Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (41 page)

The SUV was parked at an odd angle in front of a large, rotting
, fallen tree stump, and both driver and passenger doors to the SUV were wide open. Several dark shades were coming in through the portal, and so far, I didn’t recognize any of them individually. I quickly chanted the ancient words that released light from me and directed it towards the portal as it rushed from me like shards of lightning; stretching, wrapping around and seizing the dark beings before they even knew what hit them.

Elohim had already taken out the initial ones who must have made her bleed yet again. There were many others shambling to come through the portal and I wasted no time taking care of those
too.

Their screeches and screams were
cut short by my next words, which dissolved and closed the portal entirely, and finally cloaking the forest into its natural silent darkness, with the exception of the SUV headlights, once again. The silence lasted for a moment and there was no other sound, except for the crying of her friend. Even the night creatures and insects had gone mute and Star’s face showed silent awe and fear.

I quickly scanned the area and p
erimeter beyond for more shadows and voids. That’s when I heard her start to pray, but her quivering voice sounded more panicked than scared and she was frantically scanning the darkness for some sort of explanation and comprehension, of the light show she had just witnessed. At the same time, I could sense that she was also trying to maintain and keep from breaking down herself, as her friend continued to flail around on the ground in an almost seizure like fit.

I should have figured this would be the easiest way for them to achieve their goal.

It was apparent that Star was still not mastering the idea that she had to get control of her fear and not show it especially in order to help her friend. She couldn’t help that, she was young and she was human.

I would have to help her this time
, and there was only one way I knew how to do it. To chase the other being out — I had to enter and take control of her friend.

I dove down stealthily with the speed of light, moving in closer to where they were.

Her friend was convulsing and sweating, and Star was wide eyed, trying to both calm her along with her own hysteria at the same time as she knelt beside her, bravely attempting to mollify her but at the same time remaining cautious.

Star was praying for her. Very silently but I still heard her every word.

I sensed and smelled blood…Star’s blood. She was bleeding and though it wasn’t a lot, it was still strong. I couldn’t tell right away from where though. The fact that she was hurt again at all enraged me. I felt both humbled and honored to have been allowed to assist Elohim without retribution, in order to take out the remaining voids that were still trying to come through.

              Star was unsure of what to do, but I think that she was more afraid of the dark and things that may have been still lingering around them as well as what they would do now that they  were shrouded in near complete darkness. Her attention and focus had alternated between her friend, and the direction of where the portal had been. She couldn’t see it fully, but it was apparent she saw something out of the ordinary in regard to where it was before I had closed it.

              And now… she was looking in my direction with wide, glassy eyes, apparently seeing my signature once again. Damn, she was going to see me entering her friend too, and to her, I’d be nothing more than another dark being, which would scare her more than she was already.

“No.” She barely whispered through a trembling breath.

Instantly, she jumped backwards nearly falling over when her arms gave out, as she scrambled to her feet and began to back away from her friend nervously. Her wide eyes feverishly darted from one area of darkness to the other with cautious focus, but she was lost on her next move, weighing her own options as she glanced over at the parked SUV.

There could only be one being o
ccupying any space at any one time. So once I deftly infiltrated her friend and immediately expanded the power and energy of my own being to force the other dark being out. It attempted to fight with me, but I was dominating in more ways than simply being a fallen.

To my surprise the being was a shadow actually
, and a female one at that. She was young and though she was feisty and resistant at first, the bit of light from I pulled from within me to infuse her with made her scream with insanity in pain.

“N
ooo! Pleeeaase…I beg of you, don’t hurt me! I don’t want them to hurt or kill me pleeeaase! I can help you…spare me please!” She hissed and begged.

Voids and shadows of all likes were excellent a
ctors and liars so her pleading didn’t faze me at all.

“You have three seconds to flee before complet
ely consume you with light!” I commanded.

“Pleeasse! I wasn’t trying to hurt her! I tried to help her...they want her too!” She begged.

“One…” I began to count.

She hesitated for a moment.

“He will kill me for failing! I want to help you…don’t destroy me please! I have nowhere else to go!” She wept.

“They who?” I demanded.

“Spare me and I will tell you,” It hissed and pleaded.

I didn’t have time or patience for games and I wasn’t about to let her go.

“Two…”

“No! Toraen!” She squealed.

Toraen? Where had I heard that name before?

“What about Toraen?” I asked.

“Spare me! I’ll tell you all!”

I didn’t believe her for one moment. There was no way I was letting her live.

“Three!” I commanded with authority but I didn’t even get the chance to fully consume her with light before she finally fled from the girl on her own with the speed of an arrow shot; wailing in fear and pain.

I didn’t have time to assess any of Star’s friends thoughts or memories yet
, so I pushed all that aside and focused on calming her down quickly, while scanning the area once again to make sure the shadow had completely gone.

From what I sensed, she was gone and there were no longer any others left behind either.

I began to work on steadying her friend’s breathing and attempting to control her thoughts, which were racing with terror, confusion and mental shock. Star was trembling when I forced her friend to sit up, and gathered her senses for her. She watched her curiously with round eyes, ready to up and run if she needed to.

“What happened?” I made her friend ask as she rubbed the sweat from her face and forehead.

