We’ve got an all-new Writing Prompt Wednesday! We’re on part 6 of 10 for this random writing prompt and time is of the essence for Malia to discover what it means to be a Renascent. Next time I do a random writing prompt, I need to remember to do things a little bit differently because I definitely did not start the writing prompt with the intention of going for 10 parts, but here we are!
Most authors fall into one of two categories: “plotters” or “pantsers”. Plotters have an outline of some kind prior to writing while pantsers go with the flow and write as the storyline comes to them. Can you tell which one I am?
We’ve got four more parts of the story, which is approximately 4,000 more words for Malia and Sebastian to figure out how to stop The Dark before it destroys everything.
The Night of the Renascent: Part 6
*Copyright 2024 by Kaye Roan & Blue Dandelion Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We settled around a rough-hewn wooden table in the center of the cabin and Mother Belinda poured each of us a glass of brownish liquid. She said it was tea though, it had a pungent smell that made me wrinkle my nose before my manners could kick in. Mother Belinda bared her teeth in a ghoulish smile as she noticed by disdain. I looked at Sebastian, watching his movements carefully. If there were any danger, Sebastian would not be sitting still, comfortably even, atop the short wooden stool. I settled in too, ready for, what I was sure, was going to be a long meeting with the creature. The woman sat down across from me, her arms and legs folding into bends that looked uncomfortable and awkward.
I didn’t want to be the first one to speak, I wouldn’t know what to say anyway. This creature was the mother of the very thing that haunted me during my nightmares and apparently had been the cause of my death on more than one occasion. Sebastian just seemed defeated.
“My lovely Malia, drink,” Mother Belinda motioned toward the cup and I knew I would have to drink the questionable liquid sooner rather than later. I picked up the cup and set it against my lips, trying hard not to breathe as I took a sip.
The taste was surprisingly sweet, like fresh apples and lilacs. Mother Belinda began speaking while I continued to take small sips of my drink. Sebastian, I noticed, did not touch the cup in front of him.
“My child was born of shadows and mist, a monster from the storybooks and one that would not be contained on my island. It swept across the land and sea until it found more. And terrorized more. The Dark takes extreme joy from the fear of others until it snuffs out their lives completely,” Belinda didn’t seem all that worried about her child’s killing spree.
I stopped sipping and asked, “Why does it want me?”
Mother Belinda grinned again, showing those pointed teeth, “Malia, you my dear, are the light. A Renascent, a light that is reborn over and over, an eternal warrior against that which my child exists for.”
I blinked as the room around me went fuzzy, I glanced to Sebastian, worry beginning to take hold as black dots danced in the corners of my vision. The last thing I saw before my vision blinked out completely was Sebastian grabbing for me, the look on his face was murderous and pointed entirely at our host.
I was back on the sea, the waves and wind a constant cacophony around me, the wooden boards of that pirate ship beneath my feet. My dress was long and heavy, a rich red velvet; a ruby bracelet around my wrist. I instinctively knew where Sebastian was, at the helm, with the wind blowing back his long hair and whipping his linen shirt about.
Then I was astride a chestnut-colored horse, racing through the dense forest, a sense of urgency in my chest. I knew Sebastian raced along behind me, his mount a black horse. I knew the horses’ names Helva and Thoran. There was something else there too, something that was coming, again.
The horses dashed through the woods and I found myself aboard a train, once again in a long gown, this one reminiscent of late 1800s New England. Men and women were seated around me and the countryside was darkening outside the windows. Somehow, I knew, I knew my time was up. There was a pounding outside the train cart. I turned to find Sebastian using a war-axe on the steel door. The look on his face was broken, devastated, and furious beyond belief. I gave him a small sad smile. And the darkness swept over the train cart.
“Malia,” Sebastian’s gravely voice whispered near my ear, as I came to. I took a moment to determine where I was and if anything hurt. I was cradled in Sebastian’s arms on the floor of Mother Belinda’s cottage and my brain felt like molten lava.
I groaned and sat up slowly, letting Sebastian’s strong hands gently lift me into a sitting position. I took in his face with entirely new eyes, eyes that had known this man for 500 years. The soft smile I gave held so much more than I could possibly say with the words I had in my vocabulary.
“Now my dear, your memories will continue to come back in small doses over the next several hours to days. As for your powers, well, those depend on you.”
Mother Belinda still sat at the table, her head cocked to one side as if she were listening for something, “But now, it is time for you to go.”
Sebastian’s head snapped up at the same time, a snarl escaping from his lips as lightning flashed in his eyes.
“The Dark,” he said and I knew we’d been found once more. I really didn’t want to have to jump into the freezing cold ocean again to escape this creature but the urgency in Mother Belinda’s voice said, we may just have to.
With Sebastian’s help, I climbed to my feet, surprisingly steady, and for the first time in this entire horrible adventure, I felt, strong. As if, I could help Sebastian instead of hindering him. He looked like he wanted to say something but Mother Belinda hissed, her limbs untangling as she pushed us out of the cottage and gave us a shove toward the cliffs.
Behind her, the entire world seemed to be gradually swallowed by a cloud of doom and death. The trees disappeared; skeletal husks left when the shadow passed by. I surged toward the cliff’s edge, dragging Sebastian with me. Mother Belinda stood between us and the shadow that swept toward us as if driven by a force greater than the wind, greater than the tide. I could feel the rage radiating from the thing, especially as it seemed to understand who stood between it and the prey it desired.
My last view, as I jumped off the black rocks toward the dark ocean again, was of Mother Belinda, opening her arms to embrace The Dark. And it took her over, gathering her into its mist and leaving behind a death rattle that sounded an awful lot like cackling laughter.
Thank you for reading part 6 of The Night of the Renascent! If you’re interested in reading parts 1-5, please check them out on my blog or at the below links!
https://www.bluedandelionpress.com/category/writing-prompt-wednesday
Happy Reading!
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