Levitt stood and descended from the dais to stand at my right. “I do.”
The Sentinel dipped his head in acknowledgment, then motioned to me. “Remove your shirt.”
It would inevitably be seen as an affront that I’d had my old brand tattooed over to hide it, but I’d had plenty of time to cultivate a story that I hoped would play on the Bone Men’s need for secrecy. Even still, it was a wonder my hands weren’t shaking too hard to undo the buttons down my front.
When my shirt slid off my shoulders, it was hard to miss the sneer of disgust that twisted Merrick’s face at the sight of the ink that spread from my shoulder halfway down my torso. But before he could say anything, Levitt leaned in.
“You covered it up?” he asked with something like hurt in his voice.
I wanted to cover it back upnow.
“Not by choice,” I said, focusing on my old friend’s concerned expression to avoid everyone else’s. “When I left, I was taken in by another follower of Eeus, and it was his requirement if I wanted to stay. He worried that if the people in town saw it, they’d have me arrested and questioned, and that would put Ashpoint at risk.”
Levitt’s frown smoothed, and relief washed through me.
“I wasn’t happy about it, but Eeus knew I was still his.My faith never wavered. And I would do anything to protect what we’re building here.”
A wan smile tipped Levitt’s lips. “Well, it will be good to reaffirm your devotion for the rest of the world to see. No more need to hide.”
The words tasted foul when I recalled what both he and Violette had said and parroted it back to him. “It’s good to be home.”
The Sentinel stepped up to the brazier and gestured toward the chair several feet in front of it. “Are you ready to begin?”
I draped my shirt over the back of the chair, then sank into it with a nod. He removed the first piece of the brand from the fire, and I tried to let my mind go blank as he spoke the first of the seven tenets and I echoed it back.
The moment the piece of the brand touched the raised scar tissue, it was all I could do not to scream. It was worse than I remembered. Either time had dulled my memory, or I wasn’t as accustomed to suffering now as I had been back then. Regardless, at the second piece, I bit my tongue to stop myself from crying out.
The third piece of the brand came out of the flames, and I choked out the required words. “I willingly give of my life as a symbol of my commitment to the divine purpose. In so doing, I acknowledge the greater good and the importance of self-sacrifice in the pursuit of enlightenment.”
Sweat rolled down my face, and it was getting harder to keep my stony mask of composure from crumbling with each new lick of fire over my skin.
My mind wandered back to the first time I sat in this chair and endured this pain, watched over by those now lost to history. My father stood to my right, the closest thing to a smile on his face that I’d seen in years. For once,he looked at me with pride instead of disdain. It was his crowning moment, the culmination of twelve years spent molding me into a copy of himself.
It was the proudest he’d ever been of me, and I reveled in the knowledge that, in a few short hours, I’d deliver him the biggest disappointment of his life when I disappeared.
“I will cultivate resilience in the face of adversity,” I echoed the Sentinel. “I will view challenges as opportunities for growth and community, trusting in the wisdom of the divine to guide me through difficult times with strength and unwavering faith.”
Another flash of pain, another piece of the brand complete, and I chanced a glance at Levitt. His eyes tracked the Sentinel as he returned to the brazier and retrieved the next. His face was impassive, but as I repeated the next tenet and the fifth strike of the brand touched my skin, he flinched.
In far too short a time, it would be me in his place, watching Penny endure this seemingly endless torment. The sixth piece of the brand sizzled into my skin, and I wasn’t sure I had it in me to stand by without intervening. Penny wasn’t one to mask his emotions, and I often found myself more troubled than I should have been by his distress. The only way I’d make it through would be if I didn’t look at him.
But somehow, that felt like the cruelest thing I could do.
After the final piece of the brand was back in the fire, Levitt offered me his left hand and pulled me to my feet. I swayed, and a grin stretched across his face as he steadied me.
“Welcome back into the fold,” he said. “Now, let’s see about your recruit.”
30
Penny
With Kit gone, I was left on my own. The other recruits hardly counted as company, even Rosie, who stepped from her place in line to come over and offer a sweet smile.
“You ready?” she asked.
I cocked my head up at her. “Not really,” I admitted.
Rosie flapped her hand at the towheaded man seated beside me, motioning for him to scoot down the bench and make room for her to squeeze in. Then, she sat and grabbed my hand, holding it atop my knee.
