SacrificedtotheSunGod

by Kelex

  “Hello?”

  Ahh, you’re awake. After the deity’s voice whispered through his mind, Dag-ra was suddenly beside him. He sat on the side of the luxurious bed and caressed the side of Maal’s face. “I was beginning to worry.”

  Maal’s breath caught. He hadn’t expected to see Dag-ra again… at least, not until the next sacrifice. Could his earlier thought… that kiss… there had been something there…

  “Am I dead?”

  Dag-ra laughed, the sound echoing around them. Maal couldn’t help but smile from the sound of it. The deity turned his face toward Maal. “No. Far from it.”

  “Where am I?”

  “Your new home,” the god said.

  “Mine?” he asked, glancing around the space. “Are we still in the village?”

  “Nearby,” the deity said. “On the cliffs near the waterfall overlooking all you have made.”

  Maal scooted closer, filled with questions. “What happened to me? How was I able to… make all those things?”

  Dag-ra reached out and brushed some of Maal’s hair from his face. “I filled you with my power. You were strong and able to survive it… unlike the others that came before you.”

  Maal frowned. “You filled Amon with your power, too?”

  “Amon?”

  “Last year’s ceremony,” Maal said. “When I first saw you.”

  “When you first gazed at me with lust in your eyes?”

  Maal gasped, shocked the deity had seen him so clearly. Heat filled his face, and he tried to pull from the male’s embrace.

  Dag-ra wouldn’t let him go. “Why is there shame there now? Was it wrong to want me?”

  “I suppose not,” Maal whispered.

  Dag-ra smiled. “Every night you called to me in your dreams. Seeing your need and not being able to come to you has been… difficult.”

  Maal swallowed, shocked by the god’s admission. “You saw my dreams?”

  “I did,” Dag-ra said as he ran a thumb over Maal’s lower lip. “And they became my own.”

  Maal looked up into the god’s stare, stunned.

  Dag-ra held his gaze for a moment before turning away slightly. “To answer your earlier question, I did fill Amon with my power. Him and every other your people have brought to me. They bring me the starved, the weak, and the old. None of them were strong enough to take what I offered.” He lowered the hand he’d used to brush the strands of hair away and placed it on Maal’s abdomen. “Until you.”

  Heat spread from where the god touched him. He looked down and realized his clothes were gone. His cock was thickening and pushing the sheet from his body. Maal gathered it and covered himself.

  “Why be modest now?” Dag-ra asked, a smile to his lips. He dragged the sheet away and let out a slight gasp. “You’re so beautifully made.” The god took his cock in hand and began to stroke the length. “You’re mine now, Maal. Forever mine.”

  Maal sighed as he gripped the god’s massive forearm as it moved up and down. “Yess,” he hissed, his lids falling closed. After all he’d been given… his whole tribe had been given… he wouldn’t deny this male.

  Not when he’d spent the last year dreaming of this very thing.

  “I’ve been waiting for one like you. Young, strong, and able to receive the gifts I offer.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Your tribe sacrificed their weakest, oldest souls instead of offering me my due. They didn’t deserve the truth. They still don’t,” Dag-ra said, brushing a hand to capture the back of Maal’s head. “You, on the other hand, deserve everything.” He paused, his lips hovering over Maal’s. “Perhaps they’ll learn from your surrender.”

  Dag-ra’s head came down, and the god captured his lips. Maal moaned against the fierce kiss. Dag-ra swallowed the sounds of his pleasure. The god continued to stroke him, building the tension in Maal’s body.

  For the second time that day, Maal felt himself climbing some unknown summit. Dag-ra knew exactly where to lead him, driving him into a frenzy. Maal clung to the god as the fierce male caressed him over and over… until he spilled his seed, a groan of pleasure from his lips.

  Dag-ra held him close as he came, milking his release from his shaking body. As he quieted, the god stroked his back, soothing him.

  Not too long after, Dag-ra turned him over, pushing Maal to his hands and knees. Maal went willingly, already growing needful for the god. Dag-ra pressed the head of his golden shaft against Maal and slid in with one mighty stroke.

