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The Darkness

Everyone’s afraid of the dark. Now, there’s a reason to be.

Lux and his younger brother Lunam enjoy the full freedom of the simple life and all the childhood adventures offered by growing up in a small village in a picturesque glen. Life is tranquil, peaceful, and just about perfect—except for one formidable fact…

Every day is followed by night. And, with the night, comes the DARKNESS.

Slowly shrouding the valley and relentlessly seeping into every nook and cranny on its nightly rampage, the darkness returns to feast on its victims. No man, woman, child, animal—or even, insect—is safe. The darkness consumes all; the darkness’s hunger is never satisfied.

When the sun falls from the sky, the villagers, young and old, must take to arms, guarding their homes, loved ones, and livestock with every ray of light they can muster. Even young

Lux and Lunam are well-soldiered in their responsibilities to safeguard themselves and their parents during the nightly vigil, the nightly fight to live to see another day.

It’s always been this way—the truths and ritual passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. No one dares question why. Nothing can change the frightening fact of the lives of the villagers or emancipate them from their singular foe—nothing, except a child’s imagination and a curiosity as immutable as the darkness’s own appetite.

There’s just one truth guiding every man, woman, and child to strive to see another day: “Darkness Comes but Once a Night.”

The Darkness

Audio Book Sample

Reviews

What if being afraid of the dark was founded in a very real sense of self-preservation? Brothers Lux and Lunam live in a world where the shadows of darkness hold the power to snuff the very life from a living being. The boys have been taught, from a very young age, to fear the darkness with every… Read full review
Literary Classics Book Awards

“I truly enjoyed the story. The whole idea of having to live as the characters ... touched a primal nerve at the core of my being. ... I would definitely, suggest this story to anyone.”

IndieBRAG B.R.A.G. Medallion Awards
The Darkness: A Short Tale of the Dawning of the Darkness is a fantasy short story written by Justine Avery. The village was brimming with fear of the darkness. It came each evening, laying waste to each and every thing that lay in its path. There were no solutions to and no reasoning with its… Read full review
Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite

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