The Dark Materials

by Amanda Churi

  Run, Tah told her silently, her words ringing loud and clear in Daisy’s head. Run before you cannot.

  Horrified, Daisy immediately prodded Cecil in the chest with her elbow to catch his attention. “Cecil…!” Daisy whispered harshly.

  His eyes shot down to her as slivers. “Will ya knock it off?!” he scolded her under his breath. “I be tryin’ to listen!”

  “…Now, after days of gathering those loyal to us, our time of glory begins!” Reeve threw her hands to the sky, causing the blizzard to gain ample strength. The Returned screamed in victory, thrusting their fists into the air and pounding the atmosphere with their blood-thirsty knuckles. “And to begin their overthrow,” Reeve cried, suddenly turning in the thick snow and whipping her body to face Cecil and Daisy, “it’s time we take out the guardians!”

  On her word, the lone Elite bolted towards the concealed pair as a blur, striking out with his chain and grapple and aiming for their throats.

  Daisy released her built up bloodcurdling scream. Cecil immediately sprung up from the branch, ascending to another limb in the tall, swaying hemlock just as the freshly sharpened hook sunk into the moist bark where they had been not even a heartbeat ago.

  “I… Have got them, queen! You all… Go on ahead!” the Elite commanded as animal-like growls and hisses shot from his sharp teeth and sparkling mouth, the Elite leaping into the infrastructure of the hemlock as a pillar of ice erupted from the ground beneath his feet, providing him with enough height to almost reach them in a single spring.

  Cecil panted, continuing to bounce from branch to branch, hardly evading each swing of the chains as the Elite sliced the tree apart. He had feared for his existence many times before, but there was never an urge as strong as such telling him to run. He had never fought an Elite, and while he had a good chance of besting him, Cecil was worried that the moment he took his eyes off of his apprentice and lost focus her life would slip away.

  Cecil reached the top of the tree, the powerful, blistering wind almost knocking him back to the ground. The snow poured down from the dark clouds like a waterfall, extremely limiting his visibility and making the stakes all the higher.

  Cecil quickly looked down, realizing that the Elite was almost on top of them. “Give up… Guardians!” he roared savagely. “You can’t protect anyone… Anymore!”

  “Guardians?” Daisy squeaked, now having been called that for the second time.

  “Now ain’t the time, Daisy!” Cecil grunted as he took a wary step back, the Elite making a final stride and rising before them.

  “What… You still haven’t told the girl…?” the Elite teased, twirling his chain like a lasso and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

  “No,” Cecil growled, his protective instincts nearly reaching overdrive.

  “How… Do you expect her to kill us… If she doesn’t know? Not too wise… For someone who is three thousand years old.”

  “The longer that she can hold onto her beautiful innocence, the better! Light stomps dark every time!”

  The Elite huffed. “Didn’t work out that way… For you.” His pupils shrank, cracks racing across his corneas as he focused on his target. “And it won’t turn out like that… For her either!”

  The Elite whipped his chain out towards them at the speed of lightning, but Cecil reacted just a bit quicker, springing off of the top of the tree with his powerful legs. Holding Daisy tight and smothering her in his chest, he retracted his legs in midair, his eyes immediately shifting from a caressing azure to a violent, greedy, merciless shade of green. Cecil screamed, the heels of his feet igniting with the same energy from his eyes. He pushed his legs out furiously towards the Elite, an arc of damned magic flying out from his soles and whistling as it sliced the air to shreds, headed for its target.

  The Elite’s eyes widened, the tainted magic striking his chest with full force. The frozen mist and green fire clashed in a horrific display of power. A burst of blue and green gas exploded between them, the Elite screaming as he flew off of the treetop, launched dozens of feet back before disappearing over the canopy of the dense forest. The energy from the collision shot back at Cecil and Daisy, creating a dangerous amount of entropy as the universe batted back, throwing them in the opposite direction of the Elite.

  Daisy screamed at the top of her lungs as the world flew past her, Cecil groaning and holding her as tightly as he could as they shot through the air like a bullet, quickly losing altitude.

  The tops of the trees reached for the vulnerable duo, and a few seconds later, a terrible, excruciating pain soared across Cecil’s body. The timbers tore his shirt and sliced his back, blood flying through the trees as Cecil twisted in the air, falling back-first through the heavy branches and snapping many before he began to roll down the switchbacks that the trees formed.

