AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Simon raised his voice to the crowd. “My brother will see the truth, or he shall join me in the Abyss.”
“What’s happening?” Talia’s voice squeaked.
“It must be the potion the priestesses forced Hector to make with the Alchemy Wand before he died,” Nadine said in horror. “It has the power for the priestesses to control whomever they administer it to, even in death. When I first heard about it, they said it was slow acting, but they must’ve modified it to make it even worse. The priestesses are controlling Simon’s ghost.”
“My brother shall receive the punishment he deserves for his lack of faith,” Simon announced.
“Simon, no!” Scott protested, but the words halted on his tongue.
All at once, projectiles flew from the crowd and hit Scott from every angle. I realized with horror that they were stones. The coven was participating in this atrocity!
“Confess and beg the Goddess for forgiveness!” someone in the crowd shouted.
“This is what the non-believers deserve!” another person yelled.
So many people were on the priestesses’ side, though I witnessed others hesitate to throw stones. Nobody dared utter another protest, though, or they would be killed the way Simon was.
Scott screamed as the stones hit him. Bruises bloomed over his skin, and blood trickled down the side of his face. Meredith simply watched. She was so deep into this cult mindset that she didn’t even react when her husband of fifteen years was tortured in front of her. He hadn’t joined Miriam’s Chosen, and therefore, in her eyes, he deserved it.
I wanted to rush forward and stop this, but this wasn’t the same as talking to Samantha. The second I got up on that stage I’d be executed for objecting, just as Simon had.
“We have to do something!” Talia hissed.
“If we do, we’re dead,” Chloe warned. “Our spell may cause people to forget we’re here, but we’re not invisible—nor invincible.”
All we could do was stand there and let this take place. My stomach twisted, and I turned my gaze away from the stage. This was difficult to watch. I couldn’t imagine agreeing to void my marriage with Nadine just because our magic differed, no matter the consequences.
Claudia pointed a wand at Scott. “Only members of Miriam’s Chosen are afforded the privilege of their magic.”
She was going to strip him of his powers! Except the Wand she held didn’t look like the Seer Wand—it was too short and twisted on the end. Claudia couldn’t even use the Seer Wand. It had rejected her before, but it didn’t matter. The coven knew the Priestesses had at least two of the Oaken Wands. It’d been revealed during our trial. But the crowd didn’t know whether it was the real Wand or not, and the threat was enough to force Scott to back down.
“All right! I was wrong!” he shouted.
Priestess Margaret raised a hand, and the sound of stones raining down on the stage stopped. A stillness settled over the park.
Scott staggered to his feet, though he could barely stand. He limped forward, leaving a trail of blood behind him. “You have shown me the error of my ways. It was wrong of me to question the Goddess. I put my faith in her, and I devote myself to her will.”
Scott pulled his wedding ring from his finger and shakily handed it over to the priestesses. He shot one last longing glance at his wife, but she kept her eyes on the crowd.
Lilian wore a proud smirk. “Welcome to Miriam’s Chosen!”
The crowd erupted into cheers. Simon’s spirit walked off stage, only to return a moment later, escorting a woman with the mark of a Seer on her neck. Simon forced her beside Scott, and the priestesses draped another white shawl around their shoulders. Scott barely looked at the woman. All he could do was stare at his wife desperately, though she wouldn’t return his gaze. He looked absolutely miserable.
Lilian raised her hands. “We will now recite the blessing for these new members of Miriam’s Chosen!”
Together, the crowd began to speak in unison, and the couples on stage were forced to speak it as well. “Blessed be the Chosen, for we are Mother Miriam’s true children. She is the single voice of truth, who speaks through the priestesses revelation. We devote our lives to her, in this life and the next. So shall it be.”
A tattoo artist came on stage carrying an enchanted quill. Meredith and Max held out their arms willingly, to be marked with the symbol of the Chosen.
Onyx shook her head in disbelief. “All of this, just to fight the fae?”
Nadine’s jaw tightened. “They aren’t afraid of the fae. They’re just using them as scapegoats to control the people. The priestesses are more afraid of coven members turning on them—afraid someone might take their place. They have to control their people to maintain their power. All this—dividing people into Cast neighborhoods, driving them into debt, and forcing them to work the factories—it isn’t about money. It’s about taking the power from the people. Taking their money and their magic away means they can’t fight back. Worse, if they can’t associate with members of other Casts, then they can’t work together to make their magic stronger and revolt.”
“I don’t get it,” Miles said. “Why harm your own people like this?”
“The priestesses believe they’re on a holy mission, and they’ll do anything to achieve it,” I growled. “Once the Waning started, they lost control of the coven. If their magic could be taken away, so could their influence. They can’t control the Waning, so they have to control the people.”
“And they know exactly how to do it,” Nadine stated bitterly. “I’ve watched enough cult documentaries to know this is exactly how they work. Cults always have charismatic leaders, who people are easily influenced by and willing to follow. The priestesses were already in the perfect position to lead a cult, because they already have the coven’s trust and don’t answer to any earthly authority. They’re able to gain control over people’s finances, living situations, and relationships, because people believe the priestesses alone have the single answer to salvation. Even if you wanted to question them, you can’t, because you’ll be labeled an apostate, and therefore deserving of whatever punishment the priestesses deem appropriate.”
