Blood Sacrifice (The Astral Chronicles #1)

Chapter Thirty-ThreeLuna

Chapter Thirty-Three

Luna

I had been here before.

The suppressed memories reawakened inside me when I stepped inside. I had visited this entrance in my youth, and always assumed I had never dared to venture into the heart of the volcano.

I was wrong.

Four hundred years ago I had encountered void magic, and it sent me on a quest because it needed someone strong enough to channel it. The girl who had found her way in here had been judged and given a mission to evolve into the woman I was today.

I remembered the symbols on the walls, the blazing sconces that highlighted the winding pathway, and the crunch underfoot as I compressed the debris from solidified lava and the remains of small creatures who had found their way in and got trapped.

Maia and Owen walked in silence behind me, and I could almost feel their questions reaching out toward me.

“I knew where the pathway into the volcano was, but I believed it was because I had seen others use it,” I said in a low voice. “My memories of being here had been removed until I returned. The same may happen again.”

“The hieroglyphs are ancient,” Owen said, stopping to examine the symbols on the wall. “Some of them from cultures long forgotten.”

He had spent decades studying ancient texts as he searched for other hybrid creatures like himself, travelling the world in an attempt to find somewhere he belonged. In the end, he accepted the fact he belonged with someone who saw beyond his duality and accepted who he was inside.

Dominic’s coven was loyal to him because every vampire in it knew he would give his life for them. It had been the basis for our friendship a long time ago, and still held true today, with him flying across the world because he was needed.

“What do they say?” Maia stood on her tiptoes and peeked over his shoulder.

“They talk about a prophecy, and the end of times,” Owen replied.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Maia said. “Maybe we should turn back.”

Owen shook his head. “That is common wording in prophecies. It means the end of an era. This world has witnessed many endings because something must cease for new life and beginnings to emerge.”

His finger continued to move in front of the symbols, his lips speaking the words even though there was no sound.

Maia slowly spun to look all around her. “This place is saturated in magic. I can see why Balor used it as a focal point.”

“He was using the sacrifices to try and access the void magic,” I replied. “He wanted to channel it into himself.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Owen replied, moving down the corridor as he continued to read the ancient text on the wall. “This section here talks about the beginning of energy. The ancients had a different term for magic than we have today. The talk about dark, light, and neutral energy. I believe that is void magic, natural magic, and humanity.”

Maia and I moved closer to him, trying to read what he was seeing without any success.

“To exist, all must be in alignment,” he continued.

“What happens if you lock one of the three in a different realm under a volcano for a few thousand years?” I asked.

“Nothing good.” Owen stared at me, his dark eyes glowing red in the centre to allow him to see in the dim light. “Imagine if that punishment was given to an immortal. They would go slowly insane, and seek vengeance against those who incarcerated them.”

“But this is magic,” Maia replied. “Natural magic has been diluted by humanity over the years. Only pocket areas of pureblood magic are still in existence. It is why the elders choose the bloodlines for the shamans’ reproduction. Void magic has remained in its pure form, locked away from the turning hands of time…” Her voice trailed off, her head canting to the side as if she could hear someone talking to her.

“We haven’t come this far to stop now,” I said. “Prophecies exist for a reason, to help guide us to greater wisdom and divine knowledge. There have been powerful witches guiding me for centuries to ensure we made it to this moment, and I trust them.”

It was true. The women I had trusted the most in my life had been watching over me even when I believed I was alone. They had given me the strength to pick myself up and keep moving forward in my darkest moments.

Owen studied me for several moments, before he shrugged one shoulder. “Eternity is a long time to live without a little adventure to keep your soul alive. Lead the way, this will be a story that will be told around campfires to our descendants.”

There were times as we moved through the winding corridor that I felt ghostly hands touch me, their presence making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Sconces lit as we approached, guiding us to a place I had been once before.

A single flame burned in the middle of the large circular room, suspended in midair without anything present to feed the flame. It pulsed brighter when we entered, and I felt a warmth envelop us as if we had been welcomed.