  With an agonizing thud, Cecil hit the snow smothered floor back-first. The ice drenched his injured skin, Cecil screaming out as the cold crystals sunk into his flesh, burning him from the inside. The blood soaked into the snow around him, and almost like a spell, the snow began to turn red.

  And yet, his hold on Daisy never loosened.

  His powers of petrification failing, the blood dammed up behind Cecil’s magic resumed its flood, coating Daisy’s body once again and drenching Cecil below. Her strength rapidly falling, darkness creeping at the edges of her vision, she squirmed in Cecil’s chest, catching a fuzzy glimpse of his ashen face.

  “Cecil…?” Daisy gasped, the white noise in her mind growing stronger as she fought the urge to give in. His eyes were closed, and he was crying profusely; his green light was no more as his powers took note of the mortal injuries that his aged body bore, both guardians now severely wounded.

  Cecil heaved a worn breath, opening his eyes that were blinded by tears. “I’ll be… Fine, l’il one…” He inhaled sharply, and ignoring the critical condition of his body, he sat up, keeping Daisy secure in one arm while using the other for support as he rose to his feet. His balance was anything but steady, but he could not remain in one place; regaining strength meant death, and not now… Not yet. It wasn’t time for either of them.

  Cecil propped Daisy up in his arms before, one step at a time, he continued through the forest, his pace gradually increasing in spite of the widening wounds. Exerting all of his willpower, he conjured what strength he could find, his drenched fingers distributing the minute light left within him to Daisy in an effort to prolong her life.

  “…Cecil…” Daisy whispered, realizing what he was doing.

  “Hush up,” he grunted. “Ya ain’t gonna change my mind.” His bones shuddered, Daisy wincing as the agony in his heart breached her skin. “Just gotta get ya to Kevin…” he murmured. “Ya don’t got time… And neither does he… They be comin’ for ya both, and we’ve… Gotta stop them… We can’t win this war without either of ya…”

  “THERE!”

  Instantly, Cecil snapped his gaze over his shoulder, his stride widening despite his burning skin, aching head, and catastrophic blood flow.

  Reeve, Desmond, and Tah formed the first wave, the brainwashed Returned following them in a storm of rue and ire. They had acquired any weapons that they could gather: knives, swords, axes, pitchforks, maces, torches, clubs… They wanted a river of blood, and they were certainly going to get it if they tried hard enough.

  “Run, Cecil!” Daisy gagged, the urgency in her voice throwing her into a frenzy of loud, hoarse coughs. “Run!”

  His legs shook; his heart was trying to break free; and his blood pressure was rapidly falling—but he listened to Daisy.

  He had to.

  ***

  Lucy kept her head low that night as she and Kevin patrolled the town. The sickness… It was rampant. Death hung in the air, his scythe so large that it stretched across the entire horizon, hovering close to the earth and striking whenever he was called upon.

  Rotting flesh suffocated the chilled air that night. Before one knew it, the nobility and t
he town itself had dwindled to close to half of their original population when Kevin took rule—one out of every two faces wiped clear off of the planet forever more. They could not even dig graves fast enough to keep up with the death toll, and some were so scared of catching the decimation that they could not even bring themselves to bury their children or spouses; Kevin and the victim’s family often had to pawn off much land and gold to even convince someone to do the job, and those who did often became the next victims.

  But now few cared. Safety and survival were the only things running through most people’s heads these days. The kingdom’s defense system had greatly weakened; knights and servants were resigning left and right, trying to flee God’s wrath while they still could. Besides a mere few, the Returned had practically vanished altogether, not wanting to lose their second battle on life. Those who didn’t leave were falling ill, and only a handful of Kevin’s original force remained at his side.

  Kevin also doubted that Lucy stood with him, but he had never received confirmation on that. For the most part, they had simply not been speaking; Lucy seemed lost in her own thoughts more often than not these days, and conversing was not a priority—his existence was hardly acknowledged as it was. He was surprised that she had even agreed to come inspect the current ruin that had been brought to their village.

  Still, Lucy lurked in his shadow, never looking up. She refused every piece of affection offered her way, going so far as to not even hold his hand on a night as somber as this.

  One hand rested on the belt fastened around her bony hips, gripping the hilt of a dagger stored in its sheath. She swallowed deeply, blinking as her eyes locked onto Kevin’s back. One stab… One good strike to sever his spine and it would be over.

  Her hand cringed. Could she even possibly do this? Maybe she loved him no longer… Or maybe she did and she just didn’t feel it. Was it even worth taking rule of this dastardly town any longer? It was certainly not admirable in its current state.

