Magic, Mystery, a little Whisky, and a Cat

A Cold Spring–Episode 4: Down, Down, Down

Welcome to Sorchia’s Universe—A-Z Blog Edition.

 

Day 4!

Have you just discovered the story? Never fear–Here are links to the previous episodes (300-500 words each.)

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

If you enjoy this story, take a look at the Books link to see what else I write.

 

A Cold Spring

Episode 4: Down, Down Down

 

I fall to my knees. Earth and air vibrate like an earthquake in a bottle. Steel gray clouds boil in a tumultuous sky and smoky wind tears my hair. I can’t breathe. Can’t move. The threatening hex twists its ponderous head toward the castle. With an impotent sigh, it crumbles into black ash. It filters through my hair, coats my upturned face, but the malice it once held is dead.

 

In the distance, the castle blazes to phosphorescent blue lightening, each stone etched into stark relief by an iridescent indigo flash. A pulse of energy, a thunderous blast, and New Castle Highmoor winks out leaving a black hole in the night. Gone. Dissolved in the ether.

 

With light-blind eyes and bated breath, I wait, hope and dread in equal portions. Did Maddock escaped? Or was Lucia victorious? My knees bleeding and my heart pounding, I stagger toward the ghostly spiral of ozone marking the spot the castle once stood. Shrubs loom from the darkness. Frightened night birds flutter across the path, call from the trees. What do they see that I do not?

 

Neither lover nor foe waits in the darkness. Instead I blink like an owl in a flower-strewn meadow beneath a sky suddenly clear and calm and filled with stars and a westerly waning moon.

 

“Allium!” His cry echoes far away, far away, far away.

 

The vision fades to black. With a racking gasp, I return to the garden. Dream images sift into the air like dandelion seeds in a spring breeze. The cold mud has seeped through my skirt and the hard stems of dead weeds cut into my hands. The earthy, pungent scent of dirt and tomato leaves penetrates the lingering odor of smoke.

Check in tomorrow for Episode 5: Everything Changed

 

If you want to serve as a beta reader, feel free to leave comments about anything. I’ll use your comments to make the story better before I add it to a witchy anthology I hope to have out around Halloween. You can also use the Contact link at the top of the page to leave more detailed comments. Thanks to all of you who do this 🙂

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