“China?” Star breathed in a hoarse whisper as she sniffed, trying not to cry again. She still didn’t move though, unsure to trust that it was truly her friend again.

I tried to think of something clever
, so that Star would know that she was alright now. I would have to manipulate her memory of what she had experienced after this was over too, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do the same with Star since she was a chosen.

They had both been drinking alc
ohol, not a wise choice, which was what made her friend so susceptible to being possessed in the first place. Trying to possess Star would have been way too difficult if possible at all for even the most experienced void or dark fallen, let alone a simple shadow because she was a divine chosen.

“Oh crap, what did I do?” I made her friend say and look around in confusion
, and then eyeing her SUV in shock.

Star still didn’t appear to trust her since she had seen me enter
, but not leave.

“I thought you said you weren’t drunk?” Star said softly, her voice still trembling.

I was looking at her through her friends’ eyes and through her thoughts.

She loved Star, like her own sister
, and she worried about her like a mother would a child.

“I’m not. Did we get away? Are you okay?” I made her say.

“Did we get away?” Star looked at her with round eyes of both incredulity and relief.

She then sighed loudly,
“I don’t know but damn, China…we could have been killed!” Star was angry now but she was more worried for her friend, I could tell.

“I know. I’m sorry, I panicked. I don’t know what I was thinking and I was scared. Do you think the cop followed us?” I then made her friend say just so Star would know her friend was back to normal and okay for now. I even played the part further by nervously looking back the way they had come.

Star’s brows went up in recognition and relief all of a sudden, as tears flowed from her eyes and she wiped them away, quickly moving to her friend, and dropping down to her knees in front of her. I could tell she wasn’t going to tell her friend what really happened and what she saw for obvious reasons.

“I think…we lost him. Are you sure you’re okay?” Star asked her in apprehension
, as if she wasn’t sure or felt guilty for having to lie to her friend about what really happened.

Her dark blue eyes were wide as she e
xamined her friend’s face, paying special close attention to searching her eyes for light, even in the darkness.

“Yeah, I am now I think. Come on let’s get the hell out of here before he does show up with the whole fleet and we get arrested. I hope I didn’t wreck my Rover.” I made her friend laugh and say. Star paused for a moment to inspect her friend a little longer
, before she finally wrapped her arms around her and hugged her, while sobbing into her hair.

I instantly felt the emotional warmth of Star’s aura and spirit pour into her friend’s being
, and it was powerful. I was speechless. For still being mortal, her raw energy was potent, and I found that incredibly, odd.

Nonetheless, it invigorated,
and instantly bonded my own being closer to hers. It made me want her even more; to want this very thing that only could be gotten and given from one human being to another. I made her friend grab onto her tightly, in order to take it all in because I both craved and longed for more of this feeling inside of my being.

I deeply inhaled the sweet floral scent of Stars’ silky hair
, though it was damp and cold from the night air. In a breath of an instant, I was aroused, and I wanted badly to make love to her as a mortal male would with a female…physically. I yearned to feel more than just the emotions from her spirit and aura —I had to feel her physically and actually be inside of her. The lust was like a fresh wild fire, nearly taking control and making me give in, I even let loose a bit of it into her by accident.

She reacted instantly, pushing away fr
om her friend as if she were on fire. She panted huffs of warm breath coming out as puffs of frost, all in quick succession as she scooted away just a bit. Her beautiful twinkling eyes remained focused on her friend’s face with wary scrutiny.

The lust was
getting incredibly harder to push down this time. I wished I hadn’t been in her friend’s body right now, better it be Joel’s body, and then I could feel and siphon all of the pleasure he would experience from her through him, knowing that I was making love to her. But no, I would have been jealous, because she would be seeing and feeling — his body, not mine.

I had to stay in her friend long enough to get them back safely to the University
, and manipulate this memory for her friend.

“What’s wrong with you? I said I was sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” I added in for more believability.

“I know. It’s just that…you seem and smell…different for some reason.” She then whispered with a wrinkled brow of suspicion.

I made her friend snicker, “No shit, it’s called an adrenaline crash and fear. I seriously don’t know why I did that
, but at least we’re alive. I’ll take the heat for anything that happens, so don’t worry. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Star paused for a moment in thought as her eyes darted around the darkness quickly and then she did a quick three sixty to watch and li
sten, “I’m fine. Let’s just get out of here.” She said as she quickly stood up.

“What were you looking for? You think the cop took my license plate number?” I made her friend ask and turn to look back towards the freeway herself, as I moved her to get to her feet as well.

Star shrugged a shoulder and shook her head no, after hesitation. Hesitation that meant she wasn’t sure what she had seen herself, so she wasn’t about to even get into that with her friend.

“I don’t know
, but I’ll drive because if we get pulled over again, we will be going to jail. It may take a miracle, but at least I’m completely sober now.” Star said and sniffed as they both dusted the wet leaves, twigs and grass from their clothes and hair.

Once on the road and throughout the drive back to their apartment
, it remained silent, which I had maintained on purpose, allowing her friend to pretend to sleep. I was actually working on manipulating her memory of what happened from the time they were first pulled over by that fallen.

I then reclaimed my own thoughts
, as I stealthily exited her friend’s body, but I wasn’t going to leave just yet. I wanted to make sure they arrived safe, and that there were no other beings or attempts at kidnapping her again tonight.