Cale always told Tay that fairy tales were dark. But they
always have happy endings, right?

Taylor Preston is a normal sixteen-year-old whose biggest worries are his GCSE
exams. He’s right in the middle of them, but he has a summer of fun with his
parents to look forward to after. Or not.

Despite their promise to spend the summer focusing on their one and only son,
Tay’s parents, Local Authority specialist foster carers, take on one more
special case.

Willow’s arrival throws more than Tay’s summer into chaos. Suddenly, his best
friend is possessed by a demon, his parents aren’t his parents after all, and
he’s literally living a nightmare in a fairy tale world that as dark as
anything Cale ever warned him about. All he has is Willow and a burning desire
to save his friend before he succumbs to the demon and Willow kills him.

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Excerpt from Willow’s Way:

Suddenly, Cale grabbed Tay’s arm, making him jump. “I couldn’t bear it, Tay. I couldn’t bear the thought of that happening again. I was half-mad. If I hadn’t been, I would never have done that to you. I swear.”

“It wasn’t you, Cale. It was the demon inside you.”

“That’s no excuse. I knew what I was doing. I just couldn’t stop.”

“Did you? Both times?”

Cale ducked his head and moaned, “I can’t believe I did that to your mother. I’m not the kind of person who would do that to any woman, especially her. What am I turning into?”

“Did you know what you were doing?”

“I don’t know. Kind of. It hurts. It kind of squeezes in my head and everything goes slow and misty. I know what’s going to happen, but I can’t stop it. I–I think I might be able to stop it, but…”

Cale’s head bowed lower, and at first, his words were too low for Tay to hear.

“I can’t hear you.”

“It hurts, Tay, and I’m a coward. I’m scared of the pain, scared it will get like it was before, so I let it happen. I’m so sorry. I am a demon. I am what he says I am. Maybe I should let him kill me.”

“Hey.” Tay grabbed Cale’s forearm. “Don’t talk like that. It will be all right. I’ll get this fixed, I promise.”

Cale raised his eyes, and for a moment, they were black. Tay recoiled, but when Cale blinked again, his eyes were normal. “You don’t know what it’s like. I can feel it. It’s evil. There’s nothing it wouldn’t do, and I’m scared of what it’s going to make me do next. What if it makes me kill you?”

“You wouldn’t let it do that.”

“I…I couldn’t stop it.”

“You would. I know you would. You’re my brother. You’d no more hurt me than I’d hurt you.”

“You might have to. If I try to hurt you, you have to kill me. Or let Willow do it. Promise me.”

“I can’t promise that. I can’t promise to hurt you. Cale, I…no.”

“Please. If I hurt you, if I killed you, I wouldn’t want to live. If it’s between the two of us, I want it to be me.”

“It won’t come to that.”

“But if it did…”

“No. I’m not going to talk about this. I won’t talk about it.”

“Tay.”

Ignoring Cale’s tormented cry, Tay crashed through the woods and almost walked straight into Willow.

Tay’s Trials

Dark Fairytale
Book 2

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Excerpt from Tay’s Trials

Tay woke suddenly. It was dark. He still felt weak, but he was stronger than he had been, and spooked, too. There was something there. “Wisp,” he whispered.

Without warning, brilliant light flared, and Tay blinked in pain. He had the opportunity to register a soft hissing sound before his mind went blank, and he found himself slowly rising to a sitting position. He had little conscious awareness but saw quite clearly a shadowy form crouching at the foot of the bed. Somehow, he sensed this was no demon, but also that it was a danger to him. He was too shut off to be scared, but somewhere deep inside, he was screaming.

Then, the curtain was not only wrenched open, but it was literally torn off its rail, and Wisp appeared. But it was a Wisp he had never seen before. His hair stood out around his head, like a halo, and his eyes burned with brilliant blue fire. In that one moment, Tay saw the two of them, one black and one white, one evil and one…Wisp. Then the light went out, Tay fell back, and a terrifying scream rent the air.

