Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy)

by Christiane Shoenhair

  room, unable to blink, is the Fury that I saw a carving of in Haven. She caused a disaster which

  killed many people and watched as they fell to their death.

  “Come closer, I have been waiting to meet you,” Hades beckons us. When we reach him,

  he is nothing like what I would have imagined. I mean, the guy is supermodel hot. He is

  sprawled out on his golden throne in leather pants and no shirt. His torso is covered by lean

  muscle and not a single hair. Golden skin, black hair, and eyes the color of molten lava. I always

  thought that Hades would be scary, but this guy is too pretty to be scary.

  “Trish, is it?” I nod my head to confirm his question. “I have heard so much about you

  and your sister. Something about one can raise the dead and the other can bring life. Hmm, well

  let me tell you something, I don’t like having my dead raised. Your sister is costing me to lose a

  lot of souls, and there’s nothing that makes me angrier than someone messing with them.” Okay, I was completely wrong. Hades is super scary; when he’s angry, flames dance in

  his eyes and he spits fire like a dragon would.

  “I’m sorry, Trish.I know you’re not your sister, but seeing you here gets my blood

  boiling. You two look the same, and the only way I can even tell you apart is your eyes.”

  Walking up to me, he takes my face into his hands and stares into my eyes. Ican’t help but return

  the stare as his molten lava eyes swirl with fire. “Very pretty,” Hades tells me as he returns to his

  throne and sprawls out on it once again.

  “That is exactly why we are here, Hades,” Aunt Tisi says.

  “What … because she is pretty, you brought me some company?” He wiggles his

  eyebrows, which reminds me of Chelsey, but when Hades does it there is something animalistic

  about it. Keagan moves closer to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. This has Hades throwing

  his head back and laughing.

  “Hades, we don’t have time for your games. We’re here to ask you to let us have Flame

  so that we can stop Haddie from taking any more of your souls.” Aunt Tisi’s words have the

  desired effect on Hades, who sits up straight on his throne and gives us a serious look. “You want Flame?” The serious look disappears and is replaced by Hades laughing at us.

  Keagan and I glance at each other. I have no idea what is going on or why he would find this

  amusing.

  “Prepare yourselves,” Aunt Tisi tells us just before Hades jumps from his throne and has

  her by the throat.

  “So this is the reason that you, after so many years, have decided to grace me with your

  presence.” I’m just about to lunge at Hades when I notice the slight shake of Aunt Tisi’s head,

  telling me not to do it. Keagan reaches behind him to pull his sword, only to realize that we

  didn’t bring any weapons.

  “Hades, I know what I’m asking, but it’s the only way. If we don’t have the weapon, then

  Trish may be killed by Haddie, which will make her stronger. You think she’s strong now, imagine how many souls she’ll take from you then.” Hades throws her across the room as if she were just a feather and walks back and forth, rubbing his chin and looking at the ground.

  Chapter 21 Keagan I watch as Tisiphone ’s body is easily thrown across the room, where it crashes into the black and gold wall. The weight of weapons on my side and back make me realize that Trish or Tisiphone must have just armed me. I honestly don’t know how much good it will do, but since I was a child I’ve always wanted to go out in a fight. It’s the honorable way to go. I decide not to draw my weapons when instead of attacking us the god starts pacing back and forth.

  Hades stops in front of Trish, inches from her face. It takes every ounce of self-control to not push him back or pull her away from him. I slowly move my hand on top of the dagger at my side as a precautionary measure and wait.

  “So beautiful and fragile.” Hades gently brushes his hand over Trish’s cheek before picking up the black strand of hair and twirling it between his fingers.“Could you actually use my sword to kill that sister of yours?”

  I see the he sitation on her face and know that she can’t do it. Hades must see the same thing; he releases the strand of hair and steps away from Trish before she can even answer.

