Page 5 of Shadowed Summer Sun
It was just a bridge at its birth, offering passage across a shallow creek and further into the wood. But the forest was ancient, and the forces within it saw fit to use the bridge as a passage too.
That’s when the Occurrences started.
Crossing The Simple Bridge, which had been nameless when it was created, was a feat indeed. More often than not, people would go missing or tumble off the edge, dying on the rocks below. Some were even followed back by the magic, taking their own lives within days of stepping foot on the bridge.
Not every person who crossed it suffered, of course. That’s not how curses work. They have rules.
Word spread throughout the area that when you looked back while crossing, you would see the fiery gates of Hell waiting to claim your soul, and so the locals called it Hellgate Bridge.
The Coven did not call it that. Doing so would only give the devils plaguing the place power, but the warnings were passed on from parent to child.
Less well-known about The Simple Bridge was the type of devils that cursed it. They were parasites looking for entrance through a suitable host. They harmed people in Darkness the most, those with pain and anguish clouding their souls.
And they could smell it out.
Do not look back on The Simple Bridge.
As I approached the rickety structure, boards half attached and some fallen into the water below, I clutched the amulet of obsidian that dangled from my left wrist. The sounds of nature abruptly stopped near the bridge, and a heavy silence hung in the air, attempting to pull me to the ground.
Stepping onto the first plank of The Simple Bridge, I held my breath.
Hold your breath and cross.
I took no extra time to gauge my steps, trusting in my magic to find the still-strong boards and guide me to safety. Suddenly, voices whispered behind me, the only noise in the oppressive silence that clung to the bridge. They tempted me to look, to just take a little peek over my shoulder and see the Gates. I pushed forward, breath burning in my chest.
The walk across was not terribly long, but it was enough to strain anyone who had locked up their breath tight in their lungs. I moved quicker.
I heard my name softly called behind me.
“Sssuuummmmerrrr.”
The sound scratched the inside of my skull, begging me to turn around. I closed my eyes, reaching out a hand to the metal beams that made up the sides of the bridge. Pain flared through my skin. They were scorching under my palm, but I didn’t pull back.
‘Faster,’ I told myself, ‘Get across. This is only the first Challenge. Do not fail your family.’
The grip on my hair returned. But it didn’t push or pull, only sitting there on my head like a sharp reminder of awaiting destiny and the promise that bound me, though I had never made one. The sensation propelled me forward, dashing across the last of The Simple Bridge, my lungs burning with strain and coming to rest on the Earth once more.
As soon as I felt the Earth beneath my feet, I gasped for air. Squeezing the obsidian in my hand, I opened my eyes. The forest sat before me, quiet and lush. Calls from the bridge still slipped through the wind, pulling at me and spewing nausea through my gut. I continued to face the woods.
As my breathing steadied, I blinked my dry eyes and inspected my palm.
My skin was red like I had grabbed a glowing coal but soon faded to a dull pink, slightly tingling with pain. Reaching into my pack, I pulled out a small container of holy water and applied a few drops to my hand. The ache washed away as the beads of water fell to the ground.
Rolling backward toward the bridge, I heard a hissing sound as they steamed away as if landing on a hot griddle. Cackling taunted me, and I clenched my jaw.Fucking devils.
Badb landed on my shoulder again.
“Being able to fly would be so useful at times like this.” She cawed back at me, and I just rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”
Into the woods, I stuck to the somewhat clear path between the trees. Elk, wild cats, and other small beasts had created rudimentary trails, cutting through the tall grass that crept up the tree trunks. The late morning Sun sprinkled rays through the leaves, long shadows extending across the forest floor.
The blissful sounds of the forest returned, and I sighed. The homey smell of dirt and brush replaced the bitter smell of rusted metal, and the bite of nails on my scalp disappeared. But the wood became thicker with each step, the patches of light diminishing as I pressed on.
I did my best to stay in the Sunlight. Shadows were In-Betweens, and I had one day to collect my tools and perform the ritual. I had no time for more interruptions from a certain Shadow King, who had apparently laid claim to me.
The prescient dreams that visited every night whispered of his arrival, of mine on the shores of Cottlewick Lake. Unprotected in the Realm of Morpheus, talons and tendrils of black smoke had found me, coiling around every inch of my flesh and seeping their Darkness into my blood.
They were ceaseless, dominating my nights since before I could remember. Howling moans echoed through my head as he penetrated my dreams and spoke words I could never understand. For years, I had awoken frantic, drenched in sweat and heaving for breath.