  Pleasure even greater than the first time spiraled through him as the god set a steady pace, fucking him with firm thrusts. His moans filled the room around them as he took all the god had to offer. When Dag-ra came again, heat washed through his entire body. The warmth of the seed filling him heated him from within.

  After it was all over, Maal felt himself cradled in the god’s strong arms. He rested his head against Dag-ra’s chest and could even hear a heart beating underneath his ear. A god wasn’t like a man… he surely didn’t survive off that organ pumping within him.

  Yet there was something comforting to hear the rhythmic sound. The broad hand swirling over his back helped, as well.

  “Why are you here?” Maal asked suddenly.

  “Because it pleases me,” Dag-ra answered. “You please me.”

  Maal was quiet, contemplating the response, for a few moments. “Will you stay?”

  There was a pause, as if the god didn’t want to answer. When his lungs began to sting, Maal realized he was holding his breath.

  “For as long as I can,” Dag-ra finally said.

  It was enough of an answer, Maal decided before he felt himself begin to drift off. Hours later, when he awakened, the room was filled with food and flowers.

  But no Dag-ra.

  Sunlight illuminated the room, streaming in from all those windows. He could see all the riches surrounding him. Marble floors, gilded columns. A large ornate table spilled over with food, making him realize he’d barely eaten anything but a few bites of apple. Maal sighed as he took in the sight of more than he could ever eat or wish to. He would’ve much rather had the chance to learn about the god he’d spent the night with.

  His stomach fluttered as he rose to his feet, but stopped within seconds. Crossing the room, he sat before his feast and picked out a few bites before going off to explore his new home.

  * * * *

  After a long day exploring everything from his home to the village and talking to his tribe, Maal was happy to see everyone doing so well. They’d lived through such hard times. Having plenty wasn’t something any of them were accustomed to.

  “I suppose we shouldn’t rest on our laurels,” Mera said to him as they walked the gardens. “We should still harvest what we have and prepare some for winter.” She paused, smiling up at him. “Though we have too much now. I don’t know that we could save it all.”

  Maal hated the thought of food going to waste. “Save what we can. We have no idea how long this moment shall last. Autumn comes sooner than we’ll expect.”

  “Your grandfather said… that the god came to you last night. Did he not tell you more?”

  Maal felt his face heat. “We didn’t… talk much. But what we did… he didn’t give many answers.”

  “If he returns to you again tonight, ask him—” she paused, frowning. “Ask him how long this will last…” She hesitated. “Find out all you can.”

  “I doubt he’ll come back again.”

  Mera looked up at the sky. “Not while he hangs over our world, shining down upon us. But once the sun rests, so must he.”

  An odd tingle raced along Maal’s spine. Would he have his nights filled with his god? He tried to hide a smile, telling himself not to get his hopes up, only to be dashed later when he slept alone in his bed.

  But later, he found himself standing on the front porch to his new home overlooking the village, hoping Dag-ra would find him again. The lower the sun fell in the sky, the tighter his body bec
ame. His heart thrummed in his chest, his breathing labored.

  As the sun’s last glimmer flickered to nothing, Maal saw another glimmer on the ground. It approached…

  It was Dag-ra.

  A smile began to stretch across Maal’s face.

  And so began their first summer together.

  * * * *

  By the end of that summer, Maal was beginning to grow ill. Each morning, he’d awaken alone, his stomach coiling. He’d crawl to the chamber pot and retch his guts out before the wave would pass. Each day, he grew more afraid, wondering if he hadn’t been as strong as the god had thought.

  Maybe he hadn’t been strong at all.

  Dag-ra was slowly killing him, but there was no way he’d ever speak his concerns. For he’d fallen in love with his golden man, and if they only had a short while longer together, he wouldn’t feel the god’s pity on him.

  Once the nausea passed, he rose to his feet and went about his work. After several hours of salting meats and storing vegetables with some of the other tribe members, he felt weak. He left the hot storehouse and found himself drifting to the water. When he arrived, he peeled off his clothing and walked into the cool waters until they were almost up to his neck.

