Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Breenah no longer doubted that he really had a Beast inside him—the voice of the Goddess couldn’t be disputed or denied. She only wondered if it was too late to get to the giant before the entity inside him came out and wreaked havoc.
Silently, she slipped down the hallway, the chanting and drums growing ever louder in her ears. She doubted anyone would be expecting her to show up—clearly Mistress Heal-all thought the dose of sedatives she’d administered would keep Breenah knocked out all night.
And it probably would have, if the Goddess hadn’t woken me up! Breenah thought.
At last she reached the door of the Guard Room, which was slightly ajar. Carefully, she put her face to the opening and looked in.
Everyone in the Compound was gathered there but Breenah was glad to see that no one was looking in her direction. All their attention was centered on the Stasis Wheel and the giant manacled to it. The giant who was directly under the sky-light part of the ceiling, which allowed the moonlight to shine down on him.
Rax was struggling in his bonds, his face set in a look of desperation.
“Let me go! Let me go now before it’s too late!” he begged hoarsely. “I can feel the moonlight getting closer! If the light of three moons at once falls on me, it will be too fucking much! Please!”
“Silence, male!” Mistress Work-worthy shouted. She and the other Superiors were standing around the Stasis Wheel in a semi circle, facing Rax. Mistress Pain-giver had a sparking electro-prod in one hand and it was clear she’d already been using it on the big Kindred from the red burn marks Breenah could see on his silvery-gray skin.
Then Mistress Work-worthy turned to face the assembled women.
“We come together tonight to offer blood to the three we worship—the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone,” she said loudly, raising her voice to be heard over the drumming and chanting from the musicians in the corner. “It has been many long years since we had a male intruder to sacrifice but tonight we will make up for it. At the moment of the Lunar Equinox, when all three deities appear in the sky together, Mistress Pain-giver will shed the male spy’s blood for their glory!”
There was a half-hearted cheer from the women of the Complex. None of them had ever seen a blood-sacrifice before and they didn’t appear very eager to see one now, Breenah thought. They were giving each other uneasy looks—even Meendy looked rather queasy at the idea of shedding Rax’s blood—but none of them dared to speak up against the Council of Superiors.
Should I speak up? Breenah wondered. But what good would that do? None of the women assembled in the Guard Room was going to decide to follow her in some kind of revolt. They had been ruled by the Council of Superiors all their lives—they weren’t going to rebel now, just because a social outcast like Breenah told them to.
After some thought, she decided the best thing to do was to sneak into the room and try again to press the big red release button located on the far wall. Maybe that way she could free Rax before he turned into his Beast and then get him someplace away from the moonlight. She wasn’t sure what they would do after that, but to start with, she just needed to keep him from getting killed!
Taking a deep breath, she opened the thick door a little wider and slipped quietly into the crowd.
Most of the women were chanting softly along with the musicians, their eyes glued to the giant bound to the Stasis Wheel. Breenah found she was able to slip around behind them without causing too much fuss. Nobody there seemed surprised to see her, so Mistress Work-worthy must not have made any announcements about her yet.
But slipping through such a crowded room was slow-going. She had to keep pushing people aside while trying not to step on anyone’s toes. And in the meantime, Rax continued to thrash and struggle while he begged them to set him free in a low, hoarse voice that got deeper and deeper all the time.
Breenah cast an eye at the skylight and saw with concern that the Equinox was farther along than she’d thought. The Maiden was already visible, shedding her pure, silver light down on the thrashing Rax. As she watched, another moon came into view—it was the Mother, which was half again as big as the Maiden. Her light was golden and it too shone down on the Wulven Kindred, who writhed as though the moonlight was liquid flame pouring over him.
“Ah—Gods!” he was groaning. “Too much…too…fucking…much!”
Have to reach the button—if I can just reach the release! Breenah thought desperately. But she was still several feet away from it and the musicians—with their large assortment of drums—were in the way!