"Sister?" he said, glancing over his shoulder.
Miss Temple stepped forward. She cleared her throat before she
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spoke. "Each of you has been deemed a potential by the brotherhood, but our membership is exclusive and finite." She had a high voice. Unusually high. And nasal. As if she was trying to disguise what she really sounded like. "We have only four open spots for female neophytes. Four spots, five of you. Therefore, you each must complete a task in order to prove your worthiness to the brotherhood. "
As she spoke, Lear walked down the line of neophytes, handing each of them a small black envelope. Ariana was breathless with anticipation and already her mind was trying to rank her chances against the other neophytes. Certainly she could prove herself more worthy than Allison and Tahira. And even Brigit, if she was being honest. She was stronger than any of them. Smarter. Quicker. A survivor. Whatever task the secret society had chosen for her, she was going to master it.
But Kaitlynn was a survivor, too. Ariana was certain the girl would be in Stone and Grave by the time this was over. The very thought of this--the thought of being tied to Kaitlynn for life--made Ariana's stomach revolt. She had to swallow back the bile that rose up in her throat.
"You must complete these tasks by the second Sunday of September to be considered for membership, but merely completing them will not guarantee your acceptance," Lear stated. "The brotherhood will be watching you. If you try to take the easy way out, we will know. If your execution lacks creativity, we will know. It's not just about the end result, it's about the means."
The girl stepped forward again. "We will meet again on that
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Sunday, and your work will be evaluated. If you have not completed your task by then, you will automatically be blackballed. If you have not completed your task in a way that is satisfactory to the brotherhood, you will also be blackballed." The fire waved behind her, casting her body in shadow. "Stone and Grave does not tap seniors, which means this is your final chance to impress the brotherhood," she said, looking right at Brigit and Tahira. Both of them simply stared back, still as stone.
Ariana blinked. She remembered what Lexa had said that day in the library. That it was Brigit's last chance to get into the society, implying that she had been tapped before and had failed. Had the same happened with Tahira?
"You are not to show these cards to anyone," Lear intoned, stepping back into line with his counterpart. Ariana was certain she heard swishing behind her. Footfalls behind the trees. Snapping branches. The other members were out there watching. She was certain of it. And now they were on the move. "You are not to share what you've heard here tonight. You are not to speak of this night to anyone outside your circle of five. Betrayal is a sin that is not taken lightly by the brotherhood. If you turn your back on Stone and Grave, if you malign Stone and Grave, if you allow civilians to learn the secrets of Stone and Grave, you will be dealt with. We take these crimes seriously. Dead seriously."
Ariana's throat closed over. She remembered how freaked Lexa had been that day when she'd slipped and told Ariana about the society. What, exactly, did he mean by "dealt with"? Ariana glanced around at
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Kaitlynn, Brigit, Tahira, and Allison, all of whom looked as uncertain as Ariana felt.
"Your time to impress the brotherhood starts now," Miss Temple said.
Then she and Lear snuffed out the fire, pitching the clearing into darkness. The movement in the trees intensified for a moment, and then all was silent. Ariana's breath came short and shallow. She couldn't see a thing.
"We suggest you start walking before the black bears get a whiff of you." Lear's voice carried back to them through the night. "Good luck!"
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TREK
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Allison demanded, her German accent thicker than usual, probably due to panic."This is a well--worn path," Kaitlynn pointed out for the tenth time. "And this is definitely the direction we came in from."
"Doesn't seem like much of a path to me. It's too narrow," Tahira said with a sniff. Her high heels kept sinking into the soft earth, so she was lagging behind. "And how do you know which direction we came from? We were all blindfolded."
Ariana and Brigit, who were walking side by side in the dark, occasionally grabbing each others hands when they stumbled or tripped, shot one another an amused look. Tahira was being Tahira. As always.
"If you want to go off on your own, I'm not stopping you," Kaitlynn replied. "Woods, meet Tahira; Tahira, meet the woods. Go ahead."
Tahira crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it."
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Kaitlynn paused and dropped her arms. "I'm sorry, T, okay? It's just I want to get back to campus and get started on my task just like you do. So let's just work together."
Ariana smirked. She kn
ew that Kaitlynn would have loved to tear into Tahira, but Lillian couldn't turn Tahira into an enemy, just in case she needed her later.
"Fine," Tahira said finally, walking ahead, her ankles wobbling. "What is your task anyway?"