Blood Sacrifice (The Astral Chronicles #1)

Chapter OneLuna – Four Hundred Years Ago

Chapter One

Luna – Four Hundred Years Ago

The moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the landscape and allowing us to bear witness to the events of tonight. A slow, steady drumbeat echoed, footsteps keeping time as they marched to the site prepared for the ritual.

Emperor Atahualpa sat on his throne to oversee the sacrifice that would take place to appease the great gods that were stirring the passions of the volcano. Swirls of smoke and sparks of red fire hid the moon for a moment, heralding a bad omen. The emperor had been in ill health lately, and demanded we held the sacrifice tonight to petition the gods.

The children of the required age stepped forward when the drumbeat stopped, their faces pale and hands trembling. They had been dressed in new, ceremonial robes, their hair adorned with ribbons and crystals, each having undergone the preparation rituals that would allow them to be eligible for selection. Sons and daughters of the high born took their place among other beautiful youths of this tribe.

Objects crafted from gold, silver and spondylus shells were carried by the priestesses, each blessed in the holy waters in preparation for the capacocha ritual, which was normally only carried out on specific nights of the moon cycle. Tonight, we worried that the emperor’s insistence of the ritual early may offend the gods.

The emperor’s guards stood around the periphery, their eyes glowing amber. They were the vicious defenders and guardians of the men who ruled this land, and the priestesses who I stood among were those forced to create the life of luxury and extravagance those same men demanded.

Magic was never supposed to be possessed by greedy men and used for their own personal gain. It was why the elements complained, Misti voicing her annoyance as she spat fire and released her great plumes of smoke. More and more frequently there had been eruptions, her hot, red lava consuming the land surrounding her.

Our mother priestess turned worried eyes to the volcano, whose rumblings were making the ground under our feet shake.

“It is time to choose our sacrifice,” Emperor Atahualpa bellowed, standing and holding his arms out to indicate everyone below him. “It is their honour to die for us.”

There was no honour in their death, it was a lie our leaders told us to justify killing innocent children in a ritual that didn’t work. All of this was about vanity and power. My gaze met the glowing eyes of Salvator as he stood on the periphery, his expression fixed in a mask of indifference.

My sister Aisha grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers until I winced. We all knew this would not stop Misti the volcano, that someone would lose their life tonight, and it would be for nothing, but the threat of the barely controlled animals keeping watch meant we bowed our heads and said nothing.

The chief priest Balor, who oversaw the ritual, stepped forward, holding his ceremonial tools as he walked along the front of the scared youths. The drums beat lowly, creating tension in the air. The priest held out a large crystal point toward all those chosen for the sacrifice. He stopped for a moment, holding a feather in the air to determine if the gods chose this sacrifice. I didn’t doubt he had already selected who would be the chosen one, and one of his priests would manipulate the breeze to ensure everyone believed it was the will of the gods.

The feather didn’t move, so he continued on, stopping at two others before he arrived at the one marked for death. The feather moved violently as if an invisible hand shook it. A murmur rippled around the assembled crowd.

“No,” Aisha whispered. “What is he thinking?”

He had overstepped the boundary of his power.

The emperor stepped forward on his podium, his eyes narrowing. “You are mistaken,” he said in a cold, hard voice. “Choose again.”

The priest turned around with a feral smile on his face. “The gods are never wrong.” Balor held his arms in the air, throwing his head back dramatically. “They demand a sacrifice of flesh and blood to atone for the sins of the people.”

The magic users were born to serve the nobility, the guards bred from a vicious line of lycans to ensure order was maintained. Tonight, Balor was daring to challenge our emperor by choosing his only child. His daughter was his pride and joy, and he had been seeking to make a powerful alliance for her in a marriage to another tribe, and increase the power of the emperor’s dynasty.

He would never allow his only child to be taken from him, and Balor knew that. As if sensing a fight brewing, the lycan guards stepped forward, their claws slowly descending, and canines on display.

They had always terrified me with their violent behaviour and loud voices. They patrolled the area surrounding our homes every night, their howls echoing on the wind and their claws destroying the symbols drawn by the priestesses. Anyone caught outside in the wilderness alone in the hours of darkness were subject to their lycan laws.

