MARIE TAKES MY HAND as we step through the corn. I feel the warmth of her skin against mine, like she’s just been lying in the sun. She looks back at me, a bittersweet smile curling the corners of her downturned mouth.
I pull out the stone hidden in the folds of my gown, and unravel the black silk ribbon.
Hearing the stalks rustling, I turn, thinking it’s Coronado walking toward me, but it’s not Coronado. Something unexpected grabs hold of my heart.
? ? ?
I felt myself splintering away from the memories, until I saw Dane’s face before me.
As I stood on the threshold of the sacred circle, one foot in, one foot out, Dane stared at me longingly. He opened his mouth to speak— “You promised you wouldn’t stop me,” I whispered.
Dane’s jaw clenched; he had a tortured look on his face.
I gazed into his eyes for what I feared could be the last time and a pang seized me. I swallowed all of the emotion threatening to take me over. It took nearly all of my strength to walk away from him.
As he let go of my hand, I stepped inside the circle, where I knew he couldn’t reach me.
I’d always said Dane’s eyes were so clear I could never tell exactly what color they were—but today, I could see they were blue.
As soon as the stalks closed in around me, I felt the memories taking hold of me once again, pulling me into the deepest, darkest place.
? ? ?
Marie glances back at me, her eyes glistening in the moonlight. “You found my ribbon.”
A wave of nausea rips through me, but I swallow the bile burning the back of my throat. “Great deeds require great sacrifice,” I whisper as I slip the ribbon around her throat.
Coiling the ends of the ribbon around my fist, I pull with all my might and bash her head against the hard earth.
As I bind her ankles with the corn-husk rope and drag her toward the chasm, she looks up at me, dazed and gasping, with tears streaming down her face. “I thought you loved me.”
I secure the end of the rope around a metal cleat embedded in the stone at the edge of the chasm and cradle her in my arms. “My sweet girl.” I brush golden hair away from her damp cheek. “You’ve betrayed me. But I’m giving you a second chance. Your blood will be the blood that brings me a vessel. One day, we’ll be together again, as you were once inside of me.”
“You’re mad.” Marie tries to raise her head, but it’s futile.
The golden blade throbs in my hand.
I tighten my grip and brace her against my breast as I slit the palm of her hand.
Warm blood spills, seeping into the earth, penetrating the vines, worming its way into the deepest roots.
I kiss the tremulous breath rattling on her lips.
“A mother’s love is the greatest love of all.” I pull the ribbon from her throat and nudge her body over the edge.
40
DESCENT
I CAME TO, lying in the sacred circle, my face hanging over the edge of the crevice. The feeling of loss so heavy I could hardly lift my head.
I peered through my disheveled hair to see the weighted rope tied to a metal cleat embedded in the rock ledge.
I grabbed onto it. The grating sound of the braided cornhusks twisting in my hands, the rough texture against my skin, made me want to scream.
I pulled and pulled until I reached the end—where a skeleton dangled from the end of the rope. Clasping the bones to my chest, I rocked back and forth. “Marie,” I whispered.
All this time I thought it was Coronado dragging Marie through the corn. But it had always been Katia. She sacrificed her own daughter to the Dark Spirit in order to bring Alonso back. Marie betrayed her by telling Coronado where he could find them on the summer solstice, but she was just a girl in love. She didn’t understand. Is this what love did to you? Turned you into a victim? Or a monster?
The stalks rustled on the perimeter of the circle. Panicked, I dropped Marie’s bones into the chasm and crouched, adrenaline blasting, straining to catch a glimpse of what was out there in the corn, when something icy curled around my ankle and yanked me over the edge.
My limbs flailed wildly as I scrambled for purchase. When I finally made contact with something that felt like vines, I latched on to them with everything I had. My body whipped to a stop, bashing me into the jagged rock. Entwining my legs around my newfound tether, I had started to climb, inching my way toward the surface, when a scattering of rocks sounded beneath me.
Hoping it was just my imagination, I squeezed my eyes shut, listening closely.
The rock crumbled so close to me this time, I forgot how to breathe.
Then something brushed my hair and I freaked. “Who’s there?” I screamed as I frantically swiped the air around me. I lost my grip on the rope and swung backward.
Thankfully, the root caught my leg, but now I hung upside down, completely inverted—just like Marie.
I tried not to imagine her pain. How long it must have taken for death to come. She might’ve cried out for days.
I took in a shuddering breath—the grotesque scent of death was in the air—algae, decay, sour dirt, and a musky odor that seeped into my pores.