16. Rose

16

Rose

My heart was racing so fast that I felt as if it might burst right out of my chest. Sebastian shouldn’t have been able to make it past the protection circle if he had evil intentions or was in the employ of a dark spirit. That meant he had good intentions. But he so clearly didn’t, and that meant the protection circle didn’t really work.

I didn’t even want to think about the ramifications of that.

“Do you understand me?” Sebastian said, eyes gleaming with malice. “You understand that you’re mine?”

I squirmed in his grip. “No.”

“I thought you’d say that.” He dropped his hand from my jaw and lifted the black bag held by his free hand. “So I bought some educational devices.”

I swallowed thickly, backing away. “What does that mean?”

A laconic smile curved up his lips. “We’re reversing the roles today, sweetheart. I’m the teacher and you’re my student,” he said. “Actually sounds kinda fun, doesn’t it?”

I folded my arms. “You’re a horrible, foolish man,” I muttered.

“You won’t be talking to me like that pretty soon.” He crouched and opened the bag, retrieving a strange-looking strip of fabric with a small black box attached to the middle of it. “Know what this is?”

I sullenly shook my head. “No.”

“It’s a collar for animal training. To be honest, I don’t actually approve of these things being used on animals. But people are different. I don’t like them much. I do like hurting them, though.” He tilted his head. “You at least know what a collar is, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this is a very special one.” A cruel smirk played on his lips. “Stay still. I’m putting it on you.”

I knew better than to argue or try to struggle. He was a foot taller than me and at least ten times stronger. If he wanted the collar on me, it was going on me. End of story.

I stood rooted to the spot, trembling as he wrapped it around my throat and attached the ends at the nape of my neck. When he was finished, he pulled back and retrieved a small black device from his jacket pocket.

“This is the controller,” he said, dangling it in my face. “If you piss me off or break a rule, I click the button, and the collar zaps you.”

“Zaps me?”

“Electricity. Like that boundary fence you have around your land.”

“I don’t believe you.” I slowly shook my head, certain he was just trying to frighten me. “Surely no one could be so cruel to invent such a device. For animals or people.”

He regarded me stonily. “Here’s the thing, Rosebud. You were right about the outside world. It’s a dangerous place, filled with terrible people who do terrible things. Humans have been dreaming up new ways to hurt, torture, and kill each other for centuries,” he said. “But your own little corner of the world isn’t much better, is it?”

“Alderwood is paradise.”

“Sure.” The cruel smirk was back. “Anyway, first things first. From now on, you will address me as Master.”

“And if I don’t?”

He clicked the button, and I yelped when a bolt of electricity shot through me, making my body jolt as pain shot through my neck and chest.

“That’s what will happen when you break a rule,” Sebastian said. He lifted the controller, brandishing it like it was a weapon. “Unpleasant, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Rule two. No speaking unless you’re given permission.”

“But—”

Another zap. He must’ve changed something on the controller, because this one hurt far more than the last one. I felt it in every inch of me, every muscle cramping as my knees buckled.

“Do you understand now, Rose?” he said, eyes glittering with amusement and malice. Clearly, he drew some sort of sick pleasure from bringing me pain.

I nodded mutely, biting back my words of protest. The zaps would likely get worse and worse, so I had to pick my battles.

“Good.” Sebastian smiled. “Rule three: you’ll do exactly as you’re told, no matter what. Understood?”

I nodded again.

“You’re a fast learner, Rose. I guess you aren’t as stupid as you claim to be.” He gestured toward the chalk he’d left for me earlier. “You’re going to write lines on the blackboard now. You can speak if you want to ask questions.”

I gulped, not knowing if it was a trick or not. “I… what sort of lines?”

“You know, like teachers used to make students do back in the day. You never had that in Alderwood?”

“Y-yes. But I—”

“Yes what ?”

“Yes, Master,” I mumbled. The words felt like acid on my tongue, but I really didn’t want another zap from the collar.

“Very good. You really are a smart girl when you want to be.”

I turned my attention to the chalkboard. “I just meant… what must I write, Master?”

“The Entity isn’t real. I do not belong to it. I belong to Sebastian Thorne.”

My gaze snapped back to Sebastian. “That is blasphemy! I cannot do it!”

He zapped me again. This time, I fell to my knees, gasping from the pain, but I didn’t give in. “I will not write that!” I said breathlessly, grimacing as I tried to get back up. “It is disrespectful and disgusting and—”

Sebastian sent another bolt of electricity through me, making me shriek. “Normally I’d respect people’s right to their religious beliefs,” he said. “But the way I see it, some are objectively immoral and wrong. Yours are in that category.”

I glowered up at him. “Why?”

“Because your religion is just one big trick to control you. It dictates that women are below men. Basically glorified baby-making machines. Some even get their throats cut on an altar to… what? Appease your god through a blood sacrifice?”

