Dark Light of Mine

by Corwin, John

  "I assume these statues are representative of the supers in the Overworld," I said, repressing another violent shudder as I turned away from what had to be the statue of a spawn.

  "This is Founders Square." She brushed the scene with a stroke of her hand. "And these are the founders."

  We walked around the towering globe in the center. It looked like Earth sheathed in a delicate shell of crystal. Etched into the surface of the crystal were more symbols I didn't recognize, each one casting a bluish glow.

  "Amazing," I said, staring up at it.

  "The symbol of the Overworld," Elyssa said, arching her neck. "Ezzek Moore, the dude with the staff," she said pointing at the robed statue, "said the Overworld Conclave is the delicate harmony protecting the world from anarchy and chaos. Or something like that. I didn't pay as much attention in History as I should have."

  As we walked around the Overworld statue, I realized it eclipsed another effigy standing on the opposite side of the huge arch from the devil-horned spawn. I felt my eyes bulge. An angel with furled wings looked heavenward, hands splayed palms-up in supplication. The face was every bit as beautiful as the spawn's, though I couldn't tell if the angel was male or female.

  "Angels?" I said, adding an exclamation mark to my question.

  Elyssa laughed. "Yeah, that statue threw me for a loop when I saw it for the first time. My history teacher told us the artist who built these statues made the angel out of a sense of religious piety. But some purists say there were angels involved in crafting the Conclave."

  My heart sank like a rock to the bottom of a river. "I guess that means there is such a thing as being damned."

  Elyssa squeezed my hand. "If there's anything I've learned, it's that all things are possible. Demons come from their own realm, so why not angels? And if any religion is true, I don't see why even spawn can't be saved."

  I tried to smile but it took effort. "Maybe heaven is hell for a demon spawn."

  She chuckled. "You have a really jacked up way of looking at things sometimes."

  "Give me enough time and I can rationalize anything if it'll make me feel better." I winked.

  I felt like I could stand there all day gazing at the magnificence those statues represented, but Elyssa pulled me toward a small exit leading to a curving alley barely big enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Nightliss dashed ahead of us. My mind kept wandering back to the statues, namely the spawn and angel. Did angels really exist? Maybe there were supers old enough to remember or know.

  Elyssa stopped and I bumped into her. We stood on yet another road, this one filled with a patchwork of uneven brick pavers and rounded stones. A rusty set of train tracks ran in the center of it, and I saw a red trolley trundling down the rails away from us, stopping every so often before vanishing around a corner to our left. I vaguely remembered seeing tracks in other parts of the Grotto as well. It made sense to have some form of transportation—this place was big as a town and not everyone had supernatural stamina and speed. I still hadn't recovered much of mine yet, despite topping off the old incubus tank earlier, but at least my feet weren't aching.

  "There you go," Elyssa said pointing across the road.

  I followed her finger and found a gray stone building. Attached to the front was the massive stone head of a dog, its tooth-lined maw curled up in a wicked smile. Inside the muzzle I could see a door leading inside.

  We had reached the Laughing Dog.

  Chapter 25

  My stomach turned sour and my nerves jangled like loose leaden coins in my guts as I stared at the gaping maw ahead of me. "That place sells Angel Biscuits?"

  "Among other things."

  The gaping dog head looked ready to devour anyone who stepped inside it but I needed a Mr. Nutter's Angel Biscuit, whatever the heck that was. I crossed the street and stepped onto the red stone tongue leading inside the mouth and up to a wooden door. I opened it, and a cozy pub complete with a roaring fire in one corner and haphazardly arranged wooden tables, greeted me. A few patrons sat at the bar, drinking what looked like beer and making quiet conversation.

  "Greetings and salutations, friends!" said the chubby rosy-faced bartender, shattering the calm with his overenthusiastic manners. "What can I get for you?"

  We stepped up to the bar since the restaurant portion was completely empty.

  "I'd like an Angel Biscuit, please, and a bottled water."

  "You mean Boggle water?" he asked.

