The Counsel’s Elders poured into the feeble balcony of the Great Hall; each straggled shuffle contributed to an apathetic rainstorm of footsteps, only to be muffled by a thunderous roar as they sat down. Lazy floodlights panned over the row of grey-hooded figures. Below the Elders, a young man knelt within a painted circle, tears streaming across his face. A guttural chant began to cut into the stale air like a sickle: “Born by the Sins of Gemini, we await the humble sacrifice . . .” * * * * * Victor pulled the tattered bedsheet up to his eyes, blocking out the blinding light coming from the drawn shade. An eager alarm clock had tried to greet him hours ago, but instead continued to ring atop his breuer. The child, twelve to the day, jumped out of bed to negotiate with the clock– to no avail. His hands grasped at the harrowing ringing with a worrisome touch. He knew that by oversleeping, he had lost the ability to please his parents. By the time his primal bashes cut all life from the alarm, it was already too late. Preoccupied with the task at hand, the boy barely had time to notice the shadow of two feet planted right outside his door. …show more content…
The stickler pursed his lips and shook his head, locking gaze with the same pair of icy blue eyes from across the