by A. K. Koonce
Darkness Consuming
Copyright 2018 A.K. Koonce
All Rights Reserved
Cover design by Killer Book Covers
Editing by Varankor Editing
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without express written permission from the author. Any unauthorized use of this material is prohibited.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
To every lost soul. And to those who find them.
Table of Contents
Chapter One – The Reveries
Chapter Two – A Father’s Love
Chapter Three – Stay Forever
Chapter Four – The Problem with Forever
Chapter Five – Imaginary Friend
Chapter Six – Revolt
Chapter Seven – Prove It
Chapter Eight – Alone Once Again
Chapter Nine – Desperate Times
Chapter Ten – Words of Encouragement
Chapter Eleven – The Warlock
Chapter Twelve – If You Show Me Yours
Chapter Thirteen – Mine
Chapter Fourteen – The Bell Tower
Chapter Fifteen – Forever
Chapter Sixteen – Warlocks, Girlfriends, and Cupcakes
Chapter Seventeen – Sharing
Chapter Eighteen – What Love Feels Like
Chapter Nineteen – The Plan
Chapter Twenty – Embracing the Darkness
Chapter Twenty-One – Like Father Like Daughter
About A.K. Koonce
Chapter One
The Reveries
Nollix
I hate this shit.
I hate the bullshit mystical atmosphere that comes with a visit to the Reveries. But I need them. So I’ll sit through the demanding chants that make the heavens rumble, the smoke that makes my lungs burn, and the chilling way their bodies flicker white like their spirits are trying to tear away from here.
The three women sit on the ground. They’re slender. Long pale hair blows in the breeze as they recite low and ominous words I’ve never heard before. And their hands; they’re sewn together. Palm against palm they’re attached to one another by dark thread. They sway just slightly, huddled around a burning bunch of herbs. The smoke wafts white through the night air.
Dark clouds flash with a brewing storm overhead.
The Reveries practice the Ancient Darkens. I think centuries of this smoke has made these Witches batshit crazy. I can’t get straight sentences out of them to save my life.
I would never have come to them. Not in a thousand years.
But I have to find her.
It’s been weeks and I haven’t found a single trace of Violence. The King made her disappear from society once before. He sent her away from the real world to live within the veil of the Wild Hunt. I guess he’s rather good at taking her away.
He also took away the Warlock she was tied to, but that’s not really my concern. He can keep Cameron for all I care.
I promised her I’d find her.
It makes anger shake through me just thinking about it.
Link stands respectfully at my side. His pale eyes glow in the darkness as he watches their every move.
“So you see her, yeah?” My jaw tics as their chanting grows deliberately louder over my words. “I said, you see Violence Starling, right? She’s there in the smoke? In a real place? She’s there?”
At once, the chanting halts, the swaying becomes still. The eldest sister turns her head slowly to me. Big eyes—white eyes—stare up at me. The other two sit in the dirt with spines like steel rods.
When the Witch speaks, I truly wish she wouldn’t.
“Violence is in us all, is it not?”
Fuck, not this babbling again.
“Yeah, most definitely. But Violence Starling specifically, where’s she at?”
“Violence is within you, my child.”
My nails sink into my palm as I snap my mouth tightly closed to prevent myself from spewing profanities at this insane woman.
A strong hand settles on my shoulder. It’s as if my friend is attempting to hold down the rage that’s rising within me.
“I think we should just go. I know this was a last resort, but I don’t think this is what we need right now.” Link’s voice is so quiet. A tired sound clings to his words.
We failed.
Again.
My head shakes slowly back and forth. I shove my hand roughly through my hair as frustration builds higher within me. The dirt billows around my feet when I turn abruptly to leave.
“Have you looked within yourself?” Her voice is the sound of innocence. It sounds sweet but dangerous.
It reminds me so much of Violence that I give the Reveries a second glance.
The Eldest Witch looks to the woman at her left. Her back is to me, the smooth curve of her spine is all I see. A tattered white dress covers her for the most part. Their hair, their eyes, their clothes; it’s all an image of purity it seems. Even if their magic doesn’t feel innocent at all.
She doesn’t turn to me, doesn’t face me at all. She asked the same asinine question as her sister. Yet the way she spoke, it sunk right into me as if it’s the first time I’ve considered the words.
The beating of my heart is the only thing that fills the silence for a while. The moon is heavy in the sky, a full shining of white light beacons down on the three women. It’s as if the stars only shine on this deserted field. Miles and miles outside of the city is where they stay. The Reveries are always here. Always seated just like this.
And anyone who dares disrupt their tributes to the goddess will not find answers but only more questions.
As far as I know, the only thing society comes to these women for is to transition someone from this world into the unseen world of the Wild Hunt. They did their magic on me, they did it to Link, and they did it to Vi.
That’s how I know they’re capable of seeing the unseen.
