Soul of Darkness (11 page)

But Darkness had improvised and covered up the truth. Quickly taking over Persephone’s body, it had frozen the B&B owner’s movement in mid-step before she’d even had a chance to knock on their door, had stolen fresh sheets from a cupboard down the hall, changed the bed sheets and the pajama Persephone had worn, tossed the bloody evidence into the lit fireplace of the B&B’s lounge and returned in time to manipulate the memories of the yet unconscious brothers.

Although it probably hadn’t been necessary, as it wasn’t very likely they had witnessed anything, having been knocked unconscious by Persephone even before the men had arrived.

As for Persephone, nothing was easier than to manipulate her memories. She wouldn’t remember anything about an attack. Darkness was in complete control…it could plant the most vicious thoughts in her mind, and she would never suspect they came from anyone but herself…she had been taken by the enemy…and she hadn’t even seen it coming.

Not one soul at the B&B
,
save for Darkness
,
had so much as a clue as to what had happened there earlier. And the men who had attacked Persephone would now believe her to be dead. They would assume they had succeeded and would no longer come after her.

Which meant Darkness had won some time…the time it needed for things to develop.

Darkness’s carefully laid plans were back on track. It wouldn’t be too long now…

Chapter 7 * Into the Night

I
opened my eyes to find Aidan hovering above me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.

“Why would you think anything’s wrong?” Aidan responded at once.

“Because it’s written all over your face,” I answered matter-of-factly.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Aidan replied, not meeting my eyes.

“Okay,” was all I could manage right then and there…I felt a bit drained. Since he clearly wasn’t going to tell me what was on his mind, I decided not to waste my energy and to just drop it.

“We need to hurry,” Aidan suddenly whispered, urgently tugging at my body, trying to get me out of bed.

“Hurry…to do what exactly?” I asked, confused, my mind still muddled from just having awoken.

“What is it we’re doing?” I asked again, as I still hadn’t gotten an answer out of him. He seemed to be carefully weighing his words before replying.

“We have a
bit 
of a problem,” Aidan stated calmly, emphasizing the word ‘bit’, which I chose to interpret as a euphemism for ‘we’re completely screwed’.

On the other side of the room, I heard Aaron mutter something under his breath. It took me a while to make out his location, as I’d been searching at eye level height, having expected him to be on his feet. When my eyes finally found him, he was sprawled on the bedroom floor, holding his head and moaning.

What’s he doing on the floor? What is going on? And what ‘bit’ of a problem do we have?

I was about to ask but was interrupted by Aaron’s next words.

“Why is the B&B owner lying across from me on the floor?”

“What?” I gasped, jumping out of bed in shock. I’d been right: we were completely screwed!

“What did you do?” I asked Aidan, my voice accusatory…and a bit loud.

“Shhh, we need to be quiet. There’s a chance, at least, that not everybody has awoken from the owner’s loud knocking. We have to get out of here before she wakes and before anyone else comes knocking,” Aidan whispered, alternately locking eyes with Aaron and me, apparently trying to convey the seriousness of the situation.

“But…I didn’t hear anything,” I said, astounded that I seemed to have slept through what Aidan had described as ‘loud’ knocking.

I was a light sleeper…I should have woken up.

“I didn’t either,” Aaron mumbled from across the room while lifting himself up off the floor.

“What’s going on, Aidan? Why was I lying on the floor? And why is my head pounding like this?” Aaron groaned, grasping his head with both hands and staggering slightly as he attempted to regain his balance on obviously unsteady feet. He looked as if he’d been knocked over the head by someone.

“I don’t know,” Aidan replied.

“You don’t know
?
―
Or you don’t feel like saying?” Aaron accused his brother.

“What…you think
I
hit you over the head, or something?” Aidan asked, evidently surprised by the direction Aaron’s thoughts had taken.

“Well, you’re conspicuously unscathed by the looks of it, and you seem to have been the only one to even hear the knocking at the door…,” Aaron stated the facts.

“And,” Aaron elaborated, “you very conveniently have no memory of how I came to be lying on the floor with a head that feels like it’s been cracked open.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Aidan retorted, “I woke up on the other side of the room…on the floor as well.”

“Yeah…no, it doesn’t make me feel any better,” Aaron replied, “
You
don’t look like your head’s about to fall off.”

“Okay, you two,” I finally spoke up, “can we please concentrate on the
important 
matter at hand? Why is the owner…unconscious? She
is
merely unconscious, right?…I hope…”

“Yes, she’s unconscious,” Aidan responded.

At the same time, Aaron looked in my direction and asked:

“Since when are you talking again?”

Evidently, he hadn’t gotten the memo.

“Since I’m no longer being controlled by…anyone…else,” I stated dispassionately, though, in reality, I felt ecstatic and proud of myself…proud of my inner strength…and of having overcome such a dark and powerful presence.

“So you say,” Aaron replied skeptically.

I couldn’t really blame him for not taking my word for it. In all honesty, I would have been astounded if he’d believed me straight away.

I wasn’t in a hurry, though. He would come around sooner or late
r―
both of them would. My actions would speak for themselves. I would not try to seduce them. I would leave them in peace. And eventually,
they
would come to
me
.

