Macabre Fairy Tales Book 1, The Cult of Elle - An Excerpt

I am working on getting The Cult of Elle formatted and ready for preorder (I like to have the book uploaded into Amazon and ready to go before I offer it for preorder). The book is to my wonderful formatter and we are good to go for a September 26th release.

Because I have no preorder link to offer you just yet, I wanted to share an excerpt of the book here for you to enjoy. So, without further ado, here is the Prologue of The Cult of Elle. I hope you enjoy it!

The Cult of Elle

by J.S. Douglas

Prologue

Lady Elle Marchand sprawled on a chaise lounge; her honey-colored hair disheveled as it rustled against moss-green pillows. A summer breeze tugged at the simple beige shift that covered her alabaster limbs. Closing her viridian eyes, Lady Elle focused inward, pulling at the energy and matter that composed her body.

The chaise’s worsted wool pillows blackened and curled as her skin glowed red with the molten heat of creating something new. A steaming, fist-size mass bulged above her right breast. For a few moments, it pulsed with prismatic color, the lump forming a rippling sack of skin, like a tumor growing at incredible speed. Then, a beak emerged from the throbbing mass. Earthly color washed over the shape as it found its form. At last, a common chaffinch hopped from foot to foot on Lady Elle’s chest.

This small piece of her physical form leapt, leaving a blackened dent in the woman’s chest. As it flapped its wings and gained altitude, the small crater in Lady Elle’s chest smoothed over, skin knitting itself together and returning to milky white. Lady Elle accomplished this miraculous healing with a moment’s thought, most of her mind now taken up with controlling the chaffinch swooping over the garden wall and flying across the surrounding farmlands.

Searching for prey, Lady Elle ignored the vineyards filled with flowering grapes, waves of young barley and wheat, small earthen homes, and the dark forest. The chaffinch’s sharp eyes spotted the gilt-covered carriage bumping along the King’s Road. The conveyance kicked up dust as it transported Lady Elle’s stepmother and two young stepsisters. Catching a thermal, the small bird glided past the carriage and followed the road to its natural conclusion, King Charmant’s castle.

The imposing stone of the castle's outer and inner baileys did not block the small creature. As it swooped past the walls, a surge of energy thrummed through the animal, causing Lady Elle to lose control over the form. Another chaffinch, the single observer of this phenomenon, almost fell out of the sky in surprise as it watched Lady Elle’s minion flash with prismatic colors, then plummet as it transformed into a lump of steaming matter once more.

Crumpling her face in concentration, Lady Elle reformed her bird before it hit the ground. Recovering and righting itself, her chaffinch swooped toward the small French castle, seeking a place to rest and observe.

It had taken years for Lady Elle to master the ability to hold a form in the face of the opposing power held beneath the castle. She’d sought this energy source for over a century, had convinced her adoptive father to move them to this location once she’d discover the power. He thought it his idea to return to his childhood village. But Elle knew better. Gentle persuasion coaxed him to settle down next to this force.

Once they’d settled, she turned to the challenge of capturing the power. Before she could step near it, she spent years perfecting her ability to maintain a consistent shape in its face.

In that way, the bracelet locked onto her wrist helped. It made her true form inaccessible to her, keeping her stably in the body of an earthly creature, rather than her true, unearthly shape.

Back on her chaise, Lady Elle shook her head slightly.

Dangerous thoughts, she mused. If I were not trapped in this human form, I would not be seeking the power to return to myself - or to my true home. I would have been able to access that power over a century ago.

Pulling herself from the brink of maudlin speculation, Lady Elle returned her focus to the mission at hand. She perched her little bird on the edge of a parapet and left a tiny portion of her energy and attention with the small creature. Then, she switched focus to her other small spy, a brown and gray dunnock gripping the greasy shoulder of the Noamhite tribal leader, the chief of her cultish followers.

Twenty travelers stepped through the deepest parts of the woods, careful to remain concealed.

Four youths, little affected by the Change, acted as scouts. These men ensured the fifteen tribal elders and one Changed One stayed out of sight.

