Moses’ finger stopped as he met the high neckline of my dress. I panted, trying to breathe through my fear, when he said, “You see, brothers, her tainted soul pulls back from the Lord’s touch.”

And my heart fell. My heart fell at the look of determination in all the brothers’ stares. The determination to exorcize my sin.

I fought back a whimper as Brother Moses began to close in to my body, his tobacco smell filling my nose. His breath washed over my face as he reached around my waist and slowly pulled down the zipper on my dress.

In seconds my dress had hit the floor, along with my modesty. And I was bared to the Elders. Bare and shaking. Moses never allowed me to wear undergarments, a law I despised. He did not like to have to fight to take me.

Brother Gabriel stepped forward, and Brother Moses’ moved aside. I wanted to cover my body. I wanted to turn and flee, wanted to be left alone, but I fought the urge and remained utterly still.

These men had me under their control. I had always obeyed their every command.

Gabriel’s hand lifted, and he licked along his bottom lip as his fingers ran over my nipple. Tears filled my eyes at being touched so by the second in command to the Prophet, but I blinked them away, forcing myself to endure his exploration.

But that finger then began to move south, down to my most private area. As Gabriel’s finger pushed through my folds, a pained cry slipped from my lips. I could not stomach the feel of his touch. I wanted to hit his hand away, I wanted to tell him to stop. But I knew I did not have that much power.

And I would be punished further. I could not stand to be punished further.

Gabriel’s eyes flared as he rubbed his finger between my legs, and his face moved closer to mine. Just before his mouth met my ear, he thrust his finger deep within me, and I cried out in pain.

“I see Jezebel and Salome in your face, Magdalene. I see Satan’s impurity possessing your soul as clearly as it possessed theirs.” Leaning his head back, his eyes ran over my face and he groaned. “Those eyes, those lips, that hair. It is the curse of your family. The curse of Eve.”

I closed my eyes, breathing through my nose as his face moved back. Then with his hand on my arm, Gabriel spun me around and bent my torso over the table to the side, my breasts smacking on the wood. As my cheek hit the table, I felt him at my back as a blinding pain flashed over my face. My legs were kicked apart, and before I had time to prepare for his intrusion, he slammed inside me. A scream left my mouth, feeling like he was ripping me apart, but Gabriel’s grip only tightened on the back of my neck, forcing me to endure.

“Scream, Satan’s whore. Scream as we rid the evil from your soul,” Gabriel snarled as he built up speed, his fingernails digging into the nape of my neck.

I tried to block it all out, I tried to think of something else, but movement from the side caught my eye. The rest of the Elders were closing in. And at that minute I lost all hope. For I knew they were all to take me. All four were here to take me. One by one.

Tears streamed from my eyes as Gabriel roared out his release. Before I even had time to brace for what would come next, I was dragged to the wall by my already-bruised arm and my wrists were shackled on short chains that hung high from the exposed brick.

And this time Moses closed in. Because this was what Moses did. He took me on these shackles he treasured so much, and caused me endless hours of pain.

My arms ached as I fought the strength of the chains, but Moses simply lifted my legs, ignoring my struggle. Making sure I looked him in the eyes, he pushed forward, the red-hot agony causing me to see spots.

And he did not stop. He surged forward at an unrelenting pace, biting my skin, until I screamed for him to stop. Until I begged. He always wanted me to beg.

As he released his seed within me, he pulled back. My body weak and tired, I hung from the chains, the tips of my toes scraping against the ground. My head hung down toward my chest, the aching soreness between my legs too much to bear. Then my throbbing legs were lifted again and spread wide. Rolling my head to lift, I saw Brother Jacob’s face, just as he forced himself within me.

Only this time I did not scream.

I did not scream as they each took me repeatedly against the wall. As they each chained me down to the table and forced themselves on me again.

And it did not stop. These four men came back for me every night, to take me again and again and again, until I could not bear the touch of another.

Until I could not stand the sight of myself.

They made me bleed. They tortured my soul. They ripped through my sin, over and over and over—

“Maddie! No! Do not. Do not do this to yourself. Maddie!” I blinked into the darkness, my head clearing from my nightmare, to see Mae before me.

Her hand ran over my face, my head and my arms. “Maddie. Speak to me. You are sweating and shaking. Please, do not let those men win. Do not let the memories regain their hold on you. You have come so far.  Be strong. Fight them back.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words slipped out. My body trembled, and Mae held my face steady in her cupped hands. Searching my face, she said, “Please, Maddie. Speak to me. I need you to be strong for me.”

This time when I opened my mouth, I spoke from heart. As I knew only one person could calm me from my nightmare. Only one person could understand how this felt. And as I managed to speak, I managed to express what I needed most.

“Flame…” I whispered. “I… I need my Flame.”

Chapter Twenty

Prophet Cain

“Are you ready, Cain?”