  Off in the distance, he heard noises. The sound grew louder. Screams came soon after.

  Maal climbed from the water and pulled on his clothing, struggling over his damp skin. He ran toward the sounds.

  When he arrived, he saw A’gust beating a man with a large staff. A semi-circle of women and children screamed for them to stop—women and children Maal had never seen.

  Several tribe members stood behind, watching A’gust, including Mera.

  “What’s this?”

  “A’gust found them stealing our food,” Mera said.

  Maal frowned. “The food we have too much of?”

  Mera blanched. “But… but it’s ours.”

  “You said yourself we had more than we needed,” Maal said before stepping between A’gust and the man he was beating. “No!”

  A’gust glared at him. “They stole our food.”

  Maal looked at the man and his tribe. It was apparent they struggled, just as Maal’s people had before the summer had arrived. The children reminded him of Amon the year before, with ribs showing.

  “We have more than we could ever need,” Maal said before turning to the strangers. “Take all you can carry.”

  A’gust shoved Maal to the ground. “You don’t get to make that offer.”

  “Had I not sacrificed myself, we wouldn’t have it!” Maal screamed. Not long ago, they’d knelt at his feet, thankful for what he’d helped give them. Where was that gratitude now? In only a few short weeks, some had already grown too greedy.

  “You’re not on the council, I am!” A’gust cried. “And I decree these thieves shall pay for what they’ve stolen!”

  “No!” Maal said, climbing to his feet and putting himself between the strangers and A’gust. “They’re starving. Don’t we know how that feels? You would kill them because of your greed?”

  “Greed?” A’gust asked. “To ensure our kind survives is not greed.”

  “What if we starve once more?” Mera asked. “The summer is almost over.”

  “Get out of my way, Maal,” A’gust commanded.

  “No.”

  The large man stepped closer to Maal. “I said…get… out… of… my… way.”

  “Never,” Maal spat.

  One of A’gust’s meaty fists rose high above. Maal spread his feet, ready to take the blow.

  But it never came.

  A beam of light shone down on A’gust…

  And burned him to a crisp.

  Maal gasped, watching as the man turned to dust, the particles soon caught on the afternoon breeze. It reminded Maal of the dusty earth they’d once lived upon not so long ago.

  “What he gives, he can take away,” Maal said, as if the words came from somewhere else, not himself. “Back to dust… back to the earth.” Steadying himself with a deep breath, he turned to the shocked strangers. “You are welcome to some of our food,” he said, his voice low. He turned and glared at Mera. “Please fetch one of the goats for them.”

  Mera stared, unblinking, for a few seconds before bowing her head at him. “Yes, m’lord,” she whispered, looking at him oddly. The other villagers stared at him, fear in their eyes.

  The man who’d received the beating took Maal’s hand and knelt at his feet. “Thank you,” he said, his voice dry and parched sounding.

  “We have water,” Maal said. “A pool of fresh, clean water, just beyond that bend.”

  All of the strangers’ eyes widened.

  “Is this heaven?” one of the children asked.

  Maal smiled, thinking of his god. “A little piece of it.”

  Lifting his gaze back to his tribe, he saw their gazes and knew it was nowhere near heaven.

  * * * *

  When Dag-ra materialized beside Maal that night, he was quiet. Maal was laying out plates for their supper, but the god didn’t appear interested in food. He pushed Maal onto the table, his body and hands insistent.

  Maal didn’t argue. He let his god take him, there against the table. Dag-ra tore at his clothing, ripping it from his body before sinking into Maal’s depths.

  Dag-ra’s hands clenched him tight, so tight, Maal knew he’d have bruises on his hips and shoulders from the hold. He would wear the marks with honor, knowing how they’d been made and why.

  Midway through, Dag-ra pulled out and spun him around. Again, the god pressed him back to the table before entering him from the front this time, Maal’s legs lifted high to give the male access. His ankles rested on Dag-ra’s shoulders as the god pounded into him.

  When he came, Dag-ra roared. The hot, golden seed filled Maal for the countless time.