  “I will if it is the last option. If it’s the right thing to do. Her life isn’t worth that of the thousands she hasalready has taken.” Too little too late; Hades is already engrossed in something that is going on across the room and has completely lost interest in us. I know I have to do something drastic to get the God of the Underworld to not only pay attention to us, but also believe that we are capable of taking care of business. I turn around and observe the scene that has Hades so engrossed. I know that I have to step up, and get the ball back in our court.

  “Trish, go check on Tisiphone and make sure that she is all right. I’ll take care of this,” I tell her, pulling my sword out of its sheath and walking in Hade’s direction.

  “Keagan, I don’t need you to take care of things. I can figure this out.”

  “You don’t have to do this alone. I k now that my actions lately have made you lose your trust in me, and I understand that. What you will see is that I plan on earning your trust and friendship back. I care about you and I know that we have to start somewhere. So,please, don’t fight me on this. I’m just asking for a chance.”

  I hold my breath in anticipation of her answer. I know that if she wanted to, she has the power to stop me. She nods her head and then walks away, making her way toward Tisiphone’s prone body. All right, this is it, this has to work. Striding toward Hades, I step up next to him. He glances at me,but doesn’t seem overly concerned with my presence. Instead, he returns to the scene in front of him. The disfigured bodyhe’s observing is unrecognizable due to one of the faceless creatures pouring some sort of liquid onto the body every few seconds. The soft mewls that escape the blistered lips are the only sign of life. I raise my sword and take the body’s head off with one swing. Blood and goo fly in all directions, splattering both Hades and me.

  Hade’s eyes start flickering with fire, and I know that he is angry, but it’s what I want. I need his attention. “Why would you think that it was all right for you to not only behead one of my subjects, but get dirt all over my new boots?” He spits, wiping the goo from the body onto one of the faceless creature’s rags.

  “You wanted us to show you we’d be willing to do anything to make sure you get your souls back. There you go,” I cockily tell him while carelessly kicking the head in his direction. I see the anger subside from his eyes and a spark of interest replace it.

  “I was wondering what one of your kind was doing with a Young Creator. There’s something different about you. You and Trish intrigue me, and to be quite honest with you, rarely does anything pique my interest. I have seen everything, there is never anything new or exciting. However, I think I will take a chance on you. But I think I might have to make this a little more interesting.”

  “What did you have in mind?There’s nothing that Ican’t handle. After all,I’m a Guardian.” I know what he respects, so I give him attitude and confidence; something that I’ve never lacked. It’s just something that the Guardians instill in you. The only time that I have a hard time being confident is when Trish is around.

  “I know that the three of you came down here so that Trish could be bound to the sword. I will give you three the sword, but you will have to accept it,not Trish.”

  I consider his words and don’t have a problem with them. I nod my head, letting him know that I accept.I’m just happy to have accomplished the goal, even if it may be a little different than what we expected.

  “Sounds fair to me, what do I need to do?”

  “Follow me,” Ha
des instruct. The god moves with the sleek grace of a panther. Every step he takes is animalistic, and dangerous. I’m not easily intimidated and would never show it, but Hades is a serious bad ass; someone I would never mess with. I know that he could pulverize me with a lift of his little finger. I follow him behind his throne and through a set of dark, wooden doors. We enter what I would assume are his personal chambers, which has a large bed with black silk sheets and a mountain of pillows in the middle. A pool on one side of the room ripples as two women surface and shake the water from their face. They are both beautiful and blow kisses toward Hades.

  “Hades,why don’t you and your young friend come join us?” Hades waves them off and I continue following him. He leads me to a glass chest, the cover decorated with diamonds. It’s a pretty awesome chest; the bottom is lined with black silk, and when Hades lifts the lid and removes the lining, I spot a sword that looks just like the one Chris has. The only difference is that where Chris’ sword had blue stones, this one has red stones and flames carved along the hilt. It’s a bad ass looking weapon. Hades reaches in and lifts the sword, and I remember Chris saying that each sword is connected to a god. I wonder how I will be able to wield the weapon since Hades is still alive. He slowly starts spinning the sword from one hand to his other, then behind his back. It is now moving so fast that it’s just a blur of movement. I watch in a trance as he masterfully maneuvers it; the skill with which he wields it is remarkable. When he finally stops the sword, he puts his hand around the tip of it and slices his hand open. Instead of healing immediately, as it should on a god, the wound is steadily dripping with dark red blood. I’ve never heard of a god bleeding.

