The Girl Behind the Red Rope Page 4

She opened her eyes and saw him standing behind Harrison at the far back corner of the stage, dressed in white. No one else in the room reacted to his presence because no one else knew he was there. He was there just for her. He always was. She was his disciple, his voice to the people of Haven Valley, the one he’d picked to be in communion with.

  She’d been a child the first time she’d seen him. Battered by a father who demanded unattainable perfection and neglected by a mother too weak to save her children, Rose had been in terrible suffering before Sylous rescued her. He’d given her the gift of sight, whispered promises for a future outside the hell she was trapped in.

  All she had to do was follow him and he would keep her safe. Sylous was her heavenly guardian, sent to set her free, and his promises had come true.

  Her skin always tingled at the sight of him, at first in fear of his staggering power, now in longing to be near him. The thought of losing his protection, his presence, made her chest ache.

  Fear me alone, and I will always protect you from evil. His words filled her mind. Their communication was like a melody only they shared, a song sung that only they could hear.

  I will never stop fearing you, Rose responded silently.

  Need my truth alone, and I will always watch over you.

  I will never stop needing you.

  Listen to me, and I will always guide you.

  I will listen.

  Peace settled over her.

  Sylous shifted his gaze to Harrison. She did the same. Her husband had moved out from behind the pulpit and was silencing the congregation with a raised hand. He stood at the front edge of the carpeted stage, hands tucked calmly behind his back, eyes on Jamie.

  “Going beyond the perimeter is against our laws,” he began. “How do you explain yourself?”

  “It’s against our laws because of the danger,” Jamie said. “But what if the danger’s gone?”

  This drew more hushed questioning from the flock, and once again Harrison raised his palm to quiet them. Jamie continued before Harrison could answer.

  “I’ve ventured deep into the forest, miles beyond the edge of the surrounding hills.” He stepped out from the wooden bench and into the main aisle. “There’s a large town on the other side of these mountains. It looks normal, not caught up in the fiery hell you’d expect if the Fury were still—”

  “Did you venture into the city?” Harrison interrupted. “Did you see any people?” Rose could sense a hint of fear in her husband’s voice, and she flicked her gaze back to where Sylous watched, motionless. At ease.

  “No,” Jamie said. “But I believe we should see for ourselves.”

  “Oh, son, how could you?” Julianna said, her cheeks wet with tears.

  “Could it be time to leave this place?” Jamie asked, ignoring his mother. “Maybe the world’s different than we believed it would be. Maybe it wasn’t destroyed. Or maybe it’s been cleansed for us already.”

  Colin Peterson, another member of their high council, stood from the pew behind Rose. “I’ve heard enough of this!” he thundered. “The Fury still haven’t attempted to penetrate our valley, which can only mean the end is not here. I won’t stand by and let you mock the faith that’s saved us from damnation!”

  A murmur of agreement rippled through the auditorium.

  Unmoved, Jamie looked at the taller man. “And what if our faith is only saving us from phantoms?” he said. “For that matter, what if the Fury have always only been phantoms?”

  Several members gasped; others whispered hurried prayers. Still, Sylous showed no sign of concern, which stilled Rose’s heart. If he wasn’t worried, neither should she be.

  “How can you even say such a thing?” someone demanded.

  “I’ve been in the woods for hours at a time and the Fury aren’t there,” Jamie said. “That’s why. But you are all too full of fear to actually see for yourselves.”

  “They only deceive you,” Colin snapped. “They lure you into their trap by hiding themselves. But make no mistake, they prey on a world full of sinners, offering only a painful death for all who haven’t committed their lives to righteousness. Or don’t you remember?”

  “Then where is the evidence of all that death and destruction?” Jamie asked. “The town I saw showed no sign of decay.”

  Beside Grace, Andrew stood and spoke. “It’s not for us to know but to believe and follow. This is the meaning of faith, boy.”

  “Even if we are following blindly?” Jamie asked.

