by Kate Brian
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just after ten o'clock--it was as quiet as a tomb, and the middle--aged librarian had been forced to roust her from her study carrel and usher her out through the darkened stacks.
"I'm so sorry," Ariana said as the woman held open the heavy oak door for her. "I had no idea it had gotten so late."
"It's all right, Miss Covington," the woman said with a genuine smile. "It's nice to see such dedication on the first day. I'm going to keep my eye on you. I have a feeling you're going to go far."
From your lips to God's ears, Ariana thought. It was one of her mother's favorite phrases, and her heart panged as she recalled the southern lilt of her mom's voice.
"Thanks," she said. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
Ariana rushed down the steps to the cobblestone pathway that ran along the inner circle of campus. All the iron street lamps were aglow, and the benches and trees threw oddly shaped shadows across the grass. There wasn't another soul on the otherwise dark circle; the burbling fountain at the center of campus was the only source of sound. A breeze tickled the back of Ariana's neck and she felt an inexplicable finger of fear slide down her spine. She quickened her steps.
"Privilege House may have its perks, but it's definitely not conveniently located," she said aloud, hoping the sound of her own voice would soothe her nerves.
Suddenly, footsteps scuffled on the path behind her. Ariana's heart constricted as she whirled around, ready to face down Kaitlynn or Tahira or whoever else might be stalking her . . . but there was no one there. Another breeze tossed her long auburn hair back from her
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face. Ariana squinted into the relative darkness. Nothing. No moving shadows. Just the merrily bubbling fountain.
Ariana's phone beeped, scaring her heart into her throat. She whipped it out of her bag. There was a text from Lexa.
Where R U? De--stress dance party in our room stat!
Ariana took a breath. Lexa wanted to hang out. This was a good thing. She started walking again, a bit faster this time, telling herself she was simply late for a party. That was all. She wasn't in the least bit freaked by the--
Scuffle. Scuffle.
Arian's lungs tightened. She turned around again, this time walking even faster. She had taken two steps toward the outer circle of dorm buildings and the hill that towered beyond, when suddenly everything went dark.
Scuffle.
Ariana froze in her tracks. Every single light on campus had been extinguished. The street lamps, the office lights, the emergency lights over the doorways. She was surrounded by unrelenting darkness.
Blackout. It's just a blackout.
Another scuffle. Ariana took in a broken, terrified breath just as a coarse black bag was yanked over her face.
57
NEOPHYTES
"What's going on? Who are you? Where are you taking me?"Ariana was terrified, but she was not going to let whoever these people were see that. She asked her questions calmly, rationally, even as her heart tried to jackhammer its way through her ribs. There were at least two assailants. They pinned her arms to her sides as they hurried her across campus. Completely blinded by the black bag over her head, Ariana tripped on one of the irregular cobblestones and flew forward. She heard someone, a male someone, curse under his breath as he righted her. Other than that, no one said a word.
They were headed north, in the opposite direction from Wolcott Hall. Ariana was almost sure of it. Were they going toward the chapel? Or the underclassman dorms? The parking lot?
She got her answer a second later when they stopped abruptly and a strong hand pushed down on the top of her head, forcing her to
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bend. She was shoved awkwardly forward and her head banged into someone else's as her knees hit the back of a leather seat.
"Ow! Watch it!"
Kaitlynn. Ariana's whole body started to shake with fear. Kaitlynn was in the car. Was she a part of this? If she was, Ariana was going to kill her. Screw the consequences.
"What the hell is going on?" Ariana demanded.
Someone shoved her backward so she was sitting on the seat properly.
"A--Ana?" Kaitlynn's voice replied. It was muffled, much like her own. "Is that you?"
Ariana bit down on her tongue. She couldn't decide if Kaitlynn was playing her, or if she seriously couldn't see her.
"What the hell is going on, Lily?" Ariana asked pointedly.
The car door slammed.
"I don't know," Kaitlynn whispered, cuddling close to Ariana's side. "I was just heading upstairs from the gym when someone threw a bag over my head and dragged me here. Whoever it was, I scratched the crap out of his arm, but I couldn't take him blindfolded."
Ariana stopped breathing. Both she and Kaitlynn were being kidnapped by faceless sentries? There was only one explanation.
"Game over," she muttered.
"What? What do you mean?" Kaitlynn whispered.
"It's the FBI, obviously," Ariana replied. "They found out where we were somehow and they're taking us back."
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There was a moment of silence as Kaitlynn took this in. Outside the car, a few male voices spoke in low tones.
"No. Not possible. Why would they do it like this? Why not just come in with handcuffs and guns and all that crap?" Kaitlynn asked.
"Oh, I don't know, probably because this school is full of well--connected international billionaires," Ariana replied. "They probably want to keep it quiet. Cover it up so that all the congressmen and senators and kings and queens won't have to deal with everyone knowing their kids' high--security school was infiltrated by two escaped criminals," she said sarcastically.
One of the front doors opened and the car bounced as someone got in behind the wheel. Both Ariana and Kaitlynn fell silent, knowing better than to talk about anything until they knew exactly who they were dealing with. The car engine started, and they were off. Before long the car dipped off the paved road and bumped along some kind of rocky terrain. Suddenly, Ariana felt a hot, searing terror go through her. Were they taking her back to Lake Page? To the place where she'd murdered Briana Leigh and she and Kaitlynn had disposed of the body?
The drive couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes long, but it felt like an eternity to Ariana. When the car finally stopped, the driver did not get out. Instead, the doors on both sides of the backseat were flung open and a hand closed around Ariana's arm. It was small and feminine, but strong. The woman dragged Ariana out of the backseat and onto an uneven, pockmarked dirt path. Ariana tripped along, still unable to see, and wondered if the United States government was secretly running firing squads in rural Virginia.
