Darkness Rising

by Cate Farren

  "No," said Pink. "There is no other way."

  "Then you can fuck off. I'm not doing it."

  He stormed away, leaving them to their vile plans and cauldrons. He needed to put as much distance between himself and those witches as possible.

  JARED SPENT THE NEXT week avoiding company. He didn't want to risk running into the witches. He knew they were out there, hovering, waiting to catch him unawares. He felt he might kill them if they tried to get him to acquiesce to their vile plan again.

  "Are you going to mope all day again?" JJ asked.

  Jared Junior was sat on the couch in the living room, reading from a sheaf of papers. They were plans for some new offensive to rescue Dracula from the home dimension. Jared wasn't bothered. They could do what they liked as long as they brought his son back alive. He wasn’t sure where Clove was. Jared had been told she was dating a local girl, a semi-human. A semi-human was a witch or shifter born without any magic.

  My granddaughter is dating and is happy and those fucking witches want me to kill everything.

  "What did those witches say to you?" JJ asked.

  Jared was staring out the window, watching the world go by. He saw werewolves, humans, Fey and other supernatural species all mingling together in perfect harmony. They didn't have much. They were refugees from a world that wanted them dead. They were scared that one day Loki would find them and kill them, but they were still happy, still living. Their world was a content one.

  I have no right to take that away from them.

  Most of the people here had no memory of anything but this world. They were born here. It was only the immortals like the vampire and Fey who missed their home.

  "Nothing you need to know," Jared answered.

  JJ put down his papers. "I know it has something to do with Mom. Only she can make you maudlin like this."

  "You never knew her. You don't know what..." He sighed and sat on the couch next to his son. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault you never got to know her." He looked away, not revealing he knew Clover had been Loki’s ally. “I’m sorry.”

  "I'd do anything to see her again."

  "Me too."

  It seemed he wouldn't do anything to see Clover again. He wouldn't commit genocide.

  "Can I ask you a question?" said Jared.

  "Go ahead," said JJ.

  "What if you could save ten people, but doing so caused someone to die? Would you do it?"

  "Without hesitation." JJ paused before saying, "Though it depends. Do I actually have to kill this person to save the others, or will they die of some external cause?"

  Jared stood up, not wanting to hear any more. He thought he'd made his mind up, but it seemed he wasn't quite ready yet to give the witches an answer. It didn't matter what his son thought or anyone else for that matter. This was his decision and his alone.

  HE FOUND CLOVE SITTING on the bench out back of their house. She was crying. When he sat down next to her she sniffed a few times, wiped at her eyes, and put on a brave face.

  “I take it the date didn’t go well,” said Jared.

  She shrugged. “It could’ve gone better.”

  “She’s an idiot if she doesn’t see how wonderful you are.”

  “I’m not wonderful.” Clove looked up at him, heartbreak and innocence lost. “Her parents told her I was a shapeshifter and couldn’t be trusted. She said I was chaos.”

  She leaned into his shoulder and cried some more. He didn’t know what to say. He only knew he had to be there for her.

  "SO YOU'RE FINALLY GOING to rescue Dracula," said Jared. It was a day later. Clove was still sullen, crying a lot. “About time.”

  His mother and Gable Trent were sitting at a wooden table out back of their shared house. They were drinking beer from wooden goblets and eating from a bowl of nuts. They appeared to have been in deep conversation before he showed up. They obviously wanted to keep their plans secret for now. Jared understood the need for discretion. This was something that had been in the planning stages for centuries.

  "You turning up gave us the push we needed," Gable admitted. She laughed uproariously and said, “Or I should say your third resurrection gave us the push we needed. We work slow around here.”

  "Plus we're sick of being scared," said his mother. "We want our world back."

  "I don't blame you," said Jared. He looked around, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the sounds of the place. "This world is nice, but it's not home."

  The fact was this world was almost identical to their own. The continents were in the same place, though the environment was vastly different. No fossil fuels had meant no industrial revolution. The waters were clean. Animals, more or less the same as they were back home, were left along. There was no littering. It was sort of a paradise.

  I've had dodo burgers!

  "Some of the people here don't want to leave," said Jared. "I’ve talked to a lot of people these past few years. This is their home. They were born here."

  "They can stay," said Gable. "But I want to go home. I don't expect it'll be the same. Chapel Green is a giant hole in the ground now. My children are dead. But I need to return there. I need to feel the dirt of my home earth on my hooves."

  He hadn't asked about Celia, Darin, or any of the future children Gable might have had. It was obvious they were gone by the fact that they weren't around. He only had to think about JJ or Clove dying and it almost killed him.

  "What happened?" Jared asked. “I’m just curious. I liked Celia, and she...she had the soul of my unborn child inside her. I always felt a connection to her.”

  "Xaphan demons live for about a thousand years," Gable explained. She looked far away, smiling, though there was a hint of sadness there. "Celia died a long time ago from old age. I wouldn't say her life was a picnic, but it was good. She had children, and then they had children, and then the last of her line was wiped out by Loki."

  He thought about sweet little Celia, her life saved by infusing the soul of his unborn child into her body. She was long dead, turned to ashes, returned to the earth. What happened to that soul? Did she go to heaven or whatever lay beyond?

