The Fourth Ceremony: The Sacrifice Trilogy Read online

  The Fourth Ceremony

  The Sacrifice Trilogy

  K.M. Ashling

  In loving memory of Rachel. Thank you for every criticism, demand for more, and excited review. Thank you for being my critic. Thank you for being my cheerleader. Thank you most of all for being my friend. There are no words to describe how painfully you are missed. Heart over eyes, dear friend.

  Until there’s a cure.

  The Fourth Ceremony

  Chapter 1-

  Alessa

  “Sac-ri-fice! Sac-ri-fice!”

  The crowd was chanting from below. She could feel their energy. It was palpable in the unseasonably warm March afternoon. She stood on her balcony with her face painted into a polite smile while the crowd cheered for her with abandon. She was their sacrifice, their savior. They would worship her right up until the day she died. And although she always knew what she was, what purpose she served to these people, it didn’t make their thrill for her impending death any easier to stomach. She was to die, and every person in the Empire would celebrate. The familiar ache started in her chest as she turned away from the celebration going on below her balcony.

  “Alessa,”she heard her mother’s voice,“come back inside, we need to speak.”

  Alessa collected her thoughts and turned slowly from the crowd to walk purposefully back into her bedroom. The rich white carpet was soft beneath her feet. Alessa pulled the balcony’s double doors closed behind her, the action only slightly deterring the celebration of the crowd outside. Alessa’s mother frowned at her bare feet. She had always encouraged Alessa to appear in public fully dressed and in at least business casual attire, but Alessa was a casual sort of girl. Alessa was the complete opposite of her uptight mother, who always appeared with perfectly smooth hair in tailored suits and dresses. Alessa and her mother had a strained relationship, at best, and Alessa supposed that this was a formal visit.

  “Yes, Mother, to what do I owe the pleasure?”Alessa perceived the slightest rise in her mother’s eyebrow, but Alessa’s voice was perfectly practiced, perfectly polite, and her mother could make no mention of her sarcasm. This was Alessa’s weapon. If she didn’t blatantly offend her mother, then her mother allowed her to make her snide remarks. After all, if Alessa had plausible deniability, there was no way her mother would run the risk of being wrong. No, Alessa’s mother certainly could not stand to be wrong.

  “I wanted to wish you a happy birthday and ask you what your wish for this year might be.”Her mother’s tone was reserved and proper. It thoroughly frustrated Alessa.

  “I don’t know, Mother.”Alessa said, barely containing her annoyance,“I will let Father know before the sun sets.”

  Every year on her birthday she was allowed any wish. Not as if it were any different than every other day, she was always awarded anything she desired, but this wish was a more formal one, a birthday present. In the past, her big birthday wish had been something she planned carefully all year. At one time, it was a way to get the most exciting thing she could imagine. As she grew older, she began to test the wishes, to see if the Government could pull off the things she requested. She almost smiled as she remembered her ninth birthday when she had asked to go to the moon. Even her mother had smiled when she requested it and her father couldn’t contain his laughter. Of course, the Government could not allow that, but they did build an exceedingly impressive simulation that had looked and felt true to every description she had ever heard. She even demanded that a real astronaut who had been to the moon come and test it. To this day she enjoyed escaping to her Moon Simulation Room. She felt detached from the world when she was there, like she could really be on the moon. And if she was there, she was not here, preparing for the next Ceremony.

  “I don’t know why you won’t talk to me.”Her mother snapped, pulling her out of her reverie.“I have showered you with gifts through the years just like everyone else, but you act as if I give you nothing.”

  Alessa was startled. Her mother rarely showed emotion, she was so carefully controlled. But Alessa wanted to see her mother show emotion, show passion, regardless of the consequences. She wanted to push this rare moment of unchecked feeling.

  “You give me plenty of things, Mother, but you rarely give me attention, affection, or any other type of emotion. You’re an emotional mute.”

  Alessa saw her mother begin to curb her fervor as she drew herself up.

  “I am not doing this right now, the crowds are just outside. Who knows who would see us arguing?”

  “No Mother, you aren’t doing this now because you aren’t going to do it ever. You are going to avoid this conversation until I’m dead and then it won’t matter anymore. Well don’t you worry, you only have a year to go.”

  Alessa regretted it as soon as it left her lips. Her mother took a step backwards as if Alessa had actually struck her. Alessa felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She did not want to hurt her mother, but sometimes venom was the only tool Alessa could use to force her mother to act like she cared. For an instant, Alessa could see the emotions crossing her face. Anger, hurt, sadness, self-doubt. And then, just as quickly as they had cycled across her mother’s beautiful features, they were gone. Alessa could almost see her mother set each part of her body back into place. First her spine, straightening and anchoring to the floor through firmly planted feet. Then her face, with a touch more effort. She set her mouth into an indifferent pucker and drained the insulted look from her eyes. Alessa almost cried out. She was trying to light a fire in her mother, but her mother had the ability to smother even the most effective of sparks.

