Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (8 page)

“
Do you want me to do first
watch?” Deme asked, drawing her blade.

“
No, I’m awake now, you rest
and then we’ll switch,” he responded quietly.

“
Are you alright?” She moved
to his side, close enough for her body heat to mix with
his.

“
Yes, I’m fine.”
Straightening his back, he took a step away.

Without a word, she returned to her
seat.

A sense of guilt washed over him. She
was only trying to be kind, and she was very beautiful. He
just—couldn’t.

Black and gray clouds rolled over the
dark horizon, matching the storm in his soul. The image of his
wife’s face wavered in his memories like a reflection in
water.

Se
ren.

Ever

A dream wandered through her
unconsciousness. Memories swam by, but never stayed in focus long
enough for her to know if they were real or imagined.

Images of violence.

Fear.

Death.

A dagger glinted against the light of a
pale moon before it entered her chest.

The boy.

The one who drove the knife into
her heart, his voice resounded,
“There is no death—only
transition.”

Sinking.

Submerging into darkness.

Suddenly standing in a void, she saw a
mirror. At first, it reflected a beautiful, yet terrifying fiend
with white eyes, black lips, and silver hair. She gasped, placing a
pale hand adorned with long, black fingernails against the
glass.

What’s happened to
me?

A dark fear swelled in her shattered
soul. What had she become? What had she been? Shaking her head, the
confusion angered her. The image morphed into another figure.
Another face. A girl with long brown hair stared back at her, eyes
the color of the sea.

The stars,
the image whispered.
Remember the
stars.

But before she could recall the stars,
a hunger, deep and aching, ripped through her body, overshadowing
the dream. Her eyes snapped open, focusing on her
surroundings.

Where am I?

The cave walls were damp with sweat
from the heated rocks. Gold glistened on the surface like a network
of amber veins. Creatures howled outside the cavern, a nocturnal
world submerged in evil.

Come home, daughter, come
home!

The voice, it was familiar. Somehow she
knew. It resonated in her core. Sung by an anonymous mother she had
yet to meet and hungered to find. The call—the need—to go home ate
at her insides. A home she’d never seen, but felt its essence crawl
beneath her skin like a million spiders.

She eyed the sleeping she-demon and
seethed with hate. These demons were mortal enemies, she felt it
with all her being. Their existence disgusted her, except—their
scent. Their unbelievably delicious scent made her mouth water. The
horrendous mask the male demon had sealed over her face somehow
curbed the intensity of their aroma, but did not quash
it.

Her eyes closed, hearing the hot blood
as it rushed through their veins. Their hearts pumped the pure,
crimson bliss throughout their bodies. But it wasn’t their blood
she craved—she needed their souls.

She bared her fangs behind the visor
and suppressed the growl of desire rising into her
throat.

At the opening of the cave, a large
shadow blended with the night, his head hung in apparent sorrow.
The shade began slicing at the rope with the tips of her black
fingernails—and formulated a plan of attack.

The memory of Seren’s scream tortured
him, followed by the whisper of her final breath. Closing his eyes,
he fought the emotions that threatened to rise to the surface. He
clenched his hands tight, talons piercing, drawing blood from his
palms. The pain on the outside could never equate the hurt within.
His beautiful Seren—soulless—and it was his fault. He gritted his
teeth, regret slicing through him.

If only I’d stayed home that
day.

Long ebony hair had gathered under her
head like a feather pillow, cushioning her as she stared up at
Kane. Her amber eyes glistened with unshed tears while her chest
fought to take one more breath.

“
Kane…” she whispered, blood
escaping the side of her mouth and traversing the line of her jaw.
“Don’t let them win.”

He shook his head, tears rolling over
his taut, black skin. “I won’t…I won’t.”

A shadow fell over her eyes as she
uttered one last wish, “Save Dark World…for Ever.”

He held Seren’s lifeless body, crying
for the second time in his life. His father’s death had been the
first. His wife, his love—was gone. Had the light of the Crystal
Pyramid still gazed lovingly upon the demons, he could have saved
her. He could have transferred her soul. Possessed another body
with her essence.

Anguish consumed him. Hate owned him.
They’d killed his one, true mate. His soul mate.

The scroll…I should have given
it to them, Seren,
Kane brooded, the memory of that moment leaving claw marks
upon his heart.
They have it now anyways.

He hung his head, knowing he was wrong
to think that way, he knew the consequences if he gave
up.

If my mother find all the
pages, my love, we will lose our world forever.

The recollection fading, one last
glimpse into the past drifted through his thoughts. Those last
moments before he left his home, before he descended into the
underground kingdom.

Their humble abode torn to shreds, he
frantically searched for the only light he had left in his life—his
daughter, Ever.

“
Kane! Watch out!” Deme
hollered, freeing her blade from its cover and pointing it at the
shade.

Kane spun around, raising his elbow to
shield himself. He caught sight of the shade stalking him from
within the shadows. She’d managed to liberate herself from the
ropes, the prowess of her sleek body impressive as she hunted him.
Draped in Deme’s long black cloak, she moved with instinctual
intent, eyes locked on Kane.

He challenged her gaze, slowly reaching
back for his sword. As he gripped the handle and pulled, the hum of
the black blade sliding from its perch resonated within the
chamber.

Armed with a curved dagger, Deme moved
stealthily toward the shadows behind the shade.

The shade released a low, guttural
snarl, tossing an anxious glance from one demon to the other.
Apparently deciding she was outmatched, she pushed her back against
the wall of the cave, bent her knees, and curled up onto the
floor.

“
She’s just hungry,” Kane
concluded, putting his sword away. “We’ll have to find her
something soon, before she loses all that’s human in
her.”

