7. Sebastian

7

Sebastian

Augustus strolled beside me, hands clasped behind his back. “Let’s discuss the ground rules first,” he said. “Firstly, no weaponry. I need to know my people are safe from the threat of violence as long as you’re here.”

“Of course. I didn’t bring anything like that with me.”

He halted in his tracks, brows rising, and I realized he wanted to look in my backpack. I’d already anticipated this search earlier, so I’d hidden my guns and knife in a secret compartment on the bottom.

I set the bag down, unzipped the main part, and held it open for him, along with the smaller side pockets. He stooped and rifled through my things. “Thank you,” he finally said, rising to his feet.

“No problem. I understand the need for caution.”

“I saw that you have a computer and cellular phone in there. You may use them in your own private time, but I ask that you do not show them to anyone. Some young minds cannot handle such things.”

“Got it,” I replied as I picked up my bag and resumed walking alongside him.

“Also, while we’re on the topic of technology—no recording. You can write anything you want, but photography, videography, and audio recording is strictly forbidden,” he went on. “As I said earlier, we are very private people. It’s rare enough that we let outsiders in, but when we do, we do not wish for them to leave with any permanent imagery of us or our practices.”

I tilted my head. “On that note, who do you let in? I think I heard something about a census taker earlier.”

Augustus nodded. “Every five years, your government sends someone to count us for their records. We allow them in and assist them with their work,” he replied. “We also occasionally allow people to visit if they write to us with proof that they are related to one of our members. Through ancestors, of course. Sometimes they like to visit, meet their distant relatives, and have a look around. We welcome them for a short time, but of course, they cannot stay for long.”

“And my mother?” I said. “Why did you let her stay so long?”

He smiled faintly. “She was very persistent and persuasive. She used to hike up here and leave letters in our mailbox every single month, asking for an opportunity to study our culture. This went on for three whole years. Finally, I decided to meet with her, just to let her know once and for all that we were never going to allow her into our community.”

My jaw twitched. “I take it that didn’t work.”

“No. When I met her face to face, she managed to persuade me that she would be respectful of our ways, and she was willing to follow any rules we set out for her. She promised she wouldn’t publish anything about our community that I didn’t explicitly approve of,” he said. “She was also very non-judgmental compared to most other outsiders. She introduced me to a concept called cultural relativism. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes. It’s the idea that there’s no universal standard of ‘right’ to measure cultures by, and that all cultural beliefs should be understood relative to their context instead of being judged against our own culture’s norms, whatever they may be.”

“Ah, of course you know what it means. It was a silly question for me to ask.” Augustus pursed his lips for a second. “Anyway, Miranda convinced me that she would be an unbiased observer, and so I allowed her to stay.”

Anger spiked in my gut. I hated hearing my mother’s name on this man’s lips.

I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “Back to the census thing… the watchman mentioned that your population is around twelve hundred. Is that true?”

He nodded again. “A little over that, yes. We’ve had a few more babies born since the census taker was last here.”

“And the government has never had a problem with so many of you living here?” I asked, casting my eyes around the bustling main street. I was still attracting a few stares from Alderwood citizens, but I didn’t detect any hostility. Just interest or confusion.

“No. You see, we were here long before the United States existed,” he replied. “Back when our founding members arrived here, these parts were still being fought over by the French, Dutch, and English. The English eventually won out and settled this part of the land in 1664. We were happy to cooperate, and we were also happy to cooperate when the revolution happened in 1776, forming your United States.”

“You’ve been here through it all, huh?”

“Yes, and as I said, we’ve always been happy to cooperate. We aren’t violent people, you see. Not unless we have to be.” He bared his teeth in a vaguely menacing smile. “But to fully answer your initial question, we are sovereign citizens of a sort. We don’t follow US laws in our community, but we abide by them in the outside world. For example, if one of our members went outside the perimeter and assaulted someone, they would be subject to your law and subsequent punishment. Not ours.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, we purchased this land from the English after they laid claim to the region, and the American government honored those ownership rights after 1776. So it’s still legally ours. Twenty thousand acres of wilderness,” Augustus went on, sweeping a hand around us. “I suppose we have a sort of unspoken agreement with your government. We don’t cause trouble for them, and they don’t cause trouble for us.”

