Curse of the Dark Mother

Nyx took the violin by the neck, lifting it by reflex as though she were about to play. She tilted it slightly, and sure enough there was the deep gouge she’d made into the wood when she’d dropped it after her first recital. Age hadn’t made the wood brittle and ruined as she might’ve expected—now the instrument thrummed with new magic.

As she held it, she imagined she were smaller, accepting this from her father a few hours before her first performance. Her fingers moved automatically, tuning the ancient strings as she’d done a thousand times before. They held, and under her fingers bright pink symbols glowed from the instrument’s rim.

Someone screamed—a high, shrill voice, desperate and terrified. Nyx bolted for the door, though Kirien beat her through it.

Enoch thrashed about in bed, voice deafening in the small space. His hands spasmed into claws, tearing at the blankets and mattress as his body contorted. “Her eyes can see me! Watching with each step. Teeth at the throat of the world, tearing it out! The blood drowns us all!”

Jace strained to hold his friend down, but Enoch’s lithe twists were too rapid. Kirien’s hands were quicker, and soon enough a nurse rushed past Nyx from behind, with a needle already primed in one hand.

“I need her neck!” the nurse called, urgent. “Hold her still.” A few more tense seconds, then Enoch began to relax. His eyes glazed over, body sliding into a natural resting position. The mark had burned through the bandages over it, and the blankets above those. It left a dozen imprints on the bed, a ghostly trail of black marks wherever Enoch had moved.


“She shouldn’t have woken up,” the nurse whispered, tossing the spent needle away into a bin. Her eyes were pleading as she met Yun’s. “I already have her on more than I would give a man twice her size.”

“She was a man twice her size,” Jace muttered, finally letting go. Nyx now understood why he looked so haunted. She gave him one last, sympathetic glance, then slipped back outside. As awful as that was, what she had to say next would be worse.

Then she felt an unfamiliar hand touch her shoulder, just for a moment. She looked up, shaking her head once to clear away the memory. She tucked her new acquisition away.

“Are you still with us, Nyx?”

She nodded angrily, tilting her head slightly to one side. “You said the wolf-creature gave you this. Said you should… ask for my help to save the child, I’m assuming?”

Kirien shuddered. “We’re getting things a little out of order. First she wanted me to, uh… wanted me to kill him. Said that he was going to bring disaster, and thousands might die if I didn’t. It was hard to read, but I think she was pleased that I refused. That was when she gave me this, told me you might be able to help.”

But how did she get her paws on it? Objects from Earth aren’t even supposed to be in Middara at all. Nyx didn’t ask, of course. This Harbinger hadn’t even recognized the symbol.

“I might. It all comes down to the mark. There are ancient texts in Faulkism that describe it—it’s a symbol of a terrible monster, who will one day arrive to unmake the fragile world of men and leave only an endless revel. Typical ancient religion stuff. Most people like to ignore the unpleasant things people used to worship. But she’s also probably the whole reason for the Great Divide, possibly even the Great Adversary referenced in the… neither of you are listening.”

Yun had turned away to puff absently on his vape, while Kirien clutched the cross around his neck. “Some of us aren’t Godless pagans. Faulkan tradition might be tolerated in Elenia, but not elsewhere.”

Yun laughed. “That child is lucky we are Godless pagans. Where would Enoch be if he arrived in Brahma instead?”

Nyx could imagine the answer, and it involved the end of a Grim Deacon’s sword. Kirien’s sudden stillness was all she needed to know he was thinking the same thing.

“It’s the only interpretation that fits the facts. The Dark Mother is too alien to stay here without a host, and the stories are all clear about the effect she has on her vessel. She—always a she—chose Enoch. My guess is, she’s not finished. Clearly the Dark Mother hasn’t taken her vessel, or we would all be dead.”

Despite his brief flash of religious fervor, Kirien didn’t object and only nodded his understanding. “I need to find Enoch’s family—they need to know. Whatever—” then he hesitated, looking to the side. “Yun Jeong. Did you, uh…”

He shook his head. “Enoch’s father? I did look into it. According to my sources, he left Elenia three days ago, I’ve determined that with certainty. Traveling north towards the Brahman border. Given his associates in the underground, I don’t suspect I’ll be able to find him.”

Kirien nodded solemnly. “Then despite everything, I have to ask the two of you for help. If not out of kindness to the child, then self-preservation. We can’t kill him because of what some… unknowable cosmic thing wants with his body. But we can save him. Her. Please.”

Yun turned away, apologetic. “I’ve given the child all the resources Elenia can spare. There is trouble in Fairedge, and what little Balthazar has left to me must be committed there.”

Kirien turned on Nyx. “You then. Lymn was right—you did know what was going on, and you do know how to help Enoch. I can’t stop pagan gods and ancient prophecies, but maybe you can.”

She might’ve been able to refuse, if it hadn’t been for the violin still hanging in her other hand. Or the screaming. “If the Dark Mother is real, she can’t be fought. Disrupted, maybe. Royally pissed off—hopefully. Yun, can you at least make sure somebody covers my classes?”

Yun nodded. Despite his stiffness, Nyx thought she could see some relief on his face. He didn’t really want this kid abandoned to his fate, no matter how big his other problems might be. “I’ll have someone escort you to the armory. If you see something there that you think will help you, take it. Consider it your royal commission.”

Despite everything, Nyx felt her mouth start to water. The Jeong family armory—all the greatest treasures unearthed from beneath the White Vaults. Few outsiders had even been near it.

“Thank you,” Kirien said. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re Godless heathens.”

Yun turned, unable to restrain a laugh. “Only because you don’t know me. But the sentiment it well taken, anyway.”

A few minutes later, and the last of the magical protections were finally lifted from in front of her. Nyx strode eagerly into the armory. A wealth of enchanted objects was displayed on pedestals, racks, and shelves everywhere she looked. There were swords that sang, armor that stretched and warped, more than she could appreciate in just a few minutes.

“He said you could have any one item you desired,” her escort said from behind her. “Look for as long as you like.”

She might’ve stayed for hours, gleefully testing each bauble and enchantment. But somewhere else in this ancient structure was a child tormented with a curse, who needed Nyx’s help. After a little searching, she narrowed her selection down to just two objects…


One was a sturdy cloth gambeson, light enough to wear comfortably but humming with protective magic. The other was a frock of a light, modern cut, with far less in the way of protective magic. But what it lacked in protection it would offer in utility.