  “Blindly?” Harrison challenged from the stage. “You were there when the Fury made themselves seen. Did you not see as the rest of us did?”

  “Maybe what we saw wasn’t real,” Jamie said. His voice had dropped a level, as if he himself couldn’t believe he was questioning the foundations of their faith.

  “He’s lying!” Andrew faced Harrison. “How could he have ventured beyond the perimeter and not been destroyed?”

  “No,” Jamie said. “I’m telling the truth.”

  “He wouldn’t have survived,” Andrew said. “His mind must have been poisoned, and now he’s trying to shake our faith. This is the darkness masquerading as light to deceive us all.”

  This theory brought Tanner Rifle, one of our guardians, to his feet. “From among our own?”

  “Are we all in danger?” his wife, Sandra, asked.

  “Lord help us,” George Martin muttered, clutching his youngest daughter in his lap.

  Then cries were piling up on top of others. All the while, Grace sat with her head bowed between Andrew and her brother. Did she know something?

  Rose returned her gaze to Sylous, who was now leaning back against the wall, watching the show with arms casually crossed. His brilliant green eyes shifted to her and held her gaze. She could feel her cheeks flush.

  Rose felt the room drift away for a moment, and in that space of disconnected calm, Sylous gave her a reassuring nod. Just that single nod before she returned to the room and all its chaos.

  But now she knew: there was nothing they needed to be concerned with. Jamie and his silly thoughts were nothing compared to the real power in this room. Doubt was a foolish venture for foolish minds. Rose knew the reality of what they had built here; Jamie just needed to be reminded.

  And if he was indeed the wolf in sheep’s clothing, he would be easily dismissed.

  “This boy needs to be cleansed from the evil in his mind,” Colin was saying.

  “I’m telling you the truth!” Jamie insisted over the cacophony. “Why would I lie about this? Bring myself under fire for what purpose?”

  “The enemy comes dressed as one of our own and tempts us with alluring theories of a beautiful world,” Colin retorted. “You seek to confuse us, that’s why.”

  “I seek to understand, not confuse!”

  “Enough!” Harrison snapped. Her husband rarely raised his voice. The room immediately stilled.

  But the councilman Colin couldn’t hold his tongue. “We cannot delay on this,” he said, voice trembling. “Actions must be taken immediately. Punish the boy’s sins. Cleanse the devil within.”

  “There is no devil within,” Jamie ground out through his teeth. “I’m only speaking truth.”

  For a brief moment, no one spoke. And then one did. The soft voice of his sister, Grace, whom Rose loved dearly.

  “He’s not lying,” Grace said, rising to her feet.

  Every eye in the Chapel turned to her. A familiar warm buzz nipped at the back of Rose’s skull as Sylous spoke to her mind.

  Are you prepared to speak for me?

  Always.

  His voice filled her mind with instruction, and it was clear what needed to be done. So she would do what he commanded.

  Always.

  MY MIND HAD CONSIDERED AND DISCARDED A dozen ideas of how to help Jamie before I knew that defending him was my best option. I couldn’t stay silent as the room started to lean with Colin. You could see it on the faces of onlookers. With nods of agreement, faces stricken with
fear, people were quickly buying into the theory that my brother might be a source of evil among them. Possessed even.

  My movement from sitting to standing felt slowed. Voices in my head urged me to stay put. What would my poor mother think? What would Andrew say? How would people perceive me? What would Rose do to me?

  My knees knocked together and my stomach did flip-flops. But then I was standing, and speaking, and everyone was watching.

  “He’s not lying,” I said again. Louder. I sensed Andrew stiffen, but I kept my eyes forward.

  “You’ve been with him beyond the perimeter?” Harrison asked.

  “No,” I said.

  “So you’re defending his good character then?” Colin scoffed. He addressed Harrison. “Her word on his behalf means nothing. She is his sister.”

  “I helped though,” I said.

  Again, all eyes were on me.

  “Grace, don’t,” Jamie whispered. It was too late for that.

  “I helped him cross the perimeter unseen,” I said.