“Take an offering and find what you’re looking for within yourself.” The young Witch’s quiet voice spirals confusion and hope all through me.
I look to the mound of bundled herbs piled neatly against the dusty ground.
Her movements startle us all. She stands slowly, stiff limbs bring her to a hunched height. Her hands hang low, still attached to the other two women. With one hard pull, she disconnects her hand from the elder sister. Another hard pull and she’s free from the both of them.
The elder sister’s lips part in an unpleasant gasp. Deep red blood runs down the younger woman’s pale hands. Pieces of flesh hang from her fingertips. She doesn’t look at the mess once, and oblivious to her own odd behavior, she carries on.
On hobbling steps, she makes her way to the pile of herbs. Her back arches like an old woman prepared for death. The beautiful woman is a strange sight to see.
Her bloody hand picks up an offering and she presents it to me in her open palm like a gift. The vacant, white emptiness of her eyes is even more eerie up close. The moonlight strikes across her gaze, sinking right into the depths of them. She stares up at me expectantly.
Hesitation tics through my veins as my fingers wrap around the coarse, dry herbs. They’re tied together with thin twine. A bit of the sister’s flesh hangs from the end of it. The rope wraps all around the center of its width. I stare at the
little offering for several moments.
I thought coming to the Reveries was the last resort.
Taking an offering and considering their fucking words of how to find answers somewhere within me is the real last resort. There are no answers within me. I’m no one. I was sent to the Wild Hunt because I was too dangerous to live in society. That was almost a century ago. I can’t find her because I don’t know the first thing about this world.
Will I be as crazy as these three after smoking this ancient offering?
Am I really willing to find out?
Yes. I’d risk what’s left of my sanity in a heartbeat if it meant I’d find her.
Deep down, I know Violence can be found within myself.
Goddess knows she’s been on my mind since the first time I laid eyes on her.
Chapter Two
A Father’s Love
Violence
I thought I hated him before. Apparently, I didn’t know what real hate was. Spending every waking hour with the one person you loathe more than any other introduces you to a new level of hatred. In silence, I study him from over the top of my newest book, Towers of Darkness, A Tale of Twin Cities. It’s a textbook on our kingdom and the neighboring kingdom to the south. Both are thriving cities. Both are powerful kingdoms.
But one is run by a madman.
My father.
With wide eyes, he carefully pours one cylinder full of liquid into another. He struggles to steady the glass with the blunt end of his arm. A small amount of satisfaction comes from remembering that Nollix took that hand from him. Deep lines etch his face, and the one between his brows is so sunken it appears to be trying to split his manic expression right in half. His hushed and unintelligible words scrape across his thin lips. The hum of his words circles the room. The liquids caress one another, the clear substance tangles with the deep red until it’s a shade very similar to blood.
Just like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, my father swirls the concoction only once before downing it quickly. His eyes close as if he’s savoring every drop.
I’ve been here for days, possibly weeks really, and not one word has been spoken about souls. I still don’t know what his intent is with the information he gained from the book of Severed Souls.
A house of iron walls, encloses us entirely. Not one window offers me sunlight. The iron has a terrible effect on my powers. Wherever we are, the magic of the Wild Hunt does not exist here. My power does not exist. At times, I feel like I barely exist.
“Are you learning much, Violence?” His eyes are still gently closed as he soaks in whatever it is that he just drank.
Is it medicine? Is he sick?
An awful excitement of hope spirals through me at the idea of him being sick.
“Very much, Father.” My jaw clenches, my fingers gripping the frail little pages of the textbook a bit too tightly.
I am. I’m learning quite a lot really. I’m learning he’s starting to let his guard down and he’s starting to trust me; which is just a poor idea on his part.
“Give me ten minutes, and I’ll meet you and Jeriko downstairs.” The back of his hand wipes lightly at the sweat that’s formed against his brow.
He no longer seems like the man I remember when I was a child. When I was small he was a person to be feared, to be respected and somewhere over the years he lost that illusion in my eyes. He isn’t a man of honor. He isn’t even a father.
He is only a ruler.
My eyes narrow on him but I stand abruptly. My boots scuff over the iron flooring. The dark stairs sound hollow against my steps as I take my time trailing down to the first floor. The entire estate is like this; dark and depressing.
There are no doors. No sunlight. Humid air is all I breathe now.
Strange thoughts have started to drift through my mind lately. Dark thoughts. I can’t tell where they’re coming from. I can’t decide if it’s the magic encompassing this building, or my father’s controlling powers, or just simply … myself.
I shut those thoughts far away. I keep my mind on the mission at hand. Learning what it is my father has started is all that I’m living for now.
Heavy steps bring me to him. Jeriko lies spread out on the couch. His head rests against my sister’s leg as she reads quietly from a handwritten journal. Amandria’s thin blonde brows knit together as she studies every line of the book. She looks tiny next to him. She’s soft and sophisticated while he’s scarred and scowling. The two of them are an odd but fitting pair. Every day they seem closer and closer.
