MIRA

Mira stood staring into the darkness of the cave, her white shift blowing slightly in the breeze. She was average in all ways. She had average brown hair, average brown eyes, average weight, average height, average intelligence, and average bravery. She was just average. She had been dreading this moment since she had watched the first of her sisters commit to the path. She was the last of this generation. Mira wasn't sure if it was better to have lived a longer life dreading what would come or if it would have been better to have died first and lose what little time she had been given. The ceremony was almost over. He was inside the cave waiting for her. She had him pictured as some kind of vicious, desperate creature. The druids had kept him around for centuries and she could hear the lessons she had been taught since she was a child running through her head. Mira had even helped to teach the new generation of girls about him. She went over the lessons in her head as she waited for the high priestess to be done with her speech. Rillan Tiernay was created to protect and serve the circle. He was a guardian, an assassin, and a vampire. Each generation a group of girls was picked to be sacrificed to his thirst. This was his condition for his loyalty. He had come to despise what he was, but his self preservation instinct was too strong for him to kill himself. Each girl given to him was there to feed him until she died or asked him to kill her. Then she was replaced by another. Once she was sent into the caves she could not leave and only came to the gateway to collect the supplies that the druids left nightly. Rillan left only when there was an assignment from the druids. Every girl who entered the cave believes that maybe she will be different. Perhaps she won't want to die. Most last several months. The longest was ten years. The girl who had gone before Mira had lasted three weeks. Mira looked up from her thoughts to find that the high priestess had stopped speaking, and everyone was waiting for Mira to finish the ceremony. They were patient and stood quietly. Mira didn't know how long they had waited for her to realize it was her turn. Now as she looked around she was more afraid of what was to happen to her then she had thought she would be. The lessons were all so cut and dry; so matter of fact. This is what they had to do to survive. If not for Rillan their circle would have been found, and they would have been destroyed long ago. The sacrifices were all voluntary. The girls went to him as a service to their people. She couldn't stop her mind from churning. Mira walked forward. The moon was high in the sky and blood red. It cast an eerie light about the clearing beyond the gate. She stepped through the tall, rusted iron gateway, and she heard it creak as it swung shut behind her. The sound of the gate lock clanking sent a jolt though her and the last of her courage seemed to have been locked on the other side. She looked into the darkness beyond the mouth of the cave trying to see if he was watching, but she couldn't see anything. The little light that touched the mouth of the cave seemed to be swallowed into the black. In all the times she had delivered food or other supplies to the cave it had never seemed this ominous. The clearing in front of the cave mouth was unkempt. Unlike all the other gardens kept by the druids, this one was off limits. It was for her to take care of, if she wanted, as long as she never stepped past the gate. There was the carved stone alter at the center of the clearing in front of the cave mouth. That was where he would leave her body after her death, so that the druids would know that it was time for a new sacrifice. There was the table where they would leave food for her and any supplies that she requested. There was the stone basin where letters could be left. She was never to speak to anyone but Rillan from now until her death. It was as though she was taking inventory of her new life as she looked at each cold thing in the clearing in turn. She could almost feel loneliness creeping up on her from the shadows cast about her like a demon in the dark. Mira turned around to see if the others were still watching. There was no one. The gate had been locked and she was standing alone. All that was left for her was to enter the cave and find him. Her eyes traveled the twisted metal archway that she had studied so many times in the past. Now it was backward as she stood on the wrong side of it. Finally. She took a deep breath and walked toward the cave mouth in a resolute fashion. Her breathing was purposeful and audible. Best to get this over with. The breeze blew her shift around her legs. There were rumors that he would insist that she walk about naked after he took her. That was why the sacrifices didn't bring clothes with them into his home. The dirt floor was packed hard and her feet made a soft padding sound as she entered the darkness. Mira lifted the front of her shift so that she wouldn't step on it as she stooped under a low ceiling in the tunnel and continued further into the darkness. Rillan must live like an animal in here, she thought. The stone wall was cold and damp under her hand as she used it to guide her way. I wonder if he'll come get me or if I'll wander in here for hours before finding my way. The least he could do is provide some light. Mira was beginning to become frustrated and more frightened. She couldn't see in the black and she was tripping on either her shift or loose stone. Suddenly there was a swishing noise. Like something flying and she screamed. She fell to her knees and a stone bit into the palm of her hand. Mira held her wrist and turned to sit on the floor with her back against the wall. What if I took a wrong turn or missed some sign. The tunnels were rumored to be endless so that no one could find Rillan should he choose to not be found. It was a test of the new sacrifices. The girls were supposed to find him to prove that they were worthy. Some test. Stumbling around in pitch black, down caves with no end, looking for something that I don't want to find and doesn't want to be found. Mira began to cry. She knew that she had only been here a few minutes, five maybe fifteen, but it felt like forever. So she waited. She wasn't going to be fool enough to wander around in here. He could come get her if he wanted her. Without being able to see the moon or sky Mira couldn't tell how much time passed. Eventually she fell asleep leaning against the wall.