“Disciplinarians, you may begin.”
A sharp crack like gunfire made her flinch. The first blow took her breath away, the shock of pain so all-encompassing that her mind shut down as it tried to process what it should do. The streak of vicious fire dripped hot blood down her chilled skin.
The second made her scream into the rope gag, her voice muffled to silence over the cracks of dual whips.
By the fifth, her voice was gone. She could only push out soft little whines as the whips sliced her back.
The tenth curled around her ribs, catching the underside of her breast. Her knees gave way, forcing her to hang from her wrists. The sudden ache in her shoulders pulled her from her agonized stupor and she focused on that pain.
She could control the discomfort in her shoulders. If she could manage to get her feet under her, it would ease. But she didn’t. Instead she concentrated on her arms. They were strong, she could lift heavy baskets of groceries and carry them for blocks through the city.
And her hands. Still pure, but nerveless from cold and the shackles holding her upright. She clenched her fists, her short nails biting into her palms.
The whips continued to fall, ravaging her back, her thighs. Catching the tender skin of her armpits with excruciating bites. She let her body hang from her strong shoulders, sinking deep into that space of peace between blows. Until they finally stopped.
Someone unchained her and she fell heavily to the stage, her eyes closed as she tried to breathe through a nose clogged with tears. The Disciplinarians pulled her to her feet and dragged her through the crowd.
Ruth heard their pitying, judgmental murmurs as she stumbled past, but tuned them out as the Disciplinarians escorted her to a black van. Without replacing her veil or removing the rope between her teeth, they chained her hands in front of her, then lifted her into the windowless cargo area.
The Disciplinarians were surprisingly gentle as they laid her down on a pallet and covered her with a blanket before leaving. The one who had punched her climbed out, leaving the one with the kind eyes behind.
Leaning close, he adjusted her blanket and whispered, “Hold fast to your faith, Ruth Tyler. Keep the bear in front of you and beware the red-eyed serpent.”
He jumped out and slammed the doors shut, leaving her in darkness. A scant second later, the vehicle rumbled to life and drove away.
The Disciplinarian’s words were very wise, and good advice for any god-fearing citizen of Leviticus City. Yet she didn’t understand what he’d meant about the bear. The large predators had gone extinct years before she was born. Ruth wondered if he’d given her some message, instead of an admonishment to keep to the righteous path.
Chapter 5
Disparage not the Lord’s word, for it is your law.
Commandments 1:5
The van drove for a very long time. To keep track, Ruth tried to count the pulse beat in her aching and bloody back, but soon gave it up. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep.
Rest evaded her as she tried to puzzle through the Disciplinarian’s cryptic words. What had he meant? She could certainly understand keeping a bear at a distance; she’d heard they’d been fearsome creatures. Why would she want to follow one?
Her head pounded from dehydration and stress. Her body hurt too badly to allow much movement, but she finally settled into a position that wasn’t quite so agonizing. A flogging was an excellent way to make her cease all thought of her sin cavern.
Six hundred lashes would have killed her. Had Servant Noah suggested it to make her thankful for what she’d gotten? No, he and Servant Abraham had wanted that punishment and it would have happened if Reverend Gabriel hadn’t argued against it.
Ruth sent up a silent prayer for Reverend Gabriel. If not for him, she’d…
She cut the thought off as the van turned and drove over a road much rougher than before. The motion jostled her and she tightened her teeth on the rope in her mouth to hold back her cries of pain.
They must have gone beyond the walls. The roads in Leviticus City were perfectly maintained concrete, mended and cared for as needed. But outside the city walls was wasteland.
Everyone knew that to go beyond the sanctuary of Leviticus City was tantamount to giving one’s soul to Lucifer, and meant almost certain death from the Godless.
Unless they’d driven in circles around the city, she was most assuredly in the Outworld. Ruth let out a soft whine, more frightened by the thought of being outside the city than she had been of her flogging.
