Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (23 page)

Ever found the shade completely
fascinating. Her aura was so strong, so powerful. It was hard not
to be in awe of her. She longed to ask Fate what she remembered of
the Surface.

She’d heard the sky was blue, but what
shade of blue? What did the ocean look like? How did it feel to
swim in it? What was grass and how did it feel? What did rain feel
like as it fell on you?

Sadness shadowed her soul. Not only was
she oblivious to the Surface, she was a stranger to the surface of
her own world. A prisoner.

The fury she felt for her father
shifted to someone more worthy of Ever’s hatred. Malus. Her own
grandmother wished to possess her. To push aside her soul,
replacing it with one filled with greed and evil. How had her
grandmother become so awful?

Sometimes Ever wished she could simply
surrender and tempt destiny. She was a strong soul, one that could
repel Malus’s will. Couldn’t she simply deny her
grandmother?

It was her body. Filled with her
soul.

Ever hugged herself, the warm air
around her refusing to penetrate the growing chill she felt inside.
How she longed to have a life outside the underground city. To see
the volcanoes erupt with force and splendor. To witness the marvels
that must exist outside this prison. To be free.

“
Are you alright?” her
father’s deep voice asked gently as he broke through a drape of
fronds.

She looked away, nodding
untruthfully.

He sighed loudly, taking a seat beside
her. His head lowered, he said, “I know you’re upset with me and
I’m sorry.”

“
It’s not me you owe an
apology to.”

His eyes hardened momentarily, then
softened as he met his daughter’s stare. “I know.”

“
Then why don’t you go after
her? Find her? Tell her you’re sorry and…how you really feel about
her?”

He recoiled, obviously unaware his
daughter had found his feelings so transparent.

“
Yes, father, I know,” Ever
stated. “I think you may even love her.”

He closed his eyes tight, shaking his
head as though warring with an internal demon.

“
Why won’t you see, father?
Why don’t you believe?” She turned and grabbed his dark face with
her pale hands and forced him to look at her. “Don’t you see? You
were meant to be with her.”

Ritual

An eerie hush had fallen over the
Crystalline Forest. Dark World’s twilight hour. Smaller, weaker
prey retreated to safety whilst predators awoke with voracious
bellies.

A field of geysers sprayed steaming
waters high into the air. Large, bioluminescent bugs flitted amid
the ash-filled air, their wings wagging with frenetic
purpose.

Each of the crystal trees emitted a
low, soft light of variegated colors, muted yellows, greens, and
pinks. A forest of painted ice.

Vale sat across from her, leaning back
onto a rounded geode. It was comfortable. Serene.

Until now, Fate hadn’t felt at ease in
this darkened wonderland. This shade before her, this human turned
monster, somehow made her feel more at home here. Accepted. Normal,
even.

I am Scarlet.

The memories of her former existence
simmered to the surface of her thoughts. How she wished she could
just reach into herself and yank out all that her mind was
suppressing. What was she like before this? Was she strong? Weak?
Cruel or kind?

Fragments of her human life taunted
her, recollections edging so close, but never coming within
reach.

“
When were you born?” Vale
inquired suddenly, nudging Fate from her internal
battle.

“
Six days ago…I think.”
She’d honestly begun to lose track. Dark days blurred into dark
nights down here. It was practically impossible to tell
time.

“
Oh,” he replied, his lips
downturned. He obviously wanted a different answer. But
why?

“
And you? When were you
born?” Fate pressed.

He laughed. “A very, very long time
ago, about a hundred years.”

“
Wow,” Fate replied, her
eyes widening. He was practically dust.

Silence fell over the makeshift camp,
but still the air of ease lingered in the air between them. He felt
like family somehow. An old friend.

“
So, how did you escape
Malus?” Fate asked suddenly, reverting back to their previous
conversation.

“
Well, after I was born, I
wandered the Crimson Desert for a day or so, then was picked up by
the guards. They hauled me back to the castle and prepared me for
the shade ceremony,” Vale explained, his expression
bleak.

“
What kind of ceremony is
that?”

“
It’s a presentation of
sorts. The guards bring you before Malus and she decides…” he
paused, as though deciding whether or not to elaborate.

“
Decides what?” Fate felt
the release of a hundred butterflies into her stomach. She didn’t
like talking about Malus.

“
What job you’re suited
for…or if your soul is resistant to obedience.” His eyes met hers,
a flicker of dread dancing behind them.

“
Resistant?” She pondered
the notion, knowing deep inside she was beyond
submission.

“
Yes, most shades are born
subservient, incapable of individual thought and action. Their soul
is owned and controlled by Malus. Others, like us, are
born…different.”

“
Different?”

“
You were born alone,
weren’t you?” he asked quietly.

She nodded.

Vale closed his eyes and sighed,
seemingly relieved to have found another like himself.

Finding her voice, Fate inquired, “What
did Malus do to you at the ceremony?”

“
Nothing,” he said with a
smile. “She didn’t get a chance to see me.”

Fate frowned. “Why?”

“
My master saved me before
she could kill me. He’s the one that helped me escape…barely.” He
winced.

“
Kill you? But, aren’t we
undead? Can we die…again?”

“
There really isn’t death,
only transition,” he explained.

A cold front drifted over and she
shuddered. Where had she heard that before? A series of cloudy
images raced through her mind. A jagged blade glowing silver in the
moonlight. A pentagram carved into the ground.

Pain.

Torture.

A callous whisper,
“
There is no
death, only transition.”

She forced her thoughts to the present,
asking, “Why did she want to kill you?”

