Beware, beware

He doesn't like to share

If he has marked his prey

Don't dare look its way

Not even a glance

Don't take a chance

If you want to live

He doesn't forgive

If you touch what he claims

He won't give Satan your name

Since he's not about show and tell

When he can use his bare hands to take you to hell

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Jules stared uncomfortably at the small piece of clothing that Skye called a dress.

"Um...I can't wear that."

Skye rolled her eyes.

"Hurry up and put it on. I'm doing you a favor. Your dress was ugly even before the wine spill."

Jules continued to stare at the black fabric in her hand. It was a short black dress whose backside only consisted of strings. The fabric on the sides were also cut out. There was absolutely no way she could willingly wear it.

"Thank you for the offer Miss Skye, but modestly is very important to me." Jules tried to conceal the small trembling of her hands. She was very intimidated by the menacing beauty glaring at her.

Skye wanted to punch Randall. Why did he have to put her in charge of dressing up his annoying toy. Randall was such a pervert. When he handed her that black dress even Skye knew it would be impossible to make miss goody-two-shoes wear it.

"I'll be offended if you reject my kindness. This is my favorite dress and I'm offering it to you. Are you saying I have bad taste in clothes?"

"Not at all," Jules handed the dress back to Skye quickly, "I'm just saying we have different taste in clothes. It's okay. I don't mind wearing my dress even with the stain. Everyone saw that it was just a wine spill. Besides, someone once told me that fashion is what you want it to be. Maybe in a few years, dresses with wine spill prints might become popular." Jules awkwardly laughed to make light of the situation before she started walking back to the ball room.

Skye felt her dislike for Jules turn into hatred. She couldn't wait until Randall sucked out all the optimism and disgusting innocence from the annoying, oblivious idiot.

She glanced at her diamond Rolex watch. It was almost 9:30.

Patience Skye, patience. The fun will happen soon.

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Jules was not having fun. She was panicking. She had been looking for Jonathan but he was no where to be seen.

Furthermore, many people approached her to start small talk and welcome her to the school. Jules remembered Jonathan's warning and made sure to not share any personal information. She had to explain the wine spill countless of times and it was becoming exhausting.

All the chaos happening around her and the endless forced conversations made Jules lose track of time. She was stuck in a constant trance of laughter, flashing lights, diamonds, dark lipstick, and bare skin. It was becoming claustrophobic. She found herself walking towards the exit but the doors were closed right when she reached them. In front of them stood Alec and Jake.

Jake smiled darkly. "Where do you think you're going bloody Mary? The main event is about to start."

Ellen and Ana came up from behind Jules and each girl grabbed an arm.

"What are you guys doing?"

Jules' question was ignored.

"Wow, Ellen. You shouldn't have given Skye ideas. Now Jules really does look like she belongs in the movie Carrie," Ana laughed.

Ellen shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't think Skye could get that creative."

The two girls began dragging Jules to the center of the room.

"Where are you guys taking me? I'm tired. I want to go home." Jules tried to resist and go back towards the door but Ellen and Ana had an iron grip that was surprisingly strong. They effortlessly dragged her like a rag doll.

"Please. Let me go."

"Sorry doll face. Don't take it personally. In this world, it's every man for himself," Ellen huffed.

Jules was shoved and fell onto the hard marble floor.

"Girls, be careful. She's still our special guest after all."

Jules didn't know what to make of the scene in front of her.

Randall stood holding a glass of wine in his hand, looking down at her with a look she never thought he could have. It was a sinister smirk that did not fit the respectable gentleman persona he had shown her before. He had finally taken off his mask.

Her attention then snapped to the large black boiling cauldron beside him. Right next to the cauldron was a wooden table but she couldn't see the items on top while crouched down on the floor. All she knew was that in Reville Oaks, cauldrons meant witchcraft. Jules' first instinct was to crawl away but she was trapped. Everyone in the room had stood in a circle to watch the event. The circle in which she was forced into.

Randall tapped his wine glass with a spoon. The chattering slowly died down and the music stopped.

Jules got up and started to back away but when she reached the side of the circle, someone pushed her back in. Realization hit her, leaving nothing but dread pulling down at her heart. Escaping wasn't an option.

"Can I have your attention please?" All eyes now shifted to Randall.

"We are about to start the ritual. Thank you everyone for being patient and attending this party. I know we are having it earlier than usual but I couldn't help it when I first set my eyes on the new little lamb. So of course, I must give a special thanks to Jules," Randall raised his glass, "To my potential new mate."

Everyone around raised their glasses before gulping down the thick, red wine.

"As you all know by now, we must start the ceremony with the blood test! The most exciting part! Timmy. David. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

Two guys came up to Jules and held her arms tightly. She didn't understand why they wanted a blood test.

"My blood type is AB negative. There's no need for a test!" she pleaded.

Randal began to laugh as if Jules had told him the funniest joke. Everyone laughed like hyenas along with him.