The Changed One was once a man, a former tribal chief, who had made the full transition into a water-dwelling, tentacled creature whose appearance most matched Lady Elle’s natural form. Her proudest creation, she would be damned if she didn’t return home without him by her side.

Focusing her keen bird's eyes, Lady Elle recognized this section of forest. Flapping her wings and hopping from perch to perch, her little bird burst through the leaf cover and peered past the expanse of trees ahead. Sharp eyes caught sight of the outer gate. They would be at her chateau before sundown.

Working her bird form back down to the men, she spoke to them through its little beak. Elle’s contralto voice announced, “You will be at my chateau by sundown. There, you must eat, bathe, and rest. You may not get another chance before transcendence.”

Nineteen men fell to their knees and bowed, faces pressed into leaves, sticks, and mud. The Changed One could not kneel, though he did flatten himself as completely as possible.

Addressing the least human among them, the tiny brown bird said, “As for you, my faithful old friend, refresh yourself in the pond here and then make your way to the castle. One of my men will escort you. There you will find a lake in which you can rest until the time comes.”

The nightmarish tentacled mass looked up at the bird, its unblinking luminous eyes showing a depth of expression only Lady Elle could read. It opened its mouth and fluted a hushed thank you through the flaps of skin cascading down its face.

The journey had taxed her oldest acolyte, but now that she had a chance to access the power source, she knew the pilgrimage from Britannia would be worth it for him. The rest of her followers might perish upon contact with the energy of her world, but she felt deep down in her cartilage that the Changed One would make it through.

“Carry on,” she instructed, perching her bird back on the lead man’s shoulder. Her followers stood and resumed their trek.

Returning her mind to her main form, Lady Elle stood. On the brink of success, she felt dull and uninspired.

Interacting with these humans is the difficulty, she told herself. They are too predictable.

Then, remembering how simple tribal women living in a Britannia fen trapped her on this earth and in this form over a century ago, Lady Elle straightened.

Not all of them, she reminded herself. I shall not repeat that mistake.

She swept into the grand chateau, not sparing a glance for the two attendants standing discreetly on either side of the garden door.

“Ready the carriage. Fill it with three men and two footmen. Leave room for me. It is time to put our plan into action.”

The attendants’ strange faces twisted, and their eyes shone with fierce joy. Both men bowed and then took off running toward the front of the house.

Calling another attendant, Elle readied him for the arrival of her reinforcements.

Finally alone in the hall, she looked down at her frock. Beige and draping, the garment could look sensual if she tightened it, or nondescript if she loosened it. No one outside of her small coterie saw her in much else. Tonight, that would change.

She closed her eyes and emitted an intense vibration, shaking her body so rapidly that any small dirt particle loosened and dropped from her person. Then, she focused on the matter comprising her current form. Reshaping it, reshaping herself, she stretched her body, creating height, some slight curves, a small bosom, and, most importantly, a dazzling gown. The fabric now enveloping her arms concealed the bracelet that trapped her in this human form. Her hair curved itself up into a shining mass of honey-brown curls accented by glowing jewels. Around her neck grew an ornate necklace, sparkling in the afternoon light.

Stretching her form and moving her mass around left little available substance for her feet. The tiny, doll-size extremities looked more like tentacle tips than a human foot. Pondering her feet, she refocused her energy on two objects she’d made long ago, from a different time. They were once part of her but had remained in a different shape for so long that she’d forgotten about them.

From the dusty attic above, two tiny, doll-size silver shoes squirmed out of a trunk, kicking the lid open with unnatural force. The footwear squeezed between the floor and the door and clicked their way down the stairs. Promenading through the flagged hall, they found Elle and stilled. She picked them up and rubbed off the dust.

“You will do,” she told the shoes, putting them on her feet and then exuding water from her substance, rinsing off any last vestiges of dirt and leaving puddles on the stone floor.

Her attendants returned, having changed into the livery she’d designed for them. Bowing, they informed her in croaking voices.

“All is ready, my lady.”

“Excellent,” she said, her deep voice echoing in the hall. “Let us begin.”

Fin

As soon as the book is available for preorder, I will provide a link. Till then, I you enjoyed this excerpt!