Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (25 page)

He relinquished a shaky chuckle. “She
might not even feel the same way, Kane.”

“
Talking to yourself?” a
voice emanated from the doorway, startling him. Deme leaned against
the frame, an expression that bordered both amusement and
concern.

Kane smiled, warmth rose to his face.
“Yah, I guess so.”

She glanced at the bed, his belongings
scattered and pack half-full. Her pleasant look melted.

“
Where…are you
going?”

“
I have to find her,” he
stated, lowering his eyes to the floor.

Disgust rolled in a wave from her as
she stormed all the way into his room, closing the distance between
them.

“
Then I’m going with you,”
her voice softened, the heat from her ruby skin mingling with his
own.

He hesitated. Waiting for a stir
of emotion. He should feel
something
with a female of his own species, should he not?
But it never came. Only Fate lingered in his thoughts. Only
her.

“
No.” He finally
surrendered.

“
That’s ridiculous!” Deme
seethed, taking a step backwards. “Why would you go
alone?”

Kane sighed, exasperation clawing
beneath the surface of his skin. This was his responsibility. His
burden. There was no reason to endanger anyone else’s life.
Especially Deme’s. He’d already had the displeasure of feeling
guilty for her near-death experience with the sphinxes. He didn’t
want to feel that again.

“
Deme, I…it’s just the way
it has to be,” he stammered, attempting a tone of
authority.

Her red tail flicked and twitched as
though it had a dark mood all its own.

“
It’s too dangerous alone,”
she argued, her eyes narrowed into slits.

He nodded. “You’re probably right, but
it’s what I’ve decided. Besides, once I find Fate, I won’t be
alone.” He joked, offering her a weak smile.

She abruptly turned from him and headed
for the door. With her fingers wrapped around the handle, she
suddenly paused. Her back to him, she muttered in a quiet voice, “I
hope she’s worth it.”

Then she left.

Though Deme was well out of range, he
answered, “She is.”

Journey

The scalding landscape lay as a
desolate orphan before him. The dark wonderland overflowed with
memories of pain, suffering, and death. A world haunted by residual
ghosts and real nightmares.

The doors to the underground palace
shut behind him with a metallic slam. He was alone.

No one had seen him off. Deme avoided
him completely while Ever stayed in her room, inconsolable. Other
than Elder Ozen, no one else knew he was leaving. He wondered if
they’d even notice. Or care.

A sigh escaped him. He wasn’t one to
wallow in self-pity, but he couldn’t help feeling slighted by his
own people. Shouldn’t they be more concerned of his whereabouts? He
was supposed to be their leader, after all. The son of the great
King Lucifer. Their future king. Maybe.

He adjusted his backpack and started
forward on his journey. If nothing else, it gave him plenty of
opportunity to think. And to sort out his feelings for
Fate.

He gazed over the landscape. So many
directions to take, so many paths.

Where would she
go?

Anxiety prickled through him. Was she
alright? How would she have survived out here? Even for just two
days?

In the distance, the glistening stalks
of the Crystalline Forest beckoned him. Somehow, he knew that’s
where she would go. Following his gut, he began his trek towards
the glassy trees.

He glanced back, the distance between
the palace and himself growing further and further, leaving him to
feel more isolated than ever. The rounded prints of his hooves left
a lonely trail etched into the red sands of the Crimson
Desert.

Reluctantly, his thoughts drifted to
Seren. The bond they’d shared forever severed by violence and
greed. He wondered what she would think of his feelings towards
Fate. Would she be disgusted? Or content he’d moved on and his
heart mended enough to accept new love?

He gave his head a shake. The whole idea
was preposterous. A demon and a shade. Ridiculous. Besides, he had
more important—no, critical—concerns to deal with. One being the
recovery of the scroll. Even if he thought there was a chance to
have a future with Fate, the future would cease to exist unless he
prevented Malus from obtaining any further pages of the Devil’s
Bible.

Kane frowned. He was certain he knew
the reason for his mother’s interest in the scrolls, being that she
wanted to open the fissure to the Surface and create a massive army
of shades, but why did this mystery thief desire the pages? What
was his agenda? What other motivation could there be for reopening
the fissure?

Locked within his thoughts, he trudged
over the ash-ridden terrain. His pack, full of food and survival
gear, weighed heavily on his right shoulder while his sheathed
sword burdened the other.

He glanced ahead. The journey to Fate
seemingly endless. A cold front wandered over his soul as his
imagination summoned an image of her hurt, scared, and
alone.

Adrenaline fired within and he picked
up the pace. A geyser, only twenty feet to his left, exploded high
into the air. It was later than he thought. Nighttime was
descending quickly.

It was in that moment a deep tremor
rumbled beneath his feet.

He knew instantly he’d made a fatal
error.

Dread hit him and he wished more than
anything that he was still able to fly.

“
Ick!” Fate called out as
loudly as she could. “Ick, where are you?”

“
Hush! What are you trying
to do? You may as well announce there’s an all you can eat shade
buffet over here,” Vale hissed, scowling at her.

She didn’t care. Without Ick. Without a
home. Without Kane. There wasn’t much left to live for. Depression
burrowed into her core. If she only knew where she belonged. Oddly,
she would have thought the Surface was where she should be, but
even there she recalled feeling awkward. A misfit.

Seating herself onto a nearby boulder,
she turned her attention to Spark perched loyally upon her
shoulder.

“
Where are we going to go?”
Fate asked, stroking Spark’s downy chest with her pointer finger,
the flames parting chivalrously for her.

