Soul of Darkness (31 page)

Darkness was still a part of me. However much I would have liked to delude myself into thinking I’d gotten rid of its presence…there was no denying the book’s meaning.

And as the others’ eyes lifted from the page to steal glances at me while silently communicating with each other, I knew: They were thinking along the same lines.

From one second to the next, a painful cold settled down over my heart, freezing out the warmth I usually felt in the men’s company.

I was the enemy in their midst…and although they might not have said it, they surely must have despised me for the darkness I carried.

“Let us not go over this in detail right now,” Malcolm suddenly said, pulling the book toward him and closing the heavy volume with a thud, “I will review it in detail later on. Persephone, you should get more rest, lass.”

It seemed Malcolm had caught my expression and realized how deeply the script had upset me. Nothing got past that man. And though I was thankful for his diversionary tactic, having the script removed from my line of sight did not make me feel better.

For, the words I’d seen would not leave me…they had already been deeply embedded into my brain…it was too late to erase them from my memory.

Though we had all slept not too long ago, I suddenly felt more drained than before. It seemed the Book of Light had not merely drained my blood but my energy as well.

I slumped back down, turned on my side, and closed my eyes, nevertheless intent on staying awake despite my tiredness so that I could listen to what Malcolm, Aaron, and Aidan were about to discuss.

But as hard as I listened, not one word was to be heard. The only sounds I could make out were those of their footsteps as they moved several paces away from where I lay. Too tired to keep myself awake, I finally drifted off to sleep.

A
aron’s eyes were glued to Persephone’s unmoving body as Malcolm led him and his brother away from her. He felt uneasy about letting her out of his sight for even a second. The book’s warning had been clear enough.

She would be their downfall…would bring about the end of their world.

Malcolm abruptly stopped walking and pulled a pocket-sized notepad and a pen from the inside pocket of his coat. They hadn’t moved too far from Persephone’s side. It seemed Malcolm wasn’t one for taking risks, either. If she tried anything, they were within a proper distance to intervene.

Though neither Aaron nor Aidan were about to say anything, Malcolm pressed his index finger firmly to his lips, signaling them to remain silent. Opening up the small notepad to the first empty page, he then began to hastily write something down.

Aaron moved closer to his father’s side while keeping the sleeping ‘time bomb’ in plain view. Looking down at the page, he read what Malcolm had written.

‘This is serious. It is looking very bad for us.’

‘What can we do to stop this?’ Aaron scribbled underneath his father’s words after taking the pen from him.

Malcolm took the pen back but hesitated, its tip hovering inches above the paper in his suddenly trembling hand. Watching Malcolm’s indecision in answering this question made Aaron’s heart plummet.

After what seemed like forever, the tip of the pen finally made contact, forming words Aaron wasn’t ready to see.

‘We cannot stop this,’ Malcolm’s words tore through Aaron’s last shred of hope.

Aidan’s arm abruptly shot toward Malcolm’s hand and ripped the pen out of his grasp while Aaron remained too shocked by his father’s writing to do anything but watch.

‘You can’t possibly be serious?!’ Aidan’s enraged words shot across the page in nearly indecipherable writing.

At this, Malcolm looked at his son and merely nodded.

‘Why?’ Aidan hurriedly jotted down.

Malcolm calmly took the pen from Aidan’s grip and answered:

‘It is foretold…you cannot stop that which is destined. Those are the rules.’

Aaron was done waiting on the sidelines and decided to ask his own questions.

‘Then why
the hell
did you spout all that crap about stopping the curse? Why give us hope if there isn’t any?’ Aaron wrote aggressively, venting his anger as the pen flew across the page in his haste to get it all out.

Malcolm stared at the page and then at Aaron for a moment before he started to shake his head slowly, conveying that Aaron had misunderstood.

‘I never said there was no hope,’ Malcolm wrote and handed the pen back to Aaron, apparently waiting for the next question instead of outright explaining everything while he was at it.

Typically Malcolm,
Aaron thought angrily,
why can’t you just give a satisfying answer for once instead of only handing out information one breadcrumb at a time?

‘But how can there be hope if we can’t stop the world from being destroyed?’ Aaron scribbled.

‘If we cannot stop it, we must undo it,’ Malcolm answered cryptically.

Aaron was about to ask his father how he expected to undo anything
after
they’d all been blown to holy hell, but found himself abruptly distracted by movements in his peripheral vision.

Behind Malcolm’s and Aidan’s backs, Persephone was rolling about in her sleep, her body moving restlessly from one side to the other as though her mind were plagued by a nightmare…or several.

As Aaron stood watching, contemplating what kind of monsters could be haunting her sleep, Malcolm and Aidan followed his gaze and turned around, as well, to watch Persephone’s fitful sleep.

Though none of them said a word, Aaron knew what his father and brother must be thinking. It was the same thought that tortured Aaron:

How much longer until the beast reared its ugly head?

And no matter what his father said, Aaron would do everything within his power to stop destiny’s twisted plan.

No matter what…he would stop her…

Or die trying!

