Welcome to this week’s story, ranging in length from 100 words to 500 words.
With each story we hope to deliver a little whimsy into the lives of our readers.
SACRIFICE
“Baal Hammon demands five lives to quell his anger.” The priest’s gaze sweeps over us. I dare not meet his eyes. I know it is necessary; our crops lie dead in the field, the river dried to a trickle, the sun scorches skin and earth alike. But I’m weak. I shudder to pay the price.
Hanno rises without a hint of hesitation. Two more, with less eagerness. Another. Then nothing. One more death, to bring new life to our people.
With a heavy heart, I stand.
The priest nods. “Very well. Deliver your lastborn daughters to the temple by nightfall.”
Sascha Reinhard has a love for the written word in a rather literal sense, given his study of palaeography. Ancient tomes, scraps of parchment, a faded letter from the time of the Avignon Papacy. These are far more exciting to him than the stereotypical German pastimes of beer and football. In more modern writing, he prefers the fantastical and sometimes spooky. His fiction has been published by Fairfield Scribes, Shacklebound Books, Black Hare Press and other short fiction markets.
If you enjoyed this story you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash anthology.
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