Darkness Watching (Darkworld #1) (11 page)

“What do you know about the Darkworld?”

A pause, whilst my thoughts tumbled, as if in freefall.

“Nothing,” I said. “I don’t know a damn thing. I just know I can see things that aren’t there.”

“Like what?”

“Dark spaces. They’re everywhere outside.” I gestured at the tent around us.

“The spaces hide nothing more dangerous than spirits. People like us attract a lot of attention from the Darkworld, some more than others. They’re harmless.”

“But… those creatures. The purple-eyed ones…”

“You’ve seen demons?”

I nodded. “They stare at me, all the time. Like they’re after me…” My heart hammered in my throat.

“They can’t harm you,” said the fortune-teller. “Not from that side of the Barrier. They reside in the Darkworld.”

“What
is
the Darkworld?”

It was her turn to gesture around us. “The world beneath. The domain of spirits. Most are harmless, but demons… well, you’d be better to remain ignorant, for the sake of your mental health.”

Inexplicably, I felt a wry grin steal onto my face.

“Try me,” I said. “I dream about them anyway.”

“Demons are the ruling league of spirits and are more dangerous than anything in the physical world. Some would say that, given access to our world, they could rise from beneath to take possession of the entire human race. They’re immortal, cunning―and utterly inhuman. Are you frightened yet?”

Yes,
I wanted to say. The thought of the world dissolving into a black void like the Darkworld turned my legs to jelly, but my voice sounded surprisingly steady.

“So what are they, devils or what? Are there angels as well?”

The fortune-teller gave me a pitying look. “Are you religious at all?”

I blinked. “Me? No, not at all. I just thought it was logical. If there’s something as evil as that out there, doesn’t it stand to reason there’s something good out there as well?”

“Not necessarily. That would depend on your definition of good and evil. Things are rarely so clear-cut. Spirits can be benevolent as often as deceitful. And, as much as many of the Venantium might protest that what
they
do is in the way of good, so far as we can prove, there are no angels.”

“Great,” I said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose there’s a way to turn off my second sight, or whatever the hell it is?”

“No, I’m afraid you’re stuck with this.” She tapped her watch. “Sorry, but I have other customers, and I know it’ll take time to adjust to what you know already.”

“I don’t know anything!” Frustration made my voice rise. “I can see things that aren’t there; I can’t get warm; I got
attacked
by a monster; and I think I’m going mad! Now you’re saying I’m a magic-user or whatever, that I’m not even human!”

“Oh, you’re human. I can assure you of that. Being a sorceress doesn’t take away your humanity. If it did, we’d all be hypocrites.” She gave a heavy sigh, and, for an instant, her composure seemed to waver, as if struggling to shoulder something unbearably heavy.

Then she snapped her attention back to me so fast I thought I’d imagined it. “And you’re not mad, either. You’re just one of the unfortunate souls doomed to suffer a connection to the Darkworld. You’ll always be able to see things others cannot. You’ll always be able to see the darkness beneath. But, in other ways, you’re quite lucky.”

I raised my eyebrows at her mock-cheerful tone.

“How’s that?” I said.

“You can see what’s
really
there.” She waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. “Go. I’ve said enough for now, and I’ve fortunes to read.”

I stayed put. “Please,” I said, wincing at my pleading tone. “This is driving me mental. I just want to know.”

“Talk to Miss Delaney,” said the fortune-teller. “She and her little group are always on the lookout for people like you.”

“But… I don’t understand. How can you tell I’m a―that I have this connection?”

I couldn’t use the word
sorceress
; it sounded too absurd to my ears.

“There are ways of telling. I saw the way the spirits reacted to you.”

I snorted. I couldn’t help it. Cara and I had been accosted in town once by a woman who’d claimed she could talk to spirits. She’d insisted her dead husband was standing right beside her and tried to convince us
the system
was stifling her powers. When we’d backed away, she’d returned to conversing with a stray dog.

“I can see you’ll take some convincing, Ashlyn. Do you doubt everything you can’t see with your own eyes?”

“Sometimes,” I said. “I mean, the demons… I can
see
them. The Darkworld, too. But magic?”

“Real magic isn’t like you read about in fiction, nor is it the kind performed by stage magicians. It has its roots in ancient alchemy, the manipulation of fire and water. One can make subtle changes to the elements that make up our world, but cannot achieve total control. The strongest sorcerers can bend the laws of nature to their will, but few can achieve that without demonic assistance. And that never ends well.”

She gave me a stern look, as though she thought I planned to go and cast a spell there and then.

