Sanctuary

Prologue

I long to believe in immortality. I shall never be able to bid you an entire farewell… I wish to believe in immortality. I wish to live with you forever.

- John Keats

 

My bow felt heavy in my hand. I knew it was no use against this new enemy, but the familiar weight comforted me as I approached the edge of the cliff. I was gripping the stave so tightly, I almost expected that they would find ridges in the wood after they pried it from my cold, dead hands.

He hovered, just beyond the edge of the cliff, a shining beacon in the darkness beyond. The fall air temperature warmed as I stepped closer, and when he spoke, his voice seared my mind. It took everything I had to not want to cover my ears, although I knew that wouldn’t help.

Mortal. Why have you called me here.

The pressure relieved once his voice stopped, and I dared to take in the monster I’d summoned. It was painful to even observe him, and even brief eye contact left me seeing sunspots behind my eyelids when I blinked. I felt the letter in the pocket on my chest, a weight on my heart… the letter that drove me to such desperation, I’d been forced to call on something so inhuman to save me.

“I would like to propose a trade.” My voice sounded more confident than I felt, considering my heart was in my throat. I used the words from the stories I’d been raised on, the superstitious tales of men and women fueled by necessity or desire to parlay with unholy creatures of light and fire.

I think he nodded, but the light shining through his skin made it impossible to say for sure. I took this as an invitation to continue. My slow path forward had faltered, and I stood in front of the last thing on earth that could save me. I pulled my bow across my chest, until my hand was right above my heart, a gesture of honesty. “A life for a life.”

How could I be so cold standing so close to him? My skin should be on fire, but instead it crawled with chills. Why had he not spoken? That was tradition – my life, to save someone I loved. That was how it always worked. Almost imperceptibly, he shook his head.

More.

The impact of his words crashed over me, a mockery of the waves below. What more did I have? What more could I give him? My knees buckled beneath me, and I bowed my head as crushing defeat rolled over me. The wave of heat signaled his presence as he moved closer, and I lifted my eyes to lock onto his, staring into the twin suns of his colorless eyes. 

What will you sacrifice to save your family?