by Juniper Hart
Father scowled. “And how are we supposed to live without income in that time? No place to live and no income?”
“Your whining is beginning to piss me off. You’re the fucking messiah, Randy. Figure it out. Just get it done.” Greg spun, leaving Father to stare after him in fury.
Grace slipped further into the hallway, ducking into the coatroom and watching Greg storm from the house. A moment later, Father appeared in the doorway of the library, his breaths coming out in quick, agitated breaths.
Grace pressed herself against the wall, terrified that he would hear her heart thundering. There was blood rushing in through her ears as her world seemed to crumble around her. Everything they had ever known or been told had been something made up by a man, a mere man, not a god. He was a fraud.
The realization was too much for her to bear, and as Father started toward the worship room, Grace began to weep. They had all been a part of a disgusting plot which had been brewing for thirty years.
She thought of what was said about the baby and gagged as hideous images filled her mind. Through her swiss-cheese memory, she thought about the babies that had been born into the flock over the years. What had become of them?
How could we all have been so blind for so long? She choked back her tears. We are pawns in a twisted game, but for what purpose? Wiping her face with the backs of her hands, Grace knew that she had to gather the others and find a way to get Harmony from the glass room. How will I convince them that they have believed in a false god for all this time? she thought mournfully.
She realized that she had one hope at saving them, and it rested on Mr. Tanner and Miss Luciano.
She gathered her skirts to dart through the shadows.
“You weren’t at worship tonight.” Father’s voice rang out through the dark, and Grace could hear the shrill sound of anxiety.
She did not immediately answer, her mind racing for the proper way to diffuse his anger.
His name is Randall. He is a fraud who has manipulated us for years. Should I tell him what I know? Some deeply evolved sixth sense warned her to stay quiet, even if the words threatened to erupt from her lips in a torrent.
“I’m not feeling well. The outsiders drained me.”
A silence filled the room, and Grace could barely make out his form in the sitting room from her spot on the bed. She had been sitting in the inky blackness, listening to the crash of the waves below, weighing her situation.
“That is more the reason for you to pray with us,” Father told her, approaching. “You must cleanse your soul of the evil that may have permeated into you through the devil’s minions.
Grace gritted her teeth.
“I must see Eve,” she told him, tripping over the woman’s name. She had almost said “Harmony” but caught herself at the last second. “I’ve done what you asked. You promised you would allow me to see her if I sent them away.”
“You did not fulfill your task,” Randall said, coming closer. He stood at the end of her bed.
Indignation flooded through her, but she willed herself to be calm.
“They are gone,” she insisted. “I have done what you asked.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “No. You have failed us all, and because of your failure, we are all doomed here now.”
Grace’s mouth dropped open in shock as she realized what he was doing.
His plan is to blame his failure on me! She didn’t know why she was surprised. That was completely true to Randall’s form. He could not be blamed for anything. He was a god, wasn’t he? Nausea filled her, and hot tears formed in her eyes.
“You have brought chaos to our sanctuary,” Randall continued, growling and looming over her. “And now Eve will pay the price for it.”
Terror gripped Grace’s heart.
“What did you do to her?” she whispered, crawling toward him on her hands and knees. “Please, Father, don’t harm her.” Again, she choked on the name, but her panic was far too great to care. Harmony was her only concern.
He sighed heavily, as if he was pained greatly by what he had to do. “You have left me little choice in the matter, Grace. She has to suffer the brunt of your failure, of your sins.”
“How can I stop you from hurting her?” she breathed. “Tell me what to do!”
He shrugged, and she could feel the indifference oozing from him. He had never cared about any of them. He had only seen them as a way to make money.
She hadn’t quite figured out what he had done with the babies, but Grace was sure whatever it was couldn’t be good.
“The others are very disappointed in you. I suggest you lash yourself before them, but you may already be a lost cause.”
He turned to leave, and watching him do so, Grace was filled with a vile, foreign emotion. It was not until long after he departed that she realized what it was: hatred.
Suddenly, her gums began to throb again.
Harmony was growing weak from hunger and thirst, a slight delirium affecting her thoughts as she lay in her bed, watching the world go by a few feet away. Father had returned her to the glass room, but she knew it was only to keep her out of sight.
It had been three days since Grace had come to put ointment on her back and tend to her fever.
She’s not Aunt Grace. She’s Grace, and she’s probably been brainwashed as much as I have. I need to get to her somehow, and maybe we can save the others.
But as the days passed without a hint of a visitor, Harmony was beginning to lose hope altogether. The redhead had seen Grace slip by the glass room several times, never stopping to visit. She hadn’t even paused to look through the glass and give her a private smile.
Why isn’t she coming? With her help, I can get out of here. She had a strong feeling she knew exactly what was going on—Father had kept Grace from visiting.