"Not that type of test sweetheart. We're about to do a blood test that no doctor in the world could ever do."

Jules couldn't stop her shaking. Panic had seized her brain and it was becoming hard to understand what was going on. Were they planning to kill her?

As if reading her mind, Randall came over and placed a cold finger under her chin.

"Oh deary. She seems to be afraid. Don't worry too much little lamb. We're not going to kill you. Well, not physically at least. You must understand. One must check if an apple is rotten before they eat it."

With that, Randall walked back towards the cauldron while the six other council members stood in front of the wooden table.

"I'll be first," Randall announced before taking a crown and what seemed to be a tube filled with a yellow substance off the table. He stood on a stool by the cauldron and raised the objects for everyone to see. The lights in the room made the ruby decorated crown sparkle gorgeously.

"For pride, I have brought one of my old crowns. Yellow shall represent it." Randall began to pour the yellow substance onto the crown before he threw it into the boiling water. "Long live the sin of pride!" Everyone began to cheer and echo his words.

Skye then got onto the stool next. She held a tube of blue liquid. Jules pieced together that it must have been dye. However, Skye did not have anything else in her hand.

"Oh, my bad, hold on," Skye held the glass tube with her mouth before moving both her hands up her dress. She slowly pulled down her stockings. "For lust, I have my fishnets from last night's threesome," Skye winked at the crowd, "It shall be represented with the color blue. Long live the sin of lust!" Just like Randall did, she poured the blue liquid onto her fishnets before throwing it into the cauldron.

It was not hard to catch on. They were using different items for the seven deadly sins. Jules' terror swelled. She didn't understand what they were doing but whatever it was was no doubt the devil's work.

Simon was next. "For sloth, I have collected a week worth of my drool in this plastic sandwich bag." Many people gave a look of disgust. "It will be represented with the color indigo. Long live the sin of sloth." Simon's voice was always emotionless with no hints of excitement at all. He was simply too lazy to change the tone of his voice.

Simon's lack of emotion was greatly contradicted when Ana went up on the stool next. She looked on the verge of tears and whatever was in her hand was tightly held against her chest. "Sorry, I wasn't planning on getting emotional," her voice broke and she wiped at her eyes.

"Ugh, she does this every year," Alec groaned.

Ana glared at Alec before continuing. "Even though it is very hard for me, I know this ritual means a lot to Randall so I--being the generous and kind person I am--will be giving away the most precious thing ever. I have brought a delicious Whoopie pie." Ana began to slowly tilt the tube filled with orange dye onto the treat. However, before the dye could spill, she took a quick bite from the cream filled chocolate before proceeding. "Gluttony shall be represented with the color orange. Long live the sin of gluttony!" Ana continued to dab at her eyes, staring at the cauldron that ate her beloved Whoopie pie hungrily.

Jake shoved Ana off the stool. "You're taking too long, it's my turn." He then held up multiple hundred dollar bills. "I didn't want to sacrifice my own money so I been stealing some from wimps at school. This is precisely $666." He then looked down at the ground, "Ya you little fu*ker. I chose your favorite number. You better appreciate it." Jake spat on the ground. "Greed will be represented with the color green. Long live the sin of greed!"

Ellen went next, making sure not to step on Jake's saliva. She held a box that emitted sounds of squeaking and scratching. "For envy, I brought a few live rats I caught eating food in my kitchen and I will be using the color brown. Long live the sin of envy!"

Although Jules was busy fearing for her life, she couldn't help but feel bad for the rats as they made one last shriek before being boiled alive.

Alec was the last one to go. He held something up but it was so small Jules could not decipher what it was.

"Someone at school told me I looked mad. So I beat him up. He was weak. His tooth fell out. I decided to use it. Red will represent wrath. Long live the sin of wrath."

There was a short awkward silence after Alec's blatant story until Randall began to clap and the crowd followed.

"Alright boys, bring the girl over here." Randall held a small golden dagger in his hand.

Timmy and David pulled Jules towards the cauldron. Her fast paced breathing matched up her accelerated heart rate. She was so dizzy with stress that she would have fallen if there weren't two guys holding her up.

I'm gonna die.

"Geez, calm down princess. You can't pass out before we finish. I just need a prick of blood. This cauldron will reveal how innocent you really are. You may seem like a good girl on the outside but everyone sins. We just wanna know how rotten you really are," Randall assured.

Randall went back onto the stool and looked around the audience. "Now, ladies and gentleman. We shall discover if she is suited to be my mate!"

Lots of excited murmuring filled the room as people placed bets and shared predictions.

Randall grabbed Jules shaking hand and pricked her pointer finger with the sharp dagger just enough to draw blood. She was so overwhelmed by fear that she barely felt the pain.

