Three hours later the welts finally began to fade, and by then I was unrecognizable. I'd ripped out fistfuls of my own hair. Patches of my scalp were bare. Every inch of exposed skin was raw and stinging, the itch replaced by a searing, white-hot burn. I knelt there in the dirt, kowtowing to anyone who would look at me.
"I was wrong. Money, whatever you want, I'll give you everything I have."
"Just stop. Please stop. I'll do anything you say..."
I couldn't bring myself to imagine what the next two ordeals would be.
I'd been telling myself to hold on until Declan came back. If I could just last that long, he would save me. But my body was giving out.
"Heh. Let me tell you another rule of the Crowe Tribe."
"Once the Three Ordeals begin, nothing can stop them. No exceptions. That rule has stood for a hundred years."
"Should've behaved from the start. You brought this on yourself."
The man spat in my face. Then he snapped his fingers and two others dragged me toward the Cactus Pit.
"AHHH!"
My scream tore through the valley.
Countless needles punched into my skin all at once. Every square inch felt like it was being stabbed, a dense, suffocating wave of pain that nearly dragged me under.