There had been strangers in the hotel, several of them, though Harmony no longer knew if she had imagined them or if they existed. The blond man had stared into the mirror like he could not only see her but directly into her soul, and Harmony’s body had almost exploded with hope.
I know him! she thought, jumping up to press her clammy palms against the one-way glass. Don’t I know him? Every fiber of her being seemed to respond to his gaze, her body almost electrified by the blue of his eyes. No matter how she screamed out, however, they couldn’t hear her. Still, he had seemed to sense her there.
Then they were gone as quickly as they had come, leaving Harmony alone to ponder her escape with fading optimism.
Idly, she stared out at the rocky cliffs beneath the glass wall and wondered if she would certainly fall to her death if she crashed through the panes.
Of course you would, she thought. That is how the room is designed. Even if you don’t drown—which you will—the cuts will kill you before your body heals itself. She had never been a big fan of water.
She was completely alone in the world. The only being who was going to get her out of this mess was herself.
It was unmistakable; Randall had used Grace as a scapegoat for the impending move. She could see it in the looks she got from the others. Not one male member tried to visit her room at night for their communal relations.
Overnight, she had become a pariah in the community, and she knew nothing she said to the others would change whatever Father had told them.
How is he able to control us so easily? Why would he want to? She had a feeling that it had something to do with the babies which had been born to the women over the years.
“Children are a gift,” Randall had preached time and again. “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Children must maintain their innocence, their righteousness. And it is up to me to ensure they remain as such.”
How many children have been born? Grace wondered. Twelve? Fifteen?
They were always born quietly and taken away, the mothers inevitably disappearing themselves for days before returning to the group as if nothing had happened. The more Grace thought a
bout it, the more she realized that she had never seen an infant in the house. She had never heard the cry of a newborn. But she had definitely seen pregnant women among them, even if she had been unable to bear children herself.
Where had he taken the babies? What had he done to the women to make them forget that they’d had children?
So many emotions flooded through Grace. Why hadn’t she questioned it before? How could she have not seen what was happening to them?
She tried to tell herself that it was not too late—not for Harmony to escape, and not for Rachel’s unborn baby, whatever its fate might be.
I’ll get to them both, and we will escape, she vowed. The question was, how?
Grace paused outside the mirrors in the lobby and pressed her hands to the glass, hoping that Harmony was on the other side, watching her. She really had no idea where the girl had gone. For all she knew, Randall had moved her off the property already. If he intended to take her in the first place.
“I’m coming for you,” she whispered to the mirror. “Just stay strong. I’ll be there soon.” There was no way that Harmony could hear her, even if she was inside the box, but Grace did not want the younger girl to think she had been forgotten.
I have to find the key, she thought, slipping through the hall and making her way to the library. She had a feeling that the key to the glass room would be inside.
The others milled around the hotel, free to roam now that the outsiders were gone. Would more come in their place now that Mr. Tanner and Miss Luciano had decided not to buy the hotel?
“Grace, Father is looking for you,” Jack told her. “He’s in the library.”
Grace eyed him. He was one of the few members who was still speaking with her, and she wondered if he could be trusted.
His faith is wavering. He’s beginning to see something in Father which he didn’t see before.
“Jack,” she called in a low voice as he turned away. “Come here.”
He spun back around, arching a dark blond eyebrow.
“What is it, Grace? You don’t want to keep Father waiting,” he warned. “I don’t need to tell you that he is less than pleased with you.”
“Jack, where do all the babies go?” she asked.
The expression on his face turned to stone when the words sunk in, and Grace felt a surge of hope.
“What?” he asked, his face registering shock. “Why are you asking me that?”
She shook her head, realizing that she may have made a terrible mistake. He’s right! I’m already in enough trouble without rousing more questions.
“Never mind,” she said quickly. “Don’t tell Father, please.”
He stared after her as she hurried off to find Randall. Like Jack had said, he was sitting in the library, peering out into the ocean. Before Grace could open her mouth to announce her own arrival, Randall spoke.
“I have decided how you will redeem yourself,” he said without preamble.
Grace resisted the urge to scream at him.
“Oh?” she replied calmly. “How?”
“You must call the devil’s minion and have him make the deal.”
Grace felt her mouth become a fine line of disgust. He truly is the devil incarnate.
“What deal?” she asked innocently. “And how should I call him? I don’t have a way of contacting him.” She hoped the causticness wasn’t oozing from her tone, but it seemed to permeate from her pores.
“I don’t know!” Randall snapped, exasperated with her questions. “If you don’t wish to save your soul, I cannot help you, Grace. Do with it what you will.” She waited, staring at him to continue, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, realizing that her emerald eyes were boring into him. “There is no other way.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, the hairs on the back of her neck rising.
He’s planning something else, she realized, but she could not imagine what his devious mind could concoct. Her own guileless thoughts never went to such dark places.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to save Eve,” she whispered.
