All Hail the Shifter King
Title: Feeding the Hungry
Word Count: 521
Note: Non-canon, from a previous version of the novel.
The paths that stretched down the hill on either side of the ruins terminated in a deep pool of water. The same hand-hewn stones that edged the pathways lined the pool, though these stones were in near-immaculate shape, as if they'd been laid there only recently. As Jordan wandered nearby, snapping photos, Katrina crouched at the edge of the pool and stared at the still water. Despite the breeze, not a single ripple teased the surface - it was as if it were glass instead of water. Curious, she grabbed a dried length of vine from the ground beside her and was about to poke at the pool with it when Eli caught her by the wrist.
"You don't want to do that," he said quietly, gently pulling her hand back from the water's edge.
"What is it?" she asked, dropping the vine to the ground and dusting her hands off on her shorts. Eli's face had taken on an uncharacteristic darkness, and he picked at the edges of the stones.
"This place was a temple, once, in the early days of our people," he told her. "They made offerings here."
"Offerings?"
"Just tell it like it is," Ryder said from the other side of the pool. He flicked his cigarette onto the surface of the water, and it hung there for a few seconds before it suddenly seemed to gain weight and break through the surface tension, making an audible and strangely disturbing sucking sound and is vanished beneath the surface. "You sacrificed kids."
"You..." Katrina stared at Eli, her eyes widening. "Is that true?"
"In those days, sacrifices were the norm for both clans," he said simply, and shot a dark glare at Ryder. "At least we gave it up."
"Least we sacrificed our own, pal," Ryder said. "We didn't come kidnap your youngsters in the middle of the night."
"Things were different then," Eli defended, and took a deep breath, determined not to let Ryder get him riled. "Our ways have changed, and the Gods -"
"The Gods are no different than they've ever been," Ryder interrupted. He rolled his eyes as he pulled his knife from his belt and flicked it open, nesting the blade against his palm. "How fucking blind are you?" he asked Eli, and dragged the blade through his skin, laying the flesh open in a trench. Stepping closer to the pool, he held his hand over the water. "You think anything has changed?"
As the first drop of blood hit the surface of the water, the entire pool frothed a deep red, churning as if a violent storm surged beneath the surface. Katrina yelped as the liquid sprayed onto her bare legs, scalding hot, and scrambled back across the hard-packed dirtwith Eli at her side. As they watched, horrified, emaciated arms reached from the pool, skinless and disfigured, grasping and clawing at the air, and the sloshing of the water became the desperate wail of hungry children.
"Just because you haven't been feeding them," Ryder said, his voice calm and quiet over the moans and cries, "doesn't mean they're not hungry."
Word Count: 521
Note: Non-canon, from a previous version of the novel.
The paths that stretched down the hill on either side of the ruins terminated in a deep pool of water. The same hand-hewn stones that edged the pathways lined the pool, though these stones were in near-immaculate shape, as if they'd been laid there only recently. As Jordan wandered nearby, snapping photos, Katrina crouched at the edge of the pool and stared at the still water. Despite the breeze, not a single ripple teased the surface - it was as if it were glass instead of water. Curious, she grabbed a dried length of vine from the ground beside her and was about to poke at the pool with it when Eli caught her by the wrist.
"You don't want to do that," he said quietly, gently pulling her hand back from the water's edge.
"What is it?" she asked, dropping the vine to the ground and dusting her hands off on her shorts. Eli's face had taken on an uncharacteristic darkness, and he picked at the edges of the stones.
"This place was a temple, once, in the early days of our people," he told her. "They made offerings here."
"Offerings?"
"Just tell it like it is," Ryder said from the other side of the pool. He flicked his cigarette onto the surface of the water, and it hung there for a few seconds before it suddenly seemed to gain weight and break through the surface tension, making an audible and strangely disturbing sucking sound and is vanished beneath the surface. "You sacrificed kids."
"You..." Katrina stared at Eli, her eyes widening. "Is that true?"
"In those days, sacrifices were the norm for both clans," he said simply, and shot a dark glare at Ryder. "At least we gave it up."
"Least we sacrificed our own, pal," Ryder said. "We didn't come kidnap your youngsters in the middle of the night."
"Things were different then," Eli defended, and took a deep breath, determined not to let Ryder get him riled. "Our ways have changed, and the Gods -"
"The Gods are no different than they've ever been," Ryder interrupted. He rolled his eyes as he pulled his knife from his belt and flicked it open, nesting the blade against his palm. "How fucking blind are you?" he asked Eli, and dragged the blade through his skin, laying the flesh open in a trench. Stepping closer to the pool, he held his hand over the water. "You think anything has changed?"
As the first drop of blood hit the surface of the water, the entire pool frothed a deep red, churning as if a violent storm surged beneath the surface. Katrina yelped as the liquid sprayed onto her bare legs, scalding hot, and scrambled back across the hard-packed dirtwith Eli at her side. As they watched, horrified, emaciated arms reached from the pool, skinless and disfigured, grasping and clawing at the air, and the sloshing of the water became the desperate wail of hungry children.
"Just because you haven't been feeding them," Ryder said, his voice calm and quiet over the moans and cries, "doesn't mean they're not hungry."