For years now the harvest has been less than it should be. Last year the people of Oisin's village sacrificed a goat, but their god did not come. Now, in desperation, a human sacrifice has been suggested, and Oisin, recently orphaned and feeling life is not worth living, volunteers. But the god Belinos is not quite what he seems, and Oisin's sacrifice will not be what he expects, for Belinos first came out of the darkness to drink the sacrificial blood not because he was a god, but because he was a vampire. This is just the beginning of the changes to Oisin's life, as he is drawn further and further into a world of gods and magic, where the most unexpected thing is not even his own blossoming talent, but the blossoming feelings he has for Belinos. Love between mortal and immortal is not without its difficulties, though. As outright war among the gods threatens, Oisin will end up making a far greater difference in the conflict than he could ever have dreamed possible.

The Sacrifice

“We should speak of other things. How goes your spell work?”


Oisin smiled. “It goes well. I’ve been working on healing potions, and I have several good ones. Although testing them has been, uhm…” He glanced down at his arm, where he had several thin scars now. The method of making a batch and seeing it worked required something for it to work on, and in the case of healing potions that had meant having an injury. He’d ended up making little cuts along his arm and putting the potion on them. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if he wanted to perfect the potions for healing sickness rather than injury.


“That is part of why many mages keep familiars, to test such things on. You are brave to test it on your own flesh, my little deer.”


Oisin shrugged. “I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”


Chapter 17