Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (19 page)

“
Ah, I wondered when I’d get
to meet you, shade,” the old demon spoke with lightheartedness
coloring his voice. “And hello to you too, princess,” he added,
nodding in her direction.

“
Good day, Shaman Goretus,”
Ever answered warmly, crossing the room and embracing him. “How
have you been?”

“
Very well,” he
chuckled.

“
This is Fate.” Ever swept
an arm in the shade’s direction, her extensive crimson sleeves
trailing loyally.

Fate stood in the center of room,
sensing the Shaman’s sightless eyes examining her. His face, though
warm, studied her with an intensity that left her feeling like a
specimen.

Wizened hands clutching his gnarly
cane, he proceeded to shamble across the room. Closer and closer.
The light beating of the cane tapped in rhythm with his shuffle as
he moved nearer.

Ever stayed by the door, her eyes
flickered with a blend of curiosity and fascination. Fate wondered
what the princess was thinking, then sure she knew, for she was
likely thinking the same thing.

Was this demon witchdoctor going to be
able to find another way for her to survive? To prevent her from
sucking the essence out of innocent bodies? Was there another way?
Or was she just kidding herself? Maybe, she was nothing more than a
killer. A monster with just enough control to keep the hunger at
bay—temporarily.

Helpless. Hopeless. His efforts to
introduce his plan, failed. If only the council had more faith in
him. If only he had more faith in himself.

If only Syphon had kept his
mouth shut,
Kane fumed as he made his way back to his room. Defeated
and worn, he passed through the halls of the demon city, anxious to
rest his weary head.

Did his father really think he could do
this? He’d never been the type to take charge. To lead. Though he
wasn’t a follower either, Kane honestly never knew where he fit in.
A loner.

His childhood had been confusing at
best. With his father tending to the needs of an entire underground
nation and his mother scheming to overtake it, he was left to fend
for himself.

It wasn’t until he met Seren that his
life changed. Took on meaning.

The demon world was on its knees.
Tumultuous and war-torn, Kane’s mother having had ushered in her
new world order. A world owned and controlled by her—and shades.
Dark World had once been home to many communities of demons.
Cities. Villages. But once her poisonous reign began, she
obliterated all but two separate populations of demons. Her horde
of shades crawled across Dark World like venomous spiders. Silent.
Deadly. Striking down those in charge who swore allegiance to the
dead King Lucifer, her disciples crippled the nations, leaving the
citizens but two options, serve her—or die.

Wings immobilized, powers diminished to
worthlessness, the demons were humbled before a tyrannical Queen.
His own mother.

She even shackled her son. Even sent
him into the mines to excavate bloodstone. Whipped and beaten like
a common slave, Kane endured years of imprisonment at the bidding
of his own flesh and blood. The one who gave him life was now the
one who threatened to take it away.

The years in the mines were agonizing.
Not only because of the labor, but because of the horrors the
shades inflicted upon their prisoners.

As he stood before his room, his hands
pressed against the door, steadying himself, Kane tried to force
the dark memories far away. But to disregard them, to erase them,
would be like forgetting Seren.

She had been his only light down there
in the darkness of the mines. She’d saved him in more ways than
one.

“
Fate,” Shaman Goretus
spoke, his voice ancient and gravelly. “What an interesting
name.”

“
My father named her,” Ever
offered proudly.

“
Interesting,” he said, his
gentle voice wrapping around Fate like an embrace. Though
mysterious, she found him calming. His aura serene.

Now only inches away, he raised his
right hand, hovering it over her. His palm open, he swept the open
air surrounding her. Sensing her. He moved in a slow circle around
Fate, never touching her, but felt the space as though absorbing
her essence through his palm.

Fate stood still, her breath tight in
her lungs. She watched Ever’s fascinated gaze locked on the old
demon. The ivory princess, noticing Fate’s stare smiled softly.
Reassuringly.

Finally, the Shaman stopped. He placed
his hands back onto his cane and simply stood before
her.

Her heart thrummed against her chest
like a hundred hummingbirds trying to break free. Did he find what
he was looking for? Was there another way for her to live? Did she
no longer have to kill?

It was Ever who finally broke the
silence. “Well, is there anything else she can…eat?”

The Shaman raised his hand to his beard
and stroked it thoughtfully. His brow furled, he pondered. For just
a moment, Fate wanted to shake the answer from him. Impatience
nagging.

Slowly, he nodded. “Yes,” he replied,
his voice hesitant. “It is as I suspected.”

“
What is it?” Ever inquired,
her voice bordering on impatience.

“
Bloodstone,” he stated, his
voice taut. Strained.

Ever’s dove-like skin paled as she
whispered, “Bloodstone.”

Bloodstone

It was the scarlet flecks that glinted
from within obsidian. They used to glisten like smatterings of
blood clinging to the dark walls of the mines. Crimson jewels
embedded in black glass.

Hundreds of years ago, the obsidian
mines were plentiful. Deep and overflowing, the veins of bloodstone
throbbed.

Centuries of mass consumption, greed,
and overuse, however, finally forced the demons to face the
consequences. Just when the demons needed the stone most, when the
Crystal Pyramid fell dark, the bloodstone became scarce. A precious
rarity.

The mines in which they’d come to rely,
in the center of Dark World, dried up like a well. The wealth of
the demons, their inheritance, was dwindling.

What little they had, they salvaged and
distributed in sparse rations, for they soon discovered—they could
not live without it. Devoid the glow of the Crystal Pyramid, they
were not only stripped of their powers, but their immortality as
well. No immortality meant death. Any demon over two hundred years
withered and died within months without the constant sustenance of
bloodstone.

“
Bloodstone.” The word
spilled from the ivory lips of the princess. Her pallor waning from
that of an orchid petal to one of ashen bone. “How much will she
need?” she posed to the elderly demon rooted before
Fate.

