Moondust: A Dark Faerytale

Prologue

When night falls
She cloaks the world
In impenetrable darkness

The forest was filled with the sounds of the night. Speckles of moonlight shone through the trees, scattering light on the forest floor. Creatures of all sizes stirred through the night, bringing the woods to life. In some ways, this woodland was more alive at night than during the day. But there were dangers hiding in the dark... She came to a halt behind the trunk of a tree when she heard them. Their screeches could be heard from even a distance. Their cries mixed with the horrible sound of squelching and gurgling. They were feeding again. She stood still and as quiet as the giant tree she hid behind. Her wings were flattened against the bark. Now, she only had to wait for the right moment. The small satchel of moondust was in her hand, ready to be used. But how many of them were there? She couldn't know for sure. They fed on only two things. Blood, and moondust. Moondust was the source of a Nightfaery's extraordinary magic, and they wanted to possess that power once more. Every single one of the monstrosities . But it wasn't possible. Once the power was lost, it could never be reclaimed again. When the gurgling suddenly stopped, she knew that they must have finished their feeding. Now it was time. Praying to the Goddess, she took a deep breath and poured the moondust onto the leaves of the forest floor. Knowing she had only seconds, she flapped her wings and rose into the air. Screeches filled her ears, as the creatures advanced on the shimmering dust. Now she could see that there were only two of them. Not too hard to handle. She absorbed the energy of the forest into her body, and prepared to blast them, and hopefully destroy the fiends in one shot. She released her power, and it surrounded the two creatures. They growled, and writhed in pain and agony as their bodies were scorched by the energy. She sighed in relief, satisfied with her kill. Then, the air was sucked from her lungs, as a shard of glass shredded through her left wings. A shrill, pained scream escaped from her, as she plummeted to the surface of the forest. She rolled unto her back, clutching the ragged edges of what was left of her wings. She had never known such intense pain in her life. She caught the glimpse of two deathly sharp claws diving towards her, before her whole world turned dark.