Bitter Demons

2. Will It Hurt?

I turned to see which of the women had said it, but I couldn't tell. A thick lump formed in my throat and I swallowed it down hard. The way the woman said it, you would have thought being like my mother was the worst possible thing in the world.

The comment cut deeper than any ritual knife ever could.

"Enough!"

The room around me fell silent. Mrs. Ashworth held one hand in the air. Her cheeks were flushed and her normally perfect hair was sticking up on one side. Her eyes scanned the room, as if looking for an answer to the sudden chaos.

I wanted to keep going. To push them to answer all of my questions. But I suddenly didn't trust my own voice.

Mayor Chen stood up. "If I may speak?"

"Go ahead," Mrs. Ashworth said, stepping aside.

"I, for one, am happy Harper knows about her heritage." She looked to me. "Not everyone in this room agreed that we should keep this a secret from you, but you have to understand that all of our lives are at stake here."

I nodded. I did understand that.

"This hasn't been an easy time for any of us," she continued, addressing the room. "We've all been on edge since Harper came home to us. Now that it's out in the open, maybe we'll be able to relax a little bit and work together to make Peachville the town it once was."

I had to give the woman credit. She was an excellent public speaker. Guess it went with the territory since she was a politician, but her soothing voice calmed me. No wonder Lark was so cool. She'd gotten to have a mom like this her whole life.

"What I want to know is why she willingly risked her life trying to save that filthy demon when she clearly knew the consequences," the elderly lady said. "If you ask me, her knowing makes the whole thing much worse."

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I wanted to shout that if the Order was better at keeping track of their ritual daggers, I never would have been in danger in the first place. That if they'd been open and honest with me since the beginning, maybe I would have handled this whole situation differently. But nothing I said now could change the fact that I had gone into that hospital thinking about Jackson and caring more about whether he lived or died than anything else, including my own safety.

"You can't expect the girl to be loyal when she doesn't even know for sure who the members of the Order are," Mrs. King said.

"I expect her to be loyal to you," Mrs. Ashworth said.

I hated the arguing. I wanted to sneak out and tell Ella Mae to take me home, but who knew what kind of hell would break loose if I bailed.

The room broke out in multiple conversations again, everyone shouting their own opinions. I wondered what my mother would do in a situation like this. Had she ever been in charge of this group? Would they even tell me if I asked?

Mrs. Ashworth picked up her glass and clanged a spoon against its edge. Slowly, the room settled into silence. She smiled and set the glass down. "In light of this new information, perhaps we should have another discussion about her confirmation."

I swallowed nervously. Confirmation? I hoped that wasn't what they called the ceremony where they put a demon inside of me.

The members of the council whispered in small groups. My outburst hadn't taught them anything. They were still keeping their secrets and shutting me out. Part of me wanted to know the truth about all of it, and part of me wanted to run as far away from this town as I could and never look back.

"I think it's a good solution," Sheriff Hollingsworth said. "Some of the members have brought up trust issues. I think that if Harper is willing to go through the confirmation, it will be a big step forward for her and for all of us."

I backed toward Mrs. King and sat down again in the high-backed chair.

"What's the confirmation?" I asked in a whisper.

She leaned toward me. "A ritual where you accept your role in the Order. Your tattoo was the first step toward becoming the Prima. The confirmation is the second step."

Out of how many? I bit my bottom lip.

"Will it hurt?"

"No," she said, putting her hand on my arm again and giving it a squeeze. "It should actually feel really good."

I looked at her to make sure she was telling the truth. Her expression looked genuine and sympathetic at the same time.

"Plus," she said with a sly smile, "it will make you more powerful."

The council voted unanimously to perform my confirmation ceremony right then and there. All that was left was for me to accept. I had a feeling that if they hadn't needed my acceptance, they would have already drugged me and gone ahead with this ritual a long time ago.

"Harper?" Mrs. Ashworth said. "Are you willing to take the next step toward becoming the Prima?"

"I thought I already was the Prima," I said, confused.

She smiled. "You are Prima Futura, future Prima. There's still so much you'll need to learn before you take on the role of Prima."

My heart was beating so fast, I could feel it at the base of my tongue. My entire mouth went dry. If I said no, what would they do to me? But if I said yes, would I be taking one step too far down this road toward becoming a member of the Order? How far could I go before it was too late to ever turn back?

More power did sound nice, though. I thought back to the hospital and touched my fingers to my mother's necklace. If it hadn't been for the demon who came to my rescue, I might not have been able to defeat the Others.

"Yes," I said, closing my fist around the pendant. "I'm ready."