“Hm. Interesting.”

He shook his head. “Of course, after what happened to your mother… that caused a great deal of trouble,” he said. “It was a relief when the authorities finally told us they thought we were innocent. It’s too bad the court of public opinion didn’t have the same findings, so to speak.”

Christ, this man was totally fucking deluded. No one in law enforcement actually thought the Covenant was innocent. It was just that they couldn’t be proven guilty. That was a different thing entirely.

I fixed an amiable smile on my face. “Well, perhaps I can sway public opinion once I find out what really happened.”

From your beautiful daughter, while I stand over her with a belt wrapped around her neck.

Augustus stopped in his tracks again, eyes flickering with indecipherable emotion. “I have to be honest with you, Sebastian,” he said in a low voice. “I think that what you’re doing is very noble. Your mother deserves justice. But I believe some things must remain in the past.”

I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I am not certain you will ever find what you are looking for, as much as I dearly wish you could. It happened almost twenty years ago. The perpetrators of her death may no longer be alive themselves,” he said. “And even if you do discover some truths during your mission… well, they may hurt you more than you can even comprehend in this moment.”

Was that a veiled threat? It certainly sounded like it.

My jaw clenched, and my hands curled into fists at my side once more. “We’ll see.”

“Yes, we shall.” Augustus turned his gaze back to the street. “Ah. We’re here.”

“Here?”

He gestured toward a half-timbered two-story building with a thatched roof on the other side of the street. “That is our tavern, where you will be staying. There are several rooms upstairs.”

“You have a tavern with accommodation even though you never let anyone stay here?” I asked, forehead wrinkling.

“The bar downstairs is a popular nighttime haunt for locals, and on occasion, they get so drunk they can barely stand,” Augustus replied, eyes glimmering with amusement. “It’s safer for them to sleep it off in a room there, rather than attempting to stumble home and possibly hurting themselves.”

“Ah.”

“We’ll get you settled in there later,” he said. “I’d like to show you some more of the town first, if that’s all right with you.”

“Sure. But what do I owe you? I forgot to ask earlier.”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“To let me stay.” I gestured toward the tavern. “Is it a nightly fee?”

Augustus chuckled. “Your money is no good here.”

“Why?”

“We don’t use money in this community.” He clicked a finger toward the street. “Now, let’s go. There’s something I’d really like to show you at the other end of town.”

As we continued down the main street, I attracted more curious stares from the locals. All were dressed in old-fashioned clothing—long, loose skirts and fitted bodices for the women, and linen shirts and plain trousers for the men. I kept an eye out for Rosamund, a curl of interest flickering inside me, but she didn’t reappear. Presumably, she was still hiding up in her room after the shock of coming face to face with me on this side of the boundary fence.

“That’s our bakery,” Augustus said, drawing my attention to a small, cozy looking building on the other side of the street. “You can go there for your breakfasts, if you like. The tavern also serves food. But I’m sure many people here would like to host you for meals. We also have community feasts on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.”

I frowned. “How do you have businesses like bakeries if you don’t use money here?”

“We all work together to build the community and keep it running smoothly. No one ever takes more than they need,” Augustus said. “We have someone for every job, and no job is considered lesser than another. See those two houses down the lane there?”

I nodded as I followed the direction of his gaze down a narrow offshoot lane. “Yes.”

“The left one belongs to one of our healers. Next door is one of the men who takes care of our community waste. In your society, I believe people would respect one of those jobs more than the other. But here, they are equals and receive equal respect and provision.”

“I see. How do you determine who does what job?”

Augustus smiled. “Good question. I mentioned earlier that we have a schoolhouse here, didn’t I?”

“Yes. I think you said your Rosamund works there, didn’t you?” I said, as if I hadn’t already memorized every sliver of the information he’d given me about his gorgeous young daughter.