All of them, except one.

A priestess had been executed last year because she bore a child to one of the lycan guards, the offspring a product of magic and wolf. The child had disappeared, and there had been terrifying noises that night in the direction of Misti. None of us spoke of it the next day, and when I asked about the baby, one of the older priestesses shook her head and held her finger to her lips.

It hadn’t always been this way. When we were younger, my sister and I lived with our parents before our gifts manifested and a priest came to collect us. Lycans lived among us, the black-furred ones taken away from their families in the same way we had been, since they were the dire wolves that became guards. Salvator and his brothers had played with our brother in our village. They had collected him the summer before they took my sister and me.

I knew it was him the first time I had caught one of the black wolves standing close to the priestess temple, amber eyes glowing in the darkness, watching our every move. He didn’t scare me in the same way as the other lycans did, and in my heart I believed it was Salvator. The nights I noticed him, I left sweet treats outside, and they were gone the next morning.

Our relationship was against every rule we lived by, and if discovered, we would be slaughtered like the couple last year. His kisses enflamed me and made the risk worth it, his touch making me feel alive in a world of pain. None of us had chosen this life, Fate had intervened and now we found ourselves here tonight in the middle of a chaotic storm. Stolen moments of pleasure were our only reprieve.

Emperor Atahualpa descended from his platform, his personal guards moving into position behind him, their swords drawn. He drew everyone’s attention as he prowled toward the priest. Balor was older than anyone I knew, no one knowing his true age, merely that he had outlived many emperors and had travelled far to reach this place. He was ancient and had amassed a lot of power in that time.

My heart fluttered in my chest like a trapped bird trying to escape. Balor was cold and calculating. If he had chosen the emperor’s only child for the sacrifice, then he was ready for the repercussions.

I felt energy ripple over us, goosebumps rising on my flesh in warning.

Tension palpated the air, a breeze moving my hair, and a flash of a vision blinded me for a moment.

Death.

Blood soaked into the landscape, and death visited this place to receive the souls of the dead left in the wake of whatever was about to happen.

“We need to go.” I tugged my sister’s hand, but the row of women behind us prevented us from moving.

“Choose again,” Emperor Atahualpa said when he reached Balor.

“Not even our leader can circumvent the will of the gods,” Balor replied. “You wished for this ritual and chose this night. These are the stipulations of the gods.” Balor held his hands toward the heavens, creating a dramatic image.

“My heir will not be sacrificed.” The emperor’s jaw tightened, and his hand fisted at his side. “She is pledged in union.”

Balor flashed his predatory smile, and my stomach cramped in fear. “If the rightful chosen sacrifice is not given, then another must take their place.” Balor paused. “A family member must give their life.”

Every person assembled knew the emperor had lost his wife in childbirth two summers ago. The only person left to take her place was him. Balor had deliberately twisted the events to manipulate the downfall of the emperor.

Silence descended over everyone gathered, and it felt as if the moon herself held her breath. The emperor’s head rose and he stared at Balor while my pulse sounded in my ears. Bile burned a path up the back of my throat and I fought the urge to run. These were the two most powerful men in our lives, and they were about to start a war.

“I am the rightful ruler of these people,” Emperor Atahualpa almost growled in a low voice. “You are merely the priest appointed to act on my will.”

Balor placed his hands under his chin and bowed slightly. “I serve only the gods. A parent’s love is deep, but each of the chosen have parents who would willingly allow them to be sacrificed as per our laws.” Balor’s head came up and he glanced around those assembled. “Even a king must obey the law of the gods or face their wrath.”

Every word was a form of combat, and war had no winners.

“The gods have always favoured me,” Emperor Atahualp replied, his top lip lifting in a snarl.

“And yet only one of your children have survived, and your wife died,” Balor countered, twisting the narrative to suit his agenda. “Sacrifices have had to be made more frequently to appease the gods for your actions…” His words trailed off as he shrugged, the double-headed snake that was inked on his arm moving menacingly.

Muttering rippled around the group, the parents of the other offerings moving closer to their children to claim them back.

“Take my daughter back to our home,” Emperor Atahualpa snapped. “Leave a guard with her.”