She shook her aching head. No, she would have to overcome her fear. Despite Mother Judith’s words, the Servants would never allow her back. And hadn’t she promised herself she’d bring the Lord’s Word to the Godless?
Had they driven her to the mines? Reverend Gabriel hadn’t said what her penance would be, but she didn’t think they’d gone that far. Although she wished she could see outside, maybe it was better that she didn’t. Even if the mines were her destination, she wouldn’t know until they pushed her into the tunnels.
The van stopped, sending her skidding forward a few inches, and the wounds on her back sang at the sudden movement. She heard a screech of metal and then a slam. Huddling into her thin blanket, she prayed, sure they’d driven her to the mines.
There was a click and the van door opened, spilling light into the cargo area. Ruth slammed her eyes shut at the glare. Someone climbed in and laid a gentle hand on her head.
“Poor thing,” a woman’s voice whispered. “We’ll get you cleaned up, and you’ll feel better in no time.”
The woman untied the rope and Ruth let it fall from her mouth with a whispered word of thanks as the woman removed the shackles from her ankles.
Helping her sit up, the woman tugged the red veil from Ruth’s face and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “I’m Salome,” she said, working at the cuffs on Ruth’s wrists. “Aside from your back and feet, are you injured?”
Salome was very beautiful, but painted like a fallen woman. Her lips were red like berries, and shadow darkened her eyelids, emphasizing wide blue eyes. She had long dark hair, curling around her face in soft waves.
Ruth shook her head, then whispered, “Where am I”
Salome stroked a loose tendril of hair out of Ruth’s face and smiled. “Welcome to Purgatory.”
“Is this the mines?” Ruth asked. She was in a large garage. Electric lights turned the cavernous space orange. There were other vehicles, aside from the van, including several motorcycles and a large open bed truck with slatted sides. She’d never seen so many powered modes of transport in one place before.
“No, but after you’re well, you’ll work very hard to gain redemption.” Grimacing, Salome added, “It just won’t be quite so dirty.”
“Is it Purgatory like in the Bible?” Ruth asked, climbing slowly from the van. She tried to stand, wincing when her torn feet touched the concrete floor. “What will my penance be?”
“No need to worry about that now, dear.” Salome helped her to sit on the edge of the van floor, then hurried away. She returned quickly with a wheelchair.
With a sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to walk on her sore feet, Ruth settled into the chair and let Salome push it through a metal door. The heat struck her immediately. Warm air buffeted her face as the door closed behind them, making her suck in a surprised breath.
In Leviticus City, heat was doled out sparingly unless someone was old or sick. Healthy people had no need for excessive warmth. In Purgatory, it was warm enough to be comfortable in just a nightgown. Or nothing at all.
Ruth shivered, realizing it meant she was nearer to the flames of Hell than she’d anticipated. Maybe the heat was a reminder of how close she’d fallen to the edge of the abyss of damnation.
The wheels on the chair were silent on thick burgundy carpet, and the walls were paneled with intricately carved wood panels. As Salome wheeled her under a lighted sconce, Ruth gasped.
People fornicated in those carvings. In t
he one lesson she’d had about what to expect from her husband, she was told the woman would lie on her back and be covered head to toe, with only a small opening to allow her husband access to her sin cavern when he chose to give her a child.
These people were naked and engaged in sinful congress. When she came to a carving of two men, she shut her eyes tightly and lowered her head.
Salome laughed softly and patted her shoulder. “You’ll get used to it soon enough, little one.”
Keeping her eyes firmly closed, Ruth asked, “Is it like that everywhere?”
“No, only in the public areas, but I suggest you open your eyes so you can learn where you’re going. You’ll be expected to find your way around on your own,” Salome replied.
“Would it be a worse sin to see those carvings again?”
Salome stopped the wheelchair at a plain wooden door and touched Ruth’s jaw. “Open your eyes and look at me,” she ordered.