“That’s right. As our children go through our schooling system, teachers make note of their individual skills and interests. We use that information to funnel them into different work paths once their education is complete,” he explained. “Of course, we don’t force anyone’s hand. If someone is unhappy with their work, we allow them to reskill in another trade.”

“What sort of trades are there?” I asked, glancing around the street again.

“We pride ourselves on providing a fulfilling, enjoyable life to our people, so we don’t just have the basics. We have specialty trades as well. Novelists, playwrights, and musicians to provide entertainment, for example. Do you see that cottage over there?’

He pointed again, and I nodded.

“Etienne Brouxard lives there, and Jean-Paul Cormier is his apprentice. Together, they print and bind books for our library and school. When Etienne passes away, Jean will take over, and another apprentice will be assigned to him.”

I raised my brows. “You even have a library here?”

“Of course. Our writers, printers, and bookbinders have been working to keep it stocked for centuries,” Augustus replied, clasping his hands behind his back. “And not just the library, either. There are some books that we want every household to own, so they must be created too.”

“Like the Bible, I presume.”

“The Christian bible, you mean?” he asked, furrowing his brows. “If so, we don’t have any copies of that. We follow our own religion here, and it differs far too much from Christianity for any of us to bother wasting our time with their books.”

“You don’t want people to explore other religions, or any other theological ideas in general?”

“It’s more that they don’t need to,” he said, eyes narrowing slightly. “We all know that our religion is the one true religion. The sacred knowledge has been passed down for hundreds of years.”

“So you have your own bible, in a sense?”

He nodded. “Yes. The Covenant Doctrines. Unfortunately, I cannot show a copy to you. The material is not for outsider eyes.”

“I understand.” I tipped my head. “You said you know your religion is true. How do you know that for sure?”

“Ah, this is my favorite subject. The origins of our belief system,” he said, eyes glimmering with enthusiasm. “How much information about our town’s beginnings was in your mother’s notes? She was utterly fascinated by this story.”

“Not much. I know Alderwood was started by a mixture of French and English settlers who were disillusioned with Acadia and the English settlements. But that’s all.”

“Just the basics, then.” Augustus clasped his hands together again. “There were originally seven families who moved south from Acadia, searching for a new place to call home. Along the way, they picked up two more families from an English settlement. They eventually wound up here, in what you call the High Peaks Wilderness.”

“Mm-hm.” I nodded for him to go on.

“Times were hard back then, but they saw the potential in this land, so they decided to settle in for a few months and try to make it work. One day, two men—Jean-Baptiste Dubois and Matthiew Brouxard—went to search for a larger water source, and they didn’t return for three days. No one knew where they were or which direction they went, so they couldn’t search for them. They just had to wait and hope.”

“Where were they?”

“They discovered an enormous cave system. They were in there that whole time.”

A cave. That sparked an old memory in my mind, instantly making my stomach jolt.

My mother was searching for a cave on Covenant land not long before she was murdered. I remembered her insistence that I never speak about it to anyone after she accidentally told me about it as a child. She never gave me any details beyond that, though—just the fact that she was looking for a cave of great importance near Alderwood.

“What was in there?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

Another broad smile appeared on Augustus’s face. “Everything. Heaven and hell. The source of all light and darkness,” he said. He paused and lifted his palm. “Now, I know that’s quite vague, but don’t worry. I’ll elaborate.”

“All right.” I kept my eyes on him, brows drawn into a curious expression.

“Before I begin the meat of the story, it’s important to know some background on the two men. Dubois was a devout Catholic, whereas Brouxard and his family had originally fled France after being accused of witchcraft.”

“So the two men were very different.”

“Yes. In fact, as the story goes, they didn’t even like each other very much due to this clash in their belief systems. But they went exploring together on that fateful day anyway, because they knew their overall mission to find the perfect place for their families to thrive was more important than anything else.”

“I see.”

Augustus clapped his hands together. “Now, this is the part you’ve been waiting for,” he said. “When they stepped into the cave, they discovered something in there. Something holy. They had vision after vision for three whole days, and they didn’t need to eat or drink at all. They survived on nothing but their own fervor, fueled by the sacred knowledge that was filling them.”

Sounds like an acid trip, I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “Hm. Interesting.”