Balor stepped in front of his daughter for a moment. “You are about to insult the gods,” he warned. “Nothing will appease them if you deny them their sacrifice.”

“Restrain him!” The emperor pointed at Balor as he spoke.

No one outside the temples ever saw the true power of magic. The people petitioned and prayed to the gods, but in the background, the magic users purified the water and made the earth fertile for the crops. The fire users calmed the fires inside Misti and prevented her eruptions. No sacrifices were required for these and yet tradition decreed that we should take a life.

Balor moved rapidly out of the guard’s way, a blade appearing in his hand from his belt. There was no time to prevent what he planned, no way to stop what he put in motion. He grabbed the emperor’s daughter, his blade cutting deep to start a war.

Time slowed, screams filling the air as Balor continued to slaughter everyone in his path, all the offerings within his reach.

“He is a soul eater,” a priestess to my right said. “I suspected it for years, but tonight has confirmed my fears.”

“We must all leave tonight,” another priestess whispered, trying to manoeuvre us away from the horror of what was happening. “They will never forgive any of us for his actions.”

Our mother priestess gathered us, pushing us toward our temple. “Every soul he takes makes Balor stronger,” she said when the doors closed behind us, meeting the eyes of the priestesses who had already spoken. “He can absorb our powers and use them against us. We must leave this place, and find somewhere to hide. Each of us holds a piece of our collective magic. Only when he kills all of us can he fully control our power.”

I wrapped my arms around my sister’s waist, terror bubbling inside me.

“We must all separate, and be as the winds to disperse in all directions,” she continued. “Do not return to your family, do not use your magic unless you have no option.”

Some of the lessons she had taught us finally made sense—she had been planning for this day. They had known what Balor was and could do nothing until tonight. She retrieved packages from behind the altar, handing one to each of us.

“Remove your jewels and robes. There are plain clothes at the rear of the temple.” She placed a hand on the arm of one of the priestesses who had started to cry. “We foresaw this night a long time ago and made preparations.”

One at a time, each of us changed our clothing, placing our robes in the fire that always burned at the centre of our temple. I watched silently as each priestess walked away from the only life we knew, taking a piece of my heart with them.

“May the great goddess protect and watch over you.” Mother priestess pressed her forehead to mine. “Travel East, and follow your instincts. You have always had the sight; remember to look into the heart of those who come into your life.”

She squeezed my hand before moving to the next priestess.

My sister had been one of the first to leave, and I hoped she had waited for me, but there was no one outside when I emerged. With trepidation, I moved silently toward the lands surrounding our home.

I stopped for a moment to try and gauge my bearings, wishing I could find Salvator. He had been the strength that kept me going when I was homesick, the one person who listened to me. There had been nights we spent high in the mountains, lying side by side to watch the stars, and Salvator sneaking me back into the temple. I had never feared the dark with him guiding me.

Imagination was a terrible affliction, because in my head a threat existed in the darkness, creatures stalking me, ready to strike at any moment. My pulse thundered in my ears, and I stumbled several times over the uneven surface.

I fell forward, my hands in front of me, and the shock echoed up my arms and into my shoulders. Pain pierced through me, and my arms failed to hold my weight. Tears ran down my cheeks without my permission, and I felt defeated since it was only my first night being independent. I would never survive, none of us had the skills to last out in the real world since we had lived in a temple with attendants bringing us everything we needed.

I lay in the dirt until I had my emotions under control, and then pushed myself to my feet to stare up at the moon to centre myself. My ankle throbbed, but I continued to move forward one footstep at a time since I needed to put as much distance between me and the war I left behind by morning.

A flash of amber made me aware that I wasn’t alone. These grounds were patrolled by the dire wolves who were under orders to kill anything they found out here. I froze when there was a terrified scream from somewhere behind me, and my hands covered my heart since it felt like it was going to try and escape my chest.

A figure leapt out at me, knocking me to the ground again and forcing the breath from my lungs. We had been told not to use magic as Balor would be able to track us. This was the moment that I realised without my magic, I was useless, nothing more than a helpless child. I felt the breath on my skin of whatever predator had knocked me down, a drip of saliva that fell on me. I didn’t even have a weapon with me.

I faced my mortality and the real possibility that tonight I was going to greet death.