He’s almost kind to her. And she him.
It’s completely off-putting.
Jeriko’s gaze cuts across my features as Amandria’s long fingers push absently through his dark hair. It’s as if I can see every dangerous thought inside his head. He’s hungry for something more basic within him.
He hasn’t consumed a soul for weeks. When we were in the Wild Hunt, he devoured more souls than any of us. It fueled him in a way. It brought us to life, sending addictive energy all through our bodies.
And that aspect of his life has been taken away.
But he still wants it.
Right now, his little mind is struggling to decide if killing me would be worth the punishment my father would give him for taking my soul.
My eyes narrow on him. Closer, I lean toward him, his gaze eating up my every move.
“Either do it or don’t. I’d love a reason to kill you, Jer.” My lips tilt in an unrepressed smile.
He’s big; massive really. But I was once the most powerful woman in the Court of Darkness. My short time here, being locked away from society, has made me careless and reckless.
Never fuck with a woman who has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Before he can make up his tiny mind, I drift away from him. I trail down the steely hall just as I have day in and day out.
“Stop making empty threats, Sister.” Amandria’s voice is pure and melodious. It makes her sound kind and serene.
The tone of her voice doesn’t seem to reflect her personality at all really.
“Father wants us in the lab.” My voice echoes down the hall, ignoring her words entirely.
When I enter what my father calls the laboratory, my gaze skims over the dark, shining floors and the tables of experiments he’s done for days. Scribbled notes litter the white tabletops, and glasses clutter the space. It almost gives me anxiety just to look at it all.
I wonder if Jeriko and I will eventually be making these concoctions for my father. Not that Jeriko’s meaty hands could manage. He’d shatter the glasses with a simple touch, I’m sure of it.
But what is all of this for?
His steps are silent; stealthy from the centuries he’s lived within the Wild Hunt. But I might always sense Jeriko’s brooding energy.
“You think I could make your death look like an accident?” His awful words only make a sweet smile pull at my lips.
I turn to him, my boots twisting on the iron floor. The dark magic that shadows half of his face only makes his features a harsher sight to look upon.
My reply is a steady and promising sound.
“Of course, you can.” I take a stalking step closer until I’m staring up into his glaring eyes. I speak as if I’m telling him a bedtime story. As if it’s something I want to say just as I tuck him in at night. “If it were something I’d want to do, I’d sneak into your room in the middle of the night. You’d never hear my steps. Only sweet dreams would caress you while I smothered the life out of your lungs. Maybe you’d struggle. Maybe I’d watch. As I said, it’s not something I’ve thought too much about. My magic is repressed here, but unlike your weak power, if I push hard enough it could surface. It’d take little effort to take away the one true thing you need most in this life, Jer.” A taunting smirk highlights my features. “So yeah. That’s how I’d do it. Not that I’ve considered it in the least.” I blink innocently before my shoulders raise with a slight shrug and his gaze
continues to dart between my eyes.
“Are you two bonding?” My father’s words cut through the tension in the room. I step past Jeriko, forgetting him the moment I see what my father’s carrying.
The sight of the vials and syringes make an ominous feeling skitter through my veins.
“I thought I’d give you a taste of what real power feels like.”
The needle pierces the top of the vial and an inky color coats the syringe as my father fills it completely.
“What’s that?” Jeriko takes an eager step forward while I almost shrink away.
Whatever it is, it isn’t good.
“It’s a sedative of sorts. It’s infused with magic that’ll open her mind. As Fae, there is so much strength within us that we never even use. Our minds shut some parts of us away. This sedative will open her entirely. It’ll relax her enough to be who she really is deep down inside.” His attention slips to me, his gaze warming in an eerily affectionate way.
Worry twists through my stomach. Who I really am deep down inside. I don’t want to release that person. I especially don’t want to release that magic.
It’s dangerous. I can feel it. It’s like this tingling energy that never sleeps. It’s always there just beneath the surface.
“Violence, come here.” His gaze pierces right into me.
In life, there are make or break moments. I know this is one of them.
I’m powerful but he’s more powerful. If I concede, if I let him have his way, my life may never be the same.
And if I don’t …
He’ll kill me.
With confident steps, I stalk toward him. My chin rises, and despite the terror that’s ripping through me, I extend my arm to him.
Dry fingers push along the blue vein until his hand is resting just below my elbow. He turns and when he comes back the glinting tip of the needle is all I see as he poises it into position. Jeriko leans closer, his gaze narrowing on me as he watches intently.
I can only hope my father won’t inject Jeriko as well. I’m rational. Jeriko might be an idiot, but he’s a dangerous idiot.
Stinging pain shoots through my arm as he inserts the needle. With unflinching eyes, I hold his gaze. Intrigue is there. He’s simply a man interested in the outcome. A man in search of more power.