The Islanders by Wesley Stein

Author:Wesley Stein [Stein, Wesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Arts & Entertainment
Published: 2020-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

FAMILY TIES

It was nighttime when I awoke, and the first thing I saw was a fire. I felt the heat. I was only feet from a raging inferno, the bonfire blaze always burning in the center of the village. I screamed.

Around me, the islanders filled the tiered seating, rising on all four sides of the square, until it reached the decking of the luxury huts. Everyone was cheering.

In the middle of the square was the bonfire and from near the bonfire, a path of large stones led to where I was tied to a post. The stones had been arranged by height, from lowest to highest, to create a set of curving stairs.

There were people too, naked people all around. A couple was positioned in front of each of the four tiers, as they were three times each day.

But this ceremony seemed special.

Naked men wandered the square, wearing boar heads on top of their shoulders. Nude women walked slow circles around the fire, and past me, each of them staring me in the eyes as they did.

There was no point in calling out, my mouth had been gagged by the strip of fabric which bound my head to the post. I could only move enough to see from one side of the square to the other.

In front of me, beyond the fire and high upon her promenade, Juliet sat in her satin slip, among several very fit nude men. Some of the men held drums, and they began to beat them. Everyone paused. Juliet stood and walked to the edge of the railing.

“Tonight,” she began in a loud voice to address the square, “We usher in a new era for our civilization.”

There was a cheer from the crowd, all of them standing to their feet. Juliet raised her hands to calm the din before she continued.

“Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors?” She asked. “The sisters of the prophecy have come to Three-Hook Island.”

The crowd roared.

“Tonight we welcome our two newest citizens,” Juliet said. “And they’re no ordinary grifters.”

The crowd laughed and cheered more.

“Tonight, the three hooks will finally take their rightful place. The vision of Shakespeare Mills and his Triad will be fulfilled.”

A final cheer from the crowd, and then the drums began again. Juliet stood on the first row of the deck railing and shouted.

“Please welcome the ruler of the southwestern shore, Portia!”

My oldest sister walked out of Juliet’s hut, onto the promenade.

Joanna’s short hair was perfectly tousled as if she’d just stepped out of the stylist’s chair. Her skin was glowing and she wore only a white silk dress. The crowd loved her.

She came out and smiled and waved. I tried to scream for her, but she couldn’t hear me over the mob.

“Please also welcome,” Juliet shouted again. “The ruler of the southeastern shore, Ophelia!”

Jacey walked out of the hut then, her blonde hair and fair skin like a star in the night. She smiled and waved and tossed her hair and the villagers ate it up.

My sisters

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