Tay turned over on his side and curled up, covering his head with his arms. Released from whatever spell had held him, he was utterly terrified. What the hell was going on? What is that thing? What’s it doing to me? What’s it going to do to me? What’s Wisp doing? What’s it doing to Wisp? Round and round and round—the fear, the thoughts, the fear.

“Tay?”

Tay screamed and tried to fight. The hand that had fallen on his shoulder disappeared and a calm voice continued to speak, saying his name softly, murmuring reassurances. He finally calmed down enough to realize it was Wisp. Instead of trying to pull away, Tay threw himself into Wisp’s arms and clung to him.

“What was it,” he gasped. “What was that thing? What did it do to me? Where did it go?”

“Be calm. It’s gone now. You’re safe.”

“What was it?”

“I’m not sure. It’s okay. It’s gone. It won’t come back now.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m here. A thing like that won’t come when you are protected. We will make light. Overhead light. Without shadow, you are safe.”

“Shadow? What do shadows have to do with it?”

“Whatever that creature was, it moves through shadow. It went where I could not follow. If we eliminate the shadows, it cannot return.”

“But it made light.”

“Without light, there can be no shadow.”

“But there must have been. I mean, if he came through shadow, there must have been shadow.”

“I don’t want to discuss this with you until I know what it was. Conjecture is pointless and dangerous. We will take all precautions until we know what we are dealing with.”

“Okay.”

Wisp pulled away, but Tay clung to him. “Don’t go.”

“I need to turn on the lights.”

“I’ll come with you.”

The image of the creature at the bottom of his bed was burned into Tay’s mind, and he was terrified it would come back. Wisp was his savour, and he only felt safe when Wisp was right there, touching him. The thought of being alone in the darkness, even for a few moments, was intolerable.

“Very well. Be careful. You are still weak.”

Wisp helped Tay to stand. He was shakier than he’d expected, and now he clung to Wisp to prevent his legs from giving way as much as for any other reason.

Slowly, they made their way around the room, turning on all the lights they could find. Every new light cast more shadows, and Tay watched them intently. Even with all the lights on, there were still shadows pooling in corners. “I will call for more. In the meantime, if we sit in the centre of the room, we’ll be safe.”

“You’re not going to leave me?”

“For a moment.”

“No.”

“We will protect you, Lord. The ether are sorry we were not here in your need. We will protect you from the shadow assassin.”

“The what?”

“Hush,” Wisp said, glaring at Aria. “We don’t know what it is yet.”

“It is a shadow assassin, Protector Wisp. The ethen know this.”

Wisp swore under his breath. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be.”

“What’s a shadow assassin?”

“They are demons, Lord. Their only purpose is to kill for their demon lords. They move through shadow and kill through shadow.”

“It’s an assassin? Someone’s trying to kill me? Here? In the castle where I’m supposed to be safe? In my own bedroom? You said I’d be safe. You promised.” Terror leeched what energy he had left, and he slid to the floor, landing with a thud. Wisp ran to his side and crouched, hugging him close.

“It’s well. It will be well. I will protect you. This, I swear.”

“But you can’t be with me the whole time. It almost got me. What did it do to me? It got into my head and made me sit up.”

“It needed you to cast a shadow.”

“Why?”

“That’s how they kill, Lord.”

“Hush.” Wisp glared at Tay’s ear. He assumed Wisp was glaring at Aria.

“Why is Protector Wisp angry with us?”

“He doesn’t need to be frightened any more than he is now.” Wisp sounded so angry, but Tay’s numb mind couldn’t understand why.

“But we speak only the truth.”

“That’s fine. Speak the truth. I’m not asking you to lie but think before you speak. Tay doesn’t need to know how shadow assassins kill. I will protect him.”

“We will protect him.”

“Then we can agree he is well protected and doesn’t need to know all the details.”

“No,” Tay said, his voice raspy with fear, but firm. His heart was pounding so fast and hard he could hear the blood rushing in his ears, but he had to press on. He had to know. To Tay, fear of the unknown was worse than knowing what he was facing. “I want to know. Please.”

“Very well. Let’s get you settled first. If it is a shadow assassin, we won’t need more light. You’ll be safe as long as there is bright light illuminating the room. Shadow assassins cannot live in light.”

