The Holy Vessel Is A Death Sentence In Disguise

Summary

The men of our village never marry the women they grow up with. Not the ones who reach maturity here in Blackwood Hollow.

No, the local girls are cleansed, wrapped in a blanket, and offered to the Serpent.

The morning after, if a girl is found to be carrying, she is deemed blessed by The Elder Serpent. She becomes The Vessel, a kind of holy mother, and is sheltered and fed until the birth.

Tonight, it was my sister’s turn. She had been sent into the Chapel.

I was sick with envy that she was a year older than me, a year closer to this twisted form of grace.