Ritual Sins Read Online Free PDF Page B

wasn’t a man who crowded his audience, who used physical intimidation to gain his power. He didn’t need to. He was several feet away from her in the empty hallway, seemingly relaxed, at ease, almost ethereal. “Ah, Rachel,” he said, “you have so very much to learn from us. I’m glad you didn’t wait too long to visit.”
    “Learn from you?”
    “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To learn everything you can about the Foundation of Being? You want to know our ways, our philosophy, follow our teachings for a while. Don’t you?”
    That was about the last thing Rachel had in mind, but if he was so blindly egocentric to thinkso, then she wasn’t about to enlighten him. “Of course,” she said.
    “I know perfectly well the only reason you’d want to learn our ways is to destroy us,” Luke continued in the same calm voice, leaning against the stucco wall. “That’s a risk that Catherine and the Grandfathers are completely willing to take.”
    “I don’t want to destroy anyone!” she protested, looking at the man she wanted to bring down.
    “Then why are you here?” The question was simple and unanswerable, except with a lie.
    Rachel knew how to lie when the situation called for it, and she could be very convincing. After all, she’d learned from a master—her mother. “You invited me,” she said.
    “And we’re not afraid of anything you may discover. Stay with us, Rachel, learn from us. And if you can find any proof, any sign of wrongdoing or evil, then we will learn from you.”
    It was a lovely little speech, simple, graceful, calculated to make her hang her head in shame. Too bad it was wasted on a recalcitrant soul like Stella Connery’s daughter, Rachel thought. Too bad it came from the mouth of a murderer. She mustn’t forget that fact, ever.
    She managed a convincing smile. “That’s what I’m here for,” she said.
    “And where do you want to start?”
    “With coffee.”
    She didn’t like his smile. She didn’t like the fact that he was tall, that his voice was gentle, that his eyes were feral. Most of all she didn’t like the fact that he made no effort to intimidate her. As if he already knew the arcane influence he held over everyone, including her.
    She didn’t believe in pacts with the devil. She didn’t even necessarily believe in evil. But if there was a devil, then Luke Bardell had partied with him and prospered.
    He pushed away from the wall and she stood her ground. “With the right diet, you won’t need artificial stimulants, Rachel,” he said. He held out his hand to her, patiently, like a hunter trying to tame a wild beast. “Come. We’ll feed you well, and start your training.”
    He had beautiful hands. Long, elegant fingers, narrow wrists, blue-veined and strong-looking. There was a tattoo encircling each of his wrists—a rough, ink-blue bracelet of thorns, like a martyr’s crown.
    There was no way in hell she was going to touch those beautiful hands. “Training?” she said, skirting out of his way.
    “Classes will begin at sunset. A very peaceful time here in the Southwest—I think you’ll find it conducive to the meditative state. Where would you like to work?”
    “Work?” She sounded like an idiot parrot. He’dstarted down the hallway, expecting her to join him. She did so, keeping a safe distance.
    “Everyone works at the Foundation,” he said. “You can choose what you’d like—physical or mental labor or a combination of the two. You can scrub toilets, work in the kitchen, or help on the grounds.”
    “I’m not much on manual labor.” She managed to sound almost disinterested. “What about office work? It’s what I’m trained for.”
    “Ah, Rachel, your sweet faith touches me,” he said. “But I don’t think so. I’m not certain I want you delving into the Foundation’s records.” He paused at the double doors to the dining hall.
    “Afraid I’ll unearth your dirty secrets?”
    He took her barb with a faint, annoying