The Sacrifice (27 page)

Three
Days Later

Lily
sat on the ground beneath a large maple tree at the edge of Vind
’
s
garden. As she rocked back and forth, tears rolled down her cheeks. Her small
arms wrapped around her stomach from the worsening pain. It had hurt for the
last two days but never this bad. Riana had slept a lot since they
’
d been
there, so Lily went to the garden. Something about being there made her feel
better.

Lily
stilled and lifted her head. A quiet, soft voice began singing. She stood and
searched the hedges, but found no one. Before long she began humming along to a
tune she
’
d never heard before, forgetting about the pain in
her stomach.

“Where are you?” she whispered. “You
can come out. I promise not to hurt you.”

 The singing stopped. Lily
squealed and jumped back as a boy swung from a tree limb above her and dropped
to the ground.

“You
see, that
’
s why I never come out. I have frightened you,
have I not?” he asked, with an exaggerated accent.

“No,
no, you didn
’
t. I didn
’
t expect someone to
come from…up there,” Lily pointed toward the tree. “I like your song. You have a
pretty voice.”

“Thank you.” His fair cheeks flushed
to the color of her favorite fuchsia blanket. “I sang for you because you were
in pain. Did it make you feel better?”

Lily
placed her hand on her stomach. Her eyes widened and a smile spread her lips
.
“Oh
yes, it’s much better, thank you. But how did your song make it stop?”

“It
’
s
just one of my little tricks,” he said, and then winked.

“Who are you?” Lily asked.

“I
’
m
Iggy. My name
’
s Ignasha, but everyone calls me Iggy.”

“My
name
’
s Lily Magnolia. You can call me Lily.”

“
Ooh!
”
Iggy
’
s face lit up. “That
’
s
one of my
most
favorite trees in the forest. The pink blooms are so
sweet.”

Lily
’
s
nose crinkled. “Yuck! You eat magnolia blooms?”

“Oh yes, you should try them some
time.”

Lily
shook her head. “No thanks, I
’
ll take your word for it. My father loved that
tree, too. That
’
s why he named me after them. He said the one
growing outside my bedroom window bloomed the day I was born. And, it was the
only thing he
’
d ever seen that was as pretty as me.”

“Is your father the dark-haired man
who lives in the castle?”

“No!”
Lily blurted. “That
’
s Vind. He
’
s really mean. And I
hate him. He took Riana and me from the compound and won
’
t
let us leave. He
’
s going to make Riana marry him, but she
’
s
supposed to marry Cy. I just want to go home and see my sister. I miss her,”

“What
about your parents? Don
’
t you want to see them?”

Lily
stared at the ground. Talking about her dad made her miss him bad. “I wish I
could, but they
’
re dead. There
’
s only me and Kyra
now.”

“I understand. My parents are dead
too. And I can never go back to my home again.”

Lily
’
s
eyes widened. “Why? Don
’
t you have a brother or sister to take care of
you?”

Iggy
’
s
chest puffed out. “I can take care of myself. They couldn
’
t
help me anyway. I was banished from my home.”

“You
need someone, Iggy. You
’
re just a kid, like me.”

“I
am not a kid,” he said adamantly. “I
’
m a hundred and three
years old. I
’
m almost grown.”

Lily
looked at his face and curly, blond hair that shone like gold where the
sunlight hit it. He couldn
’
t be over twelve or thirteen. “What are you? You
’
re
not human, or Sivadian. And you
’
re certainly not a feeder. You
’
re
much too nice to be one of them.”

“I
’
m
just me. My great, great, great grandfather is Loki, the Norse god of Mischief.
When he turned evil, the rest of my family did too. My uncle Thor, he
’
s
the god of Thunder; he threw Loki in prison a long time ago. I never met my
grandfather. From what I
’
ve heard about him, I
’
m
glad.” Iggy sat down and leaned against the tree, then patted the ground for
Lily to sit beside him.