“The Entity presented himself to the two men in that time, during a shared vision. He shared the truth of the world with them, along with everything that needed to be done to preserve the safety and sanctity of mankind,” Augustus blathered on. “He showed them how the Darkness lurked in the deepest bowels of the caves, always searching for an opportunity to be released. He also shared the knowledge of how to keep the Darkness at bay so as to keep the world safe from the reign of terror it would bring if it were ever to be released.”

I grunted. “Heavy stuff.”

“Yes. It was a very heavy burden to be placed upon the men’s shoulders, but it was their holy mission, given to them by the Entity himself. They could not refuse, and they did not want to, either, because they understood the importance of it,” he said. “When they finally emerged from the cave, they were enriched and energized, despite the lack of food and water for so many days. They returned to the encampment and informed the others about the encounter, and then they began to develop the doctrines of the Covenant based on everything they had borne witness to in their visions.”

“How did the others respond?” I asked, lifting a brow.

“They could clearly see that Dubois and Brouxard had been touched by something holy. Something that had bonded the two men and bestowed them with sacred knowledge. They venerated them and followed their commands, the first of which was to settle permanently on this land in order to protect it and keep the Darkness at bay. In return for their great service to the world, they would receive the land’s bounty.”

“Some bounty, huh?” I glanced around us. “It’s a great place to live.”

“Yes, truly heaven on earth.” Augustus smiled again. “There’s magic in these mountains, and we are very fortunate to be the guardians of it all.”

“I can see that.” I rubbed my jaw. “I have to admit, it’s a very interesting origin story. I can see why my mother was so fascinated by it.”

I could also see why she was so desperate to find the cave. Obviously, there was something significant in there, but there was no way the Covenant would ever share the location with an outsider. Not when it was supposedly such a sacred place.

“You may have noticed that I’ve been walking on your left for the past few minutes, in order to keep your gaze over here,” Trudeau said. A small, secretive smile was playing on his lips, and a gleam had appeared in his eyes. “I’ve been distracting you so I could surprise you when we finally arrived at what I wanted to show you.”

Forehead wrinkling, I snapped my head to the right, where a short tree-lined road sloped into a valley. “Holy shit,” I muttered.

At the end of the steep road stood a magnificent Gothic cathedral, its towering spires reaching for the sky like dark, skeletal fingers.

“It certainly is holy,” Augustus said, smile widening. “We are very proud of our church.”

Upon first glance, the building only seemed to pay homage to Dubois’s Catholic background, but as we drew closer, I noticed touches of Brouxard’s pagan background interwoven in the structure. Twig effigies and animal bone charms dangled from the eaves, swaying gently in the breeze, and strange esoteric symbols were carved into the slate-gray stone walls and embellished in the stained-glass windows.

“How the hell was this built?” I asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “It’s huge. And the attention to detail… it’s exquisite.”

“It took over a hundred years to complete,” Augustus replied. “Members of the Covenant had to journey far and wide to trade with other communities in order to source the materials.”

“And the construction?”

“Four of the founding families had backgrounds in construction, including Dubois himself,” he explained. “They passed their knowledge onto the others, who then passed it onto their children and grandchildren, and so it continued.”

“It’s impressive. Very impressive,” I admitted, staring up at the spires. “I can’t believe more people don’t know about this.”

“Yes, well, as you know, we’re—”

“Very private people,” I finished for him, raising my brows.

He chuckled. “Exactly. But you are our guest now… so would you care to take a look inside?”

“Sure.”

We stepped into the church, and I cast my eyes around in astonishment, taking in the painted fresco on the ceiling and the elaborate stained-glass windows that bathed the interior in a faint reddish light. Every detail seemed to tell a story, from the ornate carvings on the pews to the flickering candles that cast dancing shadows along the stone walls.

“I really have to ask,” I said, turning to Augustus. “Where do you get the money to maintain all of this, along with such a big town? Surely trading isn’t enough.”

