Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (21 page)

Taking last inventory of the room, her
gaze fell longingly on the tiny phoenix watching from within his
gilded cage. While she desperately wanted to take him with her, it
just didn’t seem feasible.

“
Unless…” Fate murmured,
eyeing the little fireball.

She recalled a time from the Surface
that she’d gone to the zoo. There, one employee had a falcon on his
arm, talons wrapped tightly around a long, leather glove that
nearly reached his elbow. At first, she wondered how he’d gotten
the falcon to stay perched there. The bird’s amber eyes were wild
and it often stretched and fluttered it wings as though threatening
to take flight at any moment. Then she noticed a thick rawhide
ribbon dangling from one of the bird’s legs, the other end gripped
tight in the man’s fist. A leash.

Fate scanned the room quickly, looking
for something that would work for such a tiny bird. Then she saw
it. A thin red strip of fabric held back an ivory drape. She moved
swiftly across the room, untied it, and brought it back to the
cage.

The little bird peeped nervously as
Fate tied the thread around his left leg. Tiny flames rolled over
the phoenix and licked at her fingers while she gently formed a
knot. She’d honestly expected more of a fight from him, but
strangely, he seemed to understand what she was doing and
cooperated.

Setting the phoenix upon her shoulder,
leash in hand, Fate gathered her bag and gave a quick look at Ick,
who was watching her with a wary expression.

“
You ready to go?” she
inquired, her hand clutching the door knob.

If she didn’t know better, Fate was
sure she saw him shake his head no.

Part Three

Twist of Fate

Storms

The Nephthys River sloshed and burbled,
its thick current wavering like a stream of ebony ink. A distant
geyser fired a canon of scalding vapor high into the air,
announcing the late hour.

His master would be waiting for
him.

Though it had been ridiculously easy to
steal the scroll from the demons’ lair, Vale was forced to hide out
in the mountains for a few days before making his way
home.

Very carefully, he pulled the page from
his jacket pocket. The crisp, ancient paper protested as he
unraveled it from its deep sleep. No one had read these words for
over two hundred years. The scrawls and swirls penned in golden ink
waltzed across the page, leaping out at him as he read the passage
left by the demon king. Lucifer.

What a pity he made such a
mess of things. His curse would have worked…if he’d done it
right.

No one was supposed to be able to touch
the scrolls. But something happened. Something was done wrong. Now,
the demons couldn’t lay a hand upon them or the enchantment would
come alive and steal one thousand years of their life. No race
could handle the scrolls—except shades.

Rumor was, Malus had learned that the
hard way. His eyes narrowed. He knew better. Dark World was rampant
with her minions spinning lies.

He chuckled, rolling the parchment into
a cylinder, sliding the delicate paper into his pocket, eager to
deliver it.

His master was worthy of his service.
If everything went according to plan, Vale would be on the Surface
in a matter of months. Days, even. He’d be able to go
home.

Only, he wouldn’t be going back as a
human. He’d be going back as a god. He’d make the one who’d hurt
him and his sister pay.

A storm growled overhead. Clouds of
scarlet and black wove their way around the snarling stalactites
that hung from the ceiling of sky. A low cluster of nimbus rolled
over the mountains like an angry, vaporous ocean. Red sands from
the Crimson Desert whipped about, biting her face and exposed
skin.

“
Keep up now,” Fate called
to Ick toddling far behind. Glancing back, she saw how far they’d
gone. The obsidian monoliths that stood as markers for the location
of the underground demon city were just black dots marring the
horizon.

It hadn’t been difficult escaping the
city; in fact, it wasn’t an escape at all. She’d simply walked up
to the guards stationed at the main gates and asked to be let out.
They were more than happy to get her out of their city. She wasn’t
so sure they’d be in Kane’s good books after that though. Or would
they? He didn’t seem to want her around any more than the rest of
them.

Except Ever.

She would miss the sweet princess. Her
only friend down here in the broken underworld. She’d been the only
one who cared.

It had been hours since she’d left.
Kane would certainly know by now.

He’s probably
relieved.

A shaky sigh fell from her lips, still
hidden behind the mask. The phoenix, propped regally on her
shoulder, released a soft chirp and flickered from copper to gold.
His way of communicating, Fate had come to learn.

He had a small vocabulary based on
colors and intensity of flame; both intermingled with a unique and
haunting song.

Ick grumbled in his own language behind
her. He dragged his feet and tossed the occasional rock in her
direction. He reminded her of a pouting human child.

“
Alright, we’ll rest here,”
Fate conceded, a cloud of fatigue hovering over her as
well.

She needed to eat. Badly. Her biggest
regret having left the city was that she didn’t speak to the old
Shaman again. He’d thought of a way for her to avoid consuming the
souls of others, but she might never learn what it was.

As it stood, she’d have to
kill—soon.

Her gaze fell upon the phoenix. Calmly
resting on her shoulder, his beady black eyes observed her with
quiet wisdom. She was grateful she’d learned enough self-control so
she wouldn’t hurt Ick or the phoenix.

That’s when it occurred to her. “You
need a name, little one.” She paused, trying to think of the
perfect name for her new friend. He squawked excitedly, sending
sparks flying in all directions, nearly setting Fate’s hair on
fire. She laughed, patting any embers singeing her silver
locks.

“
Ah, I see,” she said with a
smile. “Spark, huh?”

She ran a gentle finger over his chest.
The flames parted, allowing her pale finger to pet him without
burning it.

Ick leapt onto her other shoulder and
nuzzled against her cheek, a deep purr rolled from him.

