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Short Stories 365:53

Today I was nearly buried under a shifting pile of dark spheres. No matter which way I went, they tried to wave over me and drag me under, clinging to me and covering the light. Endless, bouncing back from my attempts to stave them off...

They were balloons, and it was awesome. I was at the National Art Gallery, and it was a very, uh, immersive. It was also pretty damn fun. To whit:


"The Dragon-Bone Tower," by Cynthia Ward

This is probably the most "fantasy" tale of Tales from the Den. A wizard's apprentice is tasked with ridding himself of his emotions in order to power his darkest magics, but when a barbarian falls near dead at the doorstep, the wizard commands the apprentice trade the dying barbarian for a hellhound, opening a deal with a demon through a portal to Hell itself.

Dark magic, however, rarely comes without a cost. Dark and moody, this story read like I wanted the fantasy stories to read when I was younger - but, alas, they never did. Still, it's never too late to let the darkness try to smother you whole...