He watched her come in, every day, for two years. She was a regular at the Starbucks he works at. She was never very social, a keep-to-herself type, and always waited patiently for her white foam, three-pump vanilla latte. He knew he was doomed the moment she came into the coffee shop. She was the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, He was in love at first sight.

she wasn't very tall, standing at 5'2 but she had a soft face that was framed by her red curls; a vision of cottage core if there ever was one, complete with freckles dotting across her nose and a smile that never stopped to awe him. They only ever had small conversations but with each conversation, the more he fell deeper and deeper for her, drowning in his love for her.

Before his work-day, he decided to take the plunge, he was going to ask her out on a date.

He clocked in, got the morning prep ready, greeting his coworkers before finally opening the store. within a half hour of being open, she walked in.

She was tenth in line so he at least had a few minutes to think of what to say to her.

The time flew by and finally, she was up, greeting him with that damn smile, tucking a red curl behind her ear. "Morning Stephen."

He felt butterflies in his stomach and his hands shake. "Morning Beth, the usual?"

"Yes please."

He checked her out, handing her a small piece of paper. "One more thing, before you go. this is my number and I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date sometime?"

She looked at the paper in his hand. "oh, I'm really sorry, I'm not interested in dating right now."

He felt all the blood leave his face. It took him all night to work up this kind of courage. "Oh." Is all he can say to it. She frowned. "I'm really sorry, I'm just going through a lot of personal shit and my therapist doesn't recommend dating right now." He just nodded and she left the line to wait for her drink.

He couldn't take it, after the morning rush, he handed in his apron and went home to figure out a way to win Beth.

Once he found a way, nothing stopped him. He went to Walmart to get everything he would need to do the craziest thing he's ever done; make a deal with the devil.

Once home he moved everything from the living room floor, taking up the carpet and starting on making the summoning circle and putting the right symbols and sigils in the right places. He lit the candles and then stood outside of it, looking at his phone before reading what was needed.

"o obscura unum voco te, auxilium meum vota vera fiunt"

At first, nothing happened then the flames on the candle danced wildly, the air got cold, cold enough he could see his breath and suddenly a seemingly human-looking man in a suit stood with a clipboard.

Stephen swallowed. "You.. you're not the devil."

the man smiled. "Oh absolutely not. Did you think the devil would come to every humans wish and whim? No, I'm one of his many helpers. let's get to business, why did you try to summon the devil?"

"uhh there's a girl-"

The man was already checking off boxes on his clipboard.

"She rejected me and I wanted a way to win her over."

The man nodded. "A classic love wish, easy enough." He handed Stephen a small handful of papers. "I need you to read over this before you agree to sign your soul over to the devil and his dominion of hell for all eternity."

Stephen glossed over a lot of the papers. "When is payment due exactly?"

"Ten years time."

Stephen looked surprised. "Ten years? I get a whole decade-"

"Yes but I implore you to read-"

Stephen was already signing the papers and handed them back with a huge smile. "Here, when will it start? when will she love me?"

The man took the papers with a strained smile. "No time at all. Now Stephen this is your last chance to read over the fine print and what it would mean for your soul."

Stephen just waved him away. "I'll deal with it then, I got ten years."

The man smiled. "Right. Enjoy your time." And then he was gone.

Within moments there was a knock on his door. When he opened it Beth was standing there. "beth?"

She smiled. "Hi. I'm so sorry about earlier, I'd love nothing more than to go on a date with you." Stephen smiled back. "Lets go then."

Ten years later

Stephen sighed as he pulled into the drive way , turning the ignition off.

When he stepped out he was greeted by two children, hugging him around his waist. "Whoa, love bugs."

They both smiled up at him, walking with im and telling him about their school day.

when he stepped through the door though, everything suddenly felt different. he felt ill.

no not ill, hungry.

so hungry he felt nauseous.

He went to the fridge, Beth seeing him as he walked to the fridge.

Beth saw him. "Stephen? how was work?"

He didn't answer, just opened the fridge, staring at the marinating steak.

"Stephen?" He took the steak out and took a bite of it. and another and another and found he couldn't get enough, he ate the whole thing.

Beth just stared in shock. "Stephen, are you ok?"

He felt a lot better now. his mouth was red with the beef blood and various herbs of the marinade. "Yeah. why?"

"You just ate the entire dinner. Raw. Maybe you should lay down."

Stephen smiled, getting a towel. "Why? I feel great now. I'm sorry about dinner, lets's order pizza, you know how much the kids love that."

Beth swallowed. "Alright. we can do that."

He woke in the middle of the night, curled in pain, trying to hide it from Beth who was sound asleep.

He felt like he hadn't eaten in weeks, or months. the hunger pain coiled deep in his stomach. He looked over at Beth, able to smell her blood, feels like he can see it going through her veins like a steady river. He felt his mouth drool at the thought of eating her.

