It’s practically treason to not invite the Extraction Master.
“The god is dying!” These words, said by Matron Scott, refocus my attention on what’s happening around me. Mostly because all the Little Sisters gasp in unison. They didn’t know.
I am not surprised, of course. But I’m keenly interested in what follows this revelation.
“But don’t worry, good people of Tau City.” Matron Scott smiles—and wow, even as an older woman, she is still very beautiful. It’s her beauty, I think, that settles the traumatized Little Sisters. Not so much her words, though her tone is soft and comforting.
Until the next part comes out.
“You don’t need to worry about the dying god because we have grown a new one.” She pans her hand to… my mouth drops open.
“No.” I even say it out loud. “No way.”
“Donal Oslin,” Matron Scott says, “is our new god. As the only young resident of the Tower District, he has lived his entire youth inside the spark and this unique upbringing will allow him to ascend to god status. This morning’s ritual will elevate him and everything you love and enjoy about Tau City will be preserved.”
There is a sigh of relief from many of the girls around me.
But there’s a hefty level of skepticism too. Because… why arewehere, if it’s all going so well for Donal’s ascension into godhood?
“There is one small thing we need from each of you, however.”
“Well, here it comes,” I say.
Ceela elbows me in the ribs. Not gently, either. “Shut up. Listen!”
“Listen to what, Ceela? Don’t you understand what she’s saying? Theyneedsomething from us? Are you that stupid? What do you think that something is?”
Her cheeks go bright red. But she doesn’t look at me when she growls her words out. “You are the most selfish girl.”
“What?”
“That’s right.” Ceela looks me straight in the eyes for this part. “You want all the glory. You want to be the Extraction Master’s courtesan. You want to be the Rebel who does it all. You want everything, Jasina!” These words seethe out of her like poison. “You are selfish, narcissistic, and you will get that glory over my dead body.”
Shereally isthat stupid. “Ceela.” I use my mature-leader tone of voice. “They’re gonna take our spark. They’re gonna drain us and give it to Donal, who is, obviously,not a fucking god because he’s an evil teenage boy!”
I scream this last part. Which is a mistake. A very big mistake.
Because my scream interrupts two things happening at the same time.
The ancient Matron, who I have never ever seen before—Matron Lightly—is in the middle of saying Gemna’s name. And a large, heavy curtain is being pulled back to reveal a room separated from us by glass so thick, you can see the woman screaming on the other side, but not hear her.
This screaming woman is Gemna. And she is somehow hovering in the middle of a radiating star circle that is easily twenty feet in diameter. Her arms and legs are spread wide, attached to rays with chains and cuffs. And she’s wearing a gala gown. Like this is one of the most important events of her life.
“Well, I see we have our first volunteer.” The ancient Matron’s voice cuts through the silence like a hot knife through butter.
I look over at the Matrons and realize everyone is looking at me. “What?”
“We need two Little Sisters to help Gemna prime the Looking Glass. And Jasina Bell has just volunteered!”
She starts clapping. And then everyone is clapping.
And the next thing I know, Donal is coming at me with a wicked grin on his face.
I step back, trying to disappear into the crowd of Little Sisters all around me, but they push me forward and a moment later, Donal has me and he’s dragging me over to the massive glass room. And now I see that there are two more circles in there. Two more spaces on either side of Gemna, where two more women should be.
It couldn’t be more obvious who belongs inside this trio of circles even if they had engraved brass nameplates.
The radiating circles were meant for Spark Maidens, not Little Sisters.