Vale paced the small area in which
they’d paused, his face pinched in deep concentration. “Well, I
believe the wisest…and safest…would be to return to my
master.”

Fate bristled. “Is your
master…kind?”

His face fell slightly, then he
replied, “Kind? I don’t know that anyone in Dark World can be
described as kind, but he is…worthy of respect.”

“
I’ve met kind people here,”
she argued, her defenses rising.

“
Oh? Then why are you here
and not with them?” His tone was almost cruel and she
cringed.

“
I…don’t know,” she
admitted, picturing Kane’s face when he found her in the garden
with Ever. The hatred in his eyes.

Vale eyed her a moment, his demeanor
softening. “What if,” he began, “my master took you in, like he did
me, and trained you?”

“
Train me?”

“
Yes, he’s a master of black
magic. The dark arts. He could teach you as he’s taught me,” he
smiled hopefully, taking a seat beside her and resting his arm over
her shoulder. “We could be…a team.”

“
A team? What is it you are
trained to do?” She raised an eyebrow at him, a flare of suspicion
igniting.

He exhaled, removing his arm from
around her. “Well, let’s just say…I’m a seeker…of rare
antiquities.”

“
Seeker? And your master is
a collector?”

“
Exactly!” His eyes
brightened.

“
And he may reward you as
he’s promised to reward me,” Vale admitted.

“
Reward? What kind of
reward?”

“
A return trip to the
Surface, of course,” he stated as eloquently as a game show
host.

Her heart fluttered with
hope.
Home?
He can help me get home?

“
Hmm, well, I suppose I
don’t have anywhere else to go, so if you think I’d be welcome, I
can’t see why not,” she said, actually feeling better that she had
a destination.

Vale pondered a moment, then replied
with a glint of mischief hiding behind his eyes, “I guess we’ll see
when we get there. My master does admire rare items and I would
have to say that you, my dear, are among the rarest there
is.”

Checkmate

Petals of faded fuchsia rained from the
weeping cherry tree, leaving a velvety path to encircle the base. A
bouquet of perfume lingered in the air, the essence of a thousand
flowers fused like an aromatic collage. A dozen or more pixies
darted amongst the lattice of branches, their giggles and
glittering wings enlightening the already luminous ambiance. Soft
rays of white cast over the garden, courtesy of the opalescent
sphere above.

With all the beauty surrounding her,
Ever wondered how she could possibly feel so sad. If this place
couldn’t make her feel better, would anywhere? Or
anything?

She sat in her favorite place in the
garden: beside the babbling brook that meandered alongside the
blooming perennials. White lilies hugged the pedestals of the trees
whilst a gathering of climbing red roses wound themselves about the
torsos.

She’d always retreated to the garden
when she was blue. It was her sanctuary. Her Eden. The place where
dreams seemed planted within the soil, just waiting to be nurtured.
Her dream was always the same: to be free.

What would it be like to wander the
wide open spaces of Dark World? Unrestrained? Without worry of
capture by her grandmother and her loyal fiends?

How could life truly be lived within a
gilded cage? What if her father never set her free? What if she was
to be a prisoner of protection forever?

These were the moments when she
desperately wished she still had her mother. Her father wouldn’t
hear her pleas. Years of attempting to reason with him had only
fallen on deaf ears.

Ever swore to him she would stay hidden
if she were to venture outside the palace. Cloaked and shadowed
from the prying eyes of Dark World, she insisted she wouldn’t be
recognized.

He disagreed.

She sighed deeply, her shoulders heavy
with the weight of consequence. This wasn’t her war. It wasn’t her
fight. Why did she have to suffer the outcome?

“
Why so sad, my
princess?”
a
familiar voice resonated within the frequency of her
thoughts.

She smiled. How could she have
forgotten the one friend she’d known her whole life. The one whose
identity she’d sworn to keep secret.

She contemplated her answer carefully.
He didn’t need to know of her woes, considering he was partly to
blame.

“
I miss my father…and
Fate,”
she
replied in the language of telepathy. Standing, Ever made her way
to his enclosure.

“
Where have they gone?”
he inquired, concern
hedging his usually calm and ancient voice.

“
Fate left because of my
father’s behavior, and he’s gone to find her.”

A silence fell between them. She sensed
his worry even before she saw his face.

“
When did he leave?”
Arcanum
asked.

Ever paused, then
replied.
“Only an hour or so ago…why?”

The mighty dragon’s face twisted
with alarm.
“I sense that all is not well.”

She spoke aloud, breaking the
extrasensory bond, “For whom? My father? Or Fate?”

The ridges on his brow furled,
copper scales glistening and amber eyes flashing.
“Both, I’m afraid,
dearest Ever, both.”

A seismic tremor built beneath his
feet, the belly of the earth rumbling like a ravenous beast. Shock
waves rolled underground, knocking the sturdy demon to his knees.
Uninvited panic raced through him. In an instant, Kane was up and
running, adrenaline owning his muscles.

“
Good gods, what was I
thinking?”

Kane’s eyes widened, heart beating with
the force of a thousand drums. He didn’t need to see the geysers
exploding in the distance to know he’d made a fatal
error.

Cloven hooves pounding against the
hardened sands, he barely noticed the pour of sweat meandering over
his brow and into his eyes. He panned to his left, then right,
acres and acres of flat desert surrounded him. Nothing. Not even a
boulder or quartz pile to seek safety upon.

How could he have been so stupid? So
wound up in his own pity and fawning over Fate, he’d forgotten the
cardinal rule of Dark World: never go out at night.