  “I will notify your father of your intentions. Happy birthday, Daughter, may your year be rich and thank you for your Sacrifice.”The formal salutation bit worse than an outright insult might have. This was her mother’s way of fighting back. She was all business as she strode out of the room, leaving Alessa with the muffled roar of the crowd echoing in the empty room.

  Alessa felt drained. Between the argument with her mother and the emptiness of the celebration going on outside of her balcony, she felt so utterly alone. She would see her father soon, she reminded herself. He would make it better, he always did.

  Alessa took a deep breath to center herself as she turned back towards the crowd, opened the doors, and walked out onto the balcony. She had very few duties and appearing before the crowd on her birthday was one of them. Appearances were her most important duty, other than the Sacrifice, of course. The people cheered even louder when she smiled and waved to them. When she was a little girl, this was her favorite part. She had always loved knowing that everyone was looking at her, that everyone was cheering her name, that everyone believed the world was a better place simply because she was in it.

  “Sac-ri-fice! Sac-ri-fice!”The crowd continued to chant.

  Alessa remembered that at each of the birthdays before the Second Ceremony, her eighth birthday, she did not understand what the people meant when they chanted. All she knew back then was that she was adored by the masses just because she was who she was, because she was special. It was that night that her father had told her the full story. Her mother had sat by, crying quietly, while her father spoke.

  “Lessie Baby, we have always told you that you are special, and you are, you are the very most special little girl in the whole Empire. For your whole life you are going to get anything you want. Anything you can dream up will be the duty of the Government to give you. But there is one very special thing you must give back to the Government many, many years from now.”Her father had explained her role in this society, and she hadn’t been afraid. After all, the Fourth Ceremony was forever away and for all she knew, s
he would never actually get there.

  Alessa shook her head, reminding herself that she was in front of the crowd and could not afford to lose herself to her daydream. She was here, she was at her fifteenth birthday celebration, and in one year’s time it would be the Fourth Ceremony.

  “Less!”Alessa turned and smiled at her bodyguard, Khi.“What did you do?”

  Alessa returned a mockingly chastised look to him. Khilyn was the only person other than her father with whom Alessa never pretended to be or feel something that wasn’t real. He had been her guard since her tenth birthday, when he was old enough to begin training. He took full control of her protection only a year ago.

  “She had it coming.”Alessa stated, matter-of-factly. She raised her eyebrow at Khi, he understood her problems with her mother, but he believed that Alessa’s mother detached from a place of hurt, not of indifference.

  “And did it make you feel better?”He asked, knowing exactly how to get to the root of the issue.

  “She barely even responded.”Alessa felt tears return to her eyes.“She was interested for all of two seconds and then she just retreated into herself again.”A single tear slipped from her eye, burning a streak on her cheek where it fell.

  “Come in here and go sit by the closet.”Khi ordered, shooting a pointed glance over her shoulder at the crowd. He was always careful when she wasn’t and picked up the slack whenever she dropped it. It made her heart swell.

  Khi waved to the crowd, who cheered. They loved him almost as much as Alessa. Then, he closed the ornate double doors and pulled the sheer curtain over them. He walked over to where Alessa sat, knees pulled up to her chest on the oversized couch by the closet. She looked up at him, her eyes red with pent up tears. He wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed into his embrace. She felt safe and comforted. She felt protected, which was, after all, his job. She rubbed her face into his chest and sniffed loudly.

  “That’s gross.”He scoffed mockingly and pushed her away. He was smiling at her, which made her smile back.“When are you going to quit sacrificing yourself in order to get a rise out of her?”

  “Funny word choice.”She stated mildly.

  “Aw, come on Less, you know what I mean.”

  She did know what he meant. He may stick up for her mother, but in the final analysis, Khi was on her side. Always. He consistently reminded her that regular bouts with her mother took a more meaningful toll on Alessa than anyone else.

  “I just feel like I’m running out of time with her, that if I can’t get her to show me something soon, I’ll never see it. I know she loves me, I do, but it’s like she’s too prim and proper to act like it. I just can’t understand.”It all came out in a rush, and she instantly knew what the problem was.“I believe she does love me. I know she does. I just want her to show it sometimes.”

  “You are used to getting everything you ever wish for, but the one thing you don’t get to decide on is how other people handle their emotions. I know it sucks, Less, but your mother is her own person and has to handle her stuff her own way.”He said it gently as he pulled her back towards him.

  “Sometimes the only things I want are the ones I can’t have.”She almost whispered.

  “Less, you alwayswant what you can’t have. But it isn’t your fault. The Empire has bred a monster.”Khi quipped.

  She punched him in the arm. He stuck his tongue out at her and laughed. Khi had a knack for simultaneously grounding her and making her laugh. It was one of her favorite things about him.

  “I know this is going to be a hard year for you, hell it’s going to be a hard year for everyone, but you are the strongest person I know. Don’t lose yourself to the strain before the Fourth Ceremony even gets here, okay?”He looked at her seriously.

  “I won’t. I know who I am. My inner brat just takes over from time to time.”She replied with a smile, regaining her composure.

  “I’m going to get dressed for the Dinner. Take some time for yourself and let the staff know when you’re ready to be dressed.”He rose from the couch and squeezed her shoulder before he turned and left the room.

