CHAPTER 1

A scream of utter despair echoed through the forest as the young girl was dragged out of the slave pens and across the bare clearing toward the stone altar. She struggled in the grip of the vicious and cruel Black Horsemen, but was no match for the two men holding her. She was not yet into her teens, they were mature and powerful warriors. Her face mirrored the fear in her heart as she was dragged across the compound toward the stark wooden cross standing behind the bare altar, silhouetted against the dark green canopy of the forest trees.

The evil Prince Khuramani stood menacingly in front of the altar, his wizard Shartan at his side. There was no trace of mercy in either face as they watched the young girl being dragged toward them, tears streaming down her face. The Black Horsemen stopped in front of their Prince, throwing the girl at his feet. She cowed, head bowed, frightened to raise her eyes to his.

"Prepare her," Khuramani snarled angrily. "We are wasting time."

Shartan snapped his fingers. The Horsemen reached down, grabbing the girl by a hand each. They dragged her upright, forcing her toward the altar. Two ropes hung from the cross arm of the cross. They fastened one to each ankle, then hauled on the ropes. The girl fell forward as her legs were hauled from under her. She was dragged, upside down, up the cross. Shartan drew a knife from under his robes. He stepped forward and cut the ragged robe from the girl, leaving her naked. The Black Horsemen started to haul on the ropes again, lifting the girl into air, her legs forced cruelly apart.

Scream after scream burst from her throat, a combination of pain and panic. She tried to reach upward with her hands. They were grabbed and tied to the upright of the cross. She hung there inverted and helpless.

Khuramani stepped forward and stood in front of the altar, staring at the naked young body hanging before his eyes.

"Will this sacrifice prove acceptable to the Evil Ones?" he demanded of his wizard.

Shartan nodded his head.

"Yes, Prince, this girl should prove adequate."

"But are you sure she is a virgin?"

"Yes, Prince, I have tested her and I am certain she is a virgin."

"But can you really be certain?" the Prince mocked. "You told me my sister Charni was a virgin when we tried to make our sacrifice at the Conjunction, yet it turned out she was not."

Shartan grimaced. The Prince was right. Princess Charni of Thurgan had been their planned sacrifice to welcome the Evil Ones to Praesepe at the time of the Conjunction. Unknown to them, Charni was no longer a virgin and the Evil Ones had rejected her as an acceptable sacrifice, destroying the pentagram that had been erected at the Keep. Unknown to Khuramani, Jason, now known to all Praesepe as the Warrior of Earth, had used the power of the magic amulet to penetrate the Keep's defenses and, aided by Charni's loyal captain Herus and the renegade Thorsan, they had attacked the Keep during the ceremonies and defeated the Black Horsemen. Khuramani's warriors had been driven from the Keep and, disguised as two of his own men who had paid with their lives so the Prince could "borrow" their uniforms, Khuramani and his wizard had joined their flight into the mountains.

The Conjunction, the most propitious time for linking with the Evil Ones, had been wasted. The next conjunction would not occur for another five hundred years.

"There is no doubt this slave child is a virgin, Prince. She has been examined and she is intact. Her blood will appease the Evil Ones and make them look with greater favor on us…"

"The Evil Ones cannot be made to look with favor on any they do not wish to acknowledge," Khuramani interjected. "We can make our sacrifice and offer up our supplications. All we can do then is hope these find favor in their eyes. If they do not, then they will ignore us–if they do, they might answer our call."

Shartan nodded. The Prince was right. The Evil Ones would only make contact with those they selected. They must receive endless supplications from many worlds. Shartan hoped this time they would select Praesepe.

"Perform the ritual," Khuramani told him, his impatience showing. "We are wasting time."

Shartan moved toward the altar. He picked up a wickedly sharp knife lying in the middle of the altar near the young girl's head. It was nearly half an eter long, shaped like the body of a snake in motion. The blade was sharpened on both edges. He handed the jewel-encrusted handle to Khuramani, then picked up a large golden bowl and placed it immediately under the girl's head.

The wizard began a low chant, the words barely audible. He raised his arms in the air, spread to either side of the suspended girl. The chant increased in volume. As it reached a crescendo, Khuramani slashed the blade across the girl's throat. Her scream ended in a gasping gurgle as her blood gushed from the jagged cut.

The blood flowed into the bowl, slowing to a trickle as it drained from her body. She spasmed then hung limply from the wooden cross. She was no longer living in their world, but had gone to join her gods.

Shartan raised his hands into the air again, then he reached down to take the bowl in both hands. He raised it toward the cross, calling for the Evil Ones to accept this sacrifice of the young virgin. He called for a sign to show their sacrifice had been found acceptable.

Nothing happened.

Khuramani slapped his clenched fist impatiently against his thigh.

Copyright © 2005 by Alan M. Brooker