Panic and horror struck me like dual hatchets in the chest. “You saw Elise’s Tetrad ritual?”

“Yes.” Sebastian stared at me, eyes narrowed. “What did you think I meant when I said your corner of the world isn’t any less cruel or evil than the rest?”

I felt like eels were squirming through my guts. “No, no, no…” I said in a low voice, shaking my head. “The Entity will be very displeased.”

He sneered. “I bet he’ll be even more displeased when you fail to show up for your ritual.”

“No!” My eyes widened. “I have to be there, Sebastian! I can’t miss it!”

This time, I barely even felt the zap when he clicked the collar controller. Barely even felt the cold concrete scraping my knees as I fell once more.

“Please!” I shrieked, rising unsteadily to my feet. “You have to let me go home before the ritual! If I miss it, the whole world will end! Don’t you see that?”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed again, and he stalked forward and grabbed me by the jaw. “So fast to learn the rules, and yet so fast to break them,” he hissed. “I should’ve known it’d be like this. You always liked breaking the rules, didn’t you, sweetheart? Turns you on, doesn’t it?”

“Sebastian, please,” I whispered. “I mean… Master. Please.”

He dropped his hand and stepped back. “I’m curious, so I’ll let you speak freely for now. Explain it to me. Explain why the ritual is so important. Why you’re so fucking happy to have your throat sliced open in front of everyone.”

“Outsiders can never understand.”

His eyes darkened. “I’ll try. Now tell me.”

I took a deep breath. “It may seem barbaric to you, but it serves a higher purpose, which makes it a great honor. Especially if you are a Tetrad virgin,” I said. “Such an important blood sacrifice strengthens the Entity, in turn preventing the Darkness from entering the world.”

“There’s already plenty of darkness in the world, Rose.”

“I know, but listen. The world would be much worse without the work we do. Without the sacrifices we make. You can’t even imagine the horrors that would ensue if the Darkness was allowed to fully enter our world. Plagues, famines, pestilence, demonic presences…” I trailed off, shuddering.

“So you truly believe you’re saving the world with the crazy shit you guys do?”

“I don’t just believe it. I know it.”

“And you don’t think it’s strange that only women have to die for the world to be saved? Only the women have to live in fear while the men get to relax, knowing they’re never at risk?”

“We don’t live in fear.”

“Yeah, you do. And you don’t even fucking realize it. It’s actually kinda sad.”

I sighed heavily. I knew he wouldn’t understand. “We don’t live in fear at all. You’ve lived among us. You’ve seen the way we operate. We’re all happy. We choose to stay in Alderwood, not out of fear, but out of love and devotion.”

“All right.” Sebastian stroked his chin. “Tell me something. If you’re all staying up on that mountain out of love, and there’s genuinely no fear involved, why are you so afraid of leaving, even for a few hours?”

“Because it is not the way.”

“That’s not a real answer. Surely your work and rituals can still be done even if you occasionally go out into the real world from time to time. Hell, some of you even do that. But only a select few men.” He tapped his chin. “So what about the rest of you? What’s stopping the women or lesser men from going out, other than fear of punishment for breaking the rules? Or this ridiculous fear of the outside world that gets instilled in you during your childhood?”

“I told you. It isn’t fear. We just respect the founder’s laws. And as I’ve already explained in the past, women earn their protected status as celestial virgins or life-bringers because they are above men. They are purer, therefore—”

Sebastian cut me off, lifting a palm. “You know, one of the worst parts of all that fucking brainwashing is that you genuinely believe that bullshit about women being above men, when they’re so clearly below them.”

“It isn’t bullshit!” I snapped, tired of the disrespect. I’d never uttered an outsider curse word until now, and I had to admit, it felt strangely satisfying.

“I don’t know what drugs the Covenant co-founders were on, but they clearly hated women, Rose.”

“No.” I stubbornly shook my head. “They loved women and saw our intrinsic value. And judging by the way you’ve treated me, it’s clear that you hate women.”

He laughed. “Listen, sweetheart. I know I’m a man, and that means I probably know jack shit about women’s experiences compared to women themselves. But I do know one thing for sure,” he said. “Four hundred years ago in Europe, when your founders were growing up, women were considered inferior, second-class citizens in every conceivable way. Those views don’t just disappear because the men got on a fucking ship and sailed away to a new land.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “It’s going to take a hell of a lot to reeducate you, isn’t it?”

“I cannot be reeducated. I know the Covenant doctrines are the true path, and I will always know this.”

“You really believe the whole world will end if you don’t attend that ritual of yours in four weeks?”

I lifted my chin and looked him in the eye. “Yes. So you must let me go.”

“I don’t think so, my sweet little Rosebud.” He nodded toward the chalkboard. “That’s enough conversation. Time for your lines.”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot write what you commanded me to write, Master. ” Venom practically dripped from my tongue as I addressed him in the way he’d demanded of me. He wasn’t my master, and I would never accept him as such, but I wasn’t sure I could take any more zaps from the shock collar.

