A collection of flash fiction works.
Each story is a stand-alone, unrelated to the next and always less than 1000 words.
A mixture of genres, but most works contain speculative elements.
Some stories may contain swearing or mentions of blood/viole...
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The witch looked me over, raising her lantern for a better view. "A disobedient shadow?" Dancing flames lit her alarmed expression.
I gave a timid nod of my head.
"Better come in then." Her beaded necklaces tangled together as she reached behind me to close the door. I flinched at the thud.
She ushered me toward the fire, throwing a small bundle of herbs into the hearth and stirring up the bitter smoke. It brought tears to my eyes.
"Stand perfectly still." She circled me with the lantern, watching my shadow closely. It didn't take long for the dark figure to move out of turn.
"It always does the same," I told her, "pulling at its feet."
"Curious." She watched it struggle a little longer, then extinguished the lantern. "This is the fourth one I've seen like it."
"Fourth?" I rocked back on my heels.
She ignored me and muttered to herself, rearranging furniture like the madwoman she was rumoured to be. Rather than watch her struggle with the heavy wooden rocking chair, I helped her drag it to the opposite wall.
She dimmed the other lanterns, leaving the fire as the only remaining source of light. After lowering herself into the chair, she motioned for me to stand by her.
My shadow was cast against the wall, starting in the same folded-armed stance as me, but ultimately deviating back to pulling at its feet. The witch snapped her fingers and hissed at it, like it was a misbehaving dog. It stopped, looking at her for a moment, before approaching with my characteristic hesitancy.
"Tell me," she whispered, leaning an ear closer to the figure.
The shadow kneeled, cupping a hand to the side of its mouth as though it were about to tell her a secret. My gut rolled at the unnatural sight.
Her eyes darkened as its mouth began to move. I held her empty gaze and she began to speak in a strange new voice, vacant and gasping.
"To survive, we must free them of their tethers. It is not the shadows we should concern ourselves with, but what lies within their realm of darkness. Something is coming, and it craves eternal night."
My shadow gave a startled jump and began scrabbling around wildly. The witch's gaze didn't waver as the figure cowered beside her, pulling at its feet in panic.
"It's here," she slurred—just as the fire snuffed.