  "No, as in a plastic bottle of water."

  He looked a bit confused. "Like the ones noms have in their stores?"

  "Uh, maybe just the Angel Biscuit then."

  "We just got in a fresh batch of Bloody Benjamin for the lady," he said beaming at her. "And you, sir, might enjoy a nice tankard of our Hale Hell Ale."

  A shock ran through me as I realized this guy seemed to know what we were on sight. Or was he expecting us?

  "A Bloody Benjamin does sound good," Elyssa said.

  "Just the Angel Biscuit, please," I said, trying to smile over the worry playing skip-rope with my guts.

  "Sure thing, friends," the man said, his smile cheery as ever. "But please stop back by and try out some of our new drinks, each one catered to your specific delights."

  I widened my forced smile. "Sounds great!" Now get my biscuit already!

  He went to the back and returned a moment later with a small to-go container. "We don't get a lot of orders for these. Mr. Nutter's Devilish Doughnuts are usually more popular. Then again, I suppose the Angel Biscuits are supposed to be a healthy alternative." He chuckled and shook his head like he couldn't believe anyone would want such a thing. "That'll be a quarter tinsel, please."

  "Uh, you take American dollars?"

  "But of course," he said, and tapped his chin for a moment before rounding the cost to a quarter.

  I dropped a quarter in his hand, thanked him, and we left. "Where do you get tinsels?" I asked Elyssa.

  "The Overworld Merchants Bank, usually."

  "Why the heck can't they just use Euros or dollars or something that already exists?"

  "You might as well ask me why dollar bills are green. I have no idea."

  I thought back to the joke shop merchant. "And what's Moogle?"

  "MagicSoft's answer to an internet search engine."

  "Except it has Overworld stuff too."

  "Yep." Her eyebrow quirked in amusement. "Orange has its own version named Tangerine."

  "Oh, that's cute," I said, rolling my eyes. I opened the box the bartender had given me and found what looked like a very flat doughnut inside. It appeared to be made of several different grains. I sniffed it but it didn't have much of an odor. "No wonder people like the Devilish Doughnuts," I said, closing the box. I checked the list of things we had to do to find Underborn. "Where's Grotto Park? And where's Nightliss?"

  An answering meow came from my feet as Nightliss appeared from wherever she'd been and hopped back onto my shoulder.

  Elyssa smiled and petted the little cat. "Grotto Park is a few blocks over." A bell dinged in the distance and a trolley came into view down the road. "Want to take the trolley?"

  "Sure."

  Although I didn't see a driver in the front window, the trolley slowed as we waved it down. We were the only two people on it, and the number of people in the streets seemed to have dwindled significantly from just an hour ago. After riding along the winding streets for a few minutes, Elyssa stood up.

  "We just need to cut through a couple alleys and we'll be there."

  The trolley slowed as we stood up and waited for us to hop off before it sped up again.

  "Do they have cameras on those things? Some dude remotely controlling it?"

  Elyssa gave me a perplexed look involving two raised eyebrows. "After everything you've seen, you're still looking for a techie answer?"

  I felt stupid for having asked. "Guess I'm not as used to all this as you are."

  She smooched me on the cheek. "You're so cute when you're c
onfused." Her eyes rolled. "Ugh, how do you do this to me?"

  "Do what to you?"

  "Make me get all lovey-dovey and gooey like some hormonal teenager."

  "You are a hormonal teenager. Aren't you? I mean, you're not really a hundred years old are you?"

  A giggle escaped those perfect lips of hers and her eyes sparkled like violet stars. "No, I'm really your age. Guess I'll have to tell you the sad story of how my family came to be sometime."

  "I'd really like to hear it."

  "It's such a tragedy," Elyssa said, pressing the back of a hand to her forehead and feigning a dizzy spell.

  "You make me feel warm and gooey inside," I said, my own heart beating hard with desire.

  Nightliss hissed and jumped off my shoulder, her claws digging in along the way.

