Flashback Chapter: The First Offering
224 Words
Damian was eight the first time he saw the shadows move.
It was the night of his grandfather’s funeral. The house was filled with people in black, whispering about legacy and power. But Damian had wandered off, drawn to the basement he was never allowed to enter.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, the air was thick. The walls were lined with symbols he couldn’t read. Candles flickered, though no one had lit them. And in the center of the room stood his father, alone, speaking to something Damian couldn’t see.
“I offer what is mine,” his father whispered. “As was promised.”
Damian stepped closer, heart pounding.
His father turned sharply. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“What are you doing?” Damian asked.
His father knelt, gripping his shoulders. “You must never love too deeply, Damian. Not ever.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
That night, Damian had a dream about a woman screaming. Her face was blurred, but her voice was sharp, full of pain and betrayal. He woke with tears on his cheeks and blood on his hands.
The next morning, the maid who had cared for him since birth was gone.
No goodbye. No explanation.
Just silence.
And the whisper that followed him for years: “You were the first.”
- Writer