“What about the light it made?” Tay asked as Wisp helped him to his feet, then onto a low sofa.

Tay was shocked and frustrated by his weakness and almost debilitating fear. He was shaking all over by the time he was seated. Wisp pressed something into his hands, and Tay sipped. The thick, golden liquid slid down his throat he hadn’t realized was so parched. He’d never tasted the drink before, but it began to relax him, and the shaking lessened.

“It was demon light. All demons can create demon light. It’s quite different from natural light, although most of them can live quite comfortably in any kind. Shadow assassins can’t. It’s our best protection for now.”

“But I can’t live with the light on forever.”

“You won’t have to. Only until we deal with the assassin.”

“How can you do that? If he only comes out in the dark, and we’re never going to let it be dark, how will we catch him?”

“We can talk about this later. You need to rest and regain your strength.”

“I’m fine.” That was a downright lie. The golden liquid had helped him, but the truth was he was far from well. He was exhausted, and the whole incident with the shadow assassin was fading into a sense of surrealism that was beginning to infuse everything else.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care what you believe. How do shadow assassins kill?”

“Through shadow, Lord.”

“Through shadow?”

“They destroy your shadow, and everything they do to your shadow is done to you.”

“So…if they stabbed my shadow, it would be like they stabbed me.”

“Well…”

“Yes, Lord. And if they twisted your shadow, it would twist up your insides until they—”

“I think that’s enough information,” Tay said, his voice shaking as much as his insides, which he could perfectly well imagine being twisted into a ball and squeezed. He reached for his drink, hoping it would help keep his insides from squeezing right out of his mouth.

“Don’t worry about shadow assassins. I will take care of them. You take care of yourself. You look tired. You should rest.”

“Do you have that on a continuous loop?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve told me to rest.”

“I believe that might be because you didn’t listen.”

“Hm.” Tay leaned back and closed his eyes. He really was tired, but hell, there was an assassin out there, hiding in the bloody shadows waiting to twist his head off. He opened his eyes quickly. There were plenty of shadows.

“Sleep, Lord,” Aria whispered. “The ethen will care for you. The ethen will protect you.”

Tay sighed and closed his eyes again. Someone stroked his hair, and he knew that wasn’t an ethen. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“It is my pleasure,” Wisp said softly. There was something different in his voice that made Tay’s heart flutter. He opened his eyes and gazed up. Wisp seemed somehow insubstantial, but so incredibly beautiful it took Tay’s breath away. “Thank you for being my friend,” Tay murmured and passed out.

Godric’s Gift

Dark Fairytale
Book 3

Tay had thought that fighting demons was the hardest thing
he’d have to do, but what came after was so much harder.

No one thought Tay was ready to face his possessed brother
and the demon army at his back, and that included Tay himself. Gray, however,
thought different and, as usual, Gray got his way. But if Tay thought the
demons were the hardest thing he’d have to face, he would soon find himself
dead wrong.

From determining ownership of the land formerly occupied by
the demons to a world that had been without a High King for so long they
weren’t sure they needed one, every day brought new problems, and then there
was the magic that was not so slowly leaking out of the world. Tay’s life got
more complicated every day.

When Gray stepped up with the answers, it only made things a
whole lot worse.

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Excerpt from Godric’s Gift

 

Grey flicked his glance toward the crowd, who were now all looking at Tay. Oh shit.

Drawing himself up as straight as he could, he drew in magical energy, and when he spoke, he fed the magic into his words so they would carry to everyone who needed to hear.

“I don’t have the High King’s talent for words, so I won’t try to give you as many as he did.” A tiny ripple of amusement passed over the listening people, and for some reason, it gave Tay confidence. “However, I do have something to say. I have been among you for a relatively short time. I’ve been a prince for even less. However, I feel more a part of you than I ever have of anything in my life. I feel you. I feel the earth. I feel the life. I feel…everything, and every moment since I’ve set foot in Faerie, I have felt the blight of the demons, the darkness they spread over everything, everywhere.”

