The Cursed Blood

 
Darkling Rising
Book one
The Cursed Blood
 
JEREMY SCOTT CRAIG


Copyright © 2020 by Jeremy Scott Craig
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Printing, 2020
This is a work of fiction. Names. characters, events and incidents described therein are the product of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living, undead or just plain old dead, or actual events are purely coincidental.
The author can be contacted at:
author@jscraigbooks.me
Webpage:
https://jscraigbooks.me/


I would like to thank everyone that helped make this dream of mine come true. Especially my family who endured many a long night of me sequestered in my office typing. My simply awesome artist whose outstanding work brought my story to life. My simply outstanding editor who tolerated my odd writing style and helped polish this book from a manuscript to a reality. And of course, my ever patient and helpful beta readers.
I love and appreciate you all, and cannot thank you enough for all your hard work on this journey we took together.
Acknowledgements:
Editing: Katrina Schroeder
Webpage: www.katrinaeditorial.com
Cover Art: Jeff Brown
Webpage: www.jeffbrowngraphics.com
Ebook formatting by ebooklaunch.com


 
I lovingly dedicate this book to all my family,
But particularly my grandmother who inspired me,
and my sons whose love of reading constantly
reminds me that books are magical portals to
countless new worlds and adventures


A Note to the reader
When I started typing up this novel I sincerely hoped that as you read it, not only would you enjoy a dive into a magical world full of wizards, witches, hunters, and adventure, but also, I rather hoped I might reach some of you. Not with any subliminal messages or silly gratuitous ideas of me being particularly gifted or better than anyone else. No, it’s nothing to do with that sort of arrogant silliness.
I wanted you to understand and see that no matter what, no matter how much anyone—even that shoulder perched nagging devil of self-doubt that whispers in your ear that you don’t have it in you and that you should play it safe and not even try—none of that means a thing unless you let it. Unless you give up. Unless you listen to the rejection, ridicule, or advice of the doubters who cautioned you away from daring to have a dream.
I am intimately familiar with all of this and all the feelings that come with it, and I’ve been told more than once that I couldn’t, shouldn’t, and was daft for even considering it.
My advice, as a man with disabilities who has heard “you aren’t able” and “some people have it – you just don’t” his whole life, is a simple four-letter word, and easy to remember: RISE.
Be the phoenix that soars from the ashes. Be fiery, fly, be beautiful. Do it despite them, and never, NEVER, ever give up on your dreams.
Kindest Regards,
J.S. Craig


Contents
Acknowledgements
Dedication
A Note to the reader
Prelude
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
White Owl’s Halloween Ghost Story


Prelude
A world a step outside yours…
Magic is real. May as well rip that band-aid off right at the beginning. As, for some odd reason, it is a harder pill to swallow than Elves, Vampires, Orcs, Dwarves, and pretty much every other fairytale creature still walking the earth, and most mundane humans don’t even notice.
Yeah, mundane human beings—or simply the non-Fey humans, born or living with no magical ability, curse, or affliction—are pretty much oblivious and gullible. Give them some electronics to play with and they would walk right past a dragon, step over its tail, totally ignore a sounder of Orcs lurking in a dark alley and shoulder through a gaggle of Elves, not even once looking up from typing out their social media post or staring at the newest viral cat video.
Of course, Agnos Merlin’s Oldfable enchantment definitely helps nowadays. To expand on that, several hundred years ago a bunch of the most powerful of the Feyborn (Shamans, Witches, and Wizards of the races) got together in a great council to discuss the “human problem.”
And yes, the average non-Feyborn/mundane human is unquestionably a big problem. How you ask? Well, it’s fairly simple. The ones that know about magic and the Elder races, (Dwarves, Elves, and such), tend to fall into two categories. The ones that are scared out of their wits and blame magic and Elder race creatures for everything, and those that want to use them and their magics to solve all manner of problems. From the simple, to the world dominating variety.
I imagine things must have gotten pretty exhausting back then. The Feyborn were either running from torch and pitchfork-waving mobs that wanted to burn them at the stake. Or worse, being pestered to make magic swords and brew potions and other such silliness (or even more distressingly, being press ganged into service to cast fireballs and other destructive spells as an enslaved weapon) by every would-be warlord and hero from Athens to Atlantis with a bit of ambition.
So, back to this great big meeting. It was held in what is now called England in the celestial temple you all now may know as Stonehenge, which is hallowed ground that not even an Orc would dare cross with weapons or bad intentions.
Which is exactly why that spot was chosen, as even then, the races and Feyborn all hated each other for one silly grudge or stupid reason or another, and they needed assurances that battles wouldn’t break out mid-conversation. As humans were the one and only problem dangerous enough to everyone, the rest agreed that something just had to be done.
And so, the first Council began on the first day of the winter solstice. There were arguments, feasts, more arguments, debates, a few duels, a rather spectacular game of what you now call ‘soccer’ and yes, more arguments. Honestly, that is the one thing besides a deep distrust of Humans that Feyborn mostly all have in common, the love of arguing.
The two Dwarfish