The Sacrifice

"This girl-if this demon-spawn can be called a girl-has deceived you all. She has told you these tantalizing lies to steer you from the true path." The reverend clamped one hand on Helena and the other on John. "She has caused these children to sin against the Lord and The Way. She has sullied the soul of every girl in this community with her lies."

"Samantha isn't evil! She's nice," Rebecca called out.

Reverend Crane shook his head. "Her influence has corrupted you more than I thought. Very well, then. I will bring your souls back to God as I have been charged to do. As the Lord has instructed, we must remove the infected flesh from our bodies to cleanse our souls. This cancer must not be allowed to spread any further." With this, Reverend Crane grabbed Samantha by the arm and dragged her down the aisle towards the front door. Miss Brigham threw herself in front of the doorway, barring their way.

"Reverend Crane, I too would like to make a confession," she said. Her eyes met Samantha's and a sad smile came to her face. "Samantha has done only as I instructed her."

"Miss Brigham, no! Don't listen to her."

"My dear, there's no point in carrying on this charade any longer. Those books came from my cellar. They belong to me."

"You brought this plague into our community?"

"These books aren't evil," Miss Brigham protested. "They're full of adventure and magic and love. I wanted the children to share in this, so I gave the books to Samantha and asked her to read them to the other girls."