Human Sacrifice

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

“And the riot squad, they're restless

They need somewhere to go

As Lady and I look out tonight

From Desolation Row”

Katya smiled at me from over the loud music, yet I still felt uncomfortable. I figured that everyone in the room was a vampire and that I was on borrowed time; a human partying with vampires has a death wish. Every so often I would feel breath on the back of my neck and I would jump and grab onto Katya’s arm.

“If you keep jumping like that people will suspect you and if things kick off I’m not helping you” she said, looking at me serious this time. I relaxed a bit and made myself at home in this mad room. The scent of blood filled the room and I looked at what people where drinking in the place of beer, and realised. I would pass on the drinks.

The guy stood next to me eyed up my neck but Katya hissed a warning to him and he backed away. I smiled my thanks at her but she just got back into the music. I could tell that she came here often because most people called her by name.

The band were actually quite good, and the lead singer quite attractive. Everyone is here was, except for me obviously, I didn’t possess the good looks that came with never aging. The music was perfectly loud and noisy which was just how I liked it and I jumped around. The singer gestured for someone to go onstage and as everyone put their hands up, he grabbed mine and pulled me onstage.

Ok, if they didn’t realise I wasn’t a vampire then, they will now.

He looked me up and down with a smirk on his face, as if he liked what he saw. I swallowed and searched the crowd for Katya but I figured she had gone to get a drink, being alone in a room full of people though made me want to throw up from how nervous I got. The guitarist looked me up and down and handed me his guitar, grabbing another. “You play?” he asked. I nodded and ran my fingertips over the strings.

It had been years. My dad had left me with his name and a guitar when he left, and I taught myself how to play it. Zach helped a bit by showing me some tutorials. Luckily they began to play a song I’d heard on the radio and using my memory of the song, I played. The crowd jumped with the music and I stood back to back with the guitarist, head-banging in sync with him.

I looked out at the crowd again and caught the eyes of someone who looked like a spitting image of Zach, only his eyes were red and he had fangs. I blinked and stood frozen until the drummer hit my back hard with a drumstick to snap me out of it. Zach...was a vampire. He smirked at me and nodded, mouthing My friend just called you sexy, keep playing to me. I smiled.

Katya walked back in, her mouth smeared with red. She saw me and blinked. I winked at her and went into the solo, playing on my knees. I finished and stood up as the song finished, handing the guitar to a stage hand. My fingertips were bleeding from shredding at the strings and I jumped from the stage into the crowd and made my way to Katya.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU ON STAGE FOR?” she yelled at me over the music. I couldn’t really hear her but I lip read and I managed to make out what she was saying. I shrugged and smiled. She looked at me with worry and bandaged up my hand, and once again I felt breaths on the back of my neck. It made my hairs stand on end.

I heard the doors slam open and police ran in, grabbing violent looking people. I watched as they dragged the band offstage and Katya wrapped her arms around me and we appeared at the castle again. I blinked and shook violently in the cold that was my room. I forgot it was winter and I’d left my window open all night. Katya wished me goodnight and I climbed into my bed. I fell asleep instantly and drifted off into dream world.

Sierra sobbed against the gag around her mouth and struggled against the chains that bound her hands to the ceiling. She cried for her family yet in the cold room nobody took notice. The whole of the vampire race watched her squirm. They watched her indifferently. Most saw it as an everyday occurrence. She sobbed as she became weak from exhaustion and hunger. Then the two Princes walked in. One soon-to-be King and the other just a Prince. She looked down at her white hospital gown as it became stained with tears. It happened almost daily but yet even know she knew she was going to die, she always believed in an escape.

The Prince sat by his father whilst the heir bowed in front of Sierra. He had picked her for this because she was too emotional, and wouldn’t be fit for ruling. His father nodded at him and he addressed his race with a short speech. They cheered. He turned to Sierra and she avoided his eye contact and sobbed, still struggling; she struggled even though she knew her efforts were wasted. He recited something about the sacrifice and took the sword from his father. When her eyes met the blade she seemed to look like she’d seen a ghost.

He sliced her neck and watched as the life left her. The crowd cheered. He waved the sword in the air and his father watched him proudly.

I sat up screaming. That was a traditional sacrifice by the looks of it, and that would be how I’d die. The closest person to the room was Lyle and he ran into my room, probably because he wanted to know why somebody was screaming in the middle of the night. I must admit he looked quite confused. “What’s wrong?” he asked in a loud whisper.

“Sierra! My dream, it showed how she was murdered” I sniffed as tears bounded down my cheeks once more at the memory. His eyes widened when I said her name. It was like for that split second, he could see her again, and tears streamed down his cheeks also. Mine had stopped but he looked truly upset, whereas I was just shocked. He looked down at the bed and sniffed, trying to wipe away his tears. “What happened, Lyle?”

“I loved her. I loved her so much. I tried to stop Ashtin from killing her but he locked me up and killed her before I had the chance to escape. He made me his servant as revenge because he found out, and I couldn’t leave the castle. He made Katya work here too as a result because she wouldn’t leave me” he sobbed.

I talked to him for a few hours, even though it only seemed like ten minutes at the most. I managed to stop him crying and convinced him that she was at peace instead of living in this hellhole. He left when we made sure that each other was ok, and I looked at the clock on the bedside table. 7:56am. Today we all had to tell the princes more about ourselves and I was first. My time was 8:00am on the dot and if I was late it would help my plan.

I fell asleep again. The next time I checked it happened to be 12:09pm, and I smiled. Mission accomplished.