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SEVEN

SABBATH

“I will only ask this one more time. Did you tell her everything ?” The woman asked through her damn plague doctor mask.

I didn’t answer. God, I really did hate those fucking masks.

All of them. Including my own. “Sabbath!” The woman raised her gloved hand and arched her fingers.

Immense pain pierced my skull as I groaned loudly.

“We cannot afford any distractions!” I fell to my knees and clawed at my head.

Loud enchanting whispers wrapped around my brain, and I felt the dark prickling pain of The Redwood within myself.

My face felt as though it was on fire, and I knew she wouldn’t stop until I spoke up.

“She–she won’t be a–a problem!” I strained as the veins along my face bulged.

I looked down and noticed the ones in my hand doing the same and turning black.

She was trying to hurt me. To break my walls and enter my mind.

But I couldn’t let her. I had to protect Rosie.

Her fingers curled some more, and my face began to tighten.

I could feel my blood slowly seeping from my nostrils, eyes, mouth and ears.

“My blood is sacred!” I grunted through the extreme pain.

“To harm me or waste even a drop is a sin to The Order!”

The woman leaned down and tilted her head.

There, staring back at me, was my own self.

My body was covered in blood and raging within the eternal fire of hell in a pit of absolute darkness.

The direct reflection of my fucking soul.

“For now.” She snapped her fingers, and all the pain and torture immediately vanished.

The sensation of being burned alive evaporated, and my blood recoiled back into my veins.

“Keep your secrets, Sabbath. They do you no good. But if that girl prevents the ritual from succeeding and stops us from doing what must be done, you’ll both be marked for death.

You would’ve condemned yourself to damnation, and once you stray from the path, your blood is no longer sacred.

And even with that mark on her back and your blood in her veins, she will be damned alongside you.

If that happens, there is nothing I can do to save you.

Not again.” The woman grabbed my arm and pulled it straight.

A second plague doctor joined her and carried a large ritual knife.

He handed it to her, and she looked back at me as she tapped it just beneath my chin. “Do you understand me, Sabbath?”

My eyes fell in defeat as I understood the harsh truth of her words. “Yes, Mother.”

“Good.” She flipped my wrist over. “Now, prove your loyalty.” She rotated the knife and offered it to me. “Show him your devotion.”

I grabbed the knife and stood. Both of them watched me closely as I stepped to The Ancient One and fell to my knees.

I raised my arm and slowly dragged the sharp blade along my skin.

Black blood poured from the deep gash and dripped onto the roots.

It hurt like hell, but I knew I had no choice. I had to do as I was told. For her.

“By the blood of the sacred thirteen.” I tilted my arm and watched as the roots squirmed and moved in my direction.

They slithered up and wrapped around my body and arm while constricting like a snake.

I struggled to hold myself upright and watched as more roots absorbed every bit of my spilled blood.

The ashen roots shifted from a faint gray to a menacing black.

“Very good, Sabbath.” My mother touched my shoulder.

“It’s late. You should return to your brother.

” She whispered to The Ancient One’s roots, and they slowly released me, recoiling back to nature as before.

I gasped at their absence and looked down at my arm.

The wound was now scared over. A visual reminder of the curse I bore and could never escape.

I stood and turned to face my mother. “Do not worry, Sabbath.

The girl will be handled in a delicate way.

She will not thwart our plans. And as long as you do your part, no harm will come to her.

Now, return to your cabin. We begin tomorrow. “

“Yes, Mother.” My chest heaved with anger as I silently walked away from The Ancient One and towards the entrance of the cave.

“Oh, and Sabbath?” I stopped as my mother spoke.

“If I find you helping that girl, in any way, I will not hesitate to kill you myself.” My face hardened at her threat.

“And unlike your father’s death, I won’t be as merciful.

” And at that moment, I knew there was no love left in her body for me.

I wasn’t her son; I was a burden. A constant reminder of her greatest shame.

I glanced back over my shoulder at her. “I understand.”

I’ll make sure the ritual goes smoothly, Mother.