“Three travellers of time,” a disembodied voice said from what sounded like the flame. “Three who have died to protect the innocent.”

It had never occurred to me before, but we had all died but been revived. Maia in the witch trials, Owen in an explosion during World War II, only Dominic pumped enough blood into him to ensure he survived, and I had been killed in those experiments that left scars that even Salvator couldn’t fully heal. They brought me back to torment me again and again until I almost begged for the release that death would bring.

Owen walked slowly around the room, his gaze trained on the flame that now had the appearance of a blazing eye.

“I was here several lifetimes ago,” I said, stepping forward. “My memories were taken from me, but I remember you.”

The flame transformed into a tall woman bathed in flames, her red hair moving like fire licking around her. “You descend from my people,” she replied. “They did not lock all of us away, some escaped and hid. The three of you were drawn here because the void calls you.”

Owen shot me a troubled look from across the room, his dark eyes starting to glow a silver shade to reveal his magical ancestry.

“If void magic still existed, the elders would have sensed it by now,” Owen said, lifting his hand to reveal a ball of energy.

“Would they?” the woman asked. “How do you sense that which you don’t understand?” The flames around her burned brighter, and I sensed her unique energy. I had felt it before but never associated it with void magic since we believed it no longer existed. There were witches out there who descended from the magical realm and had been hunted for centuries.

“The priestesses?” I queried.

“All came from the void witches left behind,” she confirmed.

“What happens if Luna opens the door?” Maia asked, and I felt her stepping close behind me.

The flame witch shook her head, a faint smile on her face. “I will be reunited with my body. I remained here as a guardian, and when the doorway closed I was separated from my physical form. I slumber on one side of the divide, and live a half-life here, protecting the gateway.” She moved toward me, studying me. “You are not the same as the last time. That girl was innocent and na?ve. The woman who stands here today has wisdom and pain in her eyes, a lifetime of weariness in her soul, but a connection to the etheric that will allow her to challenge an army of mages.”

I blinked but didn’t reply because I didn’t choose this life, I had spent years doing what I could to survive. I learned to fight to protect those who were unable to defend themselves. It was the reason I had formed the Chimaera Foundation, showing that we all had more than one beast inside us. We accepted any creature into our organisation, and operated in secret across the globe for decades, offering safety to anyone who needed it.

“Luna had a hard life,” Maia said from behind me. “She suffered and bled for those she cares about, giving them hope in the darkness.”

“She bridged the divide between creature species,” Owen added. “Creating sanctuary for all of us.”

Flames flared around us but I stood my ground, refusing to be intimidated even though I was quaking inside. I felt the magic in the air reach out to touch me, but I still refused to move. Instead, I pushed my feet into the ground and closed my eyes, not acknowledging what was happening around me, because I could see more clearly when looking with my third eye chakra. Throughout my life, when the storm of persecution or betrayal raged around me, I combated it by centring myself and finding the power to survive inside.

A vision flared in my head. Salvator surrounded by creatures I had never seen before, dark beings of shadow and mist crawling from deep in the ground. They weren’t hellspawn, as I had encountered them in the past.

“They are wraiths,” the flame witch said. “Tormented souls that cling to the last vestiges of life. The veil between Purgatory and this realm grows thin, and the dead are rising.”

My eyes flew open to find her standing in front of me. She wasn’t testing me, merely showing me what was coming.

“People fear the demons, but the true enemy is those who can hide in shadows and possess the living,” she continued. “An army stands ready to walk this world, and natural magic cannot defend against them.”

“Void magic,” I whispered, finally realising the reason we were here.

She nodded once. “It isn’t the person who is a witch or warlock who controls magic, it is their soul. The slaves rings in Purgatory bartered in their value for centuries, locking souls into enchanted items, and using the last of void magic to contain them.”

“How are we supposed to unlock this place?” Maia asked, her hands raised in the air as she spun around.

“A sacrifice,” the flame witch replied. “A blood sacrifice.” Her gaze dropped to my stomach, and I placed a protective palm over my unborn child.

