The fire burning in the hearth was the only real source of light. There was a chimney, but it must be blocked, because a lot of the smoke wafted into the room, making it seem hazy and foggy. It added to the creep factor. I wanted to pull the curtain aside and throw open the window, but that would’ve been rude.

Another guinea pig sniffed at my ankle, drawing my attention to the floor.

“Here,” said Father Alfred. “They’ll come out if I feed them.” He threw a bunch of greens on the floor, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, guinea pigs came running. There had to be at least fifty of them. Some big. Some little. All different colors.

It was so weird to think of these men taking care of animals. “You have a lot of pets, Father Valentine.”

The men started laughing.

“What?” What was so funny?

“They’re not pets, child,” said Father Valentine. “They’re dinner.”

What? They had to be joking. No way would I ever eat one of those. I’d had a hamster way back when. Raphael had hated her, but I loved her. He eventually made such a stink that Daniel had to adopt Harriet the Hamster. I’d still gone to visit her every day at Daniel’s house.

Just like that, a wave of grief hit me. It was so quick. The image of Daniel playing with Harriet filled my mind, and tears welled.

“Don’t cry after this lot,” said Father Alfred, a British accent thick in his voice. “They’re more varmint than anything else. We only eat them once a week.”

That meant they killed them. And cut off their skin.

Oh God. I was going to be sick. If I thought about it anymore I was going to go vegetarian. I pushed all of that horror out of my mind. I needed something that these men had. Being polite was of the utmost importance.

Father Alfred moved around the room, grabbing the kettle from the fire and setting it on a trivet on the table. He placed four handle-less cups on the table, and went back to the hearth to grab a few jars that rested on the shelf above it. He sprinkled an assortment of herbs into the cups and then filled them with water to steep.

I watched every move, and realized I couldn’t possibly drink whatever was in that cup. Taking herbs from these men would be beyond stupid, but I wasn’t sure how I could get out of drinking without being suspicious.

“Come sit,” said Father Valentine as he settled into one of the chairs.

Matt took the seat next to him. “Where’s my cousin?”