  "Ouch!" I said, watching the little black cat as she dashed down an alley. "Wonder what got into her."

  "Probably saw a mouse," Elyssa said as she pressed herself to me and kissed me long and hard. When she pulled away, I gripped her tighter around the waist and held her there, my other hand gently brushing against her lips, her fair-skinned cheeks. I kissed her neck and drew in her scent—a mix of oil and leather, and something deep, mysterious, and all her.

  "Is it so bad feeling gooey with love?" I asked after a moment or two of silence.

  "I'm just not used to it." She sighed. "It's why I resisted you so much at the beginning. Maybe it's what kept me away when I found out what you are." She pressed her hand to my chest. "I don't like feeling so vulnerable. Like something could take you away from me at any moment. It was so hard when we were apart no matter how hard I tried to hate you."

  My throat tightened at the memory of those terrible days. "I am still a little worried, though."

  "About what?"

  "The bad side of me. Whenever things heat up between us, I feel it trying to get out. I don't know if I'll be able to control it when…um, we you know."

  "We'll figure it out when the time comes. In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't have any issues fending it off last time."

  "Yeah, my throat remembers. Oh, and so does my butt after you flung it across the gravel parking lot."

  She laughed. "Good times, huh?"

  "The best."

  I kissed her again before letting go of her waist and letting my hand drift down to catch hers. All I really wanted to do was keep her sweet lips pressed to mine and make out until all the stars in the universe winked out. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to be so greedy since Dad was living on borrowed time.

  We entered yet another of the winding alleys in this maze of a place, following the curve through an archway. Doorways lined the walls, each one apparently leading into a residence or maybe the backside of a shop. A large door ahead where the alley made a ninety-degree turn opened. A man in a gray business suit exited, his silvery hair slicked back like some businessman from the 1950s. Behind him emerged several more men, each one dressed the same, each one with silvery hair.

  Despite the coloring of their hair, I would never have mistaken him or the others for old men because they looked middle-aged and their hair shimmered with whatever gunk they used to keep it in place. As my gaze took in their faces, I realized they all looked remarkably similar. The last man exited the door and closed it behind him, standing with the others and staring at me—at us—across the couple hundred feet in between.

  Elyssa stopped as abruptly as I did. I backed up, keeping my eyes on the men ahead. The thud of hard-soled shoes pounding the cobblestones sounded behind us. I spun and saw more of the gray-suited men dropping from the top of a three-story building to our left. Each one landed without a grunt or any hint of exertion. They straightened from the impact of landing flat on their feet, eyes focused on us. There were now six of them to either side. And they all looked identical down to their expressionless faces.

  "How strong are you feeling?" she asked.

  I clenched my fists, testing. "Not very."

  She looked at the sides of the alley. "We could hop back and forth, maybe get to the top of the building they jumped from."

  "You probably can, but I can't."

  "I'll carry you."

  "You're so sweet."

  One of the men pulled out a black tube and pressed a button. Something silvery flashed toward us. Elyssa shoved me aside and ducked. Two tiny darts pinged against the concrete alley wall above her head. She moved toward me. Stiffened and groped for her back. Then she dropped to her knees, eyes wide with shock, and slumped to the ground.

  "Elyssa!" I screamed and scrabbled across the ground to her. I found a silver dart embedded in her back and plucked it out. "What did you do to her? What do you want?"

  Did these men work for Underborn? Trying to contact him had obviously been a huge mistake. The gray men didn't answer. Didn't utter a word or a sound. They advanced on me like a squad of silent uncaring assassins, arms hanging unnaturally by their sides. I dug deep into my exhausted body, searching for any hidden wells of strength. Lifting Elyssa was a chore. I'd grown accustomed to everything feeling light but she felt like a sack of bricks in my arms in my current condition. There was no way I could dash past these people, much less haul my unconscious girlfriend with me.

  I looked back toward the door where the first of them had emerged. They walked toward me, faces neutral and calm as though they'd just stepped out for a Sunday stroll. The other group advanced in much the same way. No matter how many questions I hurled at them, they never once opened their mouths to answer. One of them raised a black tube and aimed it at me. This was it. I couldn't hope to dodge those darts.