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"Stop."
Ariana froze. She heard a crackle and sensed a warmth on her right side. Was that a fire? The woman turned her so that she was facing the flames, then let her go. For a moment, Ariana couldn't process this information. Should she make a move for the bag over her head? Try to run? But then, out of nowhere, the bag was torn free. Ariana's relieved lungs filled with oxygen and the heady scent of burning wood. To her left, Kaitlynn whirled around, as if ready for a fight, but Ariana didn't move. Before her was a raging fire, lit in the center of a clearing in otherwise dense woods. The tree line was marked off by a ring of thick, well--worn gravestones, each with a name etched into it, though Ariana couldn't make them out in the dim light. The fire pit was circumscribed by dozens of perfectly round, whitish--gray rocks.
No. Not stones, Ariana realized upon second glance. Skulls. Dozens of human skulls.
Standing on one side of the fire was a tall, broad figure dressed in full--on black, his face covered over by a black ski mask, his hands behind his back. On the other side was a smaller, more feminine person, dressed exactly the same. Each of them stood behind a gravestone. The guy's read lear. The girl's, miss temple.
Ariana's terror drained away as she took all of this in, replaced by an overwhelming rush of excitement. It was one of the secret societies.
It had to be. She wasn't going to be arrested. She was not going to be shot. She was, in fact, being tapped.
And so was Kaitlynn.
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"Okay, this is freaky. Even for the government," Kaitlynn said.
Ariana shot Kaitlynn a silencing glare and saw that she, Brigit, Tahira, and Allison were all standing in a line next to her.
So Tahira is not in the society. . . yet, Ariana thought. Interesting.
She looked around at the other gravestones nearby, each inscribed with a name from classic literature--Jay Gatsby, Elizabeth Bennett, Captain Ahab, and on and on. Both Lear and Miss Temple stood behind their stones. Did that mean the other members were standing behind theirs as well, in the trees, just out of sight? The very idea that she was surrounded by lurking secret society members, her every move being watched, made Ariana's heart pound.
"We are the Stone and Grave." The two figures spoke suddenly, in unison. "You have been brought here tonight as a mark of your potential. Now you must prove your worthiness to the brotherhood. Only the courageous of heart and the strong of mind should accept this challenge. Do you accept?"
"I do," Tahira and Brigit said quickly.
Ariana was still too exhilarated to formulate a thought.
"Speak up, neophytes!" one of the figures barked. "Do you accept this challenge?"
"I do!" All five of them answered this time.
"Very well."
Lear walked around his gravestone and took a step forward. He paced before the five girls, looking them up and down. Ariana stared at his eyes, trying to discern whether she had seen them before, but they were entirely unfamiliar. Disappointment welled inside her chest.
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She had believed Palmer was the president of the secret society, had assumed that he would be the one running this game.
"Stone and Grave is a hallowed institution," Lear began, the fire crackling behind him, giving him a menacing air. "We are about loyalty, humanity, bravery, selflessness, brotherhood. Our bonds are unbreakable. We rise as one, and as one we fall. Our membership runs deep in the veins of this country, in every university, every industry, every branch of government. As a member of Stone and Grave, your success in this world is guaranteed."
Ariana glanced over at Brigit, whose attention was trained on Lear. Her entire being hummed with hope and pride. This was exactly what she needed. The Stone and Grave was the final piece of the puzzle. Get in and she would achieve everything she wanted. Get in and her past was erased.
"Pledge your allegiance to Stone and Grave, and Stone and Grave will pledge its allegiance to you," Lear said, pausing in the center of the clearing. The fire hissed and popped as it consumed a tree branch. Lear brought his fists together in front of him, forming a circle with his arms. "Stone and Grave will celebrate you in times of prosperity, protect you in times of trouble, provide for you in times of need. All the brotherhood asks for is your unwavering loyalty."
God, this was perfect. Ariana couldn't have conjured up anything better herself. She wondered if the other girls were as giddy as she was, practically unable to stand still.
"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?"
Allison shoved a pine branch aside. "I don't know if we should be sharing tasks."
"She's right. I think I'll keep mine to myself, thanks," Kaitlynn said.
"What does yours say?" Brigit whispered to Ariana, leaning close.
"It's too dark out here. I can't make it out," Ariana replied.
"Here," Brigit said. "You can use this."
She lifted her wrist and pushed a few rubber bracelets away from her chunky watch. With a click of a button, the face illuminated big and bright. Ariana stopped walking, pulled out her card, and tilted the watch face toward it. There, in silver ink, was her task:
MAKE A SPECTACLE OF YOURSELF
Ariana's heart dove. "What? Are they kidding?"
Brigit snorted a laugh when she read it. "Mine says, 'Embarrass the crown prince of Jordan at the NoBash.'"
"But I thought--" Ariana paused, unsure how many of her theories and how much of her knowledge she should reveal. Then again, Brigit
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had obviously been tapped before. She had to know even more than Ariana did.
"You thought what?" Brigit asked as they speed walked to catch up with the others.
"I kind of thought Lexa was in Stone and Grave," Ariana whispered. Not to mention Palmer, whom she had assumed was president or leader or grand poobah or whatever they called the number one Stone and Graver. She couldn't believe he would set her up to embarrass herself. "Couldn't she have made sure it was something less . . . horrible?"
Brigit pressed her lips together in a knowing way that made Ariana's skin prickle. "Stone and Grave wants what it wants," she said cryptically, lifting her shoulders.
