Chapter 1 | CEREMONY OF FIRE

CHAPTER 1

Avalon. The city of purity. The birthplace of heroes. Nothing hides in the glass city. Except truth.

Sage leaned against the window, the morning sun igniting the skyline. Elegant skyscrapers rose, their mirrored surfaces reflecting a city without flaws. His gaze settled on an unassuming building where citizens faced judgment by fire — Avalon’s most ruthless tradition.

He closed the curtains as a sleek drone hovered into the room, casting the ceremony onto the wall.

Two figures cloaked in black strapped Jennifer Adams into a throne-like chair. She tested the restraints; they were solid.

A Fire Crown of gold descended from the ceiling on twin gilt rods and crowned her. Its intricate design caught the light: rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. At its center, the Siberian amethyst pulsed with a reddish-purple glow, deep violet, nearly black.

It flared, and Sage tilted his head, captivated by its silent appraisal of the ineffable. He’d never seen Fire Crown respond like that before. Perhaps it was a good omen for Ms. Adams.

Jennifer raised her head, and the filaments threaded fire into her spine. The Crown would only be removed in one of two ways: by absolution or death.

She looked like a dazzling sacrifice to some wondrous god.

Sage’s pulse raced with anticipation.

The deep voice of Caleb the Messenger resonated from the drone’s projection. “The consequence of your actions will either acquit or condemn you by Fire Crown. Do you have any words?”

Jennifer cleared her throat. “I could no longer run and confessed everything. I hid nothing, not even my shame.”

The drone’s projection flickered, dissolving from the ceremony into a newsroom where two anchors leaned forward, captivated by Jennifer’s commanding speech.

“She’s paraphrasing the Old Testament,” the male anchor noted.

“I believe it’s in the Living Testament, too,” the female anchor replied.

The Crown’s glow intensified, the gemstones shifting from cool blues to warming gold and reds. Jennifer’s voice filled Sage’s room, fervor rising.

“You hid me from harm! You sang victory over me! You rose like a wall of fire!”

Her body glowed, a milky-rose hue churning beneath the skin.

Urgency sharpened Jennifer’s voice. “And You forgave me! I beg all who call themselves righteous: seek Him before the floodwaters of judgment arise!”

But Jennifer was beyond saving.

She lifted a shackled, trembling hand. Flesh peeled from the bone. Terror flickered in her eyes.

“What’s… happening?”

Fire tore through her arms. Sage couldn’t look away, caught between awe and dread as she fought the inevitable. He knew she felt no pain, but it was agonizing to watch.

“Deliver me from this place for a higher purpose!” Jennifer’s voice cracked with desperation. “To experience joy! To reap the rewards of my past efforts! I’ve suffered from my wrongs, but now I embrace what I’ve done right! I welcome the good coming into my life. It’s harvest time!”

She was burning alive.

Then Jennifer stopped struggling. She knew there was no escape.

A raw, defiant rage overtook her, eyes locked onto the audience beyond the screen. Her voice blistered through the flames.

“Don’t judge me, judge yourselves! Lily of the Revolution is here! You’re living a lie! Every one of you is a brood of snakes, you fuck—”

Her throat burned open, her words scrambled in a guttural hiss.

BREAKING NEWS flashed on the screen. In golden calligraphy, the words appeared:

Psalm 32:5 stricken from the Living Testament.

“She could have chosen her verses more carefully,” the glib male anchor said.

“Perhaps she should have said, ‘Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.’”

“That’s a good one,” the male newscaster agreed.

“An ignoble end for Jennifer Adams, once one of our finest actresses.”

“Mm-hm.”

Sage turned away from the projection, his fingers touching his spine where Fire Crown would one day judge him. But not now.

His Rite of Sacrifice came first — the ritual where he would be forced to kill what he loved most.

∞

Ceremony of Fire by C. D. Lawrence

Excerpt for promotional purposes