“I’m sorry,” Kaylie said. “I forget that other people might not know about Eden. Let me explain it as best I can. She is Curtis Lott, the Mother of Eden. Eden is a group of people who live an exalted life, close to the land, even closer to God, by simply being in Curtis’s presence. Curtis is God’s representative on earth. She was chosen from immaculate conception, as all the leaders of Eden are. They spring from their mother’s wombs with the knowledge of the universe, and it’s their divine duty to share this with the people who can hear the truth.
“Curtis is the fifth Mother of Eden on this earth. There have been many others in many worlds. Their sign, the triskele—you did the autopsy on Doug, I saw you turn him and see the tattoo—is the sacred mark, one given by the grace of God, and all the members of Eden have one. It’s a great honor. For each bit of the tattoo, a member of Eden gives their blood to be mixed into the ink and shares a truth they have learned while their section is being done. So you’re both marked and enlightened, and it means everyone is one with the other. There is no self-actualization once you’ve been marked. You are the collective conscience, and you think, do, say, wear and act the way Curtis decrees, because this is what God wants for you. It is a very painful but fulfilling experience, or so I’ve been told. For me, it was just painful.”
“May we see it? Your tattoo?”
Her face grew tight. Then she shrugged, turned and lifted her shirt. Her back was covered in intricate marks. Just like Doug Matcliff’s.
Seeing the tattoo in real life, on a living body, knowing about the blood in the ink—Sam was both fascinated and horrified. The triskele seemed to be alive, moving and flowing with Kaylie’s every move. It rippled as her muscles contracted under her fair skin. Sam resisted an urge to touch it, to feel it coiling under her fingers like a snake.
“They did all this in a single night?”
Kaylie pulled her shirt down. “Yes. It is their way. There is a second ceremony, and a final piece of the mark put into place, when you become. I am missing the centerpiece because Doug got me out before I was made an official sacrosanct. Those are the women of Eden. Women are sacred, and Curtis’s purpose on this earth is to see them glorified. But few are worthy of this honor. That’s why there were never more than fifteen sacrosancts at a time.”
Xander was taking notes so Sam could continue coaxing the story from their surprise guest.
“And Adrian was one of the marked?”
“He was hers. Every leader of Eden has a fiery sword, a man who does their bidding, who fathers the pods, who metes out punishment and rewards. He is to be feared and respected and treated as a god second only to Curtis. She is his only master, but he is our Great Father.”
“Pods? Do you mean children?”
Kaylie looked puzzled for a moment. “Yes.”
“Oh. Okay. So Adrian is the father of them all?”
“Yes, that’s it exactly. He is the Father, and Curtis is the Mother. All things have their opposite—the sun and the moon, the sky and the earth, fire and water, wind and soil. The Father and the Mother are the lifeblood of Eden. Adrian would do anything for Curtis.” She shuddered again. “Anything.”
“Were there other men in Eden besides Adrian?”
“Yes, but they had no liberties. Adrian was the one who came to the women. The men—there were four or five when I was there—are solely laborers, guards. Despite God’s great gift to the women, the divine ability to procreate, there were still a few things the men could be used for. It was a farm, and there are aspects to it that needed brute strength instead of delicacy. Plus, when the women were full of God’s gift, they couldn’t work in the fields, so the men took care of that, too.”
“Where did Doug fit in to all of this?”
She smiled. “Adrian brought him to the fold. He was good and kind and not like the others. He was special to Curtis, because he knew things from the outside no one had ever heard of. He knew his way around the weapons they had, too.”
Xander stopped writing. “What weapons?”
“Guns. Lots of them.”
“Handguns, rifles, shotguns?”
“M-4s, AR-15s mostly, though I haven’t been there in many years, so they may be using something different now. Curtis couldn’t take the chance of something bad happening to Eden. They are a peaceful group in her mind, but there is always room for misinterpretation. After Doug came, the men were also used for the patrols. Real security. Doug taught them the proper way to use the guns, how to load them and care for them, to take them apart and put them together with their eyes closed. He was very valuable to the group. Very valuable. So much so Curtis sometimes talked to him alone. It made Adrian very mad. He was very possessive of Curtis.”
“Why did you leave? Why did Doug take you, I should say?”
“Oh.” She blushed, a ripe red starting on her throat and rapidly moving upward. “Can he leave?”