by J. Clarice
Cain, Jenna, and Trevor yelled after her while Jayden stood in shock.
“What the hell just happened?”
“Scarlett!” Their calls jumbled and landed on unhearing ears.
Her steps sped away, and the three jumped into action, following close on her heels. Despite the darkness, they blindly trailed while hoping their calls would pull her out of her trance. As they weaved in and out of trees, the yank of power Cain felt grew stronger, and horror filled his veins as he realized where they were headed.
All the while, Scarlett’s shouts went unheard because they only echoed throughout her mind.
The mountain they traveled looked like any other, even felt the same. The ground slanted upward as they neared its tip.
They trudged with heavy limbs and fought to refill themselves with more energy.
“Where the fuck did she go?” Jayden grunted. “Why –”
“Don’t even ask that. You know exactly fucking why she left,” snapped Jenna as she released a heavy breath. Before the two could start, Cain cut in.
“We don’t know why. It wasn’t her that left. Her body, yes, but not Scarlett.”
Strangely his words settled and made sense. They’d all seen her eyes.
“What do you think it was?” Jenna faintly asked.
The ground leveled beneath their feet, and they halted their steps. Surrounded by darkness, Cain released a widespread of his power to brighten the area. What shown back confirmed his thoughts.
“Not a ‘what,’ but a ‘who.”
They stood on a landing that curved up and over, housing a single doorway that dripped with muck. The power emanating slicked over Cain and roiled his stomach.
“Do you feel that too?”
They nodded as the energy touched them for the first time. It leeched at their power.
“It’s trying to take it, isn’t it?” Trevor asked while stepping forward. “If we go too deep, we’ll be defenseless.”
“If you go too deep, you won’t just lose your powers; you’ll lose yourself.”
His words hung in the air as they approached the entrance.
Scarlett was already in there… and so was He.
Her body effortlessly moved through the dark path.
Scarlett morosely watched while the pull of power grew more vigorous. She couldn’t put an end to it by shouting and banging on invisible walls. She didn’t want to risk using her one shot either, so she sat and observed.
Whatever got a hold on her mind must be incredibly powerful. She bet her luck on it, either being a Nightmare or Edgar Himself.
Even with the darkness, Scarlett knew there was muck on the walls. Its vileness was unmistakable.
Muck Mountain. It had to be.
Abruptly, the ground disappeared, and Scarlett yelped as her body collapsed.
She opened her eyes to more darkness and moved her fingers as she slowly regained movement. Her mind had been let go.
‘Where am I?’
She cautiously rose to her feet and lit the room with two flames of her power.
The lovely disadvantage of having black power, it didn’t light much in the darkness. Still, it gave her enough sight.
Muck traveled along the wall and the edge of the path she mindlessly followed. It avoided the middle like the plague, keeping it a clear walkway. She was in a dead-end with only one obvious path – the way back.
Yet, she’d been brought there for a reason.
Something on the wall caught Scarlett’s attention.
The muck.
It flowed in unison toward one direction, downward, and reminded her of the blood that traveled through the plains. Scarlett followed the muck’s path. It trailed until it reached the edge of the ground and disappeared.
Upon a closer look, there was a decent separation between the wall and the ground. The muck fell through like a lazy waterfall of molasses. The division continued downward until it ended, and light made itself known.
There was another opening down there.
Scarlett urged to call out but stopped herself.
She didn’t know who she’d be calling out to.
“How do I get down there?” she muttered to no one. She kneeled on the edge of the crack when it dawned on her.
‘I fit.’
Hesitantly, Scarlett dropped one leg in the gap. The next leg followed.
All it took now was a tiny shove off the edge.
She paused.
Apprehension filled her veins as she realized she possibly wouldn’t make it out of that place alive…
That came with the choice she knew she’d have to make.
For her people.
For the Realms.
Without another thought, she shoved off the edge and fell through.
She was gone. Cain stopped his walk and froze as he reached out for Scarlett.
“What’s wrong?” Jayden asked from behind. With their powers igniting the path, they traveled in a single file with Cain leading.
“She’s gone.”
“What?” Trevor exclaimed. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“Shh,” Cain put his hand up for them to quiet. “She got blocked off. I know she’s still there, but… it’s muffled.”
His words settled in their bones as the underlining meaning hit.
She entered the powerless cave – where Edgar had been hidden.
“Fucking shit!” Cain picked up his pace and raced down the path. The others were hot on his heels.
The thoughts that raced through his head sent his heart into a frenzy. He needed to be there with her.
“Duck!” Jenna’s instruction knocked Cain from his thoughts, and he listened as a shot of red flew over their heads.
Raxon.
His taunting laughter rang through the tunnel, but they didn’t slow their pace.
“Hello, brother and company, fancy encountering you here,” his voice seductively called with the threat clear as day.
All deals were off.
Scarlett landed on rocky ground.
A wave of vibration flushed her body and muffled her senses, and brought on a dizzying headache. She shook her head and glanced around the barely visible cave. Her connection to Cain and the strings to her powers were blocked off. Her armor no longer covered the black bodysuit that rested underneath.
