Chapter 1

Elara heard the jailers approaching and hugged the two smaller girls sheltering beneath her arms even as she suppressed a shudder against the cold fear of what was coming.

“Goddess, give me strength,” she prayed softly, barely whispering.

Her belief would not let her ask for rescue or escape, not so long as these other girls were at risk. She had witnessed one girl pulled from the damp cell, stripped outside the thick metal bars, and roughly tied before being led through the stout wooden door set in the black stone wall. The thickness of the door did nothing to prevent her from hearing the screams of the child.

The door opened, and the two jailers entered, laughing at some unheard joke. One was a heavyset man, dressed in a black robe with worn leather boots peeking from beneath the hem just above the damp floor. He was older, with greying hair and a sparse beard. His broad, flat nose filled the space beneath and between his dark, beady eyes. His gaze was hungry as he looked through the bars at the cowering women.

The other was younger, fitter, but not any nicer based on his look. He wore leather pants and a tan tunic. His hair was blonde, and Elara thought he could have made himself attractive, but there were no pleasant thoughts once you saw his leer and cold eyes. Where his mate was hungry, he was mean. You could see he wanted to lash out, to cause pain for pain’s sake. He was the one that pulled a length of well-worn rope from his belt and smiled in anticipation.

“Not a young one this time,” the older man said. “The master wants someone who’s old enough to breed.”

“I guess that limits us,” the mean man said. “But it will mean we’ll get a young one for dessert,” he added with a wicked laugh.

Elara shuddered. The fear in the cell was palatable. She could feel it rolling off her cellmates. Fear of being chosen now. Fear of remaining to be selected later. The different flavors of fear filled her as her goddess’ gift let her feel those around her. Needing to face that fear, she gave the two girls at her sides a quick hug, then released them to force herself up to her feet.

Both men leered at her.

“Looks like we have a volunteer,” mean man said. “Get over here to the gate,” he ordered.

Elara stepped with unconscious precision, feeling the cold stone floor in the soles of her feet. The men watched her, letting their gaze travel up from her painted toes, along her legs, over her body and then up to her long silver hair. The coarse shift they had provided each of the prisoners provided too little cover for her, only reaching mid-thigh. She felt the other’s momentary sense of relief as the jailers seemed to accept her as their next victim.

The door was unlocked, and the mean man grabbed her firmly by the arm, jerking her through the doorway before the other man slammed it shut and turned the key to lock it firmly. She could feel the men’s lust rising as the mean man pulled out his knife and quickly cut up her shift, exposing her to their eyes.

They both licked their lips, but then spun her around and tied her elbows behind her back.

“If the master doesn’t like her,” the old man said. “I’ll take her. I’ve never had one with silver hair before.”

The mean man laughed. “I thought you didn’t like them with any hair!”

Elara blocked their dark thoughts and let them push her out of the jail and down the dark corridor. Green magical lights cast eerie shadows as they walked. Down the corridor, up the winding stairs, then through another dark passage filled with black doors before descending once more.

Eventually, they reached a larger chamber, appearing carved from obsidian, but finished in precisely angular cuts. The room seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, and she could sense the boundary between the physical world and the magical realm growing thin. Crystalline structures glowed with an inner radiance, their facets refracting the ethereal light that filled the space. Gigantic machines hummed softly, their purpose a mystery to her.

A massive obsidian altar dominated the center of the chamber, and Elara could feel the power emanating from it. The air was thick with anticipation and potential. She had heard tales of such places but had never witnessed one firsthand. Despite her unease, Elara couldn’t deny the allure of this extraordinary place coursing with power and potential.