Reverence awaits.
Rashellâs brother has vanished. When the local villagers express no concern, she enlists the help of a stranger from a faraway city to find Teth.
Investigator Derrik discovers the people worship a massive stone known as the Amethyst. Even more bizarre, an ancient relic of a mummy fuels their reverence.
Given limited time, Rashell and Derrik confront these mysterious elements at play, all the while striving to uncover what happened to Rashellâs brother.
Reverence awaits.
Rashellâs brother has vanished. When the local villagers express no concern, she enlists the help of a stranger from a faraway city to find Teth.
Investigator Derrik discovers the people worship a massive stone known as the Amethyst. Even more bizarre, an ancient relic of a mummy fuels their reverence.
Given limited time, Rashell and Derrik confront these mysterious elements at play, all the while striving to uncover what happened to Rashellâs brother.
Rashell held her breath while the hushed forest begged for silence. She waited, just as the forest waited, wondering if the distant sound from moments earlier had been a cruel trick of the mind. Sheâd stepped out of the cottage, unbothered at such a late hour to exchange her nightgown for daylight attire, or her bandana for one of her wigs. Most likely, the sound had only been a phantomâa side effect of restless sleep.
Fresh screams lacerated the air, stripping the silence with wild agony.
Rashell startled as the cries swept across the rolling hills and sunk to a disgraced murmur at the tree line. More panicked and crazed screams followed. Flashes of violet light illuminated in perfect synch with the sounds, blooming in the distance beyond the branches. Her eyes trailed after the haze of color. It bled out from the nearest house of the fields, positioned atop a hill. The grand display of color banished the darkness for mere seconds, like flashes of lightning.
The screams were its thunder.
Rashell sprinted. The cries continued, and she swore they quickened and intensified the faster she ran. She breached the tree line within a dozen strides and her feet adjusted to the changed terrain of packed dirt. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, adding organic drums to accompany the pained shrieks dragging across the night air.
The house grew closer. The purple beams leaked out of its windows, streaking between the tall crops. Rashell entered the lightâs reign, and skidded to a stop outside the house. Darkness overtook the night again for the briefest moment, only to relent again to a blaze of purple flashes from the houseâs windows. More cries punctured the air. Rashell squinted and tentatively made her way to the windowâs ledge to peer in.
She knew what sheâd see. She knew what the flashes and screams meant. But sheâd never personally witnessed the trial by purge. It had never occurred during her residence.
She only stood in the window long enough to soak in the scene. As expected, the houseâs rustic interior featured minimal and plain decorâquilted rugs, stitched curtains, and the such that warmed the otherwise bland kitchen and connected hallways. A few candles lit the space.
The figures gathered in the kitchen captured Rashellâs attention. She instantly recognized the residents of the house, as well as their obvious guest. Uthar, the patriarch of the house, and his wife Terra stood in a tight embrace. They stared with wide eyes at the scene unfolding within the confines of their home.
Rashell bristled at the sight of The Village Head, Keer, looming over the coupleâs eating table. Bundled in a thick, unblemished white cloak that contrasted the dark shadows, he held an exquisite staff outstretched above the table. Candlelight reflected off the staffâs slender, metal frame.
Someone unfamiliar to Rashell lay prostrate across the table.
Realization snaked through her mind within seconds, just before a bright flash erupted from the head of the staff, choking out the darkness in an explosion of purple light. Rashell leapt from the window over to the adjacent door, not waiting for the screams. By the time she burst through the door, the strangerâs cries from the table echoed through her ears once again, and she witnessed one last flash as she broke upon the scene.
 The sound of the door opening broke the stares of Uthar and Terra, who startled at Rashellâs entrance.
âWhat are you doing here?â Uthar asked with indignation.
A moan broke from the table.
âWhatâs happening here?â Rashell demanded. She kept her tone level, hoping it would de-escalate the tension of the room. Accusation wouldnât get her far with this audience.
