The Merciless Read Online Free Page A

in the mirror. “You know, we could do it now, if you want. Baptize you.”
    I release a short laugh, positive she’s joking. But Riley’s face stays serious.
    â€œYou want to baptize me here ?” I blurt out. “In the bathroom?”
    â€œWe have a sink,” Riley says, shrugging. “And, Alexis, you know what to say, right?” Before Alexis can answer, Riley turns on the faucet and plugs up one of the sinks. Water pours into the stained white porcelain.
    â€œBut don’t we need a priest for it to be real?” I ask.
    Riley runs a finger along one of my curls. “It’ll be real to us,” she says. “Like becoming blood sisters. It’s how we’ll all know you’re in the group.”
    I scratch at the skin along my cuticles and pretend to think this over. I had exactly one friend at my last school, and the coolest thing we ever did together was stay up late to watch reruns of Saved by the Bell .
    â€œLet’s do it,” I say. Behind Riley, the sink fills. Water dribbles over the side and onto the tile floor. Grace leans past her and turns the faucet off.
    â€œCareful,” she says, but Riley doesn’t seem to hear her. She grins at me, looking so giddy that I find myself smiling, too.
    â€œOkay, cross your arms like this.” Riley raises her arms in an X over her chest, Alexis’s flask still gripped in one hand. I do the same. “Good,” she says. “Now crouch down so you’re over the sink. Alexis, you have to anoint her head with holy water.”
    â€œThat’s not holy water,” Grace says. Riley tips Alexis’s flask of wine over the water. A stream of red spills onto the surface, spreading like blood.
    â€œThe wine’s been blessed,” Riley says. “Same thing.”
    I let out a nervous giggle as Alexis dips a finger into the water. A blond eyelash clings to her cheek, making a tiny golden half-moon against her skin.
    â€œSofia, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” She touches her finger to my forehead, chest, and both shoulders.
    â€œAmen,” Riley says. She places one hand at the base of my neck and the other over my crossed arms. I close my eyes and consider praying.
    Before I can decide, Riley pushes my head into the sink.
    The water hits my face like a slap. My eyes fly open, and on instinct I inhale, immediately flooding my lungs. I choke, releasing deep, hacking coughs that fill the water with bubbles and cloud my vision. I blink furiously, staring at the plugged-up drain at the bottom of the sink.
    I try to lift my head, but Riley’s hand is like a weight. I press my fingers into the edges of the sink. The bubbles in front of me turn spotty as my vision goes black. My fingers slacken as I start to lose consciousness when, finally, Riley removes her hand. I whip my head out of the water and gasp and cough. My hair hangs in front of my eyes in sopping-wet clumps.
    Someone mops the hair out of my face. I blink and Riley’s in front of me, her clear, pale eyes bright with excitement.
    â€œOh, Sof, are you okay? You did so well!”
    â€œI think I survived,” I gasp. Bursts of light still dot my periphery, but Riley’s smile is sweet, genuine. She leans forward, kissing me on the cheek.
    â€œNow you’re one of us,” she says. Her words spark something warm inside me. It flickers like a match. I’m one of them.
    â€œNow you’re saved,” Riley says.

CHAPTER FOUR
    â€œB oo!”
    I jump at the sudden voice, sending the pen I’d been sketching with sailing to the ground. Grace leaps up from behind the wooden bench I’m sitting on and doubles over in a fit of giggles.
    â€œYou’re so easy to scare,” she teases.
    â€œMaybe you’re just scary.” I pick up my pen from the ground and throw it at her. When it bounces off her shoulder, Grace raises her hands in