  She watched him go. She loved him deeply, but not in the way many assumed. Most people saw their confidence in each other, watched their casual touches, and assumed that they were romantically involved. After all, many of the previous Sacrifices had had a tryst or two with their guards. But Alessa’s relationship with Khilyn was special and simple. He was her best friend, her rock, and her protector. She couldn’t love him more if he was her own brother, and couldn’t love him any differently, either.

  She remembered back to when she had first met him. She was ten years old and he was an annoying boy who had come to wreck her life. She watched him train under Marston and hoped that he would fail. Marston was practically her uncle and she couldn’t stand the thought of him retiring. Khilyn quickly excelled at his training and began to win her over with his steady head and quick wit. He slowly became her best friend and confidant. When he was promoted to her sole guard on her fourteenth birthday, she couldn’t have been happier. And, since she always got her way, Marston took up residence just outside of the Manor in the Capitol Sector. She grew to trust Khi and adored his even keeled wisdom. He was the first she told that she was afraid of the Fourth Ceremony, that she was afraid of the Sacrifice. She was thirteen before it became truly real to her. Before she realized what it all meant. She didn’t know where to turn, whom to tell. Most, if not all, believed she was richly blessed and that questioning the Sacrifice would be the height of selfishness. After all, the Government spent a large portion of the Empire’s taxes on making her every wish come true. How could she deny them the one thing they asked of her in return? But Khi had made her feel safe. Had told her that it was years away and that they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

  Well, she thought, the bridge is right in front of me now.

  She was The Sacrifice. She had been the first girl born on the most sacred day to the Empire. She was born on February 29thin the Leap Year. As such, she was moved with her family to a great mansion and showered with gifts. She was shown every accommodation the Government could afford to show her. In return, on the Fourth Ceremony, her sixteenth birthday, she would be sacrificed. She was to be drowned in the Sacred Ocean. Ironically, her great home overlooked the Ocean, a constant reminder. By sacrificing a girl every sixteen years, the Empire gained the Gods’favor and was allowed to remain the most prosperous Empire in the world for, well, as far back as history went. She had considered it an honor, she was the reason the Empire continued, she was the Defender of Mankind. She still thought it was an honor, but as she drew nearer to the Fourth Ceremony she began to grow afraid of the thought. Would she give up her life to save her country? Of course she would. But drowning was a horrific way to die and she was only going to be sixteen. She hadn’t experienced everything she wanted to experience yet.

  “Selfish”she murmured to herself.

  She had been given everything she had ever asked. All the Government wanted in return was her Sacrifice. Her life. She had once thought it well worth it. A life in the lap of luxury, almost two decades in which she could fulfill every whim and achieve every desire. Sixteen perfect years in exchange for no more. But as the day drew closer, she couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t quite a fair exchange. She had everything she could ever want except for the one thing that seemed to matter more and more each day: more time.

  “Dinner will be late.”She announced to the staff member at her door as she strutted by,“Please let everyone know that we may continue after I have gone for a swim.”

  “Yes Ma’am, I will let them know. Thank you for your Sacrifice.”The woman replied.

  Jayna, her name was Jayna, and she was one of Alessa’s favorites.

  “Jayna,”Alessa stopped the woman,“please, could you…”She stopped. She didn’t want everyone to know how uneasy the simple comment had started making her feel.

  “Yes Ma’am?”Jayna waited expect
antly.

  “Could you make sure they made macaroni and cheese? You know it’s my favorite.”She winked at Jayna.

  “Of course, Ma’am”Jayna smiled back. She had a friendly smile, and she carried herself with a quiet confidence that Alessa had frequently mimicked.

  Alessa tossed her towel over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. She hoped to herself that she would cross paths with her mother. Her conservative mother would be appalled at Alessa’s decision to wear only her swimsuit down to the pool, regardless of the fact that it was only a half of a hallway away from Alessa’s room. Frowning, Alessa entered the Pool Room unimpeded.

  She stopped a moment in the doorway. She was always somewhat awed when she entered the Pool Room. This was, by far, her favorite birthday wish. On her eighth birthday, she had wished for an indoor pool that was the size of four regular pools. She wanted to be able to see the sky but not feel the weather. The Government had pulled through. Almost the entire ceiling was made of glass, with support bars cutting through it every so often. There was muted lighting in the walls surrounding the pool so that she could see to swim any time of day along with sporadic color-changing lights along the bottom of the pool. It was beautiful, and it was her sanctuary.

  Alessa hung her towel on one of the bronze decorative hooks by the door and stepped onto the pool’s stairs. She exhaled a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding. She remembered making the staff change the water temperature daily for almost two weeks before deciding that it was just right. Everything about this room was designed to her specifications. Alterations had been made as she had grown older and her tastes had changed, and no one but Khilyn was allowed to interrupt her while she was swimming.

  She submerged herself under the water and sat quietly for a moment. She felt comfortable in the water, more comfortable than anywhere else. Learning to swim had been Marston’s suggestion. It helped her stay fit and learn discipline, but it had been a passion she shared with her father.