JINX

Chapter Eight

Early winter, 1550

Isle of  Coruvia

They called him the Beast, the once loving and caring prince had turned into a self proclaimed mad god who demanded a sacrifice of a young female born from or in the loins of the Isle every time the moon was at its peak

The girls sent were never heard from again, but their screams were heard throughout the land, a few had tried to oppose the prince but with no success, the ones who managed to come back were driven to the edge of insanity muttering indecipherable words until their minds could no take the strain

But there were worse problems arising, the Isle was fast running out of women to give to their dark ruler, as all the women had either taken to the hills or had already been sacrificed

Eventually only one woman remained and much to the displeasure of the villagers, it was Rose, the most beautiful woman in all of the seven kingdoms or so the villagers had proclaimed

She had refused to abandon the village despite the men's incessant pleas, she had turned a deaf ear and now they had no choice but to give her to that monster

So it was with a heavy heart that the village dressed the maiden up and at the moon's peak dropped her off at the prince's castle

Not to soon after they had departed, the gates swing open and was drawn rather roughly inside the dark castle

The doors slammed shut and she let out a short gas as a lamp was brought to her face illuminating just enough for her to see the most handsome man she had ever encountered

Strong chiseled jaw with a short stubble, pink beautiful lips, a nose that looked like it was crafted by the great artists, everything was perfect about him, except the eyes

A cold steel grey that looked soulless and wild, it marred his beauty and sent chills down her spine

“go on she's perfect looking” the darkness whispered “take her now!”

It seemed like the whole house was alive, the teapots began rattling, the lamps and clocks began to go haywire

“take her now!” the voice screeched

The prince fell to his knees crying and screaming and just then the doors burst open as all the village men came in with their pitchforks and knives and we're surprised to see a wailing prince at Rose's feet

"Insolent fools" the voice roared as the house shook "I am the Azamath, your little machinations do not affect me”

An invisible force instantly dragged all their weapons out of their hands and they heard it clatter away in the pulsating darkness

"If you won't take her I will" he snarled "hell will wait no longer"

The darkness began to take shape and form while simultaneously putting all the men out

Now Rose was not your average girl, she was a smart one, always reading and she had heard that name once before, in an old tale in the Kingdom of Aurelia, of a demon trapped in a prison of glass that warped and toyed with the minds of his victims

Picking up a torch she began to frantically search for the artefact through the darkness

"Whatever you are doing, it won't work surrender now!” the darkness hissed

The young girl hastened herself as the demon's do began to evolve rapidly and the darkness began to grow even more

It seemed that all was lost the castle was way too large, until something glinted off in the sliver moonlight