Fantasmical Tales

Something Dark Comes

Prompt from @WattpadWitches for Fantasmical 2023: Against the warnings that echoed across the sea, you find yourself entangled in an enchanting dance with a captivating witch. Embrace the allure of this forbidden alliance and explore the thrilling saga that unravels amidst sorcery and wickedness.

Story word count = 997

These Cajuns knew how to throw a party. Under strings of colored lights hung from the trees, the crowd danced gleefully to up-tempo Zydeco music. Nearby, remains of a spicy crawfish boil littered the butcher-paper covered tables. Adding to the atmosphere, a full moon shimmered its light across the unusually still Gulf of Mexico waters.

I was not usually one for parties, where so often pretentious people tried to impress other pretentious people, but the joie de vivre here was infectious. My toes dug into the beach sand as I swayed to the music.

Yet something was off. The sea itself whispered hushed warnings — 'something dark comes,' and electric tingles traced my spine. Even the moon concurred. Born in these parts of southwestern Louisiana, daughter of a dark-skinned Cajun witch mother and light-skinned Scottish druid father, I had a sense of these things. An Anthropology Conference brought me back here.

"Ms. Astoria Muir?" a voice said behind.

"Yes?" I swung around to find a handsome man with wavy dark hair and inviting dimpled smile. He was barefoot, like me, and dressed comfortably for the sultry evening. But his aura, bold inky black, told of powerful dark magic. While youthful in appearance, I sensed a long life.

"My name is Dante Fane," he said, bowing elegantly. "I had hoped to meet you."

Smirking, I said, "Should I be honored or suspicious, sir?"

"The honor is truly mine. Your research on cultural magic systems is most fascinating."

"How do you know that? I have not yet published."

He evaded by holding out a hand. "Shall we dance?"

Against my better judgment, I placed my hand in his. Can't say I was a good dancer, but this charming, mysterious man guided me effortlessly as we shuffled across the sand. "So," I asked, "what does a dark magic practitioner wish of me?"

He grinned. "Your instincts serve you well, Ms. Muir."

"Please call me Stori."

"Stori — it fits you." Dante twirled me, then pulled me back into his arms. "Especially one with such a rare mix of darkness and light."

That was true. My mother practiced dark magic and my father light magic, thus their joining was forbidden. Because of this, I was an abomination to most magical communities, and actively shunned. "How do you know of me?" I asked.

"Your mother, Sabine, once spoke glowingly of you."

I froze in mid-dance as my heart lodged in my throat. "What do you know of her?" My mother disappeared without a trace when I was young and long have I sought her.

Dark eyes blazed into mine. "For a favor that uses your unique skills, I shall tell you of her fate."

Could I trust this stranger? Warnings reverberated in my mind, but the desire to find my mother overwhelmed them. "Very well. What do you require?"

With a snap of his fingers, we vanished in black smoke and reappeared among scattered domed cottages. A towering peak shrouded with low gray clouds loomed over the peaceful village. Most covens lived in parallel realms, pocket dimensions of sorts, and rarely ventured to the Earth realm. And they tended to be Xenophobic.

"We need not her kind here!" an old woman hissed, pointing at me.

"Oh, but we do," Dante replied, stepping in front of me. "Would you rather our home world wither away?"

As the scowling woman retreated, he dipped his head. "I apologize for her rudeness."

"It's okay," I replied, looking away. "I'm used to it." But in reality, each rejection cut my heart.

With a nod, Dante led me along the narrow rocky path up the mountain. Without saying, I already knew what he wanted from me — the Null, the dark anti-magic beast sharing my existence, and another reason so many witches despised me. A part of me, yet a separate entity, I sometimes struggled to contain its power.

Weaving between dull-gray boulders, we approached a gaping cave, like jaws of a monster. The closer we got, the sparser the vegetation, as if life abhorred whatever existed within. The Null within me stirred from its slumber, indignant, snarling in my mind.

Dante invoked a werelight above his outstretched hand as we entered the darkness. "Rivals imprisoned our Source in a spell we cannot penetrate. Without it, our realm will die." Desperate eyes pleaded, "I beg of you to free it."

I wandered around a spherical cage of woven black threads that surrounded a shining, star-like object, blocking most of its light. My aura sense lit up. When I touched the magic threads, they rebelled, lashing out with blue arcs. The Null roared, bucking against mental constraints. 'Easy. Not yet,' I commanded.

"Devious, this dark spell," I said. "Magic only empowers it, strengthening it. No wonder you cannot break its hold."

"Can you?"

"Let's see how it handles anti-magic." I closed my eyes and extended my arms, giving freedom to the Null's desire. 'Consume.'

The Null burst out in swirling gray mist. Vaporous talons slashed at the cage, tearing, rending in turbulent fury. But the spell fought back, erupting with sizzling sparks. Grating discord of magic versus anti-magic echoed around the cavern. But in the end, the threads shattered like breaking glass, and unhindered, the Source bathed the cave in golden light.

Sated, I ordered the Null to return, lest it turned against Dante.

Dante bowed and placed a gentle kiss on my hand. "My dear Stori, we are in your debt."

"My mother?"

From a pocket, he extracted an amethyst pendant on a silver chain and placed it in my hand. "Sabine grew up here, and I knew her well. Quite the controversy was it when she married your father. This was hers."

"Where is she?"

"The dead do not abide powerful necromancers like your mother. I believe she was taken to the underworld against her will."

Holding up the sparkling gem, my heart leaped as her aura essence filled me with warmth. With this, I might one day find her.