“Everyone
in my family is like Loki. I love a good trick as well as anyone. But they
hated me because I refused to be mean and do malicious trickery. They did
horrible things to people, still do. They don
’
t care how many lives
are lost because of their trickery. It
’
s all fun and games
to them. They
’
ve turned families against each other, caused
mothers and fathers to go crazy and kill each another, or their children. I
’
m
ashamed of my family. They are some of the most evil beings there are. Trust
me, Lily. There are some
really
evil things out there.”

“I
know!” Lily exclaimed. “Feeders are evil, and Vind is the most evil one of all.
Even though I
’
m a kid, I know what evil is.”

“I
know you do. I can sense that you
’
re surrounded by it now. How long has he kept you
here?”

“We
’
ve
been here for three days. I know my sister and Cy are looking for us, but I
sure wish they would hurry.”

“
You need my help. That
’
s
why I decided to show myself to you. I
’
m not like the rest
of my family. It
’
s one of the reasons they banished me to this
realm. I was always different, but the trouble started when I became old enough
to participate in trickery. I tried to go along with them, told myself I was
born to be a trickster. But when I did, it
’
d made me sick. I
’
d
even break out in hives.”

“They made you leave anyway?”

Poor,
Iggy. He has no one. Not even a home.

“Yep.
When I refused to join them, they called me a freak, said I was something…unnatural.
After they ordered me to leave, I went back to look for someone and they threw
me in prison. I
’
d still be there today if my brother hadn
’
t
broken me out. When they found out he helped me, they banished him too. So we
came to this realm to hide.”

“Where is your brother now?”

Iggy
’
s
shoulders sagged. A mixture of sorrow and shame covered his face like a mask.
“He
’
s dead. The bald feeder that lives in the small
house behind the castle killed him. One day we were hungry, so we shifted into
ferrets and snuck inside his house.”

Lily held her hand out. “Wait. You
shifted into ferrets?”

“Oh,
I forgot to tell you that part. I
’
m a shape-shifter.”

Iggy
didn
’
t give her a chance to ask more questions. He just
started talking again…like really fast too. “We
’
d been sneaking
inside his house during the daylight while he slept. At the castle, servants
are awake during the day. We thought his house would be safest. We went through
a small opening inside the pantry. He was waiting and ambushed us. My brother
went through first, and the bald guy slammed an iron skillet down on him. Then
he kicked a heavy box over the opening and I couldn
’
t
get inside to save him. I shifted into a bug and squeezed my way through. By
the time I reached the other side, he had thrown my brother into the fireplace.
I changed back to my true form to get him out of the fire. This guy
’
s
really big, and he threw me against the wall, over and over. I kept changing
forms, trying to find something stronger than him, but it was no use. When it
was too late for me to save anything other than my brother
’
s
ashes, he laughed and called me names that aren
’
t nice enough for you
to hear. He would
’
ve killed me too, if he could
’
ve
caught me. If it
’
s the last thing I ever do, I
’
m
going to
kill
that guy. That
’
s why I
’
m
still here. I have a plan and I
’
m waiting for the right time to attack.”

Lily
sensed anger, pain and guilt radiating from Iggy. Mostly what she sensed was
goodness, and his need to help others. “Iggy,” she whispered. “I
’
m
sorry your brother died.”

Iggy
looked up, one corner of his mouth raised in a sad smile. “
Thanks, Lily.
”

“I
’
ll
help you kill the bald feeder, if you help me stop Vind from hurting Riana.”

Iggy
’
s
eyes widened with an exaggerated look of alarm. “No, Lily! It
’
s
too dangerous, and I
’
ve never met anyone that strong. He might hurt
you, the way he did my brother.”

Lily
put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “
Well, I
’
m going to stop Vind anyway. I just thought we
could help each other. When Cy and my sister find us, they will kill them both.
If they don
’
t hurry though, I
’
m coming up with a
plan of my own.”

“I
’
ll
help you and Riana. But I can
’
t let you near that bald headed ba—.” Iggy stopped
mid-sentence—“bag of poop.”