everything bled red. The monsters were everywhere—the flying ones from the night before, but others, too. A giant snake, a creature that walked on two feet but had the face of a beast, something ready to drink my blood, a water beast that rose up, ready to kill me…but they weren’t the worst. No, as I watched, every monster I ever read about passed in front of my vision, but I saw the worst yet. A red creature, walking on two feet. He stared back at me while fire surrounded him. Horns sprouted from his ghastly face. He turned to face me, staring for a long time. Then, somehow, despite his mouth being nothing more than a thin line, he smiled at me. I could see the evil practically writhing in his gaze.
I cried out and the cabin rushed back to me. I could hardly stand, but the door to the cabin opened, and the third ritual woman ushered me through it and outside. I blinked. Around me, scowling like I was the worst thing they’d ever seen, were Truett, Oliver, Charles, and Frederick. Oh no. They didn’t want a wife.
Could they see what I saw? Did they know about that creature? Their displeasure could wait. There were things out there.
Someone cried, and I looked in the crowd. It was my Mama. She wept. Oh no. I can’t leave her like that. Fatigue rushed toward me, but I pushed it away. I wanted to speak to her. She needed to know what I knew.
“What is she doing? Sloane?” Fredrick said. “It’s okay. Come with us.”
I ignored him. I didn’t know them, and they weren’t nice anyway. They lost their wife and they didn’t want me. I would face the pain of whatever came next in a moment; first, I needed to tell my mother about the monsters. I reached for and found my mother, despite my unsteady legs.
“Mama.” I held her to me, and she shook in my arms. “Mama, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But listen to me. I’ve seen Walter. He will grow to be a strong man, a good leader. You won’t lose another baby, I promise you that. Walter will be fine.”
My father touched my arm, but I couldn’t spare him a glance. The dizziness was too potent, almost impossible to push through.
“Sloane,” she cried.
Strong hands gripped me from behind, picking me up to cradle me against a warm and sweet-smelling body—Frederick. Not only did he catch me, but he was also the only one of my new fated husbands who bothered to speak to me. “Enough. It’s too much on you. Enough.”
I had a moment to see Hannah stumble out of the cabin into the waiting embrace of another Warrior group before I fainted right there in his arms.
I woke to quiet. My home was never as quiet as wherever they put me to rest. At home, I could hear people outside, and always sounds of nature in the distance. Our very loud rooster greeted us every day, and birds sang…
But it was quiet and nighttime when I awakened. I lifted my head. Someone had laid me, fully dressed, in the center of the largest bed I’d ever seen. Clearly made to fit more than one person, it would dwarf even my parents sleeping next to each other.
My head pounded and part of me wanted to roll over and go back to sleep.
I gritted my teeth and sat. I never was the kind of person to ignore what faced me. I’d fainted—it seemed that was just what happened after the ritual. Details flooded my muddy brain, and I remembered being matched with Truett, Frederick, Oliver, and Charles.
I groaned, remembering the overheard conversation when they discussed how much they didn’t want a wife, and I also could remember how mad they seemed after the dragon incident. However, that was then. This is now. Maybe we could fix things? Maybe they would change their minds, or we would find a way to work together toward happiness, despite the circumstances?
I kicked off my shoes before putting my feet on the floor, then I crept out of the room and into the hallway. Loud voices could be heard from there, laughing somewhere else in the house. I followed the noise. At least they aren’t yelling.
Of course, I came up short when I reached the room where the joviality took place. All four of my matched husbands were strewn around the room but not formally attired. They wore black pants and t-shirts, as my father often dressed at home. If the scent in the room didn’t tell me they were drunk, their loud laughter and the discarded bottles would have told me that right away. Frederick smoked something that released a strong, herbal scent and made me wince when it hit my nose.
Charles noticed me. “Oh, look. It’s our wife. She’s awake. What the fuck are you doing awake? Don’t you know you’re supposed to sleep for days? That’s what you all do.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t given instructions,” I answered without thinking. He’d been rude, anyway, and I felt like returning the favor.
Charles grinned at that and threw his head back to laugh too hard. “Go back to bed, girlie. The life of hell we’ve all been doomed to together can start in two days. We’re busy tonight.”
I could see that.
