{Little Rock, Arkansas | Cult of Night}

Matt hated this job. Every night they went out and gathered people for Nox’s cause. Lucy by spirited sermon. Matt by forcible extraction.

The willing recruits varied in age, gender, and ethnicity. Each with the same look of relief in their eyes. The apocalypse sucked and CoN offered a sweet deal, but was it worth their soul? Did Matt even believe in such a thing?

As he gathered another underage white girl at Justice Lee’s behest, Matt hoped he didn’t because by now his soul was black. Wrangling her into the back of the truck, he ignored her struggles, her screams, and the cries of her parents. Before Matt closed the door on the transport, she clutched his wrist and bore into him with wide eyes.

She said, “Please, don’t let them take me away.”

Matt washed away the memory of the lascivious gleam in Lee’s eyes as he requested another one. Fucking pedophile.

He glanced at the driver’s side mirror. The burly man watched Matt with mad intensity. Careful not to squeeze too tight, he removed her hand. As low as he dared, he muttered, “Focus on surviving. It will get better, soon.” Matt shut the door on her whimpers and cries and added them to the blight on his soul.

That was an hour ago.

Now, they pulled the convoy into the facility. As always, Justice Lee opened the door for Lucy. And per usual, he made no attempt to hide the fall of his gaze to her exposed skin. ‘Robes’ implied a garment leaving much to the imagination. Lucy’s did not.

Familiar with this ritual, Lucy expertly deflected Lee’s attentions with talks of their successful outing. Professional actress, that one. She absorbed all the cult lore and spouted it as rhetoric during the gatherings with fervor and elegance beyond her years and the flimsy education J. A. Fair had provided her.

Lucy had surprised Matt with her zeal. The first day, he recalled feeling impressed by her. Sometime later, he caught a shine in her blue eyes and credence in her voice that left him more disconcerted than anything. After everything she’d tolerated from Justin, was she susceptible to CoN’s manipulation tactics?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Record numbers recruited every day,” Lee doted on Lucy.

She beamed at him.

Matt ignored the urge to roll his eyes as he hauled supplies out of the truck.

Justice Lee said, “You’ve surpassed the ranking Promoters across the world. I’m so proud—”

The sky crackled and sparked. An image stretched across the clouds. Every single member dropped their tasks, fell to their knees, and stared up at the display.

Nox addressed a crowd the size of Arkansas’ population on a foreign planet. “Celindria at last.” He handled some girl roughly around as she collapsed to her knees.

Matt stared at the screen. His brain stuttered and whirred, unwilling to compute.

The King of Cinder continued, “The Traitor Prince is dead.”

That was bad news for the cause and the people of earth. What the hell would they do without that Icarus? For not the first time in his life, Matt wished he could experience emotions as others did. Xelan deserved mourning.

Nox wasn’t finished. “I shall unseat the throne of Earth and take upon the throne of Cinder my spoils of war.”

Only then did Matt recognize the girl as the Night King threw her on his throne. The direction of this demonstration grew more apparent and less tolerable.

Don’t swallow. Don’t clench. Don’t wince. Show no sign of distress.

Matt shifted his eyes away without moving his head. Rayne deserved better than this. What did her capture and Xelan’s death mean for the war? Were the others captured as well? What could he do to help, now?

A flash caught Matt’s eye. He glanced at Lucy. She stared at the screen, enraptured while her lips blossomed into a wide smile. By the time the missive ended, she vibrated with energy. Actually bounced with it.

Lucy spoke first, “This is a glorious conquest on behalf of our grand leader.” The crowd cheered before she continued, “A celebration is in order the likes of which our cause has never seen! We hid our ranks during the unenlightened times. Here. Now. We can pay proper tribute to His accomplishments! And to the whore’s defeat!”

Justice Lee and the surrounding members cheered and pumped their fists in the air. Lucy carried on about the next Propagation Cycle and a gathering of the CoN groups across the country.

How could Lucy watch what happened to Rayne and smile? Even Matt wasn’t that twisted.

Lost.

He’d lost Lucy to CoN’s persuasion and their words. The impressionable young woman with a history of post-traumatic stress syndrome wasn’t strong enough to withstand the horrible tortures of initiation and the daily drivel of indoctrination.

Matt couldn’t protect her. He resigned himself to losing her. When he’d take the base according to plan, he’d grant her one opportunity to come back with him.

If Lucy denied it, then Matt would kill her painlessly. It was the least he could do.