“So, why is the owner unconscious?” I asked Aidan, returning my attention to him.

“I zapped her,” Aidan simply said.

“You zapped her?” I asked, dumbfounded, “Zapped her with what?”

“With magic,” he replied defiantly, sounding prepared to defend the choice he’d made.

“Hey,” I said quickly, “I’m not going to judge. I’m merely surprised that you’d use magic in front of ‘normal’ people.”

“You’d be right to judge,” Aidan suddenly sighed, caving in, completely losing the boldness he’d possessed only a moment ago, “It was stupid…and impulsive…I panicked. She was ranting about the noise and going on about sinful practices, and I didn’t know what to say. So I just zapped her. That’s why we need to leave as soon as possible. The second she wakes up, she’ll be asking a lot of questions…none of which we can reasonably answer.”

“But what was she even talking about…what loud noises could we possibly have made?” I asked.

“That’s the thing,” Aidan answered, “I don’t remember having made any noise. We were all lying quietly in bed…at least that’s the last thing I remember before I woke up on the floor.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Aaron agreed, “that’s the last thing I remember, as well.”

“Which strikes me as extremely odd,” I said, “Why can’t any of us recall why the two of you were on the floor?”

“And as much as I’d like an answer to that question, I don’t think we have time to think about it right now,” Aidan stated, “We really need to get out of here.”

“Okay,” I said and rushed into the bathroom to find my clothes and shoes. I jumped out of my PJ’s and got dressed as fast as I could.

Holding my folded grey pajamas in my hand, I hesitated for a moment before stuffing them into my travel bag…something about them had struck me as odd.

Though I desperately tried to understand what it was that had unnerved me
―
for it seemed very importan
t―
I couldn’t put my finger on it. Moreover, I seemed unable to form a coherent thought.

All I was left with…for whatever reason…was a vague impression of a nearly blank canvas, its once pristine, white surface marred by splatters of bright red.

How odd,
was all I had time to think before there was a knock on the bathroom door and a whisper urging me to make haste.

After hurriedly packing the rest of my belongings, I rushed out of the bathroom in time to see Aidan place the money for our room underneath the owner’s limp hand. Shortly after, the three of us clandestinely made our way through the shadowy interior of the deathly quiet B&B, got in the car, and stole away under the cover of darkness.

It was a strange sensatio
n―
fleeing before the general public in the middle of the night so as not to be found out.

The car moved stealthily forward, its headlights slicing through the expanse of dark surrounding us. And though the air was col
d―
we hadn’t had time to put up the convertible’s cover to shield us from the elements
―
I shivered more from nerves and the gloom around me: no light but that of the stars shone upon us.

And as we finally sped up, chasing toward the unknown, the desolate road snaking forever onward and the darkness giving way to the light of our lonely pursuit, I felt like a fugitive…more detached from the rest of the world than ever before…

…utterly alone.

In this way we rode on for a while, minutes passing likehour
s
without anything to disturb the monotony of the ever winding road. I was just about to close my eyes and rest for a moment, when I suddenly became aware of an anomaly in the atmosphere up ahead.

Sharp, brilliantly shining white strands resembling lightning bolts had started to interrupt the dense darkness of the night, growing in bulk and expanding outward from a focal point about half a mile ahead of us.

The air was thick with powe
r―
and magic.

I was sure we all felt it, though none of us said as much as a word. We were intrigued…waiting to see what would happen…while the car sped on relentlessly as though to dare the oncoming forces.

Father…
, I heard a thought that wasn’t my own. It appeared I’d caught what Aidan had been thinking.

Could it be that he thought his father was actually behind the anomaly we were witnessing?

Strange, how easily I could read him. We hadn’t made eye contact; we weren’t even sitting close to one another.

This had never happened before.

Maybe I could read him so well because we had shared souls…or because I’d brought him back. We seemed more connected…

“Hold on to something,” Aidan urged us before abruptly and forcefully hitting the brakes.

The tires squealed in protest, and the air was infused with the stench of burning rubber. As one of the tires gave out with a loud burst, the convertible spun sideways, skidding dangerously close to the rocky precipice, before Aidan managed to regain control and steer it back toward the road.

I was so preoccupied with keeping my body from being painfully jostled from side to side, that I only realized the reason behind Aidan’s stunt after the car had completely come to a halt.

Among tendrils of smoke arising from the ill-treated tires, a figure firmly stood its ground. Proud and confident…and in the middle of the road…as though he hadn’t for one second doubted Aidan’s ability to miss him with a speeding car at a moment’s notice, Malcolm loomed before us.

“Ah, there you are,” he stated calmly, as though having just walked into a café to rendezvous with friends on a Tuesday afternoon.

Is this guy even of this world?
I thought, completely bewildered by Malcolm’s extreme calmness and his appearance out of the blue…or black, I should say.

No…can’t say that he is…,
I heard Aidan think in response and couldn’t help but grin at his reply.

Well,
I thought, reaching out to Aidan,
guess that makes you an alien, as well…

If the two of you are quite finished goofing around…I’d like to find out why he’s here, 
Aaron suddenly interrupted our silent conversation with thoughts of his own.