Born into a superstitious, polytheistic herd that roams the plains of western North America, Salem doesn't think that she is anything but an ordinary mare; but while most members of her herd have coats of brown shades, grey, white, or a mix of those colors, she is the only one with a coat blacker than a starless midnight sky. This makes her a target for not only her peers, but also the foals and the adults in her herd alike and her odd, light blue eyes doesn't make things any easier.
Viewed as a bad omen since her birth and named after the deity of death as a result, she is eventually chased out of the herd by the tyrannical lead stallion after suffering months of mistreatment from previous lead stallions when members of the once large, prosperous herd start dying from starvation. Now truly labeled as a curse and forced to live a solitary life, she struggles to get by.
Her luck turns around when she meets three others; a temperamental, hot-headed work horse named Valkyrie, a food-loving rouge stallion named Sandstorm, and an under-sized outcast named Blight. As Salem, Valkyrie, Sandstorm, and Blight travel together, they can't help but notice how quickly the world around them is starting to detereorate. Rainfall slowly starts to become less and less frequent and as a result, plants begin to turn brown and wither while animals and people are starting to die of starvation.
Things start to take a strange turn when an emaciated woman with tanned leathery skin, thin black hair, and strange golden eyes appears before the four horses one day; claiming to be Famine and that the four horses were each destined to play a role in the end of Humanity and the restoration of the entire planet.
Swallow is now published as a Wattpad Book! As a Wattpad reader, you can access both the Original Edition and Books Edition upon purchase.
When Mildred wished for death on her bullies, she never expected a demon would possess her and make all her dreams come true...but is it worth her soul?
*****
After years of torment, Mildred, a meek high school student, is determined to seek revenge against her bullying classmates. She intends to curse them with dark magic, punishing them for their cruelty - but in the process Mildred accidentally opens herself up to a terrifying demonic possession. The demon inside her is only too happy to fulfill Mildred's vengeful desires. Bodies start turning up with parts missing, eaten as though mauled by a wild animal...or perhaps something darker. Powerless, Mildred realizes that the murders are changing her in more ways than one...
Content and trigger warning: This story contains scenes of violence, psychological abuse, and gore.
[[word count: 30,000-40,000 words]]
Cover designed by Jay Flores-Holz