âDonât act naĂŻve, Rashell,â said Uthar. âItâs not flattering.â
âDo you even know this strangerâs name?â she asked. âDid you try conversing, or did you go immediately to purging?â
Uthar scoffed. âHe was blabbering like a madman, which was enough reason to summon Keer.â
Rashell shifted her attention to the Village Head, who had not turned around at her intrusion. Keerâs cloak defied the darkness, startling to behold without a single blemish. He had propped his staff against his side, head declined as he silently stared down at the traumatized stranger on the table.Â
âWhat did this man say, Keer?â Rashell asked.
The question finally stirred the man to turn and bestow her an even, calm expression. Cleanly shaven hair, raked to the scalp, and a well-trimmed goatee evoked a pious and vain allure. Keer was surprisedly handsome, even as he donned the wrinkles of prime age and past the years of typical courtship. Yet these features became lost in the abrasions and scars traveling across his skin in chaotic patterns. The dancing shadows from the candlelight conjured a motion that made his wilted skin appear to writhe with unnatural life.
âAs Uthar so crudely stated,â Keer murmured, âthe man spoke of blasphemous things.â
She swallowed to ensure her voice didnât crack. âSurely, he said nothing so terrible to provoke this treatment.â
âYou twist your words.â Keer said slowly. âThis is not a punishment, but liberation. We are cleansing him of outside taint.â
His voice sent a chill down Rashellâs spine. Something in his tone always set her on edge. Perhaps it was the articulated way he pronounced words or the hint of sanctimonious conceit. Most in the village either buckled in the manâs presence or worshipped his dung-stained boots. Rashell saw him for what he wasâa man with a dangerous ability to manipulate. At times, she wondered if Keer was even aware of his innate ability to sway others.
âStrangers are given a choice,â Rashell said firmly. âTo turn back, or endure this trial of purification. Did you give this man that choice?â She noticed Terraâs expression twist with conviction, but the menâs faces remained stern.
No one answered, which only confirmed Rashellâs suspicions. As an immigrant to the area herself, she knew what outsiders thought of the village. No one dared breach the wall that guarded the land, and whispers of the villageâs purification rites joined the pool of rumors cultivated by Keerâs intolerance of outsiders. No one would willingly choose purificationânot this kind. Or at least not with enthusiasm.
âThis man was crazed!â Uthar insisted as he broke the silence and pointed to the stranger. âIf youâd heard the things he saidââ
âI asked you about that,â Rashell interrupted. She cocked her eyebrows at Uthar and glanced around the room at each of them.
âHe claimed to have been summoned here,â said Uthar. âWe know that isnât true. Heâs a bad omen. Maybe even the culprit behind the graveyard thefts.â
Keerâs hand shot up, and a tense silence fell across the room again. All eyes latched onto the Village Head as he bestowed a curt glare to Uthar. He put down his hand and turned his heated gaze to Rashell.
A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it. She refused to be intimidated.
Keer opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke first.
âBy law, the man is now protected,â Rashell stated. âYouâve robbed him of the chance to refuse our rituals, and youâve mistreated him just to satiate your own appetite for power. Our people now owe him a debt.â The tension of the room inflamed, but she pressed on. âIf youâd simply taken him into the village until morning, I would have been able to clear up any confusion. It was I that summoned him here.â
Shock visibly spread through her audience. Keerâs eyes grew so wide she thought theyâd burst. Uthar and Terra simply stared at her as if sheâd grown horns and a pair of wings.