  “Come closer and hold your hand out.” This is it, my heart is beating like crazy. I reach my hand out, palm side up, toward Hades. He takes the sword and runs the sharp edge over the meaty part of my hand. Where Hades’ blood is almost black, mine is bright red. Next thing I know he has my hand encased in his and our combined blood is now running to the floor in a swirl of red and black blood. “This was the only way to have the sword accept you, Keagan. You may find that my blood will either be a curse or a gift to you. I’m not completely sure how it will affect you, as I’ve never mingled blood with a human.”

  Trish and Tisiphone come bursting through the doors. Before I can even blink, Tisiphone has somehow transported herself right in front of us. Suddenly, she separates Hades and my hand.

  “What have you done?” she yells, looking down at my hand in horror.

  “What I had to.” I wipe my hand on my shirt and take the sword out of Hades’ hand. Trish has run over to us and is staring with big eyes at my blood-covered hand.

  “Can I see?”

  “Sure.” I give Trish my hand. When she releases it, the cut is gone.

  “That’s a really neat trick. Wouldyou mind?” Hades holds out his hand expectantly.

  “If I do you a favor, what do we get in return?”

  “I like you, girl, but wherewas the spunk earlier?”

  “I think Keagan is rubbing offon me.”

  “How about I lead you out of the Underworld.” Trish looks at Tisiphone, who is still staring at my hand.

  “Aunt Tisi, what do you think?”

  “That’s a great idea, the sooner we are out of here the better.” Trish holds out her hand and Hades places his bleeding one into it. Running her finger over the cut, it disappears.

  “Thank you, Young Creator. I’ve never had a wound, and am glad that this one is gone now. Good luck with your goal, I have my fingers crossed that you succeed.”

  With those words I feel a push and we find ourselves on the white escalader again, but heading down instead of up this time.

  “Do you know what you have done,Keagan?” Tisiphone asks.

  “I accomplished what we came here for. I got us the sword that will kill Haddie.” I loosely spin the sword in my hands, testing the weight and feel of it. I know how important it is to have a well-balanced weapon. It feels perfect.

  “Trish, you should somehow make your sword look like mine. That way Haddie will think that you are the one with the weapon that can kill her. She will never suspect that I would be the one.”

  “That’s a really good idea, Keagan.” She gets her sword and studies mine. Seconds later, just like her and Haddie are copies of each other, so are the swords. We both place the sword into the sheaths that are strapped to our backs. Suddenly, we’re spit out from the mouth of the Mona Lisa and find our way back through the Louvre. Art is cool, but I’ve never really been too interested in it. I seriously don’t understand how people can just stare at a piece of art for hours. I would rather stare at a pretty girl. Talk about pretty girls … I run my eyes over Trish and hope that we are on the path back to how we used to be. I don’t know what it is about her, but I really like being around her. I usually get tired of people, especially girls; most that I know are usually whiny and clingy, and want to talk about nothing but themselves. I remember my first few weeks at Dalton, girls were just throwing themselves at me, and for a while it was fun. I mean, seriously,what guy wouldn’t enjoy that? However, I quickly found out that even though they looked different, they all ended up being the same. Spoiled and shallow, so I pushed them away and turned cold. There is nothing that goes around the girl’s locker room except what a jerk I was on a date. Don’t get me wrong, the chicks still tried, but after a while of me giving them the cold shoulder it slowed down.