His ancient lungs expanded and released
a wheezy sigh. “Too much, I’m afraid.” He shook his head, mouth
downturned. “More than we can spare.”

Whatever hope that had gathered in
Fate’s heart dissipated into tiny fragments of despair. What was
she going to do? Bow to the beast she was destined to
become?

“
Is there nothing else I can
do? Nothing else that will work?” Fate asked of the old demon, her
hands wringing in angst. If she couldn’t use the bloodstone, she’d
have to drain the life of innocent souls. She didn’t know how long
she could do that before she lost the good in her. That essence
that kept her from drowning in evil.

His wizened lips pursed a moment and he
lingered with a thought. A breath caught in his throat and he
reached for Fate. Upon relinquishing her hands to the blind elder,
he patted them gently.

“
Give me a few days, I have
an idea.”

The image of Seren haunted his
memories. Her long, black hair feathering behind her. Tiger-orange
eyes emblazed with an internal fire. She was unique. Rare. Like a
precious gem, she could not be replaced.

His hands pressed against the door,
Kane closed his eyes and tried to drink in the memory of her. Tried
to hold onto it. The pain in his heart—his soul—was so much more
than he thought he could bear. He knew he’d existed before he met
her, but he had not truly lived until he loved her. How was he to
go on without her? Living as a shell of his former self. Even
though his heart beat, he was not alive.

Until he met Fate.

Why did her presence create such a stir
in him? He was supposed to hate shades. Despise them.

With so much uncertainty crowding his
life, how did she break through the darkness of his world? The
despair?

He spun around, gazing longingly at her
door.

What would happen if I told
her how I felt? What would she say?

A mere few feet stood between him and
his destiny. Was that what she was? A future? Or was she the end of
it all?

Kane brought his large hands up and
rubbed his face.

You’re losing your mind.
She’s not even the same race. Not to mention, she’s the
enemy.

It was in that moment that a sickening
realization struck him. He’d left two guards posted outside her
door—and they were nowhere in sight. Lunging forward, he flung her
door open without knocking. His eyes darted about the room,
scanning for her presence. The only living creatures in the room
were Ick and a caged phoenix.

She’s not here!

Dread owned him. He raced from the room
and down the hallway, his hooves pounding raucously against the
carpeted marble floor. Just one door down from his own room, he
grasped the handle and pushed forcefully.

A gasp caught in his throat.
“Ever!”

“
Well, now what?” Fate
asked, her arms wrapped around herself. What if the old shaman
couldn’t find a cure? Would the demons banish her from their city?
She already seemed one step shy of being exiled. It wouldn’t take
much for them to decide to rid themselves of her.

“
Would you like to see the
garden?” Ever chirped, her eyes shining like blue stars.

Fate felt the rising of curiosity and
excitement. Within her mind’s eye, the image of a vast expanse
laden with flowers, trees, and lush greenery tickled her senses.
The scent of roses and soft prickling of grass between her toes
teased and beckoned her. Memories of the Surface. Memories she
thought her lost soul had taken with it.

“
Garden?” Fate marveled.
“How the heck does an underground city manage to have a
garden?”

With a twinkle in her eyes, Ever linked
arms with Fate and replied, “You’ll see.”

Panic. Kane searched the hallways of
the old palace, his heart fibrillating. Where was everyone? There
were thousands of demons living within the city, yet he couldn’t
find anyone to ask as to Ever’s whereabouts.

I shall see to it that those
guards are severely punished!
He fumed. He’d given them a direct order, one in
which they blatantly disobeyed.
They would never have disregarded my
father’s orders.

An ache throbbed in the center of his
chest. They didn’t respect him. Didn’t care he was their leader.
Maybe he didn’t care either. So many times he’d considered just
leaving. Running away from the responsibility. The pressure. The
memories. But it was all for Ever. To protect her. She would rule
the city one day—as long as Malus never knew of her
existence.

The Garden

Gossamer mist lingered over a cobbled
walkway leading into the garden. Velvety crimson petals clung to a
vine of jade as it wove around a wrought iron archway. A forest of
varying plants hugged either side of the narrow path while long,
feathery fronds swayed like a mossy drape, courtesy of an ancient
willow. The ceiling, capped by an artfully painted dome, stretched
for what seemed like miles above them.

The central source of light, brilliant
and warm, hung from the arched ceiling as though imitating a
silvery moon. Flooding the entirety of the garden with a pearly
hue, it sparkled and flickered like an alabaster disco
ball.

Trees of all shapes and sizes filled
every available space, some blossoming with a myriad of flowers
while others were pregnant with ripened fruit. While Fate
recognized many of the trees from the Surface, a vast majority were
unlike any she’d ever seen. Pink, blue, and even lavender leaves
decorated the branches of many. Some even shifted colors like a
prism.

Mood trees,
Fate mused.

Humidity clung to the atmosphere,
filling Fate’s lungs with thick, warm air, mingled with the
fragrance of a thousand flowers.

Speechless, she absorbed the ambiance
of the room. Breathed it in. Even on the Surface, she was certain
her eyes had never beheld such beauty. Every corner, every inch of
it was spellbinding. The more her eyes drank in, the more her heart
swelled.

“
Oh, Ever,” Fate whispered
with a reverent hush. Ever smiled in return. A knowing smile. As
though she agreed completely.

The garden had no end to its riches. In
a distant corner sat an enormous gilded cage, not unlike the cage
Ever had delivered the infant phoenix in. Tiny fireballs scored the
air within the domed enclosure. Baby phoenixes zipped from left to
right, then up and down. Dozens of flames shot about the pen,
pinging off the bars, then repelling in another direction. But it
was the large orange figure perched elegantly in the corner that
caught her attention.