“I usually specialise in advice, not warnings, Miss Temple, but I think you ought to know that it is magic that attracts demons.”

A chill settled on the base of my spine.

“Is that… is that why they keep following me? Because I’m―

What? A sorceress?
It still sounded absurd.

“Yes. Spirits are generally drawn to magic, but it is demons that crave it most of all. It is pure energy to them. Most sorcerers who form a contract with a demon do so by exchanging magical energy for enhanced abilities. But demons have a will of their own, and it rarely works in a sorcerer’s favour.”

“Well, I didn’t plan on summoning one,” I said. “I wouldn’t know where to start. Where can I learn about magic, then? Is there like a guidebook or something?”

“Not as such. It isn’t a widespread skill, and most work to keep it hidden. I have made it my goal to learn as much as possible, and the main lesson I have learned is that few know the true potential of magic. Even divination, and reading these”―she flipped over a Tarot card, The Magician―”are not true magic. I can tell you now that no one can really see the future, not even those who have contact with spirits. This is merely a disguise. Though it has its advantages; you certainly get to meet some interesting people…”

She looked at a timepiece on her table.

“You have distracted me, Miss Temple. But I have other customers to provide assistance to.”

“What, other magic-users?” I said. “Is that what you really do? Help people like me?”

“If you need my help, I am here. Even when I’m not open for business, so to speak, my tent is always in the corner of the square. You’ll be able to find it if you look hard enough… Well, goodbye for now, Miss Temple.”

Her face set, and I knew it would do no good to ask any more questions. Thinking about it, I’d never actually told her my name.
Did the spirits tell her?
I wondered as I left the tent. Then I wanted to laugh at myself. It had to be some kind of joke. Spirits… sorceresses… a place called the Darkworld… it was totally ridiculous.

And yet… in a weird way, it made sense.

“Wow, you were ages!” said Alex. She and Sarah waited for me on a bench nearby. “What did she say?”

I shrugged. “Load of bollocks,” I lied. “Told me I’d marry at thirty and have three kids. And I’d meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger next month.”

Alex burst out laughing. Then she frowned, looking over my shoulder. “Speak of the devil,” she said.

David approached, hands in his pockets and a deep frown on his face.

“Hi,” I said, smiling.

He didn’t smile back. “Were you in that fortune-teller’s tent?” he asked.

“Um, yeah.”

“Well, just so you know, it’s a hoax. A lot of people have been complaining.”

“Oh, I know,” I said lightly. “Just thought I’d give it a go, seeing as it was free.”

“Apparently, Ash is going to meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger,” said Alex.

David didn’t laugh.

“Well, I’d be careful before I trusted the words of a
fortune-teller
,” he said.

“Huh?” said Alex. “Who are you, her mother?”

David shook his head. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just… don’t go back to that fortune-teller again.”

I felt a sudden surge of anger. “Excuse me? I think I can make up my own mind.” I didn’t know where the words came from―probably from my ever-growing frustration that had been bubbling away beneath the surface ever since I had heard the fortune-teller’s first cryptic words.

David looked startled. “Sorry, Ash. I didn’t mean to sound patronising.”

I flushed. “
I’m
sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’d better be going anyway. Sorry I upset you. See you later.”

And he went, leaving me feeling like an idiot.

tried my best to forget about everything I’d found out that day and to enjoy the night’s main event, a neon party in the undergraduate student bar. For a while, I managed to forget the fortune-teller and lose myself in the loud music. Glow sticks and bright neon paint were the order of the night; everyone was up for a laugh, and Pete, in a continuation of his quest to get laid, got absolutely trashed, then vomited all over Danielle’s shoes. Alex, Sarah, David, and I stayed until the end of the night, dancing and having a laugh. Despite her promise, Alex was on the wine again, and she kept trying to get us to dance on the tables. Even the usually sober David let a group of fellow Politics students talk him into drinking half a bottle of whisky. But by far, the most entertaining part was when a bunch of streakers ran past the window in the pouring rain, waving at us, doing one of the university chants.

“I have no idea where to look,” said Alex, giggling hysterically and spilling wine over her shoulder.

By the time we got back to the flat, it was almost four in the morning. I unlocked the door, seeing as I was the only one sober enough to hold a key except Sarah, who’d left early with a sore throat.

“Cheers, Ash,” David slurred, and walked into the wall instead of the flat. Biting back a laugh, I steered him in the right direction―not easy when I also held Alex’s hand to keep her from wandering outside.