Sabrina shoots me a look as if to ask how I know this man, but I don’t say anything. Better we cooperate for the time being rather than cause problems.
He can’t actually hurt us. Not with Lexington and Percy waiting, having seen him lead us out.
There’s no conviction in that thought, though, because I already know better. He could kill us and have the crimes erased with the snap of his fingers.
I swallow over a lump in my throat as we’re led deeper into the cave, the ground shifting downward. We pass beneath a narrow archway, and suddenly there are pockets of light illuminating the area.
Jean-Louis slips his mask into place, and fear coats my skin, making my teeth chatter.
We enter a massive cavern, larger than anything the town archives I’ve read mentioned. They scarcely talked about the caves at all, presumably out of respect for the dead.
Or because they weren’t allowed.
From our vantage point at the top, the cavern snakes down with different levels lining the walls in a spiral fashion, culminating at the ground. Hooded figures sit in seats carved from the stone itself, populating the layers like an arena. Standing water in some areas gives the air a musty quality, and I frown against the stench.
At the bottom of the cavern is a square stage with rope railings and crimson stains smeared across the rock.
In front of that, a table made of white, oblong objects, the joints fastened together with?—
“Are thoseskulls?” Sabrina whispers.
Torches illuminate the area, with several propped against a far wall, where a three-headed beast is spray-painted in black.
“And other bones,” Jean-Louis says matter-of-factly.
A moment later, two hooded, masked figures appear at the entrance we just came through.
“Mors vincit omnia, Elder,” they greet in tandem, handing us our own disguises. “Are these your offerings?”
My stomach churns.His what?
Jean-Louis nods, silent, forcing the mask onto my face.
For a brief moment, I’m shrouded in total darkness as he situates the eyeholes correctly. One of the other figures does the same to Sabrina, then turns to me as if to assess my preparedness.
They meet my gaze, and IswearI’ve seen theirs somewhere before, but they turn away before I can get a good enough look.
A shiver coasts over my spine, notching in the vertebrae with its claws.
They gesture with their hands for us to follow them. Sabrina’s breathing is heavy as we comply, because what the fuck other choice do we have?
We’re led down a curved staircase carved into the side of the cavern, Jean-Louis hot on our heels. Once we’ve reached the bottom, the sea of masks faces us, and Jean-Louis shoves us forward into a sudden bright spotlight coming from a level above us.
“Enjoy the Pit, ladies. Death welcomes you.”
34
SUTTON
The Pit makesmy migraines a thousand times worse, which is why, when the ranked Death’s Teeth members drag two initiates down to the ground level, I’m too busy nursing a bottle of water to give a shit.
I’m only here for show anyway. To keep them from going after Beckett or Elle, since I haven’t attended any actual gatherings in a while.
A few fledgling members flank my sides, kneeling on the ground. Their hands slide back and forth over my legs, my arms, down the center of my stomach. They stop just at the waistband of my pants, and I brush them away, not interested in even pretending to entertain them.
Not now that I know what pleasure’ssupposedto feel like.
As the two masked figures are led to a makeshift altar in front of the stage, I drop my head into my hands, willing the throbbing sensation behind my eye to go away. Any other group on campus would’ve respected how debilitating a goddamn migraine can be, but not Death’s Teeth.
