Page 18 of Dark Company

I pull back, desperate to get away from the searing pain that lights up my brain. He stares at me for another moment before pulling away and scribbling some stuff in a notebook. I crane my neck, longing to see what he’s writing, but he twists his body, obscuring my view.

“You will feel weak for the next few days, but you’ll be waited on hand and foot, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Make sure you eat everything that you’re given so you can regain your strength.”

With those final words, he leaves me alone with my thoughts and walks through the curtain. Though I’m still warm, the pain from the other day has dissipated. How long was I out? I look back down at my hands, still shocked at how pristine they look. It’s as if I haven’t done any labor at all, but I know that’s not true.

Shaking my head, I slide off the edge of the bed and put a tentative foot in the sand. It’s as if I can feel every single grain as they dig into the sensitive skin of my sole. My legs quake as I force myself upright, and if I wasn’t gripping the edge of the bed as much as I am, I’m afraid I would have toppled over.

The soft smattering of laughter pricks my ears as the curtains open, revealing Alexi and Ladria. Their eyes rove up and down, taking me in as they step inside.

“I’m glad you’re okay. We’ve been anxious about you.” Alexi makes her way over to wrap her arm around my waist. “Here, let me take some of the burden.”

As I go to lean on her, Ladria slides around the other side and helps take the weight off from there. “Alexi and I are going to be the ones preparing you for your ceremony next week. We’re so delighted and grateful to help you on your journey. Hopefully, you’ll be able to do the same for me when it’s my time.”

I smile at her, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. How can I tell her I want to get out of this hellish ordeal? If I go through with the actual ceremony, it’s not because I believe in the rewards this commune will reap from it. Instead, it would be because I want to separate my life from the one Annora thrust upon me.

Groaning, I stretch out my legs, relishing in the glorious feeling of power flowing into my limbs. I was immobile for far too long. The more we walk, the stronger I become, until I no longer need them to help me. With a large smile, both of them approach the curtains and part them, allowing me to exit the medical section of the major tent. Pausing, I glance around, once more looking for the Clan Mother, but she’s nowhere to be found.

It’s odd. With how attentive she seemed to be, I thought she’d be the first to welcome me back from the dead, but she’s not. Just one more person to leave me when they no longer have a use for me.

Alexi grips my arm and tugs me towards the row of gods, and my stomach plummets. I thought I had a week to prepare for this. Why is she forcing me there now?

“The ceremony is about to start, and the Clan Mother wants you to watch. She said you wouldn’t be so scared if you knew what you were getting into.”

I bite back a derisive snort. As if I’m scared. The audacity that she thinks I’m afraid of something as simple as carved stone. It’s not fear that’s making me waffle between actually giving up my virtue or facing the ostracizing if I don’t go through with it. What plagues my brain is the teaching I’ve received since I was a child.

Though it’s apparent now that Annora lied to me, I couldn’t let that cloud my judgment when it came to the High Echelon. Their words were not just to me—it was to everyone. If they lied, it would be a city-wide falsehood, and what are the odds of that happening?

Bitterness rises from my gut like bile, choking me as I stare at the stone gods guarding the curtains to the outside. What would truly happen if I defied them? Were they even real? Shaking my head, I force those thoughts out of my brain. It’s one thing to question my entire being, but if I let go of the teaching of the gods, then I’ll have nothing.

Alexi parts the curtains and Ladria and I duck into the bright sunlight. It’s different from before. Yes, the statue is there, but instead of being surrounded by the tent, cutting off most of the light, it’s open, allowing everyone to see what’s about to happen. How did I not know about any of this?

That I cleaned the statue of blood meant that someone had sacrificed their virtue while I was here. It didn’t look old enough to be from before I was brought into the fold. Perhaps it happened during one of the times I felt beyond anti-social. Granted, that was most every day, so it’s not as surprising that I would miss something that seems so paramount to how they lived their lives.

I wasn’t a part of them. I didn’t want anything to do with their life. But now, I’m forced to become one with them by shedding my blood on their sacrificial altar. Alexi, Ladria, and I creep around the gathering crowd and stand in the back, making sure I can still see but not getting so close that I’m in the thick of it.

Many of the males look at me, the hunger in their eyes sliding across my skin as if it’s tangible. Once more, the heat from the suns pound into me, making everything feel hot and tight. My nipples ache as I stare at the statue in front of me. What does all this mean?

When the Clan Mother walks up to the lower dais, a reverent hush descends upon the people. The only sound is the wind as it caresses my skin, nearly dragging out a tortured moan from my lips.

“My children. We are here on this day to offer an omega who is now becoming a woman.”

She pauses and stretches out her hand, motioning for a younger woman dressed in a white gown. A large smile crosses the omega’s face as she first looks at the Clan Mother and then out into the crowd. Her fingers curl around a colorful bouquet, all the flowers foreign to my eyes. I’ve never seen such pale, delicate blossoms.

“Are you ready to give of yourself freely so that we might be provided for by the mighty hand of Xiarius?”

“I am ready and willing, Clan Mother.”

“And do you have a male that is willing to consummate your sacrifice?”

From off to the side, a large male strides forward, his lips set into a serious frown. “I will tend to her, Clan Mother.”

“Then, let us begin.” With a nod of her head, she extends her hand to the omega and leads her to the steps that go up to the next dais.

My breath catches in my chest as I stare at her willowy form as she prepares herself. Kneeling where I was just a matter of days ago, she brings her hands together and looks down at the ground.

The Clan Mother waits until the omega is seated before speaking to the crow. “Anoxie, elias faraquay alanaska Xiarius. Grant us, your humble servants, enough water that we will never grow thirsty, enough meat that we will never grow hungry, and nutrients to keep us healthy.” The older omega’s voice is powerful as she beseeches the god, and despite myself, a thread of longing winds its way through my body.

That one can be of service to someone else—it’s novel. After a moment or so of what looks like internal contemplation, the sacrificial omega rises onto her knees and places her hand on the holy phallus. Keeping her eyes locked with the statue form of Xiarius, she lowers herself onto him, gasping as his girth fills her body.