“Who called you forth?” I ask the tiny being, my voice trembling with reverence. “Why here? Why now?”
Behind him, a druid priest emerges from the cave, the ancient horn dangling from a rope around his waist. He’s dressed in a long white tunic and bright green cape, the hood drawn low over his eyes. He pats the child’s golden-red curls, then slowly lifts his face toward the light.
His hood slips back, revealing a gaunt face and black, soulless eyes. My knees buckle with fear beneath his cutting gaze, sending me crashing down to the ground. Everything about the man emanates darkness, destruction, chaos.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice trembling for an entirely different reason now.
The dark druid only smiles. Then, bending toward the baby, he scoops the boy into his arms and presses a kiss to his cheek.
“Let him go!” I shout.
Again, the druid smiles. Then he opens his mouth wide, revealing a giant gaping hole lined with razor-sharp teeth.
“Stop! No!” I scramble to my feet and lunge forward, but I’m not fast enough.
The demonic beast devours him. Through the crunch of bone and the gurgle of blood, there are no screams. No resistance.
Only death.
Seconds later, the druid gags and chokes, clawing at his own throat, his eyes black as night, his tunic stained red. But he’s not dying.
He’s… changing. Growing larger, more broad, his limbs elongating until he’s twice the size of a man. Flames erupt over his skin, but they don’t burn him. They’re part of him now, feeding him, feedingonhim, a twisted cycle with neither end nor beginning.
He’s evil, fueled with pure, unchecked power.
And worse, I realize suddenly as a Tarot card appears in my hand, its imagery almost a mirror for the scene before me.
He’s one of Dark Arcana.
I’m standing in the presence of Judgment. Trump Twenty.
And there’s no reasoning with the beast. Not when he’s rocking a suit of flames and I’m standing here in a half-assed wedding dress without a single weapon to my name.
Screw this shit.
I spin on a barefoot heel and take off at a run, darting back into the holly bushes. I get about ten feet away when I feel an invisible force clamp around my midsection, hauling me right back. It slams me against the wall, pinning me flat.
The fire-beast stands before me, pointing a wooden staff at my chest and shouting his vile chant. It echoes inside me, reverberating off the back of my skull.
Called to confess, called to atone
Beg for your flesh, your blood, and your bones
Unwashed and unworthy, you shall be cleansed
For evil Arcana shall meet evil ends
“I’mevil? Well… well fuck you!” I shout, the graceless words of a desperate bitch.
Fury burns hot in his eyes, and he aims his staff directly at my face.
“Vile filth!” he hisses, flames popping around him. “You are unfit to carry the magick within you.”
“Maybe I am. Ormaybeyou should crawl back into that cave and spend some time reflecting on your life choices instead of berating me. Look at yourself right now! Seriously!”
His flames rage brighter. “You are a disgrace to the Arcana, spirit-blessed.”
“And you eat babies for a living, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves—”