“No! Fuck no!” Owen exploded. There was no way of hiding a pregnancy from a vampire since your blood changed and they could hear the extra heartbeat. “Nothing is worth the life of an innocent.”

The flame witch flung her hands up and Owen was sent crashing into the wall. “The sacrifice is not yours to make.”

“You are asking her to become dark,” he screamed, his limbs stuck to the wall as he struggled to release himself. “The taking of an innocent life will turn her magic black!”

I felt the blast of magic as Owen revealed his true power, landing in a crouch on the floor to stare at the flame witch.

“He is strong,” she said, her head canting to the side. “One born of two creatures, the unification of dark and light.”

Owen slowly stood, his eyes glowing silver. “There are few sanctities I hold in this world, but the preservation of innocent life is one of them. The purpose of me being here today is to ensure Luna doesn’t lose herself.”

I felt the draw of the void magic calling me forward, the seductive energy of it wrapping around me. My head screamed no, but it felt like a drug thrummed in my veins and prevented me from escaping from this terrible situation. My fingers twitched as I fought for control, to find my voice while this hurricane of emotions paralysed me. The image of Salvator in danger flashed through my mind again, another image of a little boy who looked just like his father. Each of those images were possible futures, and yet the one that overrode them all was looking into the face of my daughter and knowing she was a miracle because she possessed a rare and ancient gift.

I slowly shook my head, my fingers stretching to activate my magic, the magical symbols on my body growing warm as I prepared to fight.

Owen pulled me back, his hands strong on my arms, and Maia moved forward.

“I am here to ensure that Luna is not forced into doing something she will regret,” Maia said, her hair twisting around her as she created a magical storm. I felt the strength of the two people who had walked this path with me seep into my body, awakening me from whatever enchantment had been seducing me. “We’ll consider your offer, and let you know.”

Maia threw a small potion bottle to the floor, breaking it to release whatever was held inside. Owen grabbed one of my hands and she took the other, and I felt the dizzy sensation of us being sucked into a portal as the flame witch screamed and tried to reach us.

We landed on the ground, the stars above us telling me we had been in that place hours instead of minutes.

“What the hell,” I gasped, trying to sit up.

“Not exactly, but somewhere very close,” Maia replied, brushing the dust off her purple velvet skirt. “I spent a lot of time in vision quests while you were unconscious and some very wise witches gave me some good advice. Owen has always been a powerful absorber and shield to energy, and not many beings can visualise what is happening when he is close by.”

“There was still truth in her words. Void magic needs to escape, and a blood sacrifice is required,” I said, my hands landing on my knees as I bent over since the world was spinning around me.

“She wants her people released, and the quickest route to that goal was to make you open the veil there and then, but I refuse to believe that either Fate or Destiny would permit you to take that path,” Owen added. “We’ll find another way.”

Shouts echoed from somewhere to my left, and for a moment the world stopped, and I was transported back in time to another era when I had heard the screams of the dying as Balor tried to access the void magic trapped here. Maia had never been a priestess, but her potion had brought us to where the original temple had been, its energy pulsing under our feet.

“Why are we here?” I whispered, looking at the volcano in the distance, dread unfurling in my stomach.

“The potion was designed to take us to where we needed to be,” Maia replied. “I have no idea why, but this is where we should be.”

Owen’s head snapped to the right. “We have company,” he hissed, eyes glowing red. His energy washed over us, and I knew he was cloaking us to ensure whoever was approaching couldn’t determine our powers.

“You were supposed to die.” My eyes closed for a moment and I slowly spun to come face-to-face with my sister as she spoke. “I’ve had a long time to collect relics of those around me since I always knew they couldn’t remain spellbound forever.”

I glanced beyond her to see Salvator and many of his pack floating in mid-air, their bodies bound by powerful magic.

“One snap of my fingers and all their necks will break,” Aisha said in a singsong tone. “All those years, and he never stopped loving you. All those years, and he never once noticed that I was a woman. Now he will do everything I command.”

Her smile bordered on maniacal, her eyes bright with madness. The sister I had looked up to had lost her way, and in the process had surrendered her soul to the darkness.

