Witch of Spells (Excerpt)
Moonlight strained against the fog, its fractured beams barely piercing the silent, forsaken settlement. No wind, no life —only the restless croaking of fat, one-eyed frogs, their chorus echoing through the damp, barren ground like a warning.
A sickly plop reverberated through the mist as a writhing mass of purple goo descended, its demonic form driving frogs into the shadows. Its only discernible feature, a cavernous maw lined with monstrously large teeth, gaped hungrily. Across its undulating surface, a grotesque pattern of skeletal faces twisted in eerie tribute to its master’s dark artistry. It crept forward, leaving behind a glistening, viscous trail.
The demon goo lumbered forward, drawn to a battlefield where burning arrows smoldered, their embers whispering of death. A nameless pawn, a forgotten piece in a dark king’s war, had fallen here. The ground, imbued with ancient magic, had claimed his remains, marking the spot with a crude gravestone.
A deafening gust tore through the eerie stillness as the blazing green silhouette of the witch materialized beneath the twisted branches of the old graveyard. Shadows wove around her bare, pale green skin, their restless caress both concealing and unveiling the beauty of her every curve and contour. Cascading emerald curls tumbled from beneath an imposing hat, their vibrancy a sharp contrast to the darkness around her. Perched on her nose, round spectacles framed her murky blue eyes, burned with wicked intent. When she summoned the demon, her voice dripped with eerie affection —a honeyed whisper, indulgent and commanding, like a master indulging a creature bred for chaos.
With a sickening squelch, the creature’s maw crept up her body, devouring her inch by inch. A glistening trail of viscous slime pooled at her waist, congealing into a grotesque, sticky skirt as its embrace slithered higher. Reaching her bosom, its gaping maw twisted unnaturally, its jagged teeth forming a demonic corset —open and ominous— as though poised to bite down at any moment.
The witch glided toward the grave, her gaze lingering on the churned soil, still damp with the ground’s quiet hunger. “An archer’s arrow—straight to the heart,” she murmured to her demon corset, fingers tracing the air as if piecing together the final moments. “The body remains intact… perfect to continue the dark king’s war.”
With a flick of her wrist, the witch wove a protective spell, ensuring no ghosts lurked nearby. Satisfied, she snapped her fingers, and in a flash of shadowed energy, a massive tome of forbidden magic materialized in her grasp. She hastily flipped through its brittle pages, stopping at the incantation she needed.
Her voice curled into a wicked chant, the air choking with the acrid stench of decay as green lightning slashed the sky. The ground shuddered, then split apart. A skeletal hand burst through the soil, and the undead pawn emerged, its eyes blazing with unnatural fury, stronger and more relentless than in life.