A lump rose into her throat. It felt
good to have friends again, even if they were just
animals.

Her illuminated eyes scoured the
landscape, trying to determine the best direction to take. The
voice was stronger now. As though it knew she was endeavoring to
find the source. It whispered thoughts to her. Told her how badly
she was wanted. Needed.

Gazing off to the south, Fate somehow
knew which way to go. Jagged mountains pierced the horizon,
colossal rocky giants. But one was different. Amongst the panoramic
landscape, one peak stood alien to the others. Its reddish glow
tinted the skies. Like a beacon, it called to her.

The Crystal Pyramid.

The winding path snaked before him,
leading him home, hunger building within. He knew he’d have to eat
soon. Very soon.

Vale scanned the barren wastelands for
any wayward beasts he could consume. Drifts of married ash and red
sands billowed around him. It was the stormy season again. Very few
creatures ventured from their dens at this time of year. Ones that
he could defeat with little effort, anyways.

Glancing behind him, he was pleased his
footsteps had been washed away by the ash, leaving little trace of
his travels. He was nothing more than a ghost wandering over the
lands, and he preferred it that way. Very few knew of his
existence. And of his unique abilities.

With his hand, he shielded the
assaulting winds and sands from his illuminated eyes. He could
distinguish sharp protrusions of crystals growing vertically from
the ground.

The Crystalline
Forest.

He’d surely find a meal
there.

After adjusting his pack, he gave a
reassuring pat to the scroll tucked in his pocket, and trudged
forward.

The hunger had evolved into a lust. It
gnawed and clawed at her insides, wearing down her resistance. She
eyed both Ick and Spark with reluctant desire. Snapping her eyelids
shut, she cursed her weakness. These were her friends. Her only
allies. How dare she consider stealing their life.

Peering through the veil of dust
blanketing the land, she could make out a familiar sight. Relief
washed over her.

The Crystalline Forest,
she sighed, knowing
there would be something, a creature unknown to her, that she could
consume.

It’s like…a cow. Yes. Just a
piece of meat.
She tried to reason. It was not unlike a carnivorous meal
on the Surface, one she’d eaten a hundred times. It was natural.
She was a predator and they, the prey. While she could tell herself
that, it didn’t make her any more willing to kill an innocent
being.

She thought back to the moment she
devoured the sphinx’s soul. It was easy. Too easy. An instinct had
owned her. She wondered if the same thing would happen again, or
would she have more control over it? The ordeal with the sphinx
felt different though. He had attacked them, and she felt compelled
to protect both her and Kane.

Kane.

His cerulean eyes burned a hole through
her memory. How could such passion lie behind those eyes and hold
no feelings for her? Did she just imagine it? All those moments
when he seemed to care for her, was it just the wishful thinking of
a foolish girl?

Deep pain curled around her heart like
a venomous serpent.

He doesn’t care about me. He’s
just a demon.
Fate fumed, feeling the roots of her true nature
surfacing.
He and I are enemies now.

Ambushed

Against the crimson horizon, mammoth
shadows through over the desert sands. Their long, cylindrical
bodies breaching the surface like humpback whales rising and
falling amidst the waters of the ocean. Though the motions of the
death worms appeared graceful from afar, Vale knew the beasts were
not a typical predator—they were lethal.

Careful not to leave any vibration upon
the ground, thus attracting the monsters, he treaded with the grace
of a cat towards the Crystalline Forest. Once there, he would be
shielded by the marble forest floor. He considered wisping to his
desired location, but decided he should conserve his energy. His
innate ability to vanish and reappear a few feet from where he
began was a rare talent among shades.

Upon reaching the safety of the woods,
sharp quartz protrusions surrounded him. The long crystal stalks
loomed, unfruitful trees, eerie yet beautiful with their icy trunks
and spindly glass fingers.

Even on the Surface, Vale had been
particularly fascinated with quartz. Rocks, gems, and minerals of
all kinds, really. He may have even become a geologist—if he hadn’t
been forced into Dark World, that is.

A chill slid over him. One
hundred years he’d endured the darkness of the underworld. He would
have liked to say time had gone by quickly, but it had not. All
this time. All that he’d sacrificed—and he still hadn’t
found
her
.

Caressing the polished face of a nearby
crystal tree, his thoughts drifted back to the last day he’d seen
his sister.

Sybil,
his mind whispered.

Why hadn’t she just stayed home like
she was supposed to? Why did she have to sneak out to see that boy?
Heat prickled to the surface of his skin and he ran his hand
through his disheveled silver hair. He should have followed her. He
should have known where she was going. It was all his
fault.

If only he’d listened to his
intuition, he could have kept her safe. Away from
him
.

The memory of the ritual nauseated him,
overshadowing the biting hunger growing inside of him. He’d begged
her kidnapper. Pleaded with him to show him what had happened to
his little sister.

A whole year he’d waited after her
disappearance. A whole year he’d kept Blake’s disgusting secret,
just so he could experience what had happened to his sister. To
find her. To die for her.

If only he’d known he was going to a
dark world filled with monsters and nightmares. If only he’d known
what evil lay beneath the surface of the earth—he might have
reconsidered.

A soft rustling ahead stole him from
his dark thoughts. A flash of white fur piqued his primal side. His
hunger reacted with lightning reflex. Vale caught the creature’s
seductive scent lingering on the breeze and he sucked it deeply
into his lungs.

Mouth watering and predatory instincts
possessing him, his luminous eyes targeted the creature playing in
the trees.

A gargoyle.