He moved over her without any thought, staring at her neck before he opened his mouth, fangs instead of teeth showed and he tore into her. she woke, screaming in agony, blood painting her neck, Stpehns face, and the white sheets below.

the door opened and the light was suddenly on and he looked, seeing his two children.

Not children.

Prey.

"Daddy?" One of them asked and he ran for him before the door slammed in his face and he realized what he was doing. he looked at Beths now dead body, neck completely eaten and exposed and bleeding.

"Looks like you should have read that fine print."

Stephen turned, seeing the man that took his wish ten years ago.

Stephen ran over to him, pleading. "What's happening to me?"

"Well, you no longer have a soul. I took that just a few hours ago and often when something like a soul is suddenly missing, well, the body does all manners of things to overcompensate for it; the most common is hunger."

Stephen glared, trying to grab the man by his blazer labels but he was gone, on the other side of the room. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did. I distinctly remember trying to get you to read the fine print of the contract you signed. But you didn't care. You just wanted to live happily ever after with a girl who had no interest in you. and now you will do the same to your children and your neighbor until the police kill your body and your consciousness will live in hell. Have a good rest of your time on earth Stephen and thank you for your patronage."

It was past sunset when Nick spoke up, seeing Ethan looking exhausted. “I think we should find a place to stay for the night?” Ethan yawned. “Good idea. About time to call my mom again anyway.” Nick nodded in acknowledgment and went back to looking at the scenery. Beautiful was an understatement.

He almost forgot why he was on this road trip. Most of the trip was on the highway through forests and wooded areas. He saw several creatures in those woods just, existing as a dog or cat would. There’s a whole life in the woods he never knew about. Ethan pulled into the nearest hotel. Which was a motel with a sign that was flicking and needs to be replaced. Ethan sighed. “Hate to stop here for the night but it’s too dangerous to drive sleepy. Hope they got food around here.”

He said as he turned the car off and got out. Nick got out as well, taking in the woods and area around him. Nick started walking with Ethan to the motel door. “Where are we anyway?”

“Like ten minutes away from Mount Rainier.”

“Ah. Ok.”

Ethan chuckled. “Yep. About halfway there. I think we drove for six hours.” Nick just looked around. There was definitely human activity, even if it wasn’t busy. There was a lit sidewalk, and the outside of the motel seemed well taken care of.

They walked inside the small lobby and Ethan rang the little bell on the desk, the clerk not immediately present. Nick walked over to the magazines and pamphlets, getting a few for their trip. The clerk came out from behind the office door. “Yes, how can I help you?” Ethan got his wallet out. “Two for the night, please. Separate beds if that’s possible.”

The clerk nodded, typing it into his computer. “Name for the room?”

“Ethan Fisher.”

“Ok, that’s $50. And check out time is 9AM, if you’re not checked out by then you’ll be charged another day.” Ethan nodded and handed his card over. Nick came over to them. The clerk finished and turned to get the key, handing it over. “Room 294, second floor.”

“Thanks.”

The two started to walk away when the clerk stopped him. “Oh and don’t go out after dark, it’s dangerous up here.”

They just nodded and walked out. Nick yawned as they walked. “What do you think he means by dangerous?” Ethan shrugged. “Not sure. But we are in the middle of the woods, could be anything. Wendigos are likely.”

“The fuck is a wendigo?”

“Nightmare fuel,” Ethan said with a chuckle as he got to the car, getting his bag.

Nick huffed as he went to the other side of the car, getting his bag. “I’m serious dude.” Ethan closed his back door of the car. “It’s basically just a forest monster. A lot of tall tales about them but they’re no more dangerous than a tiger. I mean, just as deadly but they’re not gonna possess you or whatever.” Nick closed his door. “Well, what do they do?”

Ethan sighed, talking as they walked to the stairs. “It can vary. They can be as small as us or as big as the trees. It all depends on how much they’re able to hunt. They typically hunt large prey like bears and cougars but sometimes they’re scarce and we have a lot of stupid hikers that become their dinner. Oh! And they can mimic human voices too but that’s not super strange, they're birds that can do that. But still, if you hear a human voice at night in the middle of the woods; you didn’t. You don’t check it and go about the rest of your night. Asleep.”

Nick whistled, impressed with the Wendigo story but Ethan slapped a hand over his mouth, glaring. “Do not do that at night, again.” Nick frowned at Ethan, taking his hand away. “Dude, what the hell?” Ethan huffed as they walked up the stairs. “You cannot whistle at night. You can attract bad spirits and not to mention those wendigos I just told you about? Yeah, them too. Now they might know there are tasty treats here. Treats being us, by the way.”

“I got it, I got it. Damn, you really need to teach me more, I didn’t know about that.” “It’s ok, I’ll tell you all you need to know tomorrow once we’ve gotten some sleep.” “Yeah, it’s like 10 o’clock.”

