A glint of something long and sharp catches my attention, and a splash of warmth hits my face. Dark liquid pours from a line drawn across her throat, down her breasts.
Frowning, I look at her eyes, but they don’t see me anymore.
She’s no longer giggling. Instead, her mouth isgaping.
Some of that dark liquid is collected in a bowl, and more robed people close in to carry the girl away, leaving a trail of wet splats that make me frown. I try to squeeze my mind again, but I just can’t squeeze it hard enough.
I try it from a different angle. Nothing.
I thought this was a wonderland … Now I’m not so sure.
Think.
Think …
I look at the man before me.
He tilts his head to the side, the blue in his eyes giving way to more and more black. “Is this the first time you’ve seen a sacrifice?”
I don’t know what that is.
“Maybe not?”
That seems like a good answer—halfway between a yes and a no.
Just as confused as I am.
He makes a low humming sound. “They’re done to appease the Gods. Mainly Kvath, Jakar, and Bjorn—who created the universe with the convergence of their mighty powers. Death, blood, and a balanced number of sacrifices for a fruitful coupling.”
I frown, not certain I want any of this fruit he speaks of. His words don’t chime like the girl’s giggles.
They don’t make me feel happy inside.
I crane my neck, trying to see where she went as the woman in the robe says more words that mean less and less.
The man before me dips his fingers into the bowl of dark liquid, painting the slippery substance upon the stone bangle around my wrist as he looks into my eyes—something possessive in his stare that makes me feel strange.
“Tonight, the Gods will pierce the veil between our realms to witness me pierce the veil between our bodies. Tonight, I claim you before them—as mine. Forever.”
I frown, not so certain I want this veil to bepierced.It sounds painful.
Unpleasant.
He takes my hand and dips my fingers into the wet stuff, too. Like a puppet on a string, he coaxes me to painthisstone bangle while I’m told to repeat things:
“Tonight, we will open the veil to the Gods while I open my body to this man, surrendering my blood and binding us for eternity.”
I don’t like the way the words taste. How they feel in my mouth. I want to take them back.
My wrist is grabbed real tight, forcing my hand to flatten. Something sharp is dragged along it, drawing a line of sting that makes something big and sparkly and smooth inside me shake.
Shake.
Shake.
The man clasps my hand in his, and his own is wet and warm.
I squeeze my mind so hard I’m certain I’m making a mess of it, turning it into a mangled lump while I try to force its juices free.
