Burnt Offerings by Pearl Love

Author:Pearl Love [Love, Pearl]
Language: nld
Format: epub
Tags: romance, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Gay, GLBT, Fantasy, dreamspinner press, Bittersweet Dream, Novella, Pearl Love
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“YOU may not know this, my boy, but during the dark times,

sacrifices to the elemental gods that protect the village were

common.” The priest spoke nonchalantly, as though he was

tutoring an attentive acolyte. “Criminals, as well as the

willing devout, faced different torments depending on which

deity was to be appeased. Some were left exposed to the

relentless bite of the winter wind. Others were set adrift to be

claimed by the sea and its creatures. Still others were buried

in the depths of the earth, destined to succumb to the

smothering press and become naught but food for the

worms.” He turned to the young beauty standing beside him

and allowed his gaze to caress the boy’s doomed figure. “And

then there were those who were sentenced to be consumed

by flame.

“The scriptures tell of a powerful god that resides in the

liquid flames that burn within the mountain’s heart.” The

priest continued his monologue as he motioned the guards

to continue forward with their prisoner. “Even in the past,

offerings to him were never frequent, but they were

necessary on occasion to quell the rage that sometimes

rumbles within the earth. As the years became centuries and

the mountain remained long dormant, the practice nearly

vanished from memory. Yet still the pyre remains, waiting in

readiness for its next sacrifice.”

Though he was well aware that such an oblation was

unnecessary, the priest felt no guilt as he watched the

guards chain Alen to the wooden structure, the boy’s arms

and legs stretched to the four corners and bound with the

heavy fetters. The cleric traced one of the sigils etched into

Burnt Offerings | Pearl Love

49

the altar—the symbols of spectral flame identifying the deity

to whom the sacrifice was destined to pay homage—before

resting a gnarled hand on one of the thick logs. The grain of

the bark was rough against his palm, the texture

reminiscent of the sharp rock upon which the wood sat.

“These are fashioned of a peculiar type of wood, you know,

designed to burn hot but slowly, leaving the condemned with

plenty of time in which to contemplate the nature of his

sins.” When the guards had finished fully securing Alen to

the pyre, the priest stepped closer to the ancient altar and

looked down upon the perfection that was soon to be forever

abolished. “And contemplate them you will, my lad, as you

roast in the merry flames. When your flesh is blackened and

charred and your agony at its most profound, then you will

know how foolish you were to refuse me.”

There was a faraway look in the boy’s eyes, as though

he gazed upon something only he could perceive, something

wondrous that made the reality of his condition a mere trifle.

Was the boy an imbecile? Did he not understand the

torturous death that loomed before him? The priest scowled,

clenching his jaw as he was summarily ignored. Perhaps

some would admire the boy’s courage, but the old man’s

bloated ego blistered at the perceived slight. The end of the

lad’s tiny, insignificant life merely awaited his pleasure, yet

still the whelp was defiant! The priest snatched a pewter

flask from the hand of the guard standing at his side and

tilted it over the boy’s face, watching with attentive

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