Jeremy’s high school biology teacher often used to decide she did not feel like teaching and would put on a documentary. There was once a scene about how bees see patterns in UV light on flower petals. A plain yellow flower would look like an incredible bullseye to a bumblebee. He remembered that scene because he thought seeing the world like that would be amazing.
Now he knew what it was like.
The pond water parted before them. A cascade of cyan, emerald, violet, and pink shimmered in the water droplets and ripples. Aunt Angie and Uncle Howard walked down a pair of steps that appeared in the mucky silt along the bottom of the pond. The red swirling around them dripped with symbols and shades of purple and blue. His head hurt, although that could be from hanging upside down while slung over Uncle Howard’s shoulder.
“We aren’t really sure exactly which god it is.” Uncle Howard prattled on, “Probably a name which has been lost to time, but I always liked to think it was some ancient Gallic god, like Toutatis.”
Jeremy could barely hear him over the kaleidoscope of colors. He squeezed his eyes shut. They descended through a hole in the bottom of the pond. Cool, damp air rose to meet them. It was the same murky scent that was in the tunnels. Jeremy’s heart sank. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, they were in the central chamber with the strange stone pillar. The symbols still pulsed red, but this time, they appeared darker. He stared at the swirl of magenta, crimson, and indigo.
“A god who has protected the clans that have taken care of it throughout the ages.” Uncle Howard set Jeremy down against the stone pillar, then slapped a hand against the glowing symbols, “These here are ancient runes. They are the spells that bind the god to us. It grants us magic! But, of course, something so wonderful must come at a cost. That is where you come in. A woman and a man must be fed to the god yearly.”
Aunt Angie dumped Moira beside Jeremy and brushed off her hands, “You gave us quite a fright when you escaped. The sacrifice must happen while the moon is at a certain angle during a certain phase of a certain month. These old spells get so complicated. But we brought you back in time. You understand, of course.”
Jeremy was too busy staring down the shadowy opening of the tunnel in front of him. In the blackness, he could see magenta, crimson, and indigo, like the colors on the pillar. His heart climbed into his throat as the colors grew more intense.
“What is that dear?” Aunt Angie flicked her wrist in a violent flash of symbols, indigo, blue, and sapphire green. Jeremy’s stomach lurched, but he swallowed down his nausea.
“Isn’t Moira your niece?” He cried, “Why are you sacrificing her?”
“Oh, well.” Aunt Angie glanced at Moira fondly, “It wouldn’t really be a sacrifice if we did not contribute someone from the family every few generations. It is worth it for the good of the family to keep us in control of magic.”
“Besides,” Uncle Howard grinned. His teeth glinted in the moonlight streaming through the opening above them. Fine particles of light in every imaginable color and beyond floated through the rays. The light was angled sharply, gradually giving way to the shadows of the underground chamber. “This mansion is too much for our little Moira to handle alone. Better to get rid of a stray and strengthen one line of the family, namely our children. She has not even had her coming of age or gotten her gift yet, so it is no loss anyway.”
“Are you kidding me?” Moira shrieked from beside him. “My coming of age? What does that have to do with anything? What gift? Let me go!”
“Well, it has to do with everything.” Uncle Howard said, “But we don’t have time to discuss that, do we?”
“I’d rather not be here for the show.” Aunt Angie pursed her red lips.
“Wait!” Jeremy shouted, “You can’t just tell me you have magic and then leave!”
“Well, son, you are about to die, so I don’t think it matters.” Uncle Howard turned away.
“At least tell us who you are sacrificing us to!” Jeremy scrambled for a way to stall them. It seemed like the creature would not emerge while they were in the chamber. If the sacrifice had to happen while the moon was at a certain angle, maybe he could stall them until the sacrifice was useless, then they would not have control over their magic. At least, that is what they made it sound like. If they could not control their magic, the spell preventing him and Moira from moving would be lifted, and they could fight out of this damned place. Then maybe he could go back to only attending social events planned at least a week in advance. He might add a new rule that they could only include people he has known for at least a year. That seems like enough time to vet someone to make sure they are not evil, human-sacrificing witches.
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None of the topics on his usual list of small talk were riveting enough to stall Uncle Howard or Aunt Angie. Usually, when his list of topics failed him, he asked about something the other person mentioned earlier in the conversation.
“Who is Toutatis?”
