Forbidden Magic: The Cellar Door Issue #2 (The Cellar Door Anthology Series) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Peninsula Press
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

#

It rained the night Nadine was to return, and stormed by the time she did. Rainwater trickled underground through minute cracks in the walls and ceiling, pooling at Mendahl's feet as he prepared his ritual circle. Nadine came soaked and bearing her grey-swaddled bundle, now stained with mud and reeking of decay, and the candle Mendahl had demanded. It was a work of waxen art, carved with a knife and colored, with all the love her child would be deprived of poured into her craft.

“I've never tried to make one like this,” she said, turning the candle in her free hand before she gave it away. “It seemed so wasteful before now, but once I was finished, it made me… proud. A customer saw it before I hid it away and asked if I had more to sell.”

“Then I'm sure it will serve you well tonight.” Mendahl accepted the offering and placed it beside the circle made of soil and the blood and bones of doves he'd caught in the woods. They were unnecessary, of course, as mundane as a parlor magician's tricks—but they made the impression he'd sought. Nadine shuddered from the sight of the gruesome altar, but laid her babe there when instructed. She turned aside when Mendahl unwrapped the cloth and exposed the bloated flesh of her son.

He lit the candle and let the first drops of wax fall on the babe's chest. He gave Nadine the show she needed, full of mystical chanting and the convergence of shadows from careful timing of a torch running out. The real miracle happened quietly, without flair, as befit sorcery of the grave; the candle's wax and the despair of its maker coaxed out the child's dormant life, and when the two were bound together in full, skin began to heal, organs mend, and breath returned.

Nadine choked when the wax-burnt chest drew air and the child shrieked, expelling a cloud of ash—the remains of maggots and larvae Mendahl's spell had burned away. She took a step towards the altar, stopped, and faced Mendahl with a look of utmost pleading. He nodded, and she scooped up the child. For a while she only stared at the crying boy, then touched a shivering hand to her breast and pulled apart her coat. Mendahl cast down his gaze as she persuaded Joseph to eat, and when he latched, she stroked his cheek and broke down crying in his stead.

“Thank you,” she whispered, so quiet it was nearly nothing but a thought. “Thank you, gravetender. You have done me a kindness I cannot put to words.”

“No, my dear,” Mendahl said. She looked up, brushed away tears. “You have your child, but the next you come here, you won't want him anymore.”

“You keep saying that, but why should I not want him? My angel has come back to me. I will never let him go.”

Mendahl smiled. “In that case, when you return, remember to bring another candle.”

Nadine studied him, taking an unwitting step away. “Do

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.