Don’t trust the ink - Ch 1

A dark fantasy excerpt/ short story

Tags: Dark Magic, Fae

Author’s Note: This is meant to give you a taste of a plot bunny I had. But who knows? It could turn into a full novel one day, especially if you like it. ; )

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Chapter 1

Darius

There was a time, I’m told, when the realm before me was much less wretched.

When the rivers and streams flowed freely—instead of the pathetic trickle that flow had become. When the sun would peak through the trees and warm you instead of the stiff cold air we were stuck with now.

I scoffed as I gazed out the window. I’d never even felt the sun on my skin—not in this world anyway.

What good was it to be a prince if this world was all I had to rule over?

This kingdom only pathetically got by because of a loophole in the curse that my family had learned how to exploit—a way to keep the thing at bay.

Every fae family had some kind of unique ability. Some could cook food with a snap of their fingers. Others could snap necks with the same motion.

My family was no exception.

We could enchant ink on paper to possess someone, to make them bend to our will. The ability had always enabled us to keep the masses at bay, of course, but with the curse, it gave us a decidedly darker purpose as well.

The curse demanded sacrifices, and it was our letters—specifically mine in recent years—that lured mortal woman to feed its hunger.

The task had fallen to me when my father decided it was time for me to play a closer role in running the kingdom. The human souls were vital for that. With the curse, they were the only things keeping magic alive here.

I hated doing it. I hated my father for making me. But I hated the idea of being a failure more.

So I pushed my dark heart down and did what needed to be done.

I curled my lips as I took a sip of the fairy whiskey in my glass and threw it against the stone castle wall. I ran my hands anxiously through my pale blonde hair.

It was almost that time of year again.

I’d have to pick my target soon. Identify another young, beautiful woman to seduce with my letters. The curse liked for its victims to have plenty of life left for it to steal.

I dusted off the black lace cuff on my shirt as I stood up and shrugged into a velvet black jacket with maroon lining. If my fate insisted I be a devil, I was at least going to be a stylish one.

I walked across the stone floor, not bothering to keep my steps quiet as I exited my room. I let my footsteps echo down the halls instead.

My life was generally full of fae that wouldn’t leave me alone, but they all knew better than to bother me this time of year. They knew it was when I used my magic to feed the curse’s hunger.

I opened an old wooden door to the garden. It creaked as it opened, revealing a sparse patch of land with a few dying rose bushes on it. I imagined the garden once attracted admirers for its beauty, but that time was long in the past. I ventured here for its power now.

My gaze was drawn to the stone fountain in the center of the garden as I stepped out of the door.

The stone fountain was much more powerful than it looked.

All you had to do was close your eyes and bring its water to your face, and you’d open your eyes in another world. The mortal world to be precise—at the twin of this fountain in one of their town centers.

I’d never bothered to learn the name of the town. Why would I want to know more about a place where I was the monster who lured women to their deaths?

I took a deep breath as I knelt in front of the fountain.

I scooped up some of its water and held it in my hands for a moment.

Finally, I closed my eyes and brought the water up, knowing I’d see something else entirely when I opened them.