Everyone watched in anticipation as a drop of blood slowly fell into the steaming cauldron. And then they waited. Only the sound of the boiling water could be heard. The crowd remained completely silent, wanting to hear Randall reveal the results. But Randall stood there staring with furrowed eyebrows. The water was still clear.

He hummed in thought. "Maybe we need more blood."

He squeezed Jules' finger and a few more drops fell in. The anticipation in the room became more potent as their patience was thinning.

The water remained clear once again.

Randall scratched his head in confusion. He could of sworn they correctly did the ritual.

"Simon, are you sure you put in a bag of drool? Could it have possibly been holy water or some other sh*t like that?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "Randall, I'm lazy. Not stupid."

"We must have somehow messed up the ritual. It's not working. The cauldron is not revealing any colors," Randall complained.

Alec was getting frustrated. He was not a man of patience.

"Here, let me test it." Alec bit his thumb and let a drop of his blood fall into the boiling water. It dominantly turned red with some other colors popping up here and there. "It seems to be working to me."

Randall stared with wide eyes.

"No fu*king way. Could it really be possible that Jules never sinned?" Randall looked at the other council students and they all seemed to be shocked too. This had never happened before. The crowd was getting rowdy, not believing their eyes.

"I've decided that Jules is no doubt fit to be my mate!" Randall's proclamation was followed by cheers and the clanking of wine glasses. "I really have found a diamond in the rough."

Randall went up to Jules and the two guys let go of her. He held her face tightly with cold hands.

"You really are as innocent as you look." He began to stroke her cheek. "Lets make a deal."

Something about this situation felt familiar to Jules but she didn't know why.

"I'll grant any wish you want. It can be beauty. It can be wealth. Whatever you can think of. In exchange, you must be my mate. So what do you desire most my little lamb?"

Jules gulped. She had to work hard to force words out of her trembling lips.

"I do not make deals with the devil," she stuttered.

Randall quickly placed the dagger against her neck.

"What about now?"

Jules still couldn't think clearly. But for some reason, she heard Abby's voice ring in her ears.

Ask yourself 'Would my mamma still be smiling if she knew her baby girl was gonna make this choice?'. Make choices that would keep her smiling.

Once Jules gathered the courage to die, she found the strength to speak once again.

"Kill me then. Because I would rather die now and be with God in heaven then live any longer just to go to hell for eternity in the end."

Randall gritted his teeth in annoyance. A girl as religious as Jules would require a different tactic.

"Skye." Randall called curtly before moving the dagger away.

Jules watched cautiously as Skye came over holding what looked to be pictures.

Randall turned them over. Jules instantly vomited after seeing them.

"Ew, gross." Skye backed away quickly.

One picture was a close shot of her sleeping. One was a close shot of her mom sleeping. Someone had been in their apartment.

"As you can see, we know a lot about you Jules Moore. Since you don't care much about your life, I've decided to change up the deal. I played nice but you refused me. If you don't care so much about gaining, lets see how much you care about losing. If you don't make a deal with me, I'll go to your house right now and," Randall did not finish his sentence. Instead, he took the dagger and cut the picture of Jules' mom in half.

Jules began to sob uncontrollably. She had to hold back from wailing because her throat was soar from throwing up and burned painfully.

Her mother was her everything.

"Ill count to ten. And if you don't make a choice by then, I'll assume you are rejecting my deal and go straight to plummeting this dagger into your poor mother's heart. 10...9...8," Randall began counting down.

Think Jules. Think.

Jules usually took less then a few seconds to think of bible verses in times of need, but the pressure of the situation prevented her from doing so.

What would her mother want her to do? What would God want her to do?

"3...2..-"

What does she want to do?

"Okay!" Jules stuttered, her words were barely comprehensible. "Please. Please. I agree to your deal. Just please don't hurt my mama."

Jules still couldn't fully grasp what was happening or what she had agreed to. But she felt a deep guilt. She may have just went against her one true God. The guilt made her want to vomit once again.

"She finally agrees to the deal!" Randall announced. His announcement was followed by claps and cheers.

"Time for the mating mark! Someone clean up the girl and bring her to me."

A pair of arms helped Jules stand on her shaking legs. Everything felt numb and unreal. A handkerchief was rubbed roughly on her face to remove snot and tears.

The same pair of arms guided Jules to Randall who stood waiting at the middle of the circle. His face remained a blur to her watery eyes.

"Don't cry my little lamb. I'll treat you well."

Randall held Jules' chin tightly and made her face turn to the side, allowing excess to her neck.

He placed his other hand on her neck and began chanting strange words.

Jules closed her eyes. The anticipation of what was being done to her made her muscles tense painfully. Was he going to sacrifice her to the devil? Was he going to make demons possess her body?

And then, the most unexpected thing happened. It was such a shock that even the Academy students' jovial mood evaporated at once.

There was a scream. Randall's scream to be exact.

His hand was one fire.

From the flame's bright blaze, Jules saw the shadow of a feather falling.