  The room was deathly quiet now. I knew I was throwing myself into terrible trouble, but I was confessing. The shame and fear I’d been carrying around eased as I spilled my guts in front of the entire flock.

  “I used my access to the guardians’ rotation schedule to help Jamie move in and out of the town without being discovered.” A beat. “He isn’t lying. He’s been out beyond the border for several hours at a time.”

  “Impossible,” Rebecca said. I couldn’t bear to look at her.

  “This is nonsense!” Colin objected. “She could be lying for him. To save him.”

  “Grace wouldn’t lie,” Colin’s wife said.

  But several others were murmuring in agreement with Colin, wanting anything but what I said to be true. I didn’t blame them. In fact, I agreed with them. Jamie was delusional, but I couldn’t let him take the fall alone. I had played a role, and for that I would accept responsibility.

  “Holy Family,” came the voice of our prophet. The room fell silent. Most sat back down as Rose stood and stepped up to the platform beside Harrison.

  “Husband,” Rose said, looking into his eyes. He offered her a gentle nod and stepped aside.

  Rose stood behind the podium, scanning the flock. When her eyes reached mine, they paused a moment longer than I was prepared for. Guilt swallowed me again.

  But my shame was mine alone. Instead of offering me or Jamie scalding looks of disapproval, Rose stood with grace and poise. Even with her red hair kept as short as required, she was striking. Light unblemished skin, hazel eyes, petite nose. She was beautiful, even dressed in white, leaving only her hands, neck and face uncovered.

  Rose spoke with an authority that commanded the room.

  “It is important to remember that these two,” she started, lifting her hand toward Jamie and me, “are chosen, as are we all. They’re not strangers. They’re part of our righteous family. We can’t sweep them aside as evil without that evil proving itself in them.”

  I half expected Colin to respond, but even he had nothing to say against the prophet.

  “Did they break our laws? Yes. And we understand that punishment is essential to holiness. But we have always respected each other. Respect has shaped our laws and made our community safer. No one here is higher than another. We were all given the same gift of sight. We have all agreed to follow the path of righteousness. We all hold faith in God’s holiness. And we all understand the danger of grace without judgment.”

  Rose had us cradled in the palm of her hand. Her words soothed rough edges and brought us into alignment with each other. They always had. It was a gift.

  But I was wondering what she intended with her remark about grace.

  “So,” she continued, “a brother believes that maybe the world outside is different now. Could the devil have implanted such an idea? Perhaps. But maybe he’s right.” Rose let the thought marinate for a moment. “Who’s to say exactly how claiming the earth for our inheritance is to happen?” She waited. “Anyone?”

  No one responded at first. Then Colin spoke what was on everyone’s mind. “But we haven’t been tested yet. The end comes only after—”

  “Or maybe we have been tested without knowing,” Rose interrupted. “Maybe our purity made any Fury’s appearance among us so fruitless that it vanished without showing itself. It matters not. What does matter is that we’ve been faithful, diligent, and vigilant in our pursuit of purity. Jamie and Grace as well. So then, family . . . maybe Jamie is showing us the way. Maybe this is our time.”

  No one dared speak. Even I was lost in confusion. She was suggesting that Jamie might be right after all. How could that be?

  “I’ve been given direction,” she said, stepping out from behind the podium. Her eyes rested on Jamie. “Send them out past the perimeter with our blessing. Let them see what is really out there. If they return with glorious news, then, friends, we will join them.”

  Her words settled into my mind. Send them out, she’d said. Jamie and me. Fear stabbed at my heart.

  “But,” Rose continued, lifting a finger, “if the boy’s sensibilities are wrong, the Fury will deliver swift judgment to both of them.”

  The silence in the Chapel was thick enough to slice. I could feel Jamie’s eyes on me, and I knew he could sense my terror.

  He shook his head. “I’ll go alone.”

  “No,” Rose said. “Grace will join you. She already has.”

  “But I’m the one who—”

  “Sit,” Rose said.