Chapter 20 * Taken

I
stood in a vast space, surrounded by beautifully shining rays of light which swirled around me…through me…filling me with warmth.

My soul’s light, I suddenly realized.

I must have been dreaming about what I’d experienced during the bit of magical training I’d done with Aidan when we’d been on the run.

What a beautiful, peaceful dream. I wished I had these kinds of dreams more often instead of the ones in which I was continuously being chased. Weirdly, though, I didn’t really perceive it as being a dream.

As soon as the thought surfaced, thick and dangerously sharp tendrils of densest black sprung up everywhere around me, viciously cutting through the beams of light. Curling themselves around the severed pieces, they sucked the colorful light into their darkness.

Like the victim in a horror movie scene, I found myself at the center of a sphere of radiance that was beginning to get smaller and smaller as all brightness around me was gradually extinguished, my haven of light slowly vanishing until the last rays were sucked into Darkness, leaving me alone and helpless at its center…

Lost in Darkness, I tried to find my way back to the light. But no matter where I turned, everything was pitch-black. There wasn’t the slightest variance indicating which way to turn to find the way out.

I just need to open my eyes…no, I just need to wake up
, I thought,
That’s right, I’m dreaming…I just need to stop.

But a small voice inside of m
e―
perhap
s
my sixth sens
e―
spoke up, reminding me of what I’d known all along, ever since the ‘dream’ had started: This wasn’t a dream. I’d been awake this whole time, stuck inside my own mind.

Which meant the darkness surrounding me was neither a figment of my imagination nor a nightmare, but the cold and ugly reality of what was happening to me.

Without proper warning, Darkness had swallowed the rest of my soul…everything good and bright about me seemed to be held prisoner in this all-consuming darkness.

“Persephone,” Aaron’s voice floated toward me through the expanse of my mind. I tried to answer but my vocal cords wouldn’t obey my command.

“Persephone, wake up…it’s just a nightmare,” Aaron’s voice drifted toward me. I must have appeared restless in my sleep, as though having a bad dream. Of course, it hadn’t been a dream
―
though Aaron didn’t know that.

Darkness must be trying to fool them.

Again, I tried with all my might to answer, but no words came out of my mouth. Then, light suddenly streamed toward me and nearly blinded me, since it was such a contrast to the dark that had reigned before.

As I imagined myself moving toward it, I noticed that my mental image of myself remained immersed in a sphere of Darkness.I was unable to move. All I could do was look through the opening through which the light flooded i
n―
my eyes, I suddenly realized. My eyelids must have fluttered open.

I was able to see through my eyes, was able to hear with my ears…but my own body would not obey my commands. All I could do was watch and listen in absolute horror while no one heard the screams that echoed in my mind or the sounds of my fists beating against imaginary walls.

Let me out, let me out, let me out! 
I raged against the darkness inside, but all I heard in answer was vicious, hollow laughter echoing all around me as Darkness mocked me from within my very core.

“Persephone, what’s wrong?” Aidan asked, having hurried to my side, as well.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” I recognized my own voice, though I hadn’t said a word. I wasn’t in control anymore.

Darkness could do whatever it wanted with the body I’d ‘borrowed’ my whole life. Now it was no longer mine, but a vessel controlled by an alien force.

“You’re sure?” Aaron asked me, his eyes narrowed, looking at me with a suspicion that made my heart sink.

He was right…he shouldn’t trust me!

“I’m sure…I’m really okay,” Darkness spoke from my lips and slightly lifted the corners of my mouth, mimicking my expressions to utter perfection…

It had waited a whole lifetime within me and watched me to prepare for this moment. No one would notice they were dealing with an imposter.

“Okay,” Aaron finally said, the wariness gone from his gaze as he, Aidan, and Malcolm turned away from me again.

After a moment, Malcolm turned back toward me, scrutinizing me from head to toe. Darkness didn’t blink an eye, my eyes calmly watching him, my body serene, giving nothing away while I tried once again to shout out warnings none of them could hear. Now that Darkness was in complete control, it seemed neither Aaron nor Aidan was able to read my mind.

“Perhaps we should try to decipher another page from the book,” Malcolm suddenly said. I clearly detected worry in his voice, though he tried to hide it.

Don’t get your hopes up. What you’re wishing for won’t happen, 
Darkness sneered at me,
Even if they’re suspicious, they’ll never guess…until it’s too late.

It won’t be too late…they’ll figure it out, they have to, 
I tried telling myself, though I, myself, lacked conviction.

While everyone else got into position around me, getting ready to consult the Book of Light, I watched my own body move closer to the huge volume. My pale hand lifted and floated before my eyes, as though it were someone else’
s―
disconnected.

My hand joined Aaron’s and Aidan’s hands on the blank page. Just as it had before, the book should have produced the blood-red writing we were expecting to see. But the page remained white.

“It should’ve worked,” Aaron said, sounding confused.

“Mmhh,” Malcolm contemplated, “yes, it should have.”

Through my eyes, I watched Malcolm closely, catching the expression that flitted across his face for a split second before he managed to control his countenance.

But I’d clearly caught the doubtful way he’d looked at me. And so had Darkness.