The Sacrifice (Legends Of Transylvania)

Published in 2013

Copyright ©
2013

by Elena Lasina

THE SACRIFICE

Legends
of Transylvania

-
book one -

Elena
Lasina

Contents

1. Tragedy

2. Hearts Divided

3. The Presence of Evil

4. Bloodlust

5. Reunited

6. Tenderness

7. Clash of Fangs

8. The Dreaded Castle

9. The Sacrifice

 
1.Tragedy

Two family friends were living as neighbors in a picturesque Romanian village which is surrounded by beautiful Transylvanian countryside and overlooked by the daunting and mysterious Carpathian Mountains. It seemed as if Alexander Ionescu and Ariana Luca would be together forever!

Their parents have been friends and neighbors since before the two ten year olds were born, and now they too have developed a close friendship, which is evident in the way their eyes light up each time they see each other. They sit next to each other in class at school, and even out of school they are seldom apart. Like most boys of his age, Alexander can be mischievous, always watched with doting eyes by his giggling little friend, and he watches her like a hawk to make sure she comes to no harm. Nobody will dare to bully
Ariana while Alexander is around.

When the weather permits it has become a usual thing each Sunday afternoon for both families to drive out in the car belonging to Marcus Luca to the picnic area on the edge of an ancient forest under the shadow of the Carpathians for a barbeque.

Getting out of town and into the countryside was always a happy occasion, as each adult had their own particular job to do in the preparation of the meal, which was produced from their own livestock and gardens, and soon the sound and smell of the sizzling food fills the air. Marcus did the driving so he just sat back in a chair and opened a bottle of beer as he watched the children play together and their laughs warm his heart.

After eating, Emil took out his acoustic guitar and began to play a song, which caught the attention of the two children and they ran over to him and settled cross-legged on the ground before him with expectant eyes. They watched him strum as he re-tuned the instrument as if it was something magical, thinking how such simple strings can make a sound so vibrant and full of feeling.

As they sat touching hands and gazing up at the guitar, Ariana became so amazed by the sounds that she tried to interrupt Emil to ask him what the song is called. Alexander giggled and put his hand gently over her mouth to make her quiet, answering with a whisper, ‘it’s called ‘Eternal Memory’, and my dad made up the tune but not the words. I’ll learn to play it and sing it to you when I know it.”

With those words they became quiet again and their minds become lost in the wonderful atmosphere. As Marcus sat back to take another drink of beer his wife,
Dorina, sighed contentedly and remarked, ‘Today seems so special and I wish all our days could be just like this one. Look how happy those children are together. See how their eyes sparkle and how they hold hands so tenderly.’

“I only hope they will be as inseparable and protective of each other when they grow up as they are now!” Emil said with thoughtful eyes.

“Well, we have been friends since we were their age,” Dorina concluded, “and if they enjoy the same lasting friendship that we have had then they will be okay I think.” But it is not to be!

As the sun began to disappear behind the peaks of the high mountains in the distance and the light began to fade, Emil put down the guitar, ‘We had better get ready to go home,’ he advised, ‘I think I can see a dark storm cloud looming, and there are a couple of bends in the road on the way home that might be dangerous if the conditions get very bad.’

They all sprang into action at once and started to pack everything away. Fortunately they had just finished putting things into the car when the rain started to fall and they all jumped in as fast as they could, still laughing excitedly. Nothing was going to dampen their high spirits.

“Do you want me to drive, Marcus?’ Emil asked, ‘Remember, you’ve had a beer.”

“I am okay, I only had one!” Marcus replied, as if disapproving of the suggestion, and with that he turned the key to start the engine and they set off along the road which skirts an ancient forest.

They have heard lots of dreadful stories about things that have happened in the region of the forest, even of people going missing in suspicious circumstances and the mangled remains of animals being found as if they had been ripped apart. Vampires have been mentioned, but to them it is just superstition and they have no intention of letting such dark rumors spoil their day.

The parents were getting tired and weary from the long day, but the two children were still in a happy mood and they started to sing a song they had just learned in school, and they began clapping loudly. “Calm down, you are distracting Marcus.” Roxana cried, as she turned around from the front seat. As Marcus began to negotiate a bend in the road he noticed in the corner of his eye the dark shadow of someone moving swiftly towards them from out of the trees at the side of the road. He couldn’t see the person clearly because the rain has become so bad that the wipers are not fast enough to clear the windscreen properly, but he can make out that he is tall, and wearing a slouched hat that hid most of his face. Nobody else in the car seemed to have noticed him. The man emerged from the shadows as the car reached him and he pushed his hat back to reveal intense staring eyes which glared directly into Marcus’s face and shocked him. Without warning he stepped out into the road directly in front of the car – as if intending to put his life in danger! Marcus reacted quickly and pushed down hard on the brake with his foot as he tried to swerve to avoid hitting the man, but the brakes screeched loudly and the car slid on the wet surface as he lost control. Helpless cries and terrible screams rang out as the car careered and they all realized what was about to happen. Dorina threw her arms around the two children to try to protect them as much as possible, and there was a dreadful thud as it hit a tree sideways on – breaking in two on impact. Everyone was thrown around in hopeless and violent confusion.