They got to the room and Ethen opened the door. They walked in and Ethan went to the first bed and collapsed onto it, face first. “Bed I missed you.” He said, voice muffled by the mattress.

Nick rolled his eyes as he went to the second twin, turning the light on by the bed. “Dramatic much?” Ethan sat up. “You weren’t the one to drive for six hours.” “True. I’m gonna find us dinner while you call your mom.” Ethan gave a thumbs up as he got his phone out, flipping it open and calling his mom. Nick walked out, Ethan giving him the keys before he forgot. Nick walked down the metal staircase and started along the lit sidewalk that goes around the motel. He was a decent distance away when he stopped, hearing a scream. He looked in its direction, it was off the sidewalk trail to his left.

There was the scream again, female. They sounded in pain, begging for help. “Help! Help me! He’s trying to kill me!” Nick felt rooted to the spot. Ethan just told him Wendigos can mimic human voices but what happens in the off chance someone actually is in trouble? He got his phone out, starting to walk into the dark woods, nearly pitch black the further away he got from the trail. He called Ethan.

Ethan picked up. “Yo.”

“I hear a woman screaming in the woods.”

“Nick. No. No, you don’t.” Nick glared into the darkness, the screams getting louder. “Yes, I do. What if someone’s actually in trouble?”

“Then they’re in trouble, I literally just said Wendigos mimic humans. Fuck, where are you so I can save your ass?”

“I was on the sidewalk trail when I heard screaming. I turned left into the woods.” “Ok. I’ll be right there. At this point I hope it’s just a person in trouble.”

Ethan hung up and Nick stopped walking. The screaming was gone. The air was colder than it was when he started. He swallowed, looking around. It was pitch black. He could barely see his hand in front of his own face and the temperature was definitely dropping. He got his phone back out and turned on the flashlight function. “Fuck!”

He cried out, having seen a creature's face in that small second, dropping his phone before regaining it again.

He put his light to where he saw the creature and it was gone. He started to walk back to the trail, turning around when the creature, the wendigo, was right in front of him. It was tall as a giraffe, still somehow able to walk on all four feet. Its head had an exposed skull. Nick would be more fascinated if his life wasn’t at risk.

It had the largest antlers he’s ever seen and looked ready to eat him for his next meal. He ran. He used what skills he got from the football he hated playing and managed to doge and get around him, running as fast as he could. He can hear it behind him, galloping like a Clydesdale, its sharp claws uprooting the dirt where it hit.

He heard the scream it was mimicking. It made his blood run cold. It really can mimic human voices. To disturbing accuracy. He tripped on a patch of uneven ground, catching himself on his already sprained wrist, crying out in pain, holding his hand. It was above him.

Oh gods, this was it. This is how he dies. He’s gonna die like the idiot in a horror movie, cause he had to inspect a sound in the woods. It roared, gravely and growling when suddenly a ball of flame hit it in the face. It cried out in pain but didn’t move away much. Ethan jogged up, wand in hand, “naur mahta!” He cried out, making another ball of flame come from his wand and right into the Wendigo's face.

The wendigo cried out and ran off, parts of it still on fire. Nick was panting from adrenaline still coursing through his veins like an angry river. He stood on unsteady legs, looking at Ethan. “What the hell was that?” Ethan glare. “That was the wendigo I told-“ “No, not that. I get it now. What you did with your wand. I never knew you had one.” Ethan rolled his eyes, flicking his wand quickly. “Ancalimë.”

He said, the tip of his wand lit up as a flashlight. He turned back to Nick. “We can talk back at the room. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

The Witch of Washington

Fansty/coming-of-age

for ages 13+

no total word count at this time, the book is still a WIP

C.G.Zollars

I think it is a good fit because everyone loves a good fantasy novel and there is a myriad of characters the reader can relate to, it handles many real-life problems through a different lens.

In a world where everyone has a little bit of magic and myth is real, Mary is born. She was born with extraordinary power, causing her parents to put her in a magical suppression collar that was only meant for infancy and toddlerhood, but it never came off and she became no more than a problem to them and their wish for a "normal family." Eighteen years later her brother Nick wonders where his sister went too, only knowing she ran away when she was out of high school to accept the invitation to the prestigious university for magic users "Elizeus Barnard School of Magik" which only accepts the most powerful magic users. With his best friend Ethan, a half-Elf, they travel across the state of Washington to the school and find new friends along the way discover finding Mary isn't easy as they thought.

The target audience would be those who enjoy Harry Potter and fantasy in general.

My name is Cayla, High school graduate. I have been writing since I was a child but struggled sometimes with it as I have ADHD and Dyslexia. I'm a quiet person that enjoys her solitude but enjoy close friends. I enjoy painting and video games in my free time.