“What is it you want?” I asked in a low tone.

She had captured dire wolves that she had pieces of hair and nails from. Dominic had been with Salvator, and he was too old and too wise to be captured, and wouldn’t allow the others to be taken without a plan in mind. I had to believe help was on the way.

“I want what I always wanted.” Aisha paused, her lips pursing together. “Power. Mother priestess treated you like a star pupil because she saw what the rest of us felt. You were different, containing raw power that connected to magic. I looked for you after we scattered, but Salvator had hidden you, and only he knew where he had sent you.”

My mind flashed back to that night, his strong hands lifting me when I had fallen, carrying me when I ran out of energy, loving me when I lost hope.

“I’m not prepared to negotiate with you, Aisha,” I replied, straightening my back to stare at her with contempt. “You are nothing more than a pawn on this chessboard of power and death. A queen will only negotiate with her equal, which is a king. Where is Balor?”

A figure in a black cloak emerged from behind the suspended men. He tugged the hood back to reveal the man who had haunted my nightmares for centuries. His face was the same, but there was a blankness to his eyes that made me hesitate. Owen’s magic tightened around us in a protective embrace.

“Balor,” I said slowly, nodding once. “I would say it is a pleasure, but you’ve spent four hundred years trying to kill me.”

He smiled, but it looked more as if he was baring his teeth. “You’re one of the few who escaped me.” His gaze moved for a moment to Salvator. “Now I understand why. He protected you with a selfless sacrifice of his love. Four hundred years is a long time for a wolf to be celibate to maintain a magical bond.”

I refused to enter into a debate with him about Salvator, since fear gnawed in my chest at seeing him helpless.

“I’ve returned home,” I replied, looking him dead in the eye. “I refuse to keep running.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “There is a shallow grave with your name on it in a forest beside your sisters. I have no problem burying you there.”

I had seen Salvator’s memories, and knew that forest where he had lain my sister priestesses to rest. “You placed them in sacred ground, which is not the actions of a monster.”

A foreign emotion flickered in his eyes for a moment before it was suppressed again, his expression impassive. “Take her,” he commanded.

I held one hand up. “I wouldn’t advise that.”

Balor heralded his soldiers forward, the first one stopping abruptly, his mouth opening in shock as his head slid from where it had been connected to his neck. Owen placed the point of his sword on the ground casually, while lifting one shoulder in a half shrug.

“Luna did advise against trying to restrain her,” Owen said.

All eyes cut to the hybrid vampire, tension gathering in the air as the warlocks re-evaluated what was happening.

“I am not like the other priestesses who you hunted down and slaughtered,” I said. “Many went into hiding and avoided using their magic. I didn’t have that luxury.”

I felt the loss of the witches I had journeyed with in my life like a stab to my heart. Powerful women had died because others were intimidated by them. It had been the overriding factor in the witch trials, and still held true today.

Balor blinked, his head canting slightly as if listening to someone. “Enough of this nonsense. Kill them, I can recover her energy later,” he commanded, making a slicing motion with his hand.

The soldier closest to me tried to grab my arm, but every magical symbol carved into my body had been activated before we started our mission, every chakra energised and ready to cast spells. The fingers of my left hand touched his chest and I uttered an ancient incantation. He screamed, jumping back from me as he flayed the flesh from his bones as he fought an invisible swarm of beetles infesting him. The mind was a powerful tool that could be manipulated by magical suggestion.

Owen slammed his hands together in a clap that echoed around us, the energy of his magic changing from cloaking to radiating out to force those closest to us back several paces. I rubbed my own hands together to activate my hand chakras and uttered the words to an incantation connected to the emotions of our enemies. My magic felt more potent here so close to the void, as if I could draw energy from it. A mist rose up into the air and began to weave its way around those assembled. Fear was a powerful emotion, and every single person on this planet had a fear they hid inside them.

Panic started as murmurs from those my spell infected, followed by some trying to escape from unseen terrors, while others tried to fight theirs, and finally the screams pierced the air as soldiers began to succumb to their innermost fears.

