01. discovering magic
Pressure, not uncomfortable, but not easily ignored, against her forehead, her neck, her back, her heart.
A quiet murmuring, the words just beyond hearing, and a spreading warmth. Her hands began to feel warm, then cool, then burning, then freezing. Breath quick and deep at the same time, then the surge began to fade.
Opening her eyes, the room appeared the same, everything in exactly the place she had last seen it.
The voice, now a discernible low whisper, spoke in her ear. The tone was gentle and encouraging.
“Welcome to the world of magic, child. Let your work begin.”
02. damsel in distress
I can smell smoke and ash and rotting. My stomach churns, but I push the feeling back down. With my hands and arms bound, there’s no way I could bend over and throw up. I don’t need to add anything else to my list of problems.
The creature approaches, and my mind starts disconnecting from my body. I don’t scream, I don’t cry, I don’t move. I just… leave. It’s safer that way, easier to deal with it all.
That’s why I don’t know what happened. I was saved, like a proper damsel in distress, but who did the rescuing?
03. into the abyss
Grandma warned me about walking too close to the cliff. I did it anyway, of course. It was like an itch, the one in the middle of your back you know the only way to relieve is to rub yourself all over the nearest sharp surface, except you’re usually someplace public and can’t. Yeah, that kind of itch.
She wasn’t surprised when I fell over the edge and even less surprised when I turned up, all ghosty, on her doorstep. She was taken off guard, however, when I told her it was time and she had to come with me.
04. a walk on the dark side
Never trust a trickster god. Believe me, it’s not worth it.
I asked for some power, just a tiny bit of all he had at his disposal. I wanted the girl, the house, the good life. All he asked in return was a walk down a little path, not far, it wouldn’t take me long. I agreed and signed the paper, strung the charm around my neck, the whole deal.
He gave me a map, and I set off. Got lost the moment I stepped on the first stone.
I’ve been walking for a century now, by my last count.
05. under attack
Low voices spoke in whispers, Richard only made out a word here and there. The gist was, no one knew what was wrong with him.
Thinking back, he tried to remember when the break down began. They made planetfall, everything was fine. Two weeks into the mission, still no problems. It was during the third week that the numbness in his hands started worrying him. That was the last thing he could remember.
“He can still hear us.” he heard the doctor’s voice. “His body is fighting whatever’s got hold of him, so there’s still plenty of hope.”
06. magic sword
My grandfather passed his “magic sword” to me before he died. It was just a family joke, but I was touched when he chose me to bear it. An inch long, metal, with bright paint, we thought it was a toy from his childhood. I didn’t think about why, but I kept it close by, on my keychain.
Fiddling with it a few days later while awaiting a train, I became aware of a troll lurking in the corner of the station. The air around me became misty and the sword grew to full size. I understood the gift.
07. the one ring
“We cannot stay here.” Stephen whispered. Clutching his pack close, he resembled a small child with a security blanket. I have nothing against kids, but on a middle-aged man, the display of weakness bothered me.
“We have to wait, you know that.” Things could’ve been much worse, but I wasn’t telling Stephen that, it would only agitate him further.
I admit I held my breath, straining my ears for the sound, willing myself to be calm. I had to.
“There. The bell. Just one ring. Let’s go.” Dragging Stephen to his feet, we fled into the night.
08. doom awaits
Death comes to us all, doesn’t it? It’s only a matter of what time, which place. For me, the time is now, the place a black fortress with all the trappings foretelling doom to all who dare enter.
Hope is slim that I will survive, but I am beyond caring. The hardships were worse than I ever imagined, I am utterly spent and it is only the fear of failure that keeps me on my feet. To have come so far and let the world down would torment me for eternity. So, though I am already dead, I keep walking.
09. stairway to the heavens
It takes three-thousand, nine-hundred and twenty-two steps to reach Heaven. Not an intimidating number, but no small undertaking either. The trick is finding the correct mountain, for not all journeys lead to glory.
Stairways have been built up every mountain on Earth since a small boy received the number in a vision some ten years past. It was a miracle, a gift, they say, but not all are convinced. Some protest the staircases, for many have gone up them and a few have come back down broken and tormented. We must wonder whether it is Heaven we seek, or Hell.
10. God’s blessing, Devil’s curse
Helen was a fortunate girl for the midwife found the mark upon her arm and was too distracted to notice the mark upon her foot. For days after, all anyone could talk about was the blessings that would come to the village, heralded by little Helen’s arrival.
It was Helen’s father that noticed the other birthmark and told his wife. Helen was never without a covering over her feet from that day forward, yet her parents soon noted that bad luck surrounded their daughter in equal measure to her miracles and they wondered which side would conquer in the end.