The magic, the power.
She couldn’t feel anything except for the overwhelming smothering vibration.
“Powerful, isn’t it?”
Scarlett snapped her head up and swung her sight across the room. The same walls met her gaze, but one darkened corner of the cave caught her attention as another ice pick headache rode its wave.
“Oo, I’d be careful with those if I were you. They aren’t the most pleasant.”
The man’s sultry voice calmed Scarlett’s nerves, but the alarms that blared in her mind told her to trust otherwise.
“Who are you?”
“I think you already know the answer to that… Scarlett.”
Her name slithered off the edge of His tongue with a remaining echo. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and it wasn’t due to the cave’s chill.
Scarlett shakily stood to her full height. “Show yourself.”
Silence followed before she heard the first step.
Then another.
And another.
The edge of a sleek black shoe appeared from the edge of the darkness and the dim light. Another step and a smoky white suit appeared. It was sharp and fitted to a towering lean figure, not as broad as Raxon and only a little less muscled than Cain – slim, nonetheless.
Another step and her breath was stolen.
Edgar Azur wasn’t the scary Nightmare she envisioned. The man was a carbon copy of his sons. He was roguish, and the age difference was undeniable. But to someone who hadn’t known his sons, they could be triplets. They shared the same porcelain skin, chiseled jaw, with jet-black hair. His hair wasn
’t solely dark, as grey was the more prominent color. He sported a growth of charcoal grey stubble along his jaw and neck. The main difference between Edgar and his sons was his eyes. Like the color of freshly spilled blood, they observed every inch of Scarlett.
Her skin crawled, but she held still.
“Did I meet up to your expectations?”
Scarlett was about to answer when she noticed his face hadn’t moved, yet she heard the words. Edgar stepped forward, and the dim light brightened the missing puzzle piece.
Black thread weaved in and out of his lips, leaving them crusted and shut.
“Quite the jewelry I carry.” The humor in his eyes confused Scarlett. “I’ve your parents to thank for this. How are they, by the way?”
Scarlet stiffened. “How can I hear you?”
“They may have temporarily taken a great asset of mine, but they hadn’t known I had many more,” he nicely answered. “I can easily speak to you through your mind.”
“Was it you that brought me here then?” she cautiously asked. There was an objection to complete, but some answers from the man of the hour could be useful, especially for stalling while she tried to figure out how to do it without the use of her powers.
“That? Oh no, no power could ever get past Muck Mountain’s barrier.” He waved his hand to the side. “That was with the help of this Realm’s lovely Nightmares. They like to visit me from time to time.”
Multiple things at once dawned on Scarlett. “You were never out of the loop.”
A smirk shone in his eyes. “No, I wasn’t. I know you came here with quite a group. Two fled, one dead. A pity for one.”
The sympathy in his voice simmered Scarlett’s blood. ‘He had something to do with it all.’
“Ah, you’re just now realizing it. I’ve had something to do with everything, from the very beginning, in fact.” Edgar half circled Scarlett with gesturing hands. “I know you’ve come to kill me, but we can get into that later. For now, I think you’d be interested in something else.”
She took his bait. “Like what?”
“Like how you came to be in the first place.”
Jayden released arrow after arrow, but the roar of Nightmares never ceased.
“Why are there so fucking many?” she yelled as they continued their pursuit.
Cain abruptly halted as they came to a fork in the tunnel.
‘Shit. Shit. Shit.’
His eyes scanned the ground and walls for any sign – nothing. His sight was getting him nowhere when he remembered. He closed his eyes and a surge of power pulled him.
Him.
“To the left!” His instruction yanked everyone into motion as they sprinted with the Nightmare’s not far behind.
A wicked laugh echoed from the tunnel. “People, you can’t think you’ll outrun us. Especially since you’re only headed to a dead end.”
Adrenaline swam through their bloodstream while their hearts beat at an inhumane speed.
Every fiber of their body hoped his words weren’t right, but when they came to a stop in a curved cave, their mouths turned dry.
They were fucked.
“I’ve always known I was destined for something more,” he started. “I wasn’t one to settle for the ordinary day-to-day life of being a Nightmare. Only terrorizing from dreams and not being able to access my true power.”
“I thought you were going to tell me about myself, not your childhood.” Scarlett raised a brow.
As if knowing what she was trying to do, Edgar brushed her words aside and calmly responded. “To get the full story, we must start from the very beginning, no? You do want to know what’s wrong with you, don’t you?”
Scarlett kept her mouth shut. Satisfied, Edgar resumed. “I was on the search for something more, something greater, and I found it when I came to the Nether Realm. I traveled through the plains, through the mountains, and to the very opening, you walked through to get into Muck Mountain. At the time, Muck Mountain had simply been a myth and a story to most. But I was a part of the very few that knew otherwise.
“Unlike the path you took, at the fork, I went right instead of left, and it led me to the one I wanted to meet – a thing of higher power than you or I could ever imagine. It bargained me a deal. To receive what I wished, I’d need to bring it a gift, and I did.”
