Page 55 of Caged
“You’re coming upstairs with me.”
I hesitate. Did anyone else see what I saw? Am I imagining things? I don’t trust my brain to convey an accurate depiction of reality.
The room continues churning like a sick carnival ride. Jace grabs me by the elbow, and I’m forced to follow. Dizzy and nauseated, I give the back of the room one last glance, but see nothing. They’ve vanished without a trace.
24
KIEREN
Six Months Prior to Present Day,
The March Full Moon Ceremony,
Junior Year,
Sigma
Carefully, I turn the pages of the ancient text, flipping until I get to the lost chapters of the Sigma Charter. I take care to watch the placement of my fingers so as not to tear any of the centuries-old paper. Barrett guards the interior door. It should have been Jace, but fucking Reid Carver got in the way. It had to have been Reid who intervened because what other idiot would opt to go shirtless with such a distinct chest tattoo? So much for anonymity, dumb fuck.
Tonight’s offering lies motionless on the sacrificial table, faceless, nameless. The first in decades, perhaps even a century. X, the elder wearing the gold-horned mask, reaches inside his robe. Every inch of his skin is concealed. Even the true color of his eyes has been replaced with red contacts. This is not his first rodeo, far from it based on his preparedness, andthat realization is both concerning and irksome. For how long and where has this motherfucker been practicing the Ritual of Sacrifice? Surely not here at the Dornell Sigma chapter. Does he have access to other Sigma chapters around the country? Just how deep does his web of blackmail extend? One thing is for certain, this is one sick motherfucker, but I suppose now I understand how he’s so wealthy and powerful. Maybe these sacrifices actually do work. Maybe Moloch and his blessings are real. Only time will tell.
The steel blade that emerges from his robe gleams in the moonlight shining in through the large, round window carved into the stone ceiling. I’m surprised others haven't noticed this window from the outside and wondered where it led, but, seeing as it’s flush with the ground and well concealed behind expertly placed hedges, it makes sense. Lit candles perch on shelves that line the small, rectangular room and flank the steps of Moloch’s shrine. A modest golden statue of the fallen deity sits at the helm with outstretched arms and open palms ready to accept the blood offering.
Two other elders have opted to partake in the Ritual, although I do not know their identities. That is the way of the Sigma. Although anonymity offers modern day protections, the elders remain hidden under ceremonial garb to remain modest in the eyes of Moloch, who, according to the lost chapters of the Sigma Charter, has always believed faces revealed to him are done so in vain. He does not bestow His gifts unto the braggart. Only the humble who gladly take up the blade in His name and understand that His gifts are not owed but earned.
The elders wait for me to begin. I look down at the woman on the table, unconscious from the chloroform. She will not suffer, which is more than she deserves for spilling our secrets. I should feel remorse for the crime I’m seconds from committing, but I don’t. I feel invigorated. Excitement pulses through my veinslike electricity. To have this much power, to take a life with absolutely no repercussions, to feel my own lifeblood fortified with that of another, fuck…
I get it. I fucking get it.
And I want more.
Bestow unto me all your blessings, Moloch, because you’ve turned me into a believer. I will happily commit sins in your name, if it means I can feel this rush of power, of knowing everything is right in the Universe and I’m exactly where I need to be, once more.
I draw in a deep breath to recite the Ritual as only I, in my position as chapter president, can do, because this is my fucking house and I am its keeper.
It’s time to play God.
“Blessed be thy Sigma Brothers who join us on this special night during the full moon to bear witness to the sacrifice made in thy name of Moloch, our God, who resides over the strength and fortune of The Brotherhood.”
“Moloch, who hath wrongfully borne the shame of those who hath not the courage to live righteously and true in this world and are therefore not worthy of His blessings. Tonight, we defend His greatness, fortified with blood.”
“Tonight, we honor Him. We honor the blessings He hath bestowed upon The Brotherhood, upon the Sigma who came before and those who shall come after.”
“Tonight, we worship Him, for all He hath done and all He hath given. We worship the greatness He bears, in mind, body and spirit, and the greatness He chooses toshare with those in The Brotherhood He deems worthy, for it is His choice and His choice alone.”
“Tonight, we call to Him. We ask Him to continue to bestow His blessings, and in exchange for His selflessness, we offer to Him a Sacrifice.”
“Tonight, we beckon Moloch, our God, to present Himself with outstretched arms so that He may receive our Sacrifice presented unto Him by those in this room.”
“Once He hath appeared, a Grand Master of The Brotherhood, who presides over this Sacrifice in His honor, shall awaken the palms of Moloch with flame so that He may receive our blood offering, for only a blood offering from a Sigma who hath been pledged in service to The Brotherhood shall be considered worthy.”
“And it is through this blood, most pure and worthy, that Moloch’s greatness may be restored, His disbelievers conquered, and His blessings continued.”
“Once the sacrificial blood hath met flame, and all liquid is burned, so it shall be.”
“So it shall be,” the elders chant.
“He shall rise, His power and greatness restored fully, and with His continued blessings, those who worship Him shall rise as well.”