Upon hearing the word
human
, the shade’s head snapped up, white eyes narrowed with
suspicious interest. Inspecting Kane, she tilted her head to the
side.

Deme glanced back and forth between the
shade and Kane. “Did she just…understand you?”

Frowning, Kane responded, “I
can’t see how, shades have to learn to speak
Attra
, they aren’t born knowing
it.”

He approached the shade huddled on the
floor.

“
Do you understand
me?”

The shade glowered and tucked tighter
into a ball. Like a wild animal cornered, she uttered a low rumble
from the back of her throat, warning him not to come any
closer.

He shook his head and prepared to
stand. “No, she must have just…” he began, but stopped when he
heard a small voice whisper in his native tongue.

“
Yes
.”

Fate

Dark World’s storm had quieted
overnight, allowing the ash to settle on the ground like steel
shavings. Akin to fresh fallen snow on the Surface, the billowing
cinders drifted over the open valley. Scattered skeletons of
long-dead beasts protruded from the smothering sands and cinders, a
pale graveyard of half-buried bones. Remnants of a voracious and
ruthless realm.

The trio trudged through the ankle-high
layer of grey powder. Kane and Deme walked ahead, voices low as
their prisoner sauntered reluctantly behind. A new rope had been
tied around her wrists since she’d somehow destroyed the other.
This time, however, Kane placed an unbreakable enchantment on it
and created an extension of the rope to hold in his hands, like a
leash.

“
How could she know
Attra
? It doesn’t make sense. shades are born without knowledge
of this world.” Deme’s brows furled.

Bewildered, Kane responded, “I have no
idea, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“
We should take her to the
Oracle, she will know,” Deme hissed, glancing over her shoulder at
the feral human.

Kane silently agreed. He’d already planned
on taking the shade to see the Oracle, if he could find the elusive
prophetess. She wasn’t one to stay put for very long. The Oracle
would know what to do, or at least guide him in the right
direction. But he needed to hurry, time was growing
short.

He felt a tug on the rope and realized
the shade was lagging. Immediately slowing his velocity, he turned
to look at her. Her pale skin was even paler and her glowing eyes
were dimming.

She needs food.

Surveying his surroundings, he saw that
they were approaching the Crystalline Forest.

There might be something
there for her to…eat.

He grimaced. He’d seen shades eat, it
was disturbing.

Noticeably shifting their heading
toward the forest, Deme inquired with a hint of angst, “We’re going
in there?”

“
Yes, the shade needs food
and there should be plenty of creatures in there.”

Her face twisted in displeasure.
Apparently Deme didn’t like to watch shades eat either. She tapped
the dagger on her thigh with her long talons, seemingly aware the
reputation of the Crystalline Forest. Beautiful, yet rich with
deadly creatures.

A light sparked behind the she-demon’s
eyes. “If we keep her weak,” she glanced back, “she can’t use her
powers.”

Kane shook his head. “They’re powerless
until they are a few weeks old anyways, then all hell breaks
loose.”

From the wary expression on Deme’s
face, Kane knew she wasn’t convinced. And frankly, neither was
he.

Hundreds of thick, quartz shafts
protruded from the rocky floor like crystal tree trunks. Each had a
unique hue emanating from within, some pink, some yellow, and some
green. Many had fallen over, their trunks perched at precarious
angles and branches left shattered upon the ground.

The forest floor was smooth and
iridescent, tinged pink. White striations and thin cracks ran
throughout like broken glass.

The shade admired the polished ground
and wondered if it were comprised of pure rose quartz.

Funny,
she thought,
How is it I can’t remember my name or
where I came from, but I can recognize types of rocks?

Enormous geodes lay about the forest
resembling giant boulders. Some were split in half, displaying a
crystallized rainbow of colors inside. Ahead, a towering mountain
reached for the rocky roof, hot mineral water poured from its
highest peak creating a cascading steam bath below. The scorching
pool whirled and bubbled, sending tendrils of white mist to hover
over the forest floor, simmering and spilling over like a witch’s
cauldron.

Clad in the she-demon’s black cloak,
the shade strolled through the crystalline woods in awe. She didn’t
remember much about her previous existence, but she knew she’d
never seen anything so beautiful. If it wasn’t so incredibly hot,
she might have guessed the entire setting were made of
ice.

Glancing up at the ceiling of rock, she
felt oddly dismayed by the lack of sky. Though it was hundreds,
even thousands, of feet between the ground and ceiling, she
couldn’t shake feeling claustrophobic. It was then she noticed
several odd-looking spherical pods dangling from the branches of
the crystal trees. Like huge green balloons, they swayed in the
burning breeze. She watched with fascination as one of the orbs
fidgeted, as if something were inside trying to get out.

What’s in there?

She tilted her head way back and
strained to see, examining the oddity.

“
Are you coming?” the male
demon inquired, giving the leash a yank. The she-demon turned and
stood with one hand on her hip, her long, red tail flicking
impatiently.

The shade began walking again,
intermittently gazing up at the curious wriggling cocoon. Soon, it
rocked so violently that it broke free from the branch and
plummeted to the ground, landing with a hollow thud at her feet.
The perfectly round shell rolled on its own volition before coming
to a stop against her calf. While kneeling to inspect the anomaly,
she was again yanked forward by the leash, this time, much harder.
Nearly tripping from the force of the pull, the shade felt an angry
burn ripple through her body. She snarled and glared at the male
demon’s muscular back. A distinct heat pulsated in her core. She
lowered her chin and concentrated on him, the sensation in her
abdomen getting stronger—and hotter. Wind generated around her like
a violent storm building in her aura. Her entire body buzzed with
electricity and her hair whipped and waved about her
head.