Ruth obeyed, blinking up at the stern expression on Salome’s face. Had she already committed a sin? She opened her mouth to apologize, but Salome cut her off.
“I suggest you put away your notions of what’s sinful or not. It won’t help you here.”
“I don’t understand,” Ruth said miserably. “I don’t see how I can be redeemed when I’m surrounded by so much sin!”
“Oh, little one.” Salome sighed and crouched in front of the wheelchair. “The definition of sin is subjective. What you see as sin is very different from my perspective.” Standing, she tugged at Ruth’s braid and smiled. “There will be time enough for that conversation after you’re well.”
Salome wheeled her into a stark white hospital room that was worlds away from the small neighborhood clinic near her apartment. This room had machines, and a bed with rails. Everything was pristine and looked new, but how was that possible when medical equipment hadn’t been manufactured in a generation or more?
An older man with a shock of blond hair like straw and a wide smile bustled in after Salome. Although bent and stooped a bit with age, his teeth were sound and his hands were smooth and unbent by arthritis.
He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Hello, Ruth. I’m Dr. Lewis, and I’ll be helping you get better. Can you get up on the bed by yourself, or do you need help?”
“I can do it,” Ruth whispered. Trying to keep the blanket wrapped around her sinful body, she pushed herself to her feet and limped a few steps to the bed. Using one hand, she tried to climb up, but the whip cuts on her back protested every movement. Her knees buckled at the pain, but Dr. Lewis caught her and helped her lie down on her side.
“There we go, sweetheart,” he said, his voice soft and kind. “I’m going to give you something for the pain, and when you wake up, you’ll be good as new.”
“But the pain is part of my penance,” she protested. “Please don’t!”
Turning to Salome, he asked, “Are all Leviticus City women this stubborn?”
“Yes,” she replied sourly. “But it needs to be done before…”
He grunted and Ruth felt a sharp pinch of pain in the meat of her hip. Warmth spread through her body, the sensation pleasant but unwelcome. She felt languorous and soft, like she was floating on a cloud of goodness. Strangely, it smelled like oranges. The scent reminded her of the Disciplinarian with green eyes, and the Devil’s Doorbell between her thighs chimed out a peal of depravity.
Chapter 6
And so, a woman shall be given unto you. You will take her in hand, permitting no sin to sully her purity. And she shall be your wife, helpmeet, and mother of your sons and daughters.
Congress 4:1
Awareness came slow to Ruth. It started with the sensation of feather-soft cotton against her bare skin. She’d never felt such decadence. Warm and soothing, the fabric slid against flesh that didn’t hurt.
Reaching back to run a hand along her thigh, she found nothing but a few slightly raised scars. And for the first time since she was a child, her hair was loose. No braid pulled at her scalp.
“Welcome back, Ruth,” a man’s voice said. It was low and husky, and she thought she ought to recognize it.
“I didn’t go anywhere,” she muttered, burying her face into a soft pillow smelling of lavender.
The man laughed, and she opened her eyes and smiled at the warm sound. Turning her head, she gasped in shock and struggled to stand and preserve her modesty at the same time.
To her horror, every bit of her body hair had been removed, even the sparse curls guarding her sin cavern. She looked like she had before Eve’s curse had befallen her.
And there was something glittering between her legs. A shiny bit of metal decorated the thin fold of skin over that sinful place, and it touched the Devil’s Doorbell every time she moved.
Who had violated her so thoroughly, and why? She only knew that she must never let the Servants see her shame.
“Reverend Gabriel,” she stammered, feeling heat rise in her face as she clutched the sheets to her bare chest. “Please forgive me.”
He waved a hand and dragged a chair close to the bed. Turning it, he straddled the seat and rested his arms on the back. “Why should I forgive you when you haven’t done anything wrong, sweet girl?”
“But I’m here for penance,” she whispered. “And I’ve already sinned so badly.”
Although the smile never left his face, his eyes grew hard. “Whose sin? Yours? Or what you’ve been told is a sin?”