  A patch of black dropped from the three-story building where the second group of gray men had come from and landed behind them. Silver flashed and the man nearest the back dropped wordlessly as his head rolled from his shoulders, face as emotionless as ever. The gray men turned, swords appearing in their hands, and met the figure in black. They moved so fast their swords were a blur, but the black figure met them all with graceful cuts and dodges. One of the gray men streaked toward their attacker, slashing downward. Sparks flew as the sword met concrete. The figure in black had already run up the wall and flipped behind him, severing the gray man's head with a quick slash of the sword just as his feet hit the ground.

  I realized with sick fascination not a single drop of blood came from the severed stump of the neck. What in the name of Scooby Doo were these things?

  The other group of men rushed us. I grabbed Elyssa under the armpits and dragged her with all my might back toward the alley exit, a hundred yards and an eternity away. I was going so slow I might as well have not been moving at all. The black figure struck the head from the last gray man in the second group and turned to face the others. I felt so helpless. So damned useless. Anger churned like hot lava in my chest. What good was I, weak like this?

  I propped Elyssa against a wall and pulled knives from the sheaths on her thighs. Those bastards weren't going to take me down without a fight. My fists clenched tight around the hilts and my stomach roiled as fury burned like a heat wave from my center to the tips of my toes. It felt like a pulse hammering in my head, the pain ratcheting up as my anger grew. I yelled out a war cry and charged.

  The first gray man I reached swatted me like a gnat and I flew back, slamming against the wall and rolling. Blood dripped from my elbows where I'd skinned them. I roared and pushed myself back up. Agony stabbed into my forehead but I ignored the pain and rushed the attackers again. A gray man staggered back soundlessly as the black figure delivered a solid roundhouse to his face. I leapt, both daggers extended, and stabbed them into his back. The man didn't so much as grunt as both blades cut deep into his flesh. Then he reached around and grabbed me.

  Twin chisels seemed to slam from inside my forehead and I felt my clothes tighten against my skin. I was manifesting, spawning into my demon form but I didn't care. I would do anything to protect Elyssa. Strength poured into me. I gripped the gray man's head and twisted. It ma
de a sick popping noise and ripped off. I threw the head at another attacker. The black figure whirled and sliced the other man's head off before my projectile reached him. The last two gray men split up, one coming for me.

  "Come get me," I said, my voice deep, guttural, totally inhuman.

  He did. I swung a fist and connected, sending him flying back against a wall.

  "I'll teach you," I said in the deep voice, "to mess with me!" The last part came out in my normal, much punier voice and I felt all the strength leave me like air from a balloon as the gray man hurled himself at me, the neutral face never changing its expression once.

  I slumped to the ground as my knees gave way. The gray man flew over me and crashed into the wall. Cracks spider-webbed in the concrete where his head hit. Before he could get back up, the black figure blurred across the few feet separating them and slashed downward, sending the gray man's head plunking onto the concrete. When it hit the ground, a tiny compartment opened behind his ear and a globe of light floated from within, sparkling, sputtering, and eventually flickering out, leaving a cold gray lump of what might have been clay.

  Two nubs, no longer than the tips of my pinkies, lay in my lap. I looked closer and realized they were teensy tiny little horns. Apparently I didn't even have enough strength to go ape-feces on these guys and completely manifest. I was useless. So damned useless.

  "Are you okay?" asked a deep male voice.

  I turned and looked at the black-garbed figure. He wore baggy black pants, a sleeveless billowing black shirt, and a hooded cloak shrouding his face. A black cloth covered his features from the nose down and dark sunglasses prevented me from seeing his eyes. His bare arms rippled with muscle, joining to his torso with thick, rounded shoulders. This dude was buff. He reached down a hand which I gripped, and pulled me to my feet then rushed over to Elyssa's side and checked her head and her pulse.