Made of Blood & Starlight

Rebirth

The world tumbled and spun around me. The stars in the night sky where the only things I could see. I was falling-but maybe flying? Up and down blurred together and I felt weightless as I floated, completely out of control in the darkness. It wasn't a scary feeling, but not quite safe either.

It seemed like I had been hours-but possibly seconds-that I had been suspended in this mysterious abyss before I felt a tug in my stomach, just below my navel. It was warm and welcoming-a safe feeling. The warmth caressed my body like a fire licking the air, beckoning me to let it take over, let it guide me.

I relaxed my body and let the warm tug in my belly take me where it desired. I seemed to stop twisting and turning in the night and my body evened out among the stars. A wave of warmth washed over my whole body and I let out a relaxed breath. I paused, realizing that I hadn't taken a breath the entire time I was in this odd place. Surprisingly, I wasn't bothered by the fact that I hadn't been breathing.

Before I could fully process what the odd cord of warmth in my navel, the tether was pulled taught as a tightrope. There was a sharp pain where the warm cord had come from only moments ago and my body was ripped downwards-flipping me on my stomach, away from the sky and towards the ground below me.

A scream clawed its way from my throat and I reached upwards, trying to grab at anything to slow my fall, despite knowing nothing will save me here.

I looked down towards the earth and noticed a speck of gold growing closer. Maybe that was where this tug in my belly was coming from, dragging me towards the source.

This source did not comfort me as the tether originially did.

As I was dragged closer, I realized the glow from below me was a fire, the size of a small house, surrounded by small black dots, moving around the fire in a rhythmic chaos.

The closer I was dragged to the ground, I realized the black dots where people dressed in all black clothing, dancing wildly around the fire. More screams ripped through me as I realized there was the body of a girl in a blue dress burning in that fire.

Panic rose like bile in my throat and I felt tears burn my eyes.

I was close enough to see three hooded figures standing around a dais with the naked body of a girl sprawled atop it, silver hair stark against the dark grey stone. Bile actually rose from my stomach when I saw the dark liquid spilling from the girl's abdomen and pooling around her body.

The figure closest to the girl raised a bloody dagger high above their head and screamed something to the sky before bringing the blade down once again into the girl's body.

As the girl was stabbed once more, I felt as if my own flesh was tearing at the same moment my body slammed into hers.

I cried out, expecting pain from crashing against the grey stone and the dead, mutilated body, but I only felt cold as my eyes flung open and I flipped off the table onto the dirt, gasping for breath.

My body burned as I emptied whatever was left in my stomach onto the soil in front of me. The world swayed beneath my body, and I curled up against the side of the altar in pain. I briefly glanced down at myself and saw I was naked and covered in a dark crimson liquid.

As I looked at the wound in my belly, I realized it was a miracle I was able to move off the table without passing out from pain, even if I was bordering unconsciousness now.

Sobs wracked my body and I screamed, trying to escape the hand that gripped my shoulder. Despite the reassuring words the cloaked figure whispered, I used my arms to drag my body in the dirt, trying to escape this strange and terrifying place.

"Stop! You're going to hurt yourself, please just stop!" A young female voice called from the crowd, now stopped dancing, gathered around me.

I stopped crawling, the rocks and soil burning my abdomen where I had somehow gotten hurt in my fall, and tried to find the voice in the crowd. As I scanned the crowd, my head began to spin and the figures blurred together into one dark mass. The fire creating an almost angelic halo around them.

My breath froze in my chest. There was nothing angelic about these people. They must be demons. Tears slid down my cheeks as the thought this is hell, I am in hell, ran through my mind.

The hooded figure knelt down in front of me and my eyes focused on the blood-soaked dagger in their hands. I forced my eyes up to their face and saw a woman, once beautiful but age had been cruel to her.

Her hair was stringy and grey and her papery thin skin was covered in age lines, but her crystal blue eyes were still sharp. Time may have taken a toll on her body, but her mind was as clear as it was in her youth.

She squeezed my shoulder with a bony, withered hand and curled her lips upwards into a smile that didn't reach her cunning eyes. It was meant to be comforting, but her cracked yellow teeth and startlingly blue eyes sent a chill down my spine.

"You are one of us now," she rasped. "We are going to take care of you. I promise."

I swallowed and opened my mouth to respond, but the old woman held up a hand to silence me.

Before I had to chance to ask her why she didn't let me speak, though, the old woman let go of my shoulder and rose to her feet, turning towards the crowd by the fire. I realized now, that every face I could now focus on was female.

The girls, ranging from the ages of what looked like ten, to twenty-five. The old woman raised her hands at her sides, still gripping the bloody dagger, as she addressed the silent crowd. '12 q

"Tonight we celebrate another Rebirth. Let your magic run wild, fill the island with power to thank the gods for their gift tonight. Your sister has finally joined us!" Her voice was quiet and gravely, but filled with power, and there was no doubt that this woman was in charge of everyone here.

I tried to push myself to my feet, desperate to understand what is happening, where I am, but a sharp pain stabbed into my belly, radiating through my body. I let out a small scream and the old woman spun to face me, her robes lowing around her. I must have looked pathetic, covered in blood and dirt on the ground, but her eyes showed no compassion as she called over two of the girls from the crowd.

"Take her to the House. This one has power, I can feel it." Without another word, she tuned and stalked back towards the altar I had fallen from. My mind was becoming foggy, but I still noted how she moved with a fluidity and grace someone her age shouldn't possess.

A moment passed before the two girls knelt down beside me, smiling. Their smiles where not like the woman's, they were warm, caring.

"We're going to help you get somewhere more comfortable." The taller of the two girls said, her wild dark curls falling in front of her eyes. I noted how her skin, dark and smooth, was covered in sweat and ash from dancing by the fire. The fire with the burning body of a girl.

I barely tried to fight them off, really only pushing the other girl slightly before one of them took each of my arms and pulled me to my feet, propping me up between their bodies. The torn muscles in my stomach ripped further, blood seeping out onto the ground and I cried out, tears burning my eyes.

One of the girls said something, but my head was filled with the fog of pain and whatever she said didn't register. The world bowed beneath my feet and spots filled my vision. One of the girls mumbled something with slight panic vibrating in her voice, but I was already gone.

My body went weak and my head tipped back. The night sky, speckled with stars was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.