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

He could make this potion, and make Bel stop holding back, stop keeping his distance out of fear. And surely having done so once without doing Oisin any harm, he’d be willing to do so again thereafter.


Oisin swallowed hard, staring down at the page. It would be so easy. So very, very easy. Even if the potion was imperfect the first time, as most of his were, it might still be enough to tip Bel over the edge. And he could probably think of some way to test it on somebody or other first and then improve it a little. It would be vastly simpler than something like the sun amulet.


He could do it and have what he so desperately wanted. He stared at the page, reading on, noting the other ingredients and seeing that the rest of the spell was simple indeed, the mandrake root was the rarest component needed and the recipe for combining everything was perfectly straightforward.


Chapter 52