He took a deep breath and glanced at Cale. “Someone I look on as a brother was almost taken by a demon, and my brother, Prince Hal, was taken. I never had a chance to know him. He never had a chance to grow into the man, the king, he should have been. I know that many of you have personal stories to tell about the horrors they represent. My own father fell to the demons, and my entire kingdom exists under their shadow. It is time to cast that shadow out. Today is the day we take back our kingdom. Today is the day we cast the shadows from our lives and our hearts. Today is the day we drive away the demons for once and for all.”

Tay ran out of steam and glanced at Gray for reassurance as the entire army burst into cheers. Swords clashed against shields. Fists were pumped into the air, narrowly missing the clouds of flying creatures who rose all around.

“I thought you couldn’t do speeches,” Gray said. It was no longer a surprise to Tay that he could hear Gray clearly even though he’d spoken softly amongst an almost deafening cacophony.

“I can’t. That wasn’t a speech…exactly. It was just how I feel.”

“All the best speeches are. Ready?”

“I’ll never be ready.”

“Good.”

Without another word, Gray spurred his horse and began to ride. They rode slowly at this point for those who were walking to keep up. Gray pulled slightly ahead of the rest of the line and motioned Tay, Wisp, and Cale to join him. Talen and his men rode immediately behind, with heavily armed soldiers spreading out in a line as far as he could see in either direction. It was a woefully thin line but the best they had. Maybe they’d be enough.

As they drew closer to the horizon, Tay realised that it was no longer just a line where the sky met the earth but a much denser line of blackness that thickened and heightened. The moment Tay realised what it was and how far it stretched, his mind rebelled, and it took everything he had not to turn around and run. It was a wall, a very high wall made of absolute blackness, the texture of oily smoke.

He glanced to either side. The wall of blackness stretched as far as he could see in either direction. His army wasn’t enough. It was nowhere near enough. He could tell from the sounds coming from behind that others were thinking the same.

“Time for my secret weapon,” Gray said, grinning against all the odds. He raised his hand, and a bright light grew around it until Tay was no longer able to look at it. Then there was an ear-popping sensation, and the light shot upward, making a beacon that stretched up as far as Tay could see. It held steady for a few moments, then vanished.

There was silence. Absolute silence. People glanced uneasily toward the demon lines and the roiling clouds above that had been tinged silver by Gray’s beam. Was there something moving up there.

A shadow passed over the clouds as if something flew above them. It swooped from side to side, growing bigger. Then the silver light turned red, and the enormous form of an ancient red dragon burst free and swooped over their heads and over the demon lines, spewing sheets of fire. If he hadn’t known better, Tay would have sworn the dragon was physically present, and he was sure that many, if not most, of those present would have no idea that the dragon’s physical body was still in The Kingdom. At least, he hoped it was.

Cheryl was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales
Valleys. Until she was 16, the toilet was at the bottom of the garden and the
bath hung on the wall. Her refrigerator was a stone slab in the pantry and
there was a black lead fireplace in the kitchen. They look lovely in a museum
but aren’t so much fun to clean.

Cheryl has always been a storyteller. As a child, she’d make
up stories for her nieces, nephews and cousin and they’d explore the imaginary
worlds she created, in play.

Later in life, Cheryl became the storyteller for a re
enactment group who travelled widely, giving a taste of life in the Iron Age.
As well as having an opportunity to run around hitting people with a sword, she
had an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds, sometimes of her own making,
to all kinds of people. The criticism was sometimes harsh, especially from the
children, but the reward enormous.

It was here she began to appreciate the power of stories and
the primal need to hear them. In ancient times, the wandering bard was the only
source of news, and the storyteller the heart of the village, keeping the lore
and the magic alive. Although much of the magic has been lost, the stories
still provide a link to the part of us that still wants to believe that it’s
still there, somewhere.

In present times, Cheryl lives in a terraced house in the
valleys with her son, dog, bearded dragon and three cats. Her daughter has
deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close. She’s never been
happier since she was made redundant and is able to devote herself entirely to
her twin loves of writing and art, with a healthy smattering of magic and
mayhem

 

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