Covenant

- 4 -

I am led through to the basement of a large communal building. It's dark inside and I am wary.

"Tell me." Dextrine begins as we head through the wooden board corridors. "What is your deepest desire?"

"I don't know? For my family to love me again?" I mutter.

"Go deeper. What do you think will make your family love you again?" She asks knowingly. For a moment, I wonder why she didn't ask me about why I thought my family didn't love me. But, then again, she probably knew what she was asking from me, so I shook my head and inhaled.

"I'm growing old..." I finally say to her.

"Ah. I see." She replies. We pass by a room with a glass panel. Inside, are a bunch of people near computers, the only lights in the room coming from the screen, illuminating their faces like they were bodiless ghosts. We stop at a door and she gives me a knowing look before slipping off her nun headdress and robes. Underneath, she was dressed in a dark black dress, and she waved her hair around before opening the door.

I am led inside and I notice the cheerful banter inside stop as soon as I am in.

"My children." Dextrine announces. "I have found a new recruit."

"Welcome." Says the multiple women inside.

"This is our recruit, Anna. She is having difficulty with her family. We're going to help her. Aren't we, children?"

"Yes, mother Dextrine." The women answer cheerfully.

"Sit, Anna." Dextrine flops herself down carelessly on the couch and I am wary at first but join her on the opposite end. The eery silence from the women around us was beginning to creep me out. Why weren't they talking around anymore? "Tell us, what is it that you seek?"

"Beauty." I answer quietly. "I want youth."

"Strange." Dextrine laughs. "Because poor Anna's daughter here, seems to be more gorgeous and youthful than ever day by day."

"Oh." The word is dragged and long, like a burn, from the women.

"Why do you think she is growing old, children?" Dextrine asked in a low voice, sporting a smile on her face.

"Because of her daughter." The women answered. I froze. Alyssa? How could she...?

Then again, they did all look at her. Never at me. No longer. Having children did take your youth...Right?

"We have a solution." Dextrine stood up and offered her hand. "But first...We must perform the initiation ritual."

I took her hand and hoisted myself up off the couch. She led me towards a darker area of the room. The other women began to light some candles.

"Don't mind this." Dextrine assured me and I noticed the small pentagram that appeared through the dark. The other women began to help me out of my clothes.

"What are you doing?!" I breathed, holding on tightly. "Stop!"

"Relax, Anna. It's all part of the ritual." Dextrine waved her hand at me carelessly.

"Then, tell me to do it." I almost snapped at her before starting to remove my own clothes. When I was done, one of the women hung a golden sequined chain on my waist and asked me to step into the pentagram.

"Here." Dextrine handed me a knife. "Sit on your knees. Cut both your palms while chanting, excita me, non possum surgere, ego nisi me ex nihilo facti sunt."

I take the knife slowly and hold it to my palm. For some reason, I am scared of the pain and do not continue. There is a sort of fog growing in the room that smells like incense but more intense.

"Take this." A woman appeared to my side, held the back of my head with one hand and a shot glass to my lips with the other. I sip it without hesitation. It burns my throat a little rougher than normal alcohol would, and it has a metallic tang to it. "It will help."

I turn back to the ritual. Slowly, I lower myself onto my knees and rest my butt on the soles of my feet. I feel naked, yes, but glad I'm at least facing the women with my back. I begin to chant slowly, "excita me, non possum surgere, ego nisi me ex nihilo facti sunt." While I run the blade against my hand, slicing through flesh. It doesn't hurt at first, for a strange reason, but it begins to sting quickly. I try to ignore it and cut my other palm as well. There is a small unclean bowl in front of me that I just notice. The insides are slightly caked dry with a thin dirty brown layer.

"Bleed into the bowl, child." Dextrine's voice sounds soothing to me, like a hymn, and the pain starts to fade out to numbness as I hold my hand over the bowl, clasping my hands together and squeezing them around.  

I felt elevated and dizzy without being nauseous. It felt quite amazing, to be frank. I begin to laugh uncontrollably and everyone joins in on me.

--

Bleed into the bowwwwwl

Haha!

Hello my tappers (my lovely Tap Train tappengers!) the ride is taking a déja vu trip through Don't TAP! lane. I hope you're ready for some nostalgic memories to flood through again!

For anyone wondering what that incantation during the ritual means, it's actually just the lyrics of Wake me Up by Evanescence which makes you wonder if I've done this before. The answer is, sadly, no.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope the following ones can make you squirm because I am quite the huge fan of gore and I think I can work something out for you if you like!

Looooong chapter but enjoy!

Toooooodtelisgs
-Iff~