  The voices...

  Jared shook his head. Thinking about the voices beyond death made his skin itch and his hands shake. They had to have been false, or something his mind conjured up to explain what he saw. There couldn't be anything after death but goodness and light - right?

  "And Darin?" Jared asked.

  Gable looked away. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in a long time. I don't know whether he'd dead or alive."

  "I really am sorry."

  She didn't mention any more children, so Jared assumed she didn't have any more. Trent must have spent a long time alone.

  Jane took Gable's hand. "We've both been there for each other."

  "Looking after your ashes is a full time job," said Gable, smiling dreamily into Jane’s eyes. "But we got through it together." Gable burst out laughing, seeing the horrified look on Jared's face. "Old people have sex lives too you know. Don't be such a prude."

  "Gable and I have been married for one-thousand, four hundred and twenty-five days." Jane smiled and added, "Is that right? I tend to lose count."

  Gable nodded. "You're correct. It's been exactly that long."

  The two of them loved each other unconditionally, which only made him miss Clover all the more. He’d had that kind of love once.

  “Anyway, about why I came here, I want to...” Jared stopped as a plan formed in his mind. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier. “I’ll see you two later. I need to see the witches.”

  THE WITCHES WERE SEATED in the exact same place where he'd left them a week ago. They didn't appear to have moved an inch. Only Pink was moving, looking down at what appeared to be tarot cards, tutting when she found a card she didn't like.

  "You came back," said Pink. She turned over a card and grinned. “Hmm. This will be interesting.”

  White glared. "We don't like to be kep
t waiting."

  "Even if you are handsome," said Blue.

  Jared took a deep breath. "I agree to your plan. I'll go back in time."

  The three witches looked at each other smugly. Jared couldn't wait to wipe the smirk off their faces.

  "But I have a condition," Jared added.

  Pink smiled knowingly. "Go on."

  "There's currently a mission to go home and rescue Dracula. We go with them."

  Blue and White looked horrified. Pink continued to stare, transfixed, almost as if she knew what was about to come. Maybe she had seen it in her tarot cards. Maybe she knew all along, even before he was resurrected, exactly what would happen.

  Jared went on. "I won't kill all these people here. I won't do it. They’re family and friends and they’ve been through too much already. But I am okay with killing two million shapeshifters. Come with me back home and perform the time travel spell there. That’s the only way I’ll do it."

  The witches smiled. Jared had an awful feeling that they'd somehow manipulated him into making this exact decision. Yet he didn't care. He had to do this. He had to go back and save Clover.

  Chapter 25

  Jessica stared at the pair of black striped sneakers with confusion and said, "Why do I have to wear these?"

  "They protect your feet," Clover told her.

  "But I don't need them."

  The shapeshifter proved her point by morphing her bare feet into an exact replica of the sneakers. She stared at Clover like the answer was obvious.

  "But can you take those off?" Clover asked.

  Jessica shook her head. "No, but I can just change them back to bare feet."

  Clover gave up. She'd tried to convince Jessica to wear clothes but it was no use. The shapeshifter could just change herself to make it look like she was wearing clothing. It was odd. She was technically naked.

  Are all shapeshifters actually naked all the time?

  Clover had been teaching Jessica for three days now. In all that time the shapeshifter had responded well to external stimuli. She had learned to talk, walk, and eat pretty quickly, and Clover was glad when she found out shapeshifters didn’t need to use the toilet. Loki explained to her that any food or water they consumed was instantly absorbed by their body into energy.

  "Where did you get the name Jessica from?" Clover asked.

  "It came from you," said Jessica.

  "What do you mean?"

  "That's what you wanted to call me, and so therefore I am Jessica."

  Clover didn't understand how this had happened. Why Jessica and not another thousand other names? Had she been thinking about that particular name when she'd had her mind connected to the shapeshifter?

  Wait!

  She suddenly got it. The previous night she'd been watching Murder She Wrote DVDs with Saskia and Loki. The fallen angel had found the program utterly fascinating and had gotten pissed off when they always guessed who the murderer was before him. It had been a great night. Loki had shown off his fun side, and Clover got to forget everything in the world existed except for what she was doing at that exact moment. It was bliss.

  "I named you after Jessica Fletcher?" Clover asked.

  "I don't know," said Jessica. "Did you?"

  Clover realized she had. Murder She Wrote hadn't just been her favorite television program growing up - she'd been obsessed with it. She watched it when she was sad or happy. She'd binge watch it all night, snuggled up in her bed, eating popcorn. It was a comfort. It made her feel secure.

  She smiled. "I guess Jessica is the right name after all. I was probably going to name my daughter Jessica, but..."

  She pushed those thoughts aside. She couldn't think about that, not now.

  But what if my unborn child is a girl?

  "That's all for today," said Clover, walking away. She needed to be alone. "Go and sleep."

  "Of course," said Jessica.

  Clover slammed the door on her room and jumped onto the bed. She should know better than to think about babies and children. It didn't bode well for her psyche.

  The door opened.

  "Go away," Clover shouted.