He dipped his chin in a curt nod. “You are correct in that assessment. When the modern world and its economy rolled around, we had to adjust and deal with money. But that was a net benefit for us, because as I mentioned earlier, our lands are so fruitful. We sell our products to many surrounding towns. Our berry wines, for example, are very popular with outsiders.”

Given what I’d seen so far, I knew there was no fucking way a few bottles of wine would provide enough capital to pay for everything in this place. I didn’t say that out loud, though.

“Anyway,” Augustus continued. “Over the years, we’ve made enough to purchase everything we need, such as cars to replace the old transportation method of horse and cart, and farming equipment for our fields and vineyards in the valley along with the home refrigeration units we discussed earlier. Anything that improves the lives of our citizens is considered a good investment. On that note, we also use the money for education. Our brightest minds are sent to universities.”

I stared at him, shocked. “People leave here? For college ?”

“Of course. I myself studied law. I cannot be the governor of this community without being educated in that regard, can I?” he replied. “Part of my duties involve interacting with the outside world and its lawmen, and I cannot go blindly into that.”

“I suppose not. But it never occurred to me that people were able to leave here.”

“It is a necessary evil, as you outsiders might put it. Our healers need to obtain the latest in medical knowledge to keep our citizens safe and healthy, and we also require a few engineers here and there to keep things running smoothly with construction and general infrastructure.”

“And lawyers, like yourself.”

“Yes. That’s actually where I met your father,” Augustus replied, brows rising. “At university, many decades ago. We shared several classes, and for a short period, we even shared a dorm room.”

“Wait… what?” My brows shot up. “You didn’t meet him after my mother died?”

“No. Long before that. In fact, your mother actually learned of our existence through your father, seeing as his family traces their origins back to Pinecrest Falls. I thought you knew that.”

I shook my head. “I had no idea.”

“Well, I suppose Adam doesn’t like to discuss me or my town after what happened to Miranda,” he said, lips thinning. “And I cannot blame him for that, as much as I despise him for it. After all, he genuinely believes in my culpability in the matter, as you mentioned earlier.”

I kept staring at him, still shocked by the revelation. “You two really studied together?”

“Yes. We got to know each other quite well. I met your uncles, too,” Augustus replied, turning his gaze to the large altar at the front of the church. “Your family has nearly just as much history in this area as mine, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so. We’ve been here for a while.”

“Since the late eighteenth century, I believe. Your ancestors owned the logging industry in these parts. After making their fortune with that enterprise, they branched out into pharmaceuticals and healthcare,” he said blithely, like he was reading straight from fucking Wikipedia. “From what I recall, each of the brothers in your father’s direct family line was to inherit a different hospital. Did that ever happen?”

I nodded. “My father owns the family hospital in New York. My uncle James has the one in Philadelphia, and Uncle Owen has the one in Boston.”

“I presume you were set to inherit the New York hospital until this recent feud with Adam?” Augustus said, lifting a brow.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yup.”

“Well. Let’s hope you get that sorted out.” He tilted his head and smiled thinly. “You’re surprised about how much I know, aren’t you?”

“About my family? Yeah. A bit.”

“I think you’d be shocked to learn just how much we know all the way up here in Alderwood,” he said, smile fading. “Outsiders often think we are uneducated and ignorant. But that is simply not true.”

“Right,” I muttered. I frowned as something occurred to me. “You were saying something about people leaving for college. I was wondering—has anyone ever left Alderwood permanently?”

“No. Never.”

“Not a single one?”

Augustus shook his head. “I know the outside world has its temptations. I enjoyed the moving pictures and Italian restaurants while I was there, for instance. But none of that is enough to sway us from our mission. We are protecting the whole world with all the work we do here.”

“Ah, that’s right. From the Darkness.”

“Yes. Not only that, we have our very own paradise here. Just look around and you’ll see. No one wants for anything. Ever. If someone cannot work, they are taken care of. And we aren’t a brutal people, as some outsiders will have you believe. Only those who deserve punishment will receive it, and no one is forced into anything.”

“Not even your belief system?”

Augustus gave me a hard look. “If a member ever decided that they no longer believed in the Covenant doctrines, they would not be punished or forced to go along with it. They would be free to leave. But no one ever has.”