Alexander hit his head on the back of the seat in front of him with a thump which knocked him senseless for a moment, and his leg became trapped under it. However, he managed to get the mobile phone out of his father’s pocket and although he was in a dazed state he looked out of the window to try to give the emergency services as much information as he could about their location. As he struggled to get free there are terrible groans and moans around him as everyone tried desperately to hold on to life, but which seem to stop one by one, left only with
Ariana crying out to her badly injured and bleeding mother, ‘Mama, talk to me! Talk to me, please, Mama!’ 

He was suddenly filled with dread as he saw the gruesome face of the dark stranger coming towards the car, and the look on his face showed that he had bad intentions. When the man saw him he stopped in his tracks and remained standing by the wrecked car looking back at Alexander, making no sign that he was going to help. Alexander gave him a look almost begging him to come and assist them, but all he gave back was an unmerciful grin. Just then the sound of a siren filled the air as the emergency services approached, so the callous individual simply walked away into the night without looking back. Alexander became delirious and his eyes closed.

Drifting in and out of consciousness Alexander was being lifted into the ambulance when he woke for a short while to hear Ariana crying. But at least that means that she is still alive. He also thought he heard someone say, ‘fractured skulls’ and ‘not much hope’ but in his state he couldn’t be sure.

“How is my friend?” he managed to ask the medic in a slow weak voice, “Will she be okay?”

“She has a broken wrist and a few bumps and bruises but she will be fine.” The medic assured him.

“What about everyone else?” Alexander asked as he raised his head from the stretcher and tried to look around, but one of the medics eased his head back down and did not answer, as he prepared an injection to help Alexander bear the pain of the broken leg he had suffered.

“And where is that other man?”

“What other man?”

“The mean-looking weird guy who just watched us struggling and didn’t try to help.”

“Sorry lad,” the medic responded, “the only people who were here when we arrived were the six in the car.”

“Where is everyone else?” Alexander repeated, “Mom!? Dad!? Marcus? Roxana?” he cried out, and the sad looks on the faces of the medics told him that something is terribly wrong. His voice became low and weak as the injection began to take effect and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

He opened his eyes again a few hours later under bright lights in a hospital bed. He saw a doctor at the bedside checking some medical instruments and writing things down. As he noticed that Alexander has woken up a look of great concern came onto his face. He took hold of Alexander’s hand and put his palm across his forehead, while deliberately avoiding looking directly at him.

“I am pleased to tell you that your friend Ariana will be fine,” He began with a forced half-smile.

“What about everyone else?” Alexander urged him to explain.

“There is never a good time to give bad news,” he began after an awkward pause, ‘and I am afraid I have to tell you that your mom and dad and Ariana’s parents didn’t survive the accident and they are all together as friends in heaven.’

“Well I hope her dad went to Hell not Heaven?’ Alexander shouted desperately and he broke down in tears. “I saw him drink beer and he is responsible for all the deaths, and I will never speak to
Ariana ever again!”

Alexander’s terrible cried of grief echoed relentlessly along the corridors of the hospital throughout the night.

2. Hearts Divided

Ariana
had her Aunt Clara and Uncle George living nearby, so after leaving hospital she is able to go and stay with them under their care, but Alexander had nobody and he is left to suffer his pain of loss on his own.

Many nights he woke up from a restless sleep calling out their names, and because he became so weary a few times he came down from his bedroom and sat at the kitchen table waiting for the breakfast that never arrives. After realizing his situation again he spent the rest of the day hoping that the terrible thoughts will fade away. But they were always there. They were gone forever and he couldn’t come to terms with it. In his grief he blamed Marcus for what happened, but because Marcus is not around for him to vent his feelings he has become very broody with Ariana and refuses to talk with her.

Eventually he decided that it is time to summon up the courage to visit the graves, so one day he dressed in his best clothes, just as he knew his mother would have him, and with a small bunch of colorful flowers in his trembling hand he set off walking up the hill to the cemetery a short distance away from his house. All kinds of things are running through his mind as he walks. ‘What will my mother think of the way I am dressed?” and ‘What will my dad say when I tell him that I am not eating very well these days?”

On arriving at the cemetery he found the graves quite easily because he remembered that they are under the shadow of a large tree. He spoke to his parents as if they are there right in front of him.

“I know you are looking down from somewhere and no matter where you are you will always be in my thoughts. For the short time I had you, you were good parents and the memory of you will never die.”

With a tear rolling down his cheek, he knelt down to place the bunch of flowers on the grave, but as he did so he saw something that stirred his curiosity. Someone has already visited the grave and placed a black rose on it, half-hidden behind a flower pot. There is no note attached to it, and as he picked it up and held it in his hands he felt a vibrant murmur from it, as if it is almost alive! He had never seen a black rose before and he didn’t think such a rose exists. For some reason it had a bad effect on his feelings and his thoughts suddenly went back to the horror of the car crash. As tension stiffened his body he squeezed the stem of the rose tightly and winced in pain as he pricked the palm of his hand on a thorn. On looking he saw a drop of deep red blood, but it is not near where he felt the prick and he became bemused - the blood seems to have come from the rose? The blood ran along the lines of his palm and over where the thorn has pierced his skin and caused a sharp stinging sensation which shocked him and he dropped the rose. He stood in silence and stared at his parents’ names on the headstone of the grave. He bowed his head in respect and after saying goodbye he turned and walked solemnly away without looking back.

   Aunt Clara and Uncle George had also decided that it is time for them to visit the cemetery. As they stood by the grave of Marcus and Dorina, Ariana was amazed at the beautiful black rose that had been placed behind a flower vase there.