The Guy Next Door *editing for publication*

The Sacrifice

Ashley closed her eyes and laid on the alter with the knowledge that she'd die soon. Prayers tumbled from her lips to be spared but she knew her request wouldn't be realized.  She turned her head away as Troy and her mother walked closer to her unable to tune out their words.

"Tell me more of what you believe you can do," questioned Troy, his voice full of suppressed frustration.

Brenda Rae eyes swung to Ashley as she started, "The potion is poison to a demon and it now flows through her veins.  The breast within that heart will want out and when the time is right I will call forth it's spirit and manifest it into a solid form so that it can be destroyed."

Troy gazed at Brenda Rae in disbelief as he step up to the alter, "You have two hours."

Ashley opened her eyes and gazed up into his blue eyes.  They looked sad but determined as he started to play with the strap that held her down to the table.  As she stared down his arm to the strap she wondered how it hadn't crushed her ribs in it's tightness.

Brenda Rae nodded as she went about to gather the things needed to call forth the demon that possessed the heart of her daughter.  She drew several markings of the old order and called upon the spirits to assist her.

Troy stood and watched as she pleaded with the spirits to rip the demon from Ashley sighing he pulled out his mobile knowing her pleas would go unanswered.  For over an hour he watched as she made offerings to them before she went to stare down at the scribbles she'd drawn on the ground.

With a sigh Troy pointed to one, "That's not drawn correctly."

Brenda Rae turned to stare at him in disbelief. "As if I'd take your word on it," she spat as she turned back to examine the image and realized she did in fact draw it incorrectly.  Brenda Rae she walked to a new spot in the ground and started over.

Troy walked to the alter and stared into the terrified eyes of Ashley, "I don't think your mother will succeed."

Ashley stared at him with lifeless eyes, in the past hour she had resolved herself to die, "Can you just please kill me quickly."

Troy stared down at her, "I want to but the ceremony calls for me to drink your blood until you are almost dead and then cut your beating heart out."

Ashley stared at him disgusted, "That's sick."

Troy nodded, "It is but that is the way the creature that cursed me used to kill her victims and now I am cursed with having to kill you the same way."

Ashley turned away from his sad blue eyes, he's a monster and feels no remorse in having to do this.  He tricked me to keep me close to him and manipulated situations to his likings.

Troy raked his hands through his hair before he looked over to the scribblings her mom had drawn again.  He twisted his lips up when he saw she had started to plead with the Wiccan spirit animals. Troy moved to check his mobile device for the time and went to stand and mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do.

"It's hard to turn off the feelings humans' have," taunted Brenda Rae as she watched him sit on the back porch.  "It's real easy for you to say you are going to kill her and to be the big bad demon but didn't you kill that other demon to protect humans?"

Troy gazed blankly at her, "And let's count the troubles I've went through, the troubles my family has went through because of me protecting the humans."

Brenda turned to gaze at the spell she tried to cast and sobbed, "I can't lose her like this."

Troy looked toward the sky, "You have 45 minutes."

Brenda looked down and wondered why the spell wouldn't work.  She stared at the circles, triangles, pentagons, crescent moons she sighed.  Slowly she rose and went to a different empty location and drew a huge four circles each one bigger than the last.  Once she had drawn the last and smallest circle she draw two lines that crossed each other that cut the circle into four.  In each slice she drew another circle each with special markings.  Once done she stood in the middle and raised her hands to the sky and started to chant ancient words.

Troy heard her utterances and looked up, she was speaking words long lost to humans over a 1,000 years ago.  With a frown he stood and walked toward the alter to see Ashley laid taunt before it started to bucked against the straps that held her down.  Slowly a bloody foam started to come from her mouth and was sure her mother's intent was to kill her in an attempt to punish him.

Troy waved a hand to remove the straps and watched speechless as the red foam turned into a thick black syrup that start to ooze out of Ashley's mouth.  Troy raised an eyebrow in fascination as he watched the black goo spill from her mouth to pool on the alter.  After several seconds the ooze slid of its own accord to the ground.  As it ran down the side of the alter it elongated and started to take shape.