  Jamie barely hesitated before taking his seat. He wouldn’t dare confront Rose as she prophesied. Some boundaries were never crossed, even by Jamie.

  “Grace,” Rose said.

  I feared my legs might give out from underneath me.

  “You willingly assisted your brother as he broke one of our fundamental laws, yes?” Rose asked.

  My voice was trembling. “Yes,” I whispered.

  “Was it because you too are unsure of what lies beyond? Are you now also questioning what you believe?”

  I wanted to say no, because I wasn’t really. But a tiny part of me was. Looking at Rose, I knew I dared not lie.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Do you trust your brother?” she asked.

  “He’s my brother.”

  “Then there should be nothing to fear.”

  Her words were the nails in a coffin from which there was no escape.

  Rose moved her gaze back across the congregation, and I knew she was finished with me. I slumped to my seat, stunned at the events unfolding. Andrew was staring forward, jaw fixed. I could read the anger in the shallow lines in his face and longed for him to send me a signal that maybe he would save me. But I knew that was foolish thinking. Maybe if I’d been with child, but until then I was only someone who met certain needs and held the potential to mother his offspring.

  “We will trust our holy brother as his dear sister does,” Rose announced. “We will send them out with our blessing. May they find truth and faith. May we all benefit from whatever they discover. And all God’s children replied?”

  “Amen,” the flock spoke in one accord.

  And with that word, our fate was sealed.

  TWO HOURS LATER, I STOOD STARING AT THE TALL wooden gate at the mouth of Haven Valley. A tall fence extended nearly fifty feet in either direction from where the red line that ran the full perimeter of the town began. The gate was more symbolic than a deterrent. The forest and the Fury, not a fence, were our guards.

  The council had affixed a wide wooden sign above the gate long ago. The same inscription that we’d all burned on our hearts had been burned into that sign. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil.

  A cold chill filled me with dread. Ahead of me stood the seven council members. Andrew, Rose, and Harrison were part of the group. Beside me, Jamie. Behind us lay the rest of Haven Valley, now silent except for my whimpering mother.

  Wha
t felt like only moments earlier I’d been confessing in search of absolution. And now I was being cast out of my home and tossed to the Fury.

  They had given us enough supplies for the night. These were strapped inside a pack over Jamie’s shoulder. My brother’s only words to me had been “Don’t worry.” They provided no comfort. We were facing certain death.

  I tried to hold to the truth that maybe Jamie was right after all. That beyond the gate was nothing but a Fury-less world. But my skin was crawling as imaginations of the Fury crowded my mind.

  Rose stepped forward. “We send these two out with our blessing,” she said, addressing the crowd and repeating her earlier words. “May they find truth and faith.”

  The doors began to open and the woods beyond them came into view.

  “May we all benefit from whatever they discover,” she continued.

  “Where is Grace going?” a little voice asked behind me. Bart, speaking to his mother, who hushed him. “But isn’t it dangerous?” he pressed.

  I looked back at him and offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry, Bart. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

  But my voice was thin and his round eyes were filled with doubt.

  Tanner approached me, as did Marshall Flint, another guardian with kind brown eyes and a booming laugh. They urged us forward. I wasn’t sure my legs could move. Tanner gave me a soft shove, and I stumbled forward after Jamie, through the open gate and into the wild.

  “And all God’s children replied?” Rose finished.

  “Amen,” came a chorus behind us.

  The gate closed with a soft thump that might as well have been a terrible crash. We were on our own to face the Fury.

  Fear filled my chest like wet cement.

  Chapter

  Six

  I CANNOT BEGIN TO EXPRESS HOW I FELT AS I FOLlowed Jamie into the woods beyond the perimeter that had kept me safe for so many years. The only way I was able to move one foot in front of the other was by resigning myself to my certain fate.

  I was going to die.

  True, Jamie had gone past the perimeter and come back without a scratch, and I kept telling myself that. But deep inside I knew: God would punish all who strayed, and at any moment the Fury would streak out of the forest and rip us both limb from limb.