Randall turned and smiled at her, though she could read the tension in his eyes. “That is very good to hear, Grace.”
She turned on her heel and left without asking his permission. Whatever Randall wanted, she would have to give in to him. It might be too late for Harmony, but if there was a chance to save her, Grace had to take it.
As she ascended the stairs to the west wing, she felt a spark of hope for the first time since learning about Randall. If she was to contact Mr. Tanner, maybe she could send him a message. Maybe she had not missed her opportunity to ask for help after all. She could tell him the entire truth, not just the little clue that she had given him. Maybe he could do something to help them all.
Grace didn’t admit that the idea of leaving the house after so many years was terrifying, but the alternative was just as bad.
You can worry about yourself after Harmony and the others are saved, she told herself grimly. She pushed open the door to her room and secured the door behind her. There was little else to do other than hide away in the minimal sanctuary of her suite and wait for word of what to do next.
Grace slipped into her bed and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. I must not lose control. I must keep my wits about me. It may be too late for the others, but if there is a chance I can help them, I’ll explore it.
As if on cue to her misery, someone tried the knob on her door. A quick pounding ensued.
“Grace! Grace, come quickly!” Camila called from the hallway.
“What is it?” Grace jerked upward and hurried toward her, body shaking slightly.
“Father has another request for you to redeem yourself!” Camila cried happily.
A sick feeling washing through her, Grace rose from the bed and straightened her dress.
“I’m coming, Camila,” she sighed, throwing open the door.
Let’s see what other bidding the Devil of Eden has in store for me, she thought, exhaling.
11
Vera sat back in the chair and sighed deeply, wishing her heart wasn’t so heavy.
Before her were a dozen emails which needed returning on one screen, but she consciously ignored them and drummed her fingers on the armrest of her swivel chair, staring at the listing for Eden.
Sold pending, the MLS data read, and no matter how many times she read those two words, she couldn’t take the sting out of her heart seeing them. Why was she even looking at the listing? It was a stupid question, and she knew it. She felt like her heart and soul had been poured into those few days, and now her baby was gone.
The silence of the office was almost too much for her to bear. She needed noise to alter her tense state of mind.
She and Orion had been back from Washington for three days, and in that time, it had become increasingly obvious that neither of them had anything on their minds but Eden. Vera was sure that her boss hadn’t slept, day or night, since they had returned to New York, but he didn’t make any mention of the property again until earlier that evening.
“The closing date is June 2nd,” Orion commented casually as he walked by on his way out of the office, and she jerked her head up from the computer to stare at him.
“What closing date?” she asked, as if she didn’t know precisely what he meant.
He gave her a knowing look and winked. “Good night, Vera.”
I need to let this go, she thought, shaking her head. It was much easier thought than done.
The office phone rang, causing her to jump, and Vera snatched it up, despite the late hour.
“Vera Luciano,” she sighed.
“Hello, darling.” The words gave her a shiver of excitement as she heard the deep, mellifluous voice slide through the phone.
“Sirius!” she gasped. “You’re home!”
“I am, and I want to see you,” he purred. “How did I know you’d be at the office at this time of night?”
“Because you know me too well?” she off
ered with a laugh. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come to meet you at the airport!”
“What? And ruin the surprise? Seriously, is my brother being so much of a slave driver that you’re working all hours of the night now?”
She tried to laugh again, but this time, the noise escaping her lips was more of a sob.
“What’s wrong, Vera?” Sirius asked, his concern clear. “What did Orion do now?”
She shook her head, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.
“I made my move,” she told him. “But it was the wrong one.”
Sirius made a commiserating noise. “What happened?”
“I found a place like you suggested. I vetted it thoroughly, and Orion agreed to it, put in an offer, but when we went…”
“It was a dump?” Sirius finished when she trailed off.
“Not exactly,” Vera answered. “There is something going on there. People who live there who are… off.”
“Enchanted?”
“No… I mean, one was, but that’s not what I mean.”
“Squatters?”
“No… I can’t really explain it,” Vera grunted in mild frustration. “There’s something off. Like they’re a cult or a commune or something.”
“Well, that doesn’t have to be the end of it,” he said confidently. “Ask for it vacant as terms of the sale.”
“No, darling, it’s something more than that.” She grunted again, unsure of how to verbally explain what she was feeling.
“Okay,” Sirius said gently. “What’s the name of the place?”
“Eden. It’s in Ocean Shores, Washington.”
“Leave it to me, love. Give me until morning. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Wait! What are you going to do?”
“Are you questioning my very effective methods?” Sirius teased her. “When am I going to see you?”
“Any time you want.”
“Fine. I’m holding you to that. Talk soon.” He hung up, and suddenly, Vera felt a wave of relief so strong, she almost couldn’t breathe.