  "I wanted to know how you were doing," Loki said. His voice was soft, caring. "Jessica is wandering around downstairs, looking angry. She can feel your emotions."

  "Loki..."

  He closed the door behind him and stood, waiting patiently for her to continue. She didn’t want to lie to him so she decided the truth was the best option. He would see through her lies. If reliving one of the worst experiences of her life got him to trust her then all the better.

  "A few years ago I had a miscarriage," she admitted. The word felt like poison on her tongue. "Whenever I think about it I just need to be alone."

  "I'm sorry," said Loki. His voice was quiet, tender. "It must have been hard."

  Stubbing your toe was hard. Losing a child was something that stripped you down to the core and exposed your soul. It was Hell.

  "Sometimes whole days go by when I don't think about it, but when I do...it's like the wound is fresh and raw all over again.” Clover wiped at her eyes, making them sore. “It makes me so angry and sad and I want to punch things and cry and..."

  "You don't like to let loose your anger, do you?” Loki asked her. “Try it. You might enjoy it."

  She sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. In a roundabout way Loki was responsible for what happened to her. One of his shapeshifters framed Jared for killing Frankie. If they hadn't done that she wouldn't have tried to kill Jared that night. Her child would be over a year old now. Her life would be totally different - a life of dirty nappies and laughing babies and complete joy.

  She stood up. "What do you have in mind?"

  She was suddenly reminded why she was here. Loki had tried to win her over by giving her a project to keep her busy. It had worked too. She'd been so preoccupied with Jessica she'd forgotten her quest to stop him.

  "Vent your anger on me," Loki offered. "It won't hurt."

  She screamed a battle cry and plunged her fist into his face. He stood there, taking the hit, immobile. Clover grinned and hit him again, over and over. When she was bored with the face she attacked his body, kicking and punching.

  I wish I could hurt him!

  Clover carried on her attack for over half an hour. She was crying, snot dried up around her nose. Her knuckles were red raw and her muscles were sore. Still she kept on, and still Loki took every kick, every punch. He never cried out once.

  His hand came out, stopping her fist. "That's enough. You're tired."

  Clover grinned, out of breath. "I feel good."

  "I know."

  She felt elated for more than one reason. He had helped her in a way. She'd vented her anger and her frustration out on him and it had felt glorious. It was what she needed. Yet she'd also gleaned something else too. She could never beat Loki in a fight. He was too strong. She'd have to come up with something else if she wanted to kill him.

  She thought back to Romily. She'd used the face of her dead husband to unnerve her. Could she use someone Loki once loved? Could she be that cruel? Maybe Loki deserved it, but she wasn't sure she was the type of the person who could inflict that type of pain of someone.

  "Can we do this again?" Clover asked. "I enjoyed it. Next time I’ll try knives."

  "See to Jessica first," said Loki. "You told her to go to sleep but she has no idea what that is."

  "Okay. Fine."

  Loki patted her on the shoulder and left, leaving Clover feeling a little guilty. Not over her plans for him. She'd never feel guilty for that. It was Jessica. She'd been so eager to go to her room and cry that she'd abandoned the vulnerable shapeshifter. Clover was her guardian. It was her job to turn her into a civilized person.

  A civilized person who could help me kill Loki?

  Jessica was essentially a child, even if she did resemble a fully grown woman. She could never groom her into being a murderer. That would make her just as evil as Loki. Still, Loki n
eeded to die. What if Jessica was the key to making that happen?

  She shook her head and went to find Jessica. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she had time to think about what kind of person she truly was and what lengths she’d go to in her bid to kill Loki.

  SASKIA AND CLOVER STARED at Jessica as she fell back on the couch. She was out cold. She even made little squeaky snoring noises in her sleep. It was cute. It kind of reminded her of when Frankie used to sleep. He would curl up into the fetal position and just kind of drop off. He could sleep anywhere at the drop of a hat, all peaceful, and then after a few minutes he would start making horrific pig snorting noises. She missed that. She missed everything about her brother, the good and the bad.

  "How did you do that?" Saskia asked, astounded.

  Clover shrugged. "I just told her to access my memories of sleep and she sort of conked out. Do you think she's going to wake up? Does she know how to wake up?"

  "How should I know? She's your...whatever she is."

  Saskia tried to keep the resentment from her voice. Ever since Loki had presented Clover with her own pet shapeshifter she'd been virtually ignored. She'd only just got her friend back and now she'd been cast aside for Jessica. What kind of name was that for a shapeshifter anyway?

  Jessica! Stupid cow.

  Almost as if sensing her mood Clover said, "Do you want to show me what you've learned? I'm excited to see what you can do."

  "Just you wait!" Saskia cried, excited. This was what she was waiting for. "Watch this!"

  She chanted a spell and started to levitate into the air. When she was about a foot from the carpet she stopped and grinned. It was great to be the center of attention again, and it felt good to know she was making real progress.

  "You can fly!" Clover screamed, clapping her hands with glee. "You can motherfucking fly!"

  "Not yet," said Saskia. "But maybe with some practice."

  "You can get yourself a magic broom and a pointed hat and some flying monkeys!"

  "Kill her my pretties!"