“Right.” I nodded slowly. “Could someone join you if they wanted to?”

“No. Only those of the founding bloodlines are permitted to be in the Covenant.”

“You said that distant relatives are allowed to visit occasionally. As they’re presumably related to the founding bloodlines, could they join?”

Augustus shook his head. “No. Not even them.”

“Why?”

“Our belief system is very complex. It must be learned from a young age.”

Ah. Good old brainwashing. In most cases, it needed to be done when the mind was still infantile and malleable. Easier to condition.

“I see.” I rubbed my neck. “I have another question, but you might find it offensive.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” Augustus replied, eyes never wavering from my face.

“There were nine founding families, if I remember correctly. But your population has grown substantially since then. How—”

He cut me off, holding up a palm. “You want to know how we avoid inbreeding,” he said bluntly. “Due to the birth defects it can result in.”

“Yes.”

“Our founding families knew that could be an issue down the line, because their numbers were so few,” he said. “Because of that, we have always taken great pains to arrange marriages with close attention to bloodline. As a result, we’ve managed to avoid inbreeding. No cousins marrying cousins, or anything like that.”

“Hm. Okay.”

Augustus smiled again. “Any other pressing questions before we return to the tavern?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

He clapped me on the back and ushered me out of the church.

“Actually, I just thought of something,” I said when we reached the path outside. “I’m curious about something you told me earlier.”

Augustus glanced at me, brows rising. “What is it?”

“You said something about Rosamund being one of the most important women who ever lived.”

“Ah. I was quite vague, wasn’t I?” he said, eyes flashing with amusement. “My Rosamund is one of our most important celestial virgins.”

It was lucky I wasn’t drinking anything as he spoke, because I would’ve fucking choked on it if I was.

“What?” I said, forehead wrinkling. “Did you say celestial virgin?”

“That’s right.”

Holy fuck. Suddenly the whole bit about Rosamund being permanently unmarried made perfect sense. She was a virgin. A real-life, untouched, bona fide virgin.

My day just kept getting better and better. It was one thing to defile someone’s daughter under any circumstances, but their innocent virginal daughter? Another thing entirely.

“What exactly is a celestial virgin?” I asked, brows knitting as I painstakingly hid my glee over the revelation.

Augustus twisted his lips. “It’s a long story,” he said. “Why don’t I let Rosamund tell you about it at the feast tonight? She could do with a friend to talk to.”

“Why’s that?”

“She’s well-liked and respected in our town, but despite that, she’s always been a bit of a loner. Off in her own world half the time. Especially these last few years, since she started having visions,” he replied. “But I think she’d be happy to have someone new to talk to. Especially someone from the outside world. I believe she’s been curious about it lately.”

Jesus. This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. He was practically throwing his daughter at me.

“Well, I’d certainly be happy to talk to her,” I said, nodding slowly. “You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. It might even be better for you to hear about our way of life from her or other community members. After all, I am the governor. It’s my job to make everything sound good, isn’t it?”

I cast a sideways glance at him. “Are you saying I can’t trust you, Augustus?”

He chuckled. “No. I am just saying that perception is everything, and some outsiders may perceive my word as untrustworthy, given my position in the community along with my past issues regarding the…” He trailed off, smile fading. “The accusation. About your mother.”

Anger flared in my stomach again. I had to change the subject before it was written all over my face. “That makes sense,” I said evenly. “You said something about a feast tonight. What’s that about?”

“Ah, yes. As I told you earlier, we always have community feasts on Saturdays, but tonight is extra special. We are holding a proving ritual for one of our young men to see if he can be cleared for the outside world. He wishes to study to be a healer.”

“Am I allowed to attend?”

“Yes. It is just a minor ritual.” He clapped a hand on my back again. “Just remember. No recording.”

“Of course.”

I smiled thinly as I spoke. The only thing Augustus was concerned about right now was the possibility of me exposing one of the Covenant’s rituals to the world with a secret video recording. He would eventually discover that that was the very least of his worries, but by the time he finally came to that realization, it would be too late.

By then, his darling Rosamund would already be gone.