“I thought we understood each other,” he replied, eyes flickering with a mix of anger and disappointment. “You don’t get a choice. You do as I say, no matter what.”

“But Master, I—”

He clicked his tongue and shook a finger, cutting me off. “You need to realize something, Rose. Things have changed for you. Permanently. You must accept this. If you don’t, and you continue to fight me and displease me, I can punish that behavior in any number of ways. Not just the shock collar.”

“How?” I asked in a hollow voice. I instantly realized I’d forgotten to call him ‘Master’ again, but he didn’t say anything about it. Undoubtedly, I’d be punished for it later.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

Tears suddenly sprang to my eyes. Earlier, the sheer shock of the situation had staved them off, but now I was suddenly overcome by the urge to sob and wrap myself in the blanket, curling into a ball on the floor.

“Pick up the chalk and write the lines, Rose.” Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “The Entity isn’t real. I do not belong to it. I belong to Sebastian Thorne.”

My bottom lip wobbled as I replied. “Please, Master…”

“You’ll be rewarded if you do it. This isn’t all about punishment. I’m not a complete monster.”

“Rewarded how?”

“You’ll see.” He smirked and lifted the shock collar controller again. “Come on. We don’t have all night.”

I took a deep breath, swallowed my tears, and picked up the chalk, turning back to the board. The Entity would understand if I did this. He would see that I was put in an impossible situation and forced into it.

“How many times must I write it, Master?” I asked flatly.

“Fill up the board. It’s quite large and your handwriting is probably very small, judging by the size of your hands, so that’s…” He paused to contemplate it. “A hundred times, I’d say.”

I turned to look at him, mouth dropping open. “A hundred?” I said sharply. “M-master,” I added in a meek murmur.

“Yes. Begin.”

My hand shook as I etched the first sentence on the board. This would take two hours, at least. Maybe more. By the time I was finished, my hand would be in agony.

“I’ll be back later,” Sebastian said, striding out of the cell. “I expect you to be done by the time I return.”

I took a deep breath and completed the second sentence. After the first hour of writing the same lines over and over, my hand was so cramped that I could barely move it. I forced myself onward, intent on finishing before the words seared themselves into my mind. I knew that was what Sebastian wanted—for me to write such a disgusting lie so many times that I actually started to believe it. It wasn’t going to work, though. I wouldn’t allow myself to believe such wicked lies. Ever.

By the time the board was filled, my hand was on fire. It would probably ache for days. I tossed the chalk down, trudged back over to the blanket, and picked it up, covering my nakedness again. Then I sat on the narrow bed, eyeing the black bag Sebastian had left behind earlier. Part of me wanted to peek inside to see what other so-called educational devices he had stored in it. A bigger part of me was too afraid to look.

He finally returned a few minutes later, holding a tray of food. “As promised, a reward for good behavior,” he said, balancing the tray on one hand as he unlocked the door with the other. “Italian food for you to try. You’ve never had it before, have you?”

I stared at the tray, stomach growling as I inhaled the delicious-smelling food. “No,” I murmured. “It looks good.”

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Thank you, Master.”

“Good girl.” His eyes skated over the board, and he smiled thinly. “You did a great job. You must be sore.”

“Yes. My hand is burning.”

“You can eat with your left hand.” He waved a hand toward the food, face still turned to the board. His eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward. “Wait… what’s this?”

“What’s what, Master?” I asked, heart suddenly pounding all over again. I’d done as he instructed. Written the horrible, blasphemous sentences over a hundred times, until there wasn’t a sliver of space left on the board.

His head swiveled to look at me, eyes wild with anger. “You thought I wouldn’t notice, huh?”

I skittered backward on the bed until my back was up against the wall. “Notice what?” I squeaked.

He stalked over, seized me by the arm, and dragged me to the other side of the room. “There,” he said, jabbing a finger at one line on the board. “What does that say?”

“The Entity is real. I belong to it. I do not belong to Sebastian Thorne,” I said in a low, tremulous voice. I looked up at him. “I don’t remember writing this. I swear. It was an accident, Master.”

“An accident, huh?”

I nodded fervently. “Yes. I must have been distracted and not even realized I was writing it. M-Master, please…”

I hoped he would be placated by my constant use of his preferred title, but his eyes turned stormier, fingertips digging into my shoulder until I winced. “Just when I finally thought you were being a good girl again,” he hissed. “I guess we’ll have to do this another way.”

He released me from his grip and strode over to the black bag, stooping to pull out a flared black object and a bottle filled with clear liquid.

“What is that?” I asked, heart jumping into my throat.

“This?” Sebastian waved it in the air, lips twisting into a malicious smirk. “This is going inside you, Rose.”