âWhy in the Oracleâs good graces would you do that?â Keer asked, his hands curling tight around the staff. Â
âMy brother has been missing for over a week, and youâve done nothing!â Rashell shouted, no longer able to maintain a civil tone. âHe didnât just wander off like youâve insisted. Nobody leaves this village without you knowing, and yet, you have no answer as to his whereabouts. So, Iâve brought help from outside. Maybe this man can find one of your flock, Keer.â
âYou should have consulted me before committing this atrocity,â said Keer. âYouâve brought taint into our homes and youâve doomed us with your naivety.â
âStop acting like this stranger is a fungus,â Rashell snapped. âMaybe if you help us find Teth, he wonât be here for long. Regardless, heâs here to find my brother, and I donât need your approval.â
Keer raised his chin. âIf you do this, he is your responsibility. If he commits any crime, it will be on your head.â
Rashell straightened, squaring her shoulders. âI accept any consequence of his stay.â
âWatch yourself, Rashell,â Keer warned. âYou know better than to meddle where you donât belong. I will permit this arrangement, as I have no wish to abolish any laws that our village has acknowledged since its inception. We failed to give this man his choice.â He held up his index finger, a foreboding pinnacle. âOne week. At one week, he will be asked to leave or else endure his purification.â
Keer lowered his finger and gripped the metal staff around the trio of prongs at its top. The subtle action was not lost on Rashell. Keer was a manipulative man, but she knew he rarely bluffed. This threat held weight. One week.
 As if on cue, a groan came from the table. Rashell moved swiftly past Keer, taking quick observation of the strangerâs condition. Leather oddly dictated his attire, most notably a large frock that embraced his thin figure. Unsure if Keerâs staff was to blame, she found his pale complexion alarming, and worried he might be dead. She grabbed hold of his shoulder to sit him upright. He was young, not a child by any means, but certainly fresh in the fields of adulthood. Soft murmurs escaped the strangerâs lips.
âCan you hear me?â Rashell asked gently. She searched his face for any signs of response.
His eyes fluttered open and landed on her. Confusion danced behind them, mixed with an inability to grasp his surroundings.
âIâm getting you out of here,â she said in a hushed voice. âBut you have to help me. I need you to stand and walk. You can lean on me for help.â
Without waiting for any incoherent excuses, she forcefully pressed him forward and slid him onto his feet. His legs buckled, and she groaned under his weight.
âThatâs it,â she grunted. âFollow my lead.â
The march to the door was slow. Rashell ignored the heated glares that followed her and focused instead to keep her new acquaintance balanced on his feet.
A voice from behind gave Rashell pause.
âI expect you at Reverence tomorrow,â Keer sneered. âBring our new guest. If you donât show, Iâll drag the whole village to your doorstep. I know how much youâd enjoy that.â
Rashell said nothing, unwilling to validate another of Keerâs subtle threats. She staggered out past the door and didnât look back.
Amethyst is a dark, atmospheric fantasy thriller that instantly captured my attention with its Sleepy Hollow/Wickerman vibes and unique, haunting imagery. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of this story. The eeriness and off-ness of the setting starts from the very first chapter, but it maintains a clear tone that propels you forward.
This book wastes no time jumping into the action with the arrival of a detective from the city named Derrick. Summoned to the village by the main character, Rashell, to help her investigate the mysterious disappearance of her brother, he's instantly met with suspicion from the cult (er, I mean village) leader and has to undergo a "purifying" ritual that is as horrifying as it is fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the cult rituals were presented and found this one in particular to be a fitting introduction to this mysterious community.
At first, I found Rashell's perspective a little dry and limiting, but it becomes more lucid and three-dimensional as the story unfolds, which seems to demonstrate her arc of coming to terms with the sinister nature of the village. I loved how creepy this story really was, from the weird cult rituals to the horror monsters to the ominous nature of the Amethyst itself.
This was a short read, basically a novella. And though I felt like the story had a clear trajectory, I did find myself wanting a little bit more. It ended pretty quickly, and though it wasn't a neat conclusion (in fact, it ended somewhat ambiguously), I wouldn't have minded more story. I definitely would have liked more to the mystery in the middle, more development of Derrick and of Rashell, and perhaps even more explanation behind what the Amethyst was. I also wanted to see more of the village, since for most of the book we're isolated from the larger community. I guess this is the tradeoff of writing a short story or novella; you get a tightly knit plot but often sacrifice the finer details. Regardless, the story has good bones. No pun intended.
I definitely recommend this to fans of weird cult horror, the kind that takes place in a creepy village where something isn't quite right. Prepare to never think of the color purple the same way again.