  I remember the first time I laid eyes on Trish; she ran into me, and then proceeded to glare at me. She got my blood pumping, which made me want torun like hell. I didn’t need any complications, all I wanted to do was get done with my school year and return to Haven to battle evil. Instead, I couldn’t get her out of my head. I started seeking her out, and even got Eddie involved in getting to know her.

  “Keagan, you coming or what?” I’m still starring at Trish, but her words get me moving.

  “So, what are we going to do now?” I ask.

  “Haddie gave me a few days to find her, but I think the sooner the better. Keagan, you should have seen it, she just killed them. Worst part was she enjoyed it.” She looks down at the ground and sadly shakes her head. “Why are they so crazy?”

  “I’m not going to try to make excuses for her, but she did grow up with Allecto, and I know how much you can be influenced by those around you. If you grow up believing something it is really hard to find your own way.”

  “I never thought of it like that, but I guess you’re right. The only question is what do I do with that? Do I cut her some slack because she was raised by a crazy Fury that is bent on destroying the world? When should you be accountable for your own actions?”

  “Sometimes that line is hard to find. You’ve seen how far the Guardians will go to accomplish what they believe in.”

  “You said they and not us.”

  “What?” I ask, bewildered.

  “You said how far they would go to accomplish their goals. You didn’t include yourself in that statement.” A big smile has shown up on her face. “Maybe we can be friends.” “I would really like that, Trish,” I say. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist me.” This makes Trish smile and give me a shove, which causes me to stumble. I smile at her playfulness and feel a spark of hope.

  Chapter 22

  Touched by a Nit Pick I feel as light as a feather. I try to contain the smile that wants to stretch from ear to ear, but fail miserably. For the first time in a while, I feel positive about something. Things seem to finally be falling into place. Ever since Keagan came back from the dead, it seems that there has been a black cloud floating over my head. Haddie going on a crazy killing spree, the horrible video, and all things concerning Keagan. It’s just been a catastrophe.

  However, today’s events seem to be a good omen.I still don’t know if things can ever go back to how they were between Keagan and I, but today seems like a good place to start building a friendship. I want to meet up with everyone and figure out a p
lan to find Haddie and stop her before she strikes again. I really like Keagan’s idea to trick her into believing that I have the sword that can kill her and steal her power.

  Shortly after we leave the Louvre, we find the rest of the group and tell them about our adventure in the Underworld.

  “Are you serious, you went into the Underworld and didn’t bring me? No fair! I bet it was awesome,” Riley says.

  “It was definitely something. Nothing like I would have ever expected. If we ever go again you definitely have to come. Just to experience it,” I tell her.

  “The Underworld is no place for the living. I wish that you and Keagan wouldn’t have had to go, but there was no other choice,” Aunt Tisiphone says.

  “Well,thanks to Keagan it was all worth it.” I smile at Keagan.

  “Let’s see that sword,” Nick demands. I notice that Chris doesn’t seem happy; ever since we got back he has been quiet. I watch as Keagan places the sword on the table, and Riley and Nick ooh and aah over it. It is magnificent; the flames seems to dance on the blade. I could lose myself in them, staring for hours. Chris glances at it and then walks away. Aunt Tisi follows him and I watch as they talk. Their body language shows that they are unhappy about something, and I wonder what it is. I remember the look on Aunt Tisi’s facewhen she saw Keagan and Hades’ blood intermingled and I have a feeling that it may have something to do with that.

  I’m exhausted, but the crazy thing is that it’s still early in the morning. We must’ve been gone for hours, but barely any time passed here. I wonder if anyone will be upset if I head back to my room and take a nap. When a yawn escapes me, I hear a chuckle beside me.

  “You look like you could use a nap. Why don’t you go take it easy for a little while and head back to your room? Regain your strength,” Nick tells me with a friendly smile.

  “I don’t feel like I have time to sleep. We really need to find Haddie and stop her,” I say while yawning again.

  “I agree with Nick, Trish. We have already done a lot today. Just look at what we accomplished. You deserve some rest,” Keagan tells me.