He looked down at the marble floor,
kicking a wayward crystal with the tip of his boot. He shrugged
with his reply, “I was born alone…and I’m male.”

Fate scrunched up her nose. “Why would
she kill you because you’re male?”

He sighed and looked pensive. “I pose a
threat to her. Being born alone makes me a free-thinker. Not to
mention female shades are stronger, more magically powerful, and
Malus wants a new body, hence, she wants a female.”

“
Why does she want a new
body?”

“
Rumor has it she touched a
sacred scroll and the enchantment stole one thousand years of her
life. Now she needs the prophesized heir,” he explained, a
skeptical tinge coloring his voice.

“
Heir?”

His eyes met hers and quoted, “She who is
born alone must harbor the soul of the Devil, heir to the throne of
souls,”

Fate shivered, knowing who he meant.
“Why is it so important that I was born alone?”

“
The ritual on the Surface calls
for three victims to be damned at one time, it even seems to work
fine with only two, but one, well,
something else
happens,” he paused, gesturing
between himself and Fate, then added, “And, you and I, we’re as
rare as blue diamonds.”

“
Something else?” Fate
couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he spoke. It was all like some
fairy tale gone horribly wrong.

He continued. “Those born in twos or
threes lose their soul completely, but us, we got to keep a small
portion of ours somehow.”

“
So, I’m the only female
shade in all of Dark World that Malus needs to survive?” Fate
asked, suddenly feeling tired and helpless.

Vale’s gaze fell from hers, colored
with dark anguish, “No, there is another. If she’s still
alive.”

“
I don’t know if I’m ready
for this,” Fate whispered, following closely behind Vale as he
stealthily made his way through the crystalline jungle.

“
You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
he hissed in return.

That was an understatement, to say the
least. She was certain her insides were going to revolt and
cannibalize her soon. She pulled the mask from her face, exposing
her black lips for the first time in days.

Her stomach rolled again with hunger
and she was suddenly glad she’d left Spark safely behind, tied to a
tree with his ankle leash, though she missed the weight of him on
her shoulder.

Then there was Ick. Still missing, she
felt an emptiness that her furry little buddy used to fill. Where
was he? Was he too afraid to return because of Vale? Was he—alive?
She shook her head, the thought too painful to conceive.

Suddenly Vale raised his hand into a
fist, signaling her like a Surface soldier to stop and be
silent.

Still as statues, Fate followed his
gaze, her sight landing upon two creatures sauntering slowly ahead.
She narrowed her eyes, infrared sight penetrating the spectral
shadows, trying to decipher what these things were. She’d seen so
many odd beings over the last few days, she wasn’t sure what she
was going to see next.

She squinted, certain she’d seen
something like them before.

Horses?

They were walking with their backs to
them, their rounded behinds shifting with every step forward. Pure
white bodies and manes of gold, the beasts trudged slowly through
the forest, unaware of their imminent demise.

Vale started moving forward again, his
body agile and movements sleek as a panther on the limb of a tree.
The perfect predator.

Fate attempted to travel as smoothly,
stepping where he had stepped. Careful and calculated. She felt
like she was part of a pride of lions, stalking their
kill.

As they neared, her predatory instincts
took over. Her mouth watered and claws lengthened from her
fingertips. Readying themselves. Anticipating.

She heard several heartbeats thrumming
alongside her own. One was Vale’s. Strong and excited. The others
were the horses, calm and steady. Until they sensed them. But, by
then it was too late.

Vale attacked first. One moment he was
right in front of Fate, the next moment, he’d vanished, leaving
only a haze of black mist to linger in his wake. He reappeared
beside one of the horses.

Before Fate could allow herself to
wonder how he’d done that, the fiend within possessed her and she
found herself racing towards the other horse at an unfathomable
speed. Wind tore through her hair as she launched her entire body
at the other horse, who was now attempting to flee.

She landed beside the beast and in one
fluid movement, grabbed his mane and pulled him off balance,
sending him crashing to his side. Without hesitation, she leaned
over and sliced the creature’s neck from left to right, warmth
spilling over her hand.

Greedily, she maneuvered herself in
front of the horse and thrust her hand to its chest. A slow, deep
thudding overcame her. She closed her eyes as she became one with
the creature. She could feel his essence being pulled like a magnet
towards her. The madness of hunger coalesced with the lust of the
shade. Her mind was not her own. The darkness convinced her that
this was right. Natural. That the soul wanted to be with her.
Wanted to be one with her.

His chest cavity throbbed. His soul
fought to break free. The horse’s heartbeat faded, slowed as his
essence escaped him.

The orb. It glistened and sang, gently
floating towards her. Hands outspread, Fate welcomed the sphere.
Soft blue tendrils darted from it like fingers of electricity,
reaching for her, calling to her.

It landed gently in her palms, a vortex
of power whirling in the center. She brought it to her lips, eager
to satiate the dark hunger. To silence the monster
within.

She inhaled. Vapors of energy amassing
in her undead lungs. Quenching the thirst. Feeding the evil
desire.

It took a moment for her to come back
to herself. The shade inside pulled back, licking its lips and
nestling deep into her psyche. Until next time.

Fate looked at Vale. He apparently
liked to toy with his food before he ate, cornering the beast,
allowing it to maneuver a few feet, then herding it back
again.

Then it was time.

Shrill whinnies cut the air. Vale’s
expression was wild, inhuman as he punctured the horse’s throat
with his knife-like nails. Blood sprayed, sprinkling the ground
like red rain.