Maia pulled the stopper from a potion bottle and poured the emerald-green liquid into the ground. Vines rapidly grew from where it had soaked the earth, long spines stretching out to stab those in its path, some of them firing from the vine to embed themselves in our enemies. Their gurgled distress noises told me Maia had infused the potion with poison. Her strength had always been the potency of the potions she worked on.

I moved my way toward Balor because the only way to release the powers of the priestesses he had consumed was for me to kill him and cleanse them from his body. He had been a powerful magician who didn’t shy away from a fight, yet he stood in the middle of this skirmish with a distant look on his face.

That feeling of uneasiness settled on me again as the realisation sank in that Balor was nothing more than a puppet being manipulated by someone who hid in the shadows.

“He’s spellbound,” I called to Owen, who stared at Balor for several moments before he nodded once.

I felt the reassuring pulse of Salvator’s lifeforce. Every fibre of me wanted to free him, but I knew there was only one chance to win this fight. I had to believe that Salvator was strong enough to fight the enchantment holding him since we were mated.

“Kill them!” Aisha screamed, launching herself toward me, her nails resembling talons.

There was part of me that was feral and dangerous, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, because I had had to learn to fight hard and dirty to survive. Instead of using magic as Aisha suspected since she had surrounded herself in a protective field to reflect magic, I hit her hard and fast in the centre of the face, breaking her nose. I swooped low with my leg, toppling her over, before I kicked her in everyone’s sensitive area between the legs. Grabbing her hair, I slammed my hand to her chest, muttering a karma curse under my breath, and allowing it to exit through my fingers and into her body.

Aisha screamed, twisting away from me to struggle onto her feet, and rubbing her hands together. She flung her fingers wide to release a curse, but karma intervened, sending it straight back to her. I watched as she stumbled back a few paces, shaking her head. She tried again, and fell on her ass.

Owen and Maia continued to lash out around me, both wielding their unique gifts which pushed our enemies back and gave me time. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the fingers of Salvator’s right hand twitch, and I hit Aisha with a blast of energy to keep her away from my mate.

“No one has to die here today,” I said. “Yield.”

Even though she had betrayed everything our sisterhood had stood for, and the vows we made when we stood before the great goddess in the moon temple so long ago, she was still my sister.

“Someone always has to die,” Aisha said, pushing herself to her feet. “It is the circle of life.”

“Some circles need to be broken,” I replied. “Too much magical blood has been spilled.”

An emotion I couldn’t identify flashed in her eyes, before she shook her head as if to clear it. “I stood before the dark god and made a vow. He saved my life and I became his servant, his hand of death.” Aisha straightened her back, uttering a spell to remove all taints to her energy field, flushing my curse away. “The dark god sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything. His will is mine.”

The killing curse eroded your soul every time you used it, and Aisha had already cast that spell a few weeks ago against Salvator. Her magic would never return to the ancestors since she had polluted it, and her soul was forfeit.

The words formed on her lips and her eyes hardened.

I slid the dagger I carried up the sleeve of my top into my hand. It was carved with powerful runes, and gifted to me a long time ago by a witch who sacrificed herself to save others.

The pendant at my neck grew heated against my skin, activating a protective spell around me. I rubbed the tips of my thumb and little finger on my left hand together, triggering the spell hidden there. Time slowed, and I stepped through it, the people around me almost freezing because they were moving so slowly.

“I’m sorry,” I uttered. “I’m so very sorry.”

My dagger plunged deep into Aisha before she had finished speaking her curse. Her eyes widened as time returned to normal and her legs buckled underneath her. I caught her as she fell forward, cradling her against me, remembering us playing together in childhood. The crystal Cybele had given me in Purgatory had fused with my aura when I fell from Heaven. It finally completed its task as it took the burden of the karma killing my sister brought. My friend had seen what awaited me, and sought to keep my soul pure.

The clouds coalesced above us, as if joining me in my grief. The first drop of rain mingled with the tears that poured down my cheeks. Thunder cracked in the distance, and the ground rumbled under my feet.

In front of me, a single plume of smoke emerged from Misti.