Uncle Howard paused and looked back. “He is the Celtic protector of tribesmen. Perhaps this god is, in fact, him. There are several reasons why I think so. First, they both accept human sacrifices. The Roman writer Lucan commented, ‘And those who pacify with blood accursed, savage Teutates,’”
“Stop stalling.” Aunt Angie snapped. Her red nails wrapped around Uncle Howard’s arm and dragged him toward the steps. Jeremy and Moira screamed at them to stop, but Uncle Howard threw an apologetic smile back at them and followed his wife out of the chamber. Before he left, he waved at the tunnel in front of them. In the shimmering colors, a complex symbol appeared and faded. The colors faded with it. Then, the opening from above closed, and they were plunged into darkness.
Moira breathed harshly beside Jeremy. Her breath hiccupped. “I don’t understand.”
Jeremy ignored her. He was too focused on staring at the spot in his vision where he still saw the last remnants of crimson and violet fading from the tunnel entrance. He willed the symbol to appear once again.
The effects of magic were obviously real. At first, he might have chalked the encounter with the creature up to a concussion. It had been strange that Moira did not remember it. But now, he was certain she did not remember because of some spell. The paralyzation on them was real. Everything else, from the pond water parting to the symbols on the pillar, was too vivid to be a hallucination. Perhaps all the colors and symbols were spells. If he could see the magic, maybe he could control it. If he could just cast the spell over the tunnel entrance again, it might prevent the god from entering the chamber.
“I wish they had been setting up some stupid, romantic surprise.” Moira wailed.
“You are a part of the family. Why can’t you control magic?” Jeremy grumbled.
“Maybe because I’ve never sacrificed another human before?” Moira spat. “This is unbelievable.”
Jeremy narrowed his eyes and tried to envision the symbol floating in the tunnel entrance again. The pulsing glow of the pillar was the only source of light. It barely lit the chamber, but when the creature’s face emerged from the shadows, it shone bright vermillion. Moira gasped. Jeremy’s stomach leaped to join his heart in his throat. He desperately wished for the symbol to block the path of that strange, not-quite-human face.
Then it appeared. And the crimson-violet shimmer covered the tunnel entrance. Jeremy continued to concentrate on the symbol, not allowing himself to feel a glimmer of relief. The creature did not come any further.
“Why…why did it stop?” Moira’s voice wobbled.
“The spell.” Jeremy gritted out, “Can’t you see the spell?”
“No.”
Maybe she could not see the magic for the same reason she forgot the creature as soon as they emerged from the tunnels earlier. Jeremy would have to ask her about her family’s coming-of-age tradition if they survived. At the moment, he could not allow himself to think too much about distractions.
The creature met his eyes. This was the first time it did so. A chill swept down Jeremy’s spine. Then, the creature pushed through the barrier. The symbol dissolved. The colors dispersed. The face drew closer and tilted as if observing him with interest. Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut.
The magnitude of colors overlaid on the creature’s strange face and fins overwhelmed him. There were hundreds of colors, from blue to green to yellow to red, a mosaic, shifting constantly and making his brain scream. He squeezed his eyes shut.
The temperature dropped. Everything became silent. Even Moira held her breath.
A light poured through the chamber. The back of Jeremy’s eyelids bled red with light. He could see the minuscule veins in the thin skin. Moira gasped. Jeremy grimaced as he saw the wild mosaic of colors dancing in front of him even though his eyes were shut. His head ached like a swollen balloon.
The light faded.
“Oh my god,” Moira whispered. Jeremy peeled his eyes open.
The pillar no longer lit the chamber. Instead, a glow emanated from the god’s fins. Jeremy stared into the fluttering and shifting shades of red, purple, and green. It was the most mesmerizing thing he had ever seen. The god no longer had a strange human face. It had no face at all. The glowing fins now made up its entire body.
“Do you think the spell broke?”
Jeremy tried to move and found he could not. “No.”
The creature did not eat them. It turned away and burst through the hole through which Aunt Angie and Uncle Howard disappeared. Lake water poured into the chamber. The water sloshed toward them in waves of cyan and sapphire. It covered the floor and began to rise.
“Damn,” Jeremy yelled.
Moira gasped, “I don’t think that was supposed to happen.”
At least they were not getting eaten, but they would drown in a matter of minutes anyway.
Jeremy sighed. He might as well ask since it did not look like they were getting out of this cavern. “What is your family’s coming-of-age tradition?”
“I don’t really know.” She muttered, “It’s all very hush, hush. Happens on our twentieth birthday. I never got mine because that’s right around when my parents died. I thought we were going to do it on my twenty-first. I don’t know. I never really cared about stuffy old traditions like that anyway.”
He really should not ask, but given that Aunt Angie and Uncle Howard were so eager to sacrifice their niece to get her portion of the family wealth, he had to know. “How did your parents die?”
“Car accident.” Moira said a bit manically, “Not as exciting as this.”