HIM
Ilooked around the great room at all my family that had come to help. I was grateful. That had been much harder than I’d anticipated it to be. I tried to slow the shaking of my hands and glanced down to see how obvious it was. Ever since I’d held the knife in my hand, I hadn’t been able to stop the shaking. The image of Lacey’s fear-stricken eyes was seared into my mind.
When we were planning this, it didn’t seem horrible. But actually doing it…I shook my head. This should have been like all the other ceremonies. It wasn’t. I knew it was needed. It was for the greater good. My father instilled that in me when I was a child.
What made it worse was that Lacey had been awake. They were usually still unconscious from the sedative they were given. But we’d waited too long. My thoughts went back to when we went to the bedroom to get her. Jamie had put up a larger fight than we expected. We tried to knock him out too. But he only got a little of the sedative before he punched Eric. Then he pulled the needle out and locked himself in the bathroom.
I took a large swig of beer, trying to block the emotions that threatened my carefully carefree attitude. Everybody had already congratulated us. We’d done it. Our family would be able to bear children for this generation. Now the men were all celebrating with drinks and talk until they all had to go their separate ways in the morning. Two of the men were going to take Lacey’s body to give her a proper burial. They planned to leave in the early morning. I wondered where Sage was right now. Eric would just tell her that there were hunters hanging out here. No reason for her to be suspicious about that.
I could only imagine what Eric’s face looked like when the two red-haired sisters pulled up and asked to stay here. I couldn’t believe the odds of them actually coming to stay the night. It would have happened no matter what. But this way was just more difficult. It was the last full moon in August, so it had to be done tonight. I pictured Sage again, and my heart beat faster. I didn’t want to think about how she would react when she found out her sister was missing. Guilt washed over me. It was going to break her.
Standing up, I set my drink down before walking to the doorway. I needed something stronger than beer. I pushed the door open and made sure no one was in the foyer before stepping out. Jogging to the kitchen, I checked that I was alone before flicking on the light.
Confusion swept through me when I saw a chair pushed up against the basement door. Before I got close, someone started banging on it from the other side. I moved the chair out of the way, and Alex barreled out.
“What the hell happened? I thought the plan was that you were going to keep Sage out of the house,” I said, bewildered.
“Yeah, well, that plan obviously didn’t work. She got back into the house and found the basement. We were in the storage room for the whole thing. How did she get into the house? The front door was supposed to be locked.” He kicked the basement door closed and then kicked it again.
“It was your idea to make everyone except Eric and me leave the house. You didn’t want the sisters to see us. They parked near the road and waited until they thought the coast was clear. Not easy when there’s no cell service up here. They must have forgotten to lock the door,” I answered, annoyed that Alex was trying to blame me.
“Have you seen her?” Alex asked as he glanced around the room.
“Nope. I thought she was with you. You know, keeping her safe from knowing our little secret,” I replied as I leaned against the counter. I knew Alex was upset. But I had told him again and again this would never work. Keeping someone in the dark from this is impossible. He should have fucking known better.
“She has to be in the house. We’ll find her. What did you do with Jamie?” He looked at both doors on opposite ends of the kitchen, as if deciding which way to go first.
“About that. He decided to throw punches before we could give him the full sedative. He locked himself in the bathroom, and we heard him pass out. Left him there while we carried Lacey downstairs. Since it was just Eric and me dealing with both Jamie and Lacey, it was a shit show. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. The sedative wore off before we went back upstairs, but we found him here in the kitchen. Now he’s locked in the wine room,” I explained, replaying the night from hell.
“Has it been decided what’s going to be done with him?” he asked quietly.
“No. Waiting for one of the elders to get here to decide.” But we both knew what would happen. Jamie had found out our secret. He was a threat.
“Are you going to help me find Sage? I need to get her to understand before we can leave.”
“You realize how small the odds are of that, right? I mean, she just saw her sister get murdered.” I shook my head, blocking the images that tried to creep back into my mind of what had happened in the basement.
“I know. But there’s no other option.”
“There is. We can just keep her here. At least until she calms down. I can even stay here and help watch her. I can keep her company.” I smirked at Alex, knowing my words were getting under his skin. I didn’t even mention the other option. If she didn’t come around, other members would insist she be held until next August. Until the next sacrifice. We already knew her family history. We couldn’t have someone run around with our secret who didn’t believe in it. I pushed away the thought of Sage being sacrificed. I didn’t like it. Her spirit burned so hot. She had so much life. This wasn’t how I wanted to see her life go.
“You, just like everyone else, know—She. Is. Mine,” Alex growled. “I’ll help her get past this.”
“Who says you get to be the only one with a red-haired beauty?” I couldn’t help but get under Alex’s skin.
“I don’t care who you fuck, as long as you stay away from her,” he said as he clenched his fists.
I put my hands up. “Calm down. I’m kidding.”
Alex glared at me. “We need to find her.”
“Have you even told her everything? Like her mom being chosen? Or how she was in this house for months before the sacrifice?” I asked, curious about how much Sage knew. Many of the chosen women were taken early and kept until August. Couldn’t have redheads go missing one month a year. That would cause suspicion. The society did everything to keep them comfortable. A nice bed, cable TV, their own bathroom, and lots of good food. The women were important; they were never to be treated badly. But, as Lacey’s screams echoed in my head, I thought about how scared they must have been. I groaned to myself, running a hand down my face. Tonight had really fucked me up.
“Anyway, you might want to hurry and find her. We thought we heard the front door open a little bit ago. We didn’t think much of it. Since Sage was supposed to be with you.” My words were complete bullshit. “One of the guys went to check, but he never said if it was locked or not…”
Alex shoved me hard into the counter. “You waited this long to tell me? Who knows where the hell she is now.”
“Relax. It’s the middle of the night; no civilization for miles. You spent every summer in these woods. You’ll find her.”
He was already halfway out the back door before I finished my sentence. I chuckled when the door slammed shut. I knew the front door was locked. Just like every other door in this house. I had checked them myself after we found Jamie in the kitchen. I had a feeling I knew where Sage was.
I wanted to see her before Alex did. As I left the kitchen, I buried the guilty thoughts. I refused to look weak in front of anyone. Sage knew our secret, and she had to stay scared enough to do what Alex told her so she could stay alive. I straightened my shoulders and let the feeling of indifference wash through me as I walked back to the foyer to look for her.