Page 28 of Deathless
“Oh yeah. Looked like the female reproductive system. The uterus, tubes, ovaries, all that. Just stylized to look cool on a patch.”
“Jesus,” I muttered. “Real subtle, aren’t they?”
Our whole group seemed to collectively hold a breath when four figures appeared on the opposite side of the bonfire. We could only see their silhouettes through the flames, but there was no mistaking them. They stood together, solemn and poised while everyone else looked like they were there to party. And the dead giveaway was one of them holding a large, bulky object with a handle, which could only be a child carrier.
My gaze was fixed on them, unable to look away. I couldn’t erase the feeling that they could see me, even through the cover of darkness and our hiding places, and were staring right at me.
Do you know I’m watching you?I wondered.Did you want me to follow you and see this?
A hand on my shoulder jolted me out of my trance-like state. “It’s just me,” Santos said when I startled. He frowned with concern at whatever he saw on my face. “You okay, paloma?”
“Yeah.” I blinked and rubbed my eyes, already feeling the strain from staring at the bright fire. “Yeah, I’m good.”
His mouth tightened, but he didn’t comment further. “What’s the plan? Just watch? Or do we engage?”
“Do not engage.” I carried my voice to make sure everyone heard. “We’re just watching. If we can isolate the four we know are from the cult, we’ll go after them. But everyone else might be innocent. We don’t want anyone caught in the crossfire.”
With that order, everyone settled in for the show.
Stars emerged as the sky darkened. People started pointing up, assumedly at the constellation they all came to see.
I never had much interest in the stars and planets. That was my little sister’s thing. On family camping trips, Lucia would have her telescope and book of star charts ready the moment the sun set. She would then map out the planets and constellations, pointing them out to everyone until she nodded off from tiredness.
She would have loved something like this. A bonfire on the top of a hill, gathering with people who shared the same interests as her. Lucia was popular and always making new friends.
A bolt of rage struck through me, surprising me at how quickly it came on. It pissed me off that the Sisterhood would use things like this most likely to recruit and brainwash members. Impressionable kids like my teenage sister.
They probably ran fundraisers that looked like they were supporting women’s shelters. Probably gave talks about empowering women and giving them back control of their lives. All things that looked wonderful on the surface but were rotten and evil underneath. My anger rose like a pot of water boiling over, that they could target my sister, or some other girl who was vulnerable and actually needed help. They made it so easy to fall into their trap. By the time they revealed what they were actually doing to men, it was probably too late to get out.
So if their goddess gave them some supernatural ability to see me, I hoped they could read my mind as well.
I’m going to kill you all, and I won’t stop until every vulnerable girl, woman, boy, and man is safe from you.
All at once, the chatter on the high hill stopped. Only the crackle and pops of the fire reached our ears. The four figures raised their arms and an eerie chanting began.
“What the fuck?” someone near me whispered.
I was too transfixed by the sight to say anything. The middle one held the child carrier between her hands, high above her head.
The chanting was nonsensical. It wasn’t English and didn’t sound like Spanish or anything else based in Latin. It was just rhythmic vocalizations repeating over and over.
It was hypnotic.
I could feel myself getting drawn in, my body starting to sway from side to side just like the rest of the bonfire attendees. Their voices started to join those of their leaders, amping up the vibrations and volume through the air.
Something dark passed in front of me, the fire no longer visible. Two hands fell to my shoulders and shook me violently.
“What the—what?” I demanded, feeling disoriented like I’d just woken up from a deep sleep.
“Snap the fuck out of it, Rori.” Devin’s face hovered in front of me, his dark eyes narrowed in a glare. It was his hands on my shoulders, now digging in with an unforgiving grip. “You start doing that again, I’m gonna slap you. And then Santos is gonna kill me.”
“Doing what?” I smacked his hands away, feeling almost...ashamed? Like I’d been caught doing something bad.
“You had joined in, chanting and swaying. I watched you for a full minute.” Devin sat back, giving me space. “Whatever they’re doing is getting to you.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” I rubbed my eyes, scrubbed my face. It really felt like I had just woken up from a deep sleep. “You don’t have to slap me, just pinch me or something.” I looked around at my group, finding everyone’s face in the orange glow of the fire. “Was anyone else affected?”
They all shook their heads slowly at me, even Val.
