EXTRACT FOR
Enslaved by Blood
(Terri Pray)

"You have no idea just how fortunate you are to be chosen for this honor." Her mother muttered to the sharp rhythm of the brush being tugged through Alayna's hair, each snarl torn free with a painful yank of bristles through Alayna's unruly hair. "You're still young enough to be a part of the presentation and all you can do is complain about that fact you'll have to take a few days out of your life in order to take part. Don't you know what an honor this is?"

	There seemed little point in going over the argument for what would have been the twentieth time in the past two days alone. There was no more point in arguing, no more than she saw any point in the entire presentation service in the first place. She'd stand there along with a dozen other men and women of her age group only to be sent home at the end of the service. It made no sense. No one had been picked from one of the ceremonies in over fifty years why would that change now? The idea of spending three wasted days at the temple, maybe longer if she were unfortunate enough to catch the eyes of one of the Devoted just made her stomach turn.

"This is a waste of time, the gods don't even exist."

	"Hush!" The back of the hairbrush slapped against Alayna's arm.

	"Ow! What did you do that for?" she rubbed the now sore, reddening spot. "I thought you would have grown used to my comments by now." What had gotten into her mother? Even when they had been getting ready for service she'd never resorted to striking her before now. Sure there had been the threats of one of the Devoteds finding out, but never this?

	"Now, of all times you have to let that irreverent mouth of yours loose. You'll bring misfortune on us all with your stupidity and the Gods know that I raised you with better respect than that." The brush clattered along the surface of the dressing table only to slide from the wood and onto the smooth tiled floor. "I waited at the temple when I was your age, but unlike you, I hoped to be chosen. The Gods never answered my prayer. Now it's your turn and the least you can do is remember that this is an honor. Not all are chosen to be presented, and out of those presented only ten will be picked if the Gods decide this is the time for a re-blessing of our lands."

	Alayna almost bit into her lip in order to keep silent as her mother spoke. Gods indeed, no one could remember seeing one and even the numbers of the Devoted had dwindled in the past fifteen years. Fewer men and women sought out the 'honor' of serving in the temple with each passing season. Even with the power they held over the town it hadn't been enough to call more than a small handful into service each year. Who would want to spend all their lives in the temple, worshipping non existent Gods when there was an entire world beyond the town walls waiting to be explored?

	"You will not disgrace me today, is that very clear?" Her mother's sharp fingers dug into Alayna's shoulders. "I will not permit you to turn me into the laughing stock of the town."

	"Yes, Mother." She tried not to wince but through the polished surface of the mirror she could see the cold anger within her mother's gaze. A depth she had never seen before, and it was enough to silence even her tongue. Without the protection of her mother there would be no one to prevent her being dragged up to the temple steps and thrown into the tender mercies of the Devoteds. Regardless of what she thought of their religion they still held the power of life and death. 

	"If I so much as think you are going to open your mouth at the wrong time I will ask to offer you up to feed the lands myself." The grip on her shoulders increased. "Don't think this is a joke. If you allow your irreverence to gain life during the ceremony I'll beg permission to hold the dagger and draw it across your throat in the middle of the fields." If she had held any doubt prior to this of her mother's dedication to the old ways, it vanished with those words. The sheer ice of her voice, the look within her eyes, the way those fingers almost pierced her skin, they all combined to convince Alayna of just how serious the older woman truly was. "Is that clear, my daughter?"

	"Perfectly." She struggled to keep from adding anything else, even when the painful grip finally eased. 

	"Do you really think I believe you, Alayna?" Her mother snarled, her hands clenching as she spoke. "I will not take this risk with you. Jeramiah!" 

	She blinked and then stared at her mother in open shock. Never before had her mother called for the hired guard that worked within their home to enter her daughter's chamber. Just why she would do so now was beyond Alayna's understanding. Neither the guards or the servants had any reason to enter her chambers, let alone when she was in the process of preparing for the temple. 

	With near silent steps the dark eyed guard strode into the room, the look of confusion clear in his gaze. "You called for me, my Lady?"

	"Yes, my daughter requires a lesson in silence before she is called to attend the ceremony in the temple." Her mother snapped as she picked up the hair brush from the floor only to hand it to the guard. "I want you to teach her to guard her tongue."

	"My Lady?" He stammered, taking the brush as he looked between mother and daughter. "Are you sure about this? I mean, she is to be presented to the temple this day. Do you truly wish me to send her there with her backside tanned?"

	"If that is what it takes to teach her to keep silent, then yes." Her mother crossed her arms, stepping back enough that Jeramiah would have the room to move. 

	Jeramiah shot a quick look back and forth between the two women, blinking. His brow furrowed slightly, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. His gaze narrowed on Alayna and traced openly over her form. "Are you sure this is something you want me to do, my Lady?"

"Get on with it man, before I start to think that I need to have you replaced in my service. I am sure there are a dozen men or more who would willingly take your place. Perhaps someone that has been at the end of my daughters less than pleasant mouth before now would delight in administering a little well placed correction."

	He needed no further encouragement in order to move towards Alayna. His gaze turned flint-like as he gripped the hairbrush tightly enough to turn his knuckles near white. "We can do this the hard way, or the easy way, Lady Alayna."

	"Mother! You can't be serious about this." She finally voiced a protest.

The silence she was offered chilled her soul, leaving her flinching even as Jeramiah grasped her shoulder and pulled her up from the chair. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth under the tight grip on her form. Without a word Jeramiah took position on the very chair she had been sat on and pulled her over his lap with a firm grasp that she knew she would not be able to fight her way free from.