The Faceless Woman by Emma Hamm (i love reading .txt) 📕

skull, she gently trailed her fingers over its distorted face and the beak painfully protruding through its nose and mouth.

“Hello, my dear. How are you?”

“I am well, mistress.”

“Are they ready?”

“As always.”

The great hall was filled with Sluagh. More than she could count, more than she could ever comprehend. A wave of leathery flesh, gnashing beaks, and beady eyes stared at her in anticipation.

Stairs awaited her, and at the top a podium, a gnarled crown sat on a black cushion. Made of twisted roots and solidified vines, it was a terrifying and beautiful thing.

A small group of Sluagh waited for her. They were larger than the others, their bodies stronger and far more powerful.

The first reached for her, claws digging into her wrists. “May our minds work together to better this kingdom.”

Aisling lifted their clasped hands and pressed them to her forehead. “May I see your true form and be seen in kind.”

She moved to the next who laid a hand over Aisling’s heart. “May your reign be true and guided by your heart.”

Aisling smiled. “And by the old ways in a language more ancient than words.”

The last Sluagh waited at the top of the stairs. Aisling ascended, the train of her dress carefully adjusted to slide down the crumbling steps like a black waterfall.

This creature was barely alive. It trembled as it stepped forward, falling slightly into Aisling’s arms to press their foreheads together.

“As above,” it croaked, “so below.”

Aisling gently cradled the creature. “As within, so without.”

Another of their kind stepped forward to take the crone from her arms. Aisling took a deep breath and reminded herself they did this every night. She was cursed as a swan during the day, and Bran cursed as a raven during the night.

This was their existence. Their punishment.

She reached forward and took the gnarled crown in her hands. Lifting it high in the air for all to see, she then settled it upon her head and felt the thorns draw blood in retribution. She turned on her heel and listened to the screaming cry of the Sluagh.

The ancient crone stepped forward, her voice suddenly strong and ringing true.

“All hail the Raven Queen!”

Afterword

And thus ends the first part of The Faceless Woman.

I hope you enjoyed reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it. This story was an adventure in every page, and the characters more beloved than any I have written before.

Part 2 will be released in November 2018, entitled The Raven’s Ballad.

Well met, and blessed be.

Acknowledgments

There are a hundred and one people every time to thank while writing a book.

NATASA - I thank you in every book I write, but without your incredible art and talent, these stories wouldn’t be anywhere near as amazing as they are. I cannot wait to continue working with you for many years to come!

CORINNE - The glorious editor who took this book and let me know when and where all the stupid parts were (and there were a lot, lemme tell you). Thank you so much for taking so much time AND a rush job to make sure this story is as incredible as it could be. I thank you a million times over.

ELLEN - Proofreader extraordinaire. She call all the stuff I couldn’t, and for that, I call her an angel.

SARAH & SONIA - The loveliest friends a girl could ask for, thank you for helping me through the faerie parts of this and for keeping me sane while writing.

EMILY & RENEE - These two listened to every witchy fact I could come up with, and more! Thanks for creating our own little coven. <3

PARENTS - I always thank my parents for their support, and I always will. This story is largely due to them cultivating my love of the arts from day 1.

AND FINALLY - To every reader out there who has a little bit of “witch” in them. If you feel different, strange, unwanted, know that you are precious to me and that I will walk beside you on the shadowed path we call life.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

About the Author

Emma Hamm is an author in Midcoast Maine, where she lives on a blueberry field. She’s always been a writer, but only recently took the time to publish the Otherworld series, a retelling of classic fairytales set in a fictional Medieval Ireland.