Deep down, Scarlett knew what the ‘gift’ had been before he even spoke it.
“A freshly transitioned Dreamer.” Delight displayed on his face as he reminisced the screams of the eighteen-year-old he heard get torn to pieces. Scarlett fought the urge to throw up and stayed silent. “It was immensely pleased and granted me the two things I wished. The ability to communicate with my people without others' help and the key to rule all. I’m sure my son filled you in on the details of that one.”
“How could I possibly forget?” The words bitterly left her mouth.
A chuckle came from Edgar. “I heard from here. My boy did quite the damage.”
“Enough of that. I want to know how I got mixed into this. Why am I the way I am?” Scarlett glared at Edgar as he ceased his laughter.
Despite the gruesome stitches on his lips, his face showed the signs of a scowl.
“Your parents,” he said with distaste. “That’s how. I’d just reentered the Dark Realm when your parents attempted another attack. Coincidentally, the powers I’d been gifted decided to transition right then and there. At one point, I collided with your mother on its final stage, and I felt some of it leach from me into her.
“I watched her closely after that. She never got any extra strength and stayed the same. Then came the news that she was pregnant once again.” Edgar shook his head with a low laugh. “I went back to the thing, and it told me some of the power possibly transferred to you. I wouldn’t know unless you transitioned with the mark. Not only would you have gotten some of my ability, but you’d also be the one thing with a mind strong enough to cause a permanent rip between the Realms.
“Those abnormal powers of yours are from me. Those moments when you’ve felt a ‘connection’ to a Nightmare are because of me.” A wicked glint gathered in his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t… for me.”
Her stomach roiled at his words, but she wouldn’t let him know that. “A lot of things wouldn’t be the way they were if it weren’t for you. They’d be better if you’d just died a while ago.”
Edgar blinked once.
Twice, before he quizzically slid his eyes over Scarlett. That’d not been the answer he was expecting.
“Interesting... I could continue this as I do have all the time in the world, but I have plans that require me to make moves.” He strode toward Scarlett, and she backed away. “One’s that happen to involve your death and my freedom.”
The only advantage they had was the thin tunnel. They were able to strike the Nightmares a few at a time as they squeezed through.
Jenna walked around, searching for a way out. She was about to drag her hands across the surface of the wall when she glanced down.
“Guys! I got something!” she called.
Cain turned and ran to where she stood. The muck fell through in a slow haze and dripped down into a chamber. He would barely be able to drop through. It’d be a squeeze.
A pull told him she was in there.
“That’s where she is,” Cain rushed out as he positioned himself to go down.
“I’m going with you.” Jenna lowered herself to the ground when Cain grabbed her arm.
“They’re going to need you.”
She hesitantly nodded. “Okay, we’ll be here.”
Closing his eyes, Cain plunged in without a second thought. He landed on the ground and was welcomed with a wave of headaches. Scuffling reached his ears, and he lifted his head.
“Hello, Cain.”
His blood chilled as His voice filled his mind and echoed in his ears. Red eyes zeroed in on his grey ones and narrowed with a glint.
/> “How long has it been, my boy?”
Cain rose to his full height, matching his father's. He cooled his expression and released his fists. “Not long enough, Edgar.”
“Do you see the love I get from my blood? Disgraceful, isn’t it, Scarlett?” Edgar turned his head to the figure leaning against the wall.
Cain followed his gaze, and his heart dropped as she came into view. Blood ran from split cheeks and other cuts along her lips and jaw. Scarlett’s chest heaved, most likely from hits to her body. Without power or even her armor, she was no match for his father. The man was ruthless.
“Never ceased from beating women, I see,” Cain grit out as he fixed a glare on his father.
“My son, that’s always been my specialty. You remember your mother, yes?”
“You fuck!” Cain snarled as he went to charge. A hand yanked at his hair and pulled his head back.
Raxon clucked his tongue and smiled at his father. “You’ve forgotten your manners, brother. That just won’t do now, will it?”
Cain swiped a knife from his thigh and went to stab at Raxon, who easily deflected it with a block. His stab didn’t land, but it served its purpose. He held the knife to his side as he kept the two men in front of him.
“That was foul, brother,” Raxon pouted.
“That’s all you seem to know.”
“Touché,” he winked.
“My dearest son. Glad you were able to join the family meeting,” Edgar greeted while opening his arms.
Cain knew he’d have trouble taking the both of them on. Scarlett caught his eye and shook her head. He ignored it.
“Now, we have things to get to. The others are taken care of?” Edgar asked. Scarlett and Cain’s ears burned at Raxon’s answer. “All good and rounded up.”
“You take the wounded one, and I’ll deal with your brother here.”
At once, everyone set into motion. Raxon moved for Scarlett, who tried to get her breathing under control. She’d been punched in the torso and knew something got ruptured.
Edgar turned his attention to Cain.
“If only you’d been more like your brother,” he tutted as he shook his head before charging.