Price of Protection

I'm not to sure of this title. If you have a better idea, please tell me.

1.

Bradon never liked the monthly sacrifices, but he'd been noticing patterns lately, and that bothered him even more. He had to be there, though, Councilor Walker allowed nothing else.

He kept his mouth still and watched the girl in rags while the rest of the congregation murmured prayers. She didn't struggle. No, she marched with dignity toward the altar. The guards on either side never had to touch her.

Dressed in rags, Bradon thought.Just like the last three.

The girl now stood at the bottom of twelve granite steps. They climbed, in their almost living, veined way, to a platform defined by a dish with drain the middle. A seven foot high arch grew over the dish, and three spikes poked through the top of it. Rusty chains dangled from the sides.

A luminance hung in the center. Dull, ethereal, but strangely persistent, it lit the whole temple.

The guards looked at the girl, and she nodded—it was a slow, deep motion. When it finished, she stepped onto the first granite slab.

“It doesn't have to be this way,” Bradon muttered . “We could let the wall down, negotiate.”

The girl on his right ceased her prayer.

“Hush brother,” she said. “Councilor Walker knows what's best.”

“Why are you sure, Rice?” The young man said.

“Hush, Bradon,” Rice said. “Pray.”

Bradon quieted, but he didn't pray.

Now the girl stood in the glow. She turned toward the congregation, and positioned her feet on either end of the drain. She closed her eyes, the image of relaxation, and nodded. The guards nodded back.

One pulled a lever. Metal crashed and flesh tore, but she didn't scream.

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