Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
I’m going to be soooo hung-over tomorrow, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut to fight the dizziness. It wasn’t until Sparki nudged her elbow that she opened her eyes and realized that Ls Prissa was standing right in front of her, holding the golden goblet.
“For the glory of Sheelash,” the older woman intoned and held the goblet up to Addie’s mouth.
Instead of automatically taking a sip, Addie took a moment to look at the contents of the cup…and then wished she hadn’t. The thick, milky-clear mixture looked unpleasantly like semen and it had a pungent, earthy aroma that made her nose wrinkle.
“Hey, what is this stuff?” she asked, forgetting that she needed to be quiet and obedient like the other girls.
Ls Prissa frowned disapprovingly.
“It is the Bounty of Sheelash, of course! You must drink it in order to be a candidate for the Queen of Night.”
“Yes, but I mean what is it?” Addie persisted. “I mean is it a kind of wine or liquor or—”
“Do not be sacrilegious!” Ls Prissa hissed, glaring at Addie. “Do you not know that seven strong men died that you might have a single sip of Sheelash’s Bounty?”
“They died? How?” Addie asked. What was this stuff they were asking her to drink?
“In the milking process, of course,” Ls Prissa snapped. “The Goddess of the Web is not always cooperative when it comes to giving up her bounty. Now drink!” And she shoved the cup against Addie’s bottom lip and tilted it so that a large amount of the slimy liquid poured into her mouth.
Addie choked and nearly gagged. Had she thought the blood cube she’d had for dinner was bad? This was so much worse. It was so bitter and acrid she could barely swallow and it left her tongue feeling numb, as though she’d taken a drink of poison.
She wanted to say something, but Ls Prissa had already moved on to Sparki, who was standing beside her. The normally cheerful lady-in-waiting was solemn and she sipped dutifully at the cup and didn’t even make a face.
Addie watched as girl after girl drank from the goblet and noticed that things were starting to look wavy around the edges. Also, she was beginning to feel light and floaty. What was wrong with her? Was the stuff in the goblet making her high? That was all she needed on top of being drunk!
Ls Prissa made her way around the circle until she came to the last girl. It happened to be Teeza, Addie’s other lady-in-waiting. But when Ls Prissa raised the cup to her lips, Teeza began to whimper.
“No, please—I don’t want to!” she cried, pushing the cup away and turning her head to the side. “I don’t want to be the Queen of Night and lose my youth and my looks! I’d rather stay pretty and young. Please, just let me go—don’t make me drink it!”
Addie thought that Ls Prissa was going to explode with anger. Her face turned nearly purple with rage but before she could berate the hapless Teeza, a loop of white silk came down from the ceiling and wrapped around the lady-in-waiting’s skinny neck.
Teeza gave a cry and reached for her throat but before she could even try to escape, she was whisked away—lifted straight up into the blackness of the ceiling far above.
“Hey!” Addie gasped. “What happened to her? What—?”
A hand was suddenly slapped over her mouth and she was looking Sparki in the eyes.
“Shut your mouth! Do you want to be next?” her lady-in-waiting hissed, her eyes wide with fright.
Addie shook her head quickly.
“Good—then be quiet!” Sparki gave her a last warning glare and then removed her hand and stood back in her own space.
Addie stood there, feeling stunned. She wasn’t sure what was going on at all—had she really just seen Teeza swooped up into the sky? Or the ceiling or wherever?
It was hard to say since the feeling of being high was growing every minute. Everything that moved seemed to leave trails of light behind it. She stared at her own hand and wiggled her fingers, amazed to see the rainbow swirls they left behind as they moved through the air…
“And now it is time for all of you to lay down and receive Sheelash’s Kiss,” Ls Prissa said. But her voice sounded like it had been slowed down—as though she was speaking in slow motion.
All around her, Addie saw the other girls lying down on the circular dais with their feet pointing to the center. She tried to do the same herself, but stumbled and would have fallen if Sparki hadn’t caught her.
“Easy, now,” she whispered to Addie as she helped her lay down. “Just relax and pull your skirt up—it’s almost over.”
“Pull my skirt up? Why?” Addie tried to ask, but the words came out like molasses—all thick and syrupy. She found herself laying down on the cold stone floor of the dais and somehow her skirt was pulled up to her waist.