  Dag-ra stood there, breathing hard from his efforts, and gazed down at Maal. The god cupped his cheek, a forlorn look on the deity's face.

  “What troubles you?”

  “Your people trouble me,” the deity whispered as he pulled out and lowered Maal’s legs to the floor. “They have not learned their lesson. For one to raise his hand to you…?” Dag-ra hesitated. “I will kill them all if I must. None shall ever harm you.”

  “You can’t slaughter my tribe. A’gust was wrong, but perhaps he could’ve been shown the right way.”

  “His greed… when it wasn’t his gift, but yours.” Dag-ra shook his head. “His death was warranted. And will stand as a show for any that oppose you.”

  “And now my tribe fears me.”

  Dag-ra brushed a few strands from Maal’s face. “There is something wrong with a little fear? You feared me, yet you stood up and showed me how brave you were when you sacrificed your own life for your grandfather’s. You showed me your true self in that moment, and I knew you were mine.”

  Maal smiled, but it soon faded. “I strive to be respected, not feared.”

  “Sometimes they go hand in hand,” Dag-ra said. “Your kind respect power. I’ve given that to you twice now. If my magic wasn’t enough for them to respect you, the potential for their own demise should be.”

  Maal sighed, knowing there was no arguing with a deity. Dag-ra had strong opinions about humans, formed over millennia. And those opinions weren’t exactly wrong.

  “Autumn comes tomorrow,” Dag-ra whispered.

  Maal smiled. “I’ve already begun to see a few of the trees’ leaves change colors. Grandfather told me that there will be a riot of golds and reds and oranges soon. I’m excited to see its beauty.”

  “Tonight is our last night together,” Dag-ra said, a flicker of pain crossing his handsome face.

  Maal inhaled and held the breath. He finally let it go when it ached too much not to take another. “No.”

  Dag-ra pressed a gentle kiss to Maal’s lips before lifting his golden head. “I am the god of summer. Tomorrow, it becomes another’s time.” The god ran his thumb over Maal’s lips.

>   Maal grew quiet, too many things on his mind.

  “I told you I would stay as long as I could,” Dag-ra said.

  “You did,” Maal said, pulling away from the god. Dag-ra didn’t allow him to get far before dragging him closer again.

  “I’ve provided for you and yours,” the deity whispered. “I’ve given more of myself to you than any other on this earth. Is that not enough?”

  Maal sighed. “It is. Truth be told, I don’t know that I’ll be here much longer, either.”

  Dag-ra forced Maal’s gaze to his. “Might not be here?”

  “I’m unwell.”

  Dag-ra’s gaze scanned over him. “I see no signs of illness within you.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you,” Maal said. “And ruin what little time we had.” He bit back a little of his fear. “I awake in the mornings sick. I throw up a time or two until it passes. I feel weak, and it grows with each day. I sleep often, the exhaustion is nothing I’ve ever felt.”

  Dag-ra stared at him a moment before chuckling.

  Ire rose within Maal. “You find me funny?”

  Dag-ra shook his head. “You’re not ill.”

  “I am. I throw up every morning.”

  “It’s the babe.”

  Maal froze. “What babe?”

  “The one I put inside you,” Dag-ra said, smiling even wider.

  Maal frowned, stunned at this news. “You did what?”

  “I told you I placed my seed within you to grow. Why are you now surprised?”

  Maal was silent a moment, trying to remember what the god had said to him. “I-I thought you meant for the magic. I thought you planted a seed of magic… that’s what spread from me.” He looked down at his stomach. “I have… a child… growing within me?”

  Dag-ra placed a palm over Maal’s abdomen. “Our child.”

  “How can that be? I’m a man.” Yet the thought of a little piece of his god growing within his belly… it didn’t sound as horrifying as it likely should.

  “I’m a god. I can do as I wish.”

  “How… how will I have this child? I don’t… I don’t have the right parts.”

  Dag-ra smiled and chuckled again. “My friend, the god of spring, will be watching over you. The babe should come while he presides over the earth. He’s the god of birth and re-birth, so you have nothing to worry about.”