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“All will be explained in time,” he replied. He held out a hand. “Now, let’s get you up. I have lunch waiting for us.”
“Yes, sir. May I have clothes?”
“Of course.” He stood and went to a closet, pulling out a red dress. It was long and draped over his arm like it was made of water, so different from the stiff, unadorned fabric she was used to.
Returning to her, he gave the sheet a tug. “Let go, sweetheart,” he ordered. Though his voice was gentle, there was no mistaking the command.
Letting out a whine of shame, Ruth obeyed, letting him take the sheet from her.
He drew a finger down her breastbone, his touch gentle but burning like fire as he stroked downward to the piece of metal set above her sin cavern. Lightning struck when he touched it, making her whole body spasm in pained pleasure.
Nothing had ever felt like that. The six hundred and forty-two times she’d rubbed that place against her bedding were as nothing compared to the conflagration of sensation elicited by that single glancing touch she should never have known.
“Lovely,” he murmured. “You’re a vision, little Ruth.”
Choking back a sob, she lifted her arms and let him pull the dress over her head. She didn’t dare ask for underwear, knowing the concealing garment wouldn’t be offered.
The color made her nauseous; it reminded her too much of the red veil marking her shame. It hugged her body too closely and revealed her arms and chest, covering only the lower part of her breasts. Yet it was comfortable and cool, so different from the stiff white cotton and wool she’d worn for most of her life.
Kneeling, he eased her feet into soft slippers lined with something fuzzy that felt tickly and warm. Ruth wondered if Reverend Gabriel was trying to tempt her into even greater sin, but couldn’t bring herself to disobey.
He stood, then brushed hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “That’s better. I like your hair free.”
She welcomed the touch of the soft shawl he laid over her shoulders, accepting the covering gratefully. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he led her to the door and back down the hallway. The carved panels were still the same. She tried not to look at them, but her eyes had different ideas.
They passed by a woman on all fours. She had a man’s member in her mouth while another used her sin cavern like an animal. Another held the image of two women.
She stopped cold at a third carved panel, her breath catching in her throat. A woman straddled a man’s lap, h
er hands sunk in his long hair. Their foreheads touched as she rode him.
Ruth had expected pain or fear on the woman’s face, and an expression of conquest on that of the man. But it wasn’t. He looked at her adoringly, his hands soft on her cheeks. The woman’s lips were parted and her joy was transcendent.
Her inner flesh clenched at the sight and tears welled in her eyes. They looked so beautiful, their love so freely shared. But it was sin, wasn’t it? It was a crime against the Lord to enjoy congress.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Reverend Gabriel asked softly. “Sharing their love with each other like that. Quite stops your heart, doesn’t it?”
She shook her head and let him lead her on, but it was too late for her. Her eyes had been opened.
He stopped her in front of the two men she’d seen before. “What do you think about them?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. But she said an untruth and sinned yet again. The two men in the carving looked at each other with love, their regard almost as palpable as the first carving she viewed.
It wasn’t sacrilegious. “How can it be sin when they’re so joyous?” she asked.
“Is love a sin? Is to love someone, no matter the gender, ever a crime against a god who admonished his children to love one another?” Reverend Gabriel stroked her cheek. “Come,” he said, “we’ll talk more about this after lunch.”
She nodded and let him lead her on. She said nothing, but looked at the carvings with a new understanding. Perhaps they were depraved, yet hadn’t the Lord said to love? The carvings showed love. There was only joy, pure and sweet, even in the most debauched image.
They reached a metal door, and Reverend Gabriel opened it to reveal a patio choked with plants. It wasn’t fenced or gated, and massive trees surrounded it. Her feet stalled in the doorway, and she backed away.
Outside meant the Outworld. Meant the Godless, and the wasteland. And death.
“If the Lord’s word lied to you about love,” Reverend Gabriel asked softly, “do you think it might have lied about what’s outside Leviticus City?”
Demon Lust Page 13