  Her eyes preyed on the dark once more as her grip intensified. No. This wasn’t about getting into rule—that would have just been a bonus. This was about him suffering for playing her like he had; for making her feel useless; for being nothing but a tool; for neglecting their child and toying with her fragile heart—

  For ruining not only her first life but her second.

  “What can we do?” Kevin asked hopelessly, his desperation drifting on the breeze as he continued to advance down the main street of Phantome, casting a side glance at the pub—a place always filled with life, even in the darkest of times, now closed permanently.

  Lucy grunted in reply, truly not knowing the answer, but not caring either. This was his problem, not hers. Hell, maybe just leaving this town would be the best move—moving on and starting life over for what would be the third time. But she would not leave until her task was fulfilled, and that was a fact.

  She looked around as they continued to trudge through the snow, anxious. Was going through with her deal even wise? What if Anna was playing her, just as she had done many times prior? There were so many questions… So many different conflicts and battles raging in Lucy’s heart that she could not make a decision on what was to be her next move.

  You just need to act, she told herself. Do it without a second thought. Do it and run. The child won’t find you anyway; forget about her. This is all for you…

  Moving carefully, she took her dagger out of the scabbard, slowly positioning it in her hand so that she had a firm hold and could access its power to the greatest degree.

  She stepped closer to Kevin, closing what little bit of distance there was between them. She fell in step with him, flanking his left side and holding the knife out beside her, aiming for the center of his spine.

  Kevin turned his head to look at her, and he smiled, happy to see that she was slightly closer than she had been as of late. Their shoulders nearly brushed, Kevin’s grin embiggening when he realized that she was looking directly into his eyes and peering into his soul… Something that she had not done in what seemed like forever, and it made his heart tingle.

  A section of her bones melted when she saw his honest smile, but she did not let it hinder her decision. She smiled back the best that she could, trying to seem sincere as the strength in her arm built.

  ‘Til Death do us apart… Right?

  “KEVIN!” an urgent voice unlike any other broke the dark atmosphere, Kevin immediately snapping his sight ahead of him, as well as Lucy.

  The king and queen inhaled as one when they saw who was tearing through the snow towards them. His green eyes flickered like a dying candle in the heavy night, sweat and blood covering his body from head to toe as he desperately tried to reach his old ruler.

  The moment that Kevin saw Cecil, he wanted to kill him.

  The moment that Lucy saw Daisy, she wanted to kill her.

  But Kevin couldn’t when the view cleared.

  “Daisy!” he cried, running towards her blindly with his heart crying in relief. He hated Cecil with every fiber of his being, but Daisy was all that mattered to him right now, and if it meant getting her safely back into his arms, he would force himself to pardon Cecil. He had never felt so consumed by any one thing; at times, Lucy came close, but the moment that Daisy called him “Daddy,” she captured every part of him.

  Lucy hissed bitterly, her blood boiling when she saw the love from Kevin pouring towards such a disgrace. She charged after him, her nostrils flaring and breath coming in short bursts as she extended the dagger out beside her. You traitorous piece of scum!

  “Kevin!” Cecil screamed again as he neared, the two men only ten meters or so apart by now. “Ya’ve gotta take Daisy and run! Ya’ve gotta get outta here! They’re comin’ for ya! They’re gonna kill yall!”

  Kevin’s eyes widened, his pace slightly slowing down. What was he talking about?

  “L-listen, Daddy…!” Daisy sobbed, her voice so weak and broken that it caused Kevin to stop in place. “They’re almost here! We… Need to run, or we are going to die…!”

  “You’re going to die either way, you little witch!”

  An arrow was launched from the string of a bow, flying at a speed so great that it was nearly invisible to the eye.

  A human eye, that was. He hardly turned in time, but hardly was all that mattered.

  The arrow flew into one of the many deep wounds on his back with a thunk. Cecil roared like a fallen beast, his knees crippling him as they gave out. The arrowhead went straight through a gap in his ribs, tearing apart his lung and anything else that got in its way as he crashed to the ground, falling on top of his apprentice with his arms protecting her like a cocoon.

  “Cecil…!” Daisy screeched, his weight nearly crushing her shattered body.

  “D-Daisy…” he gagged, his green eyes spinning as he struggled to find the face of his adopted child.

  Kevin could not believe what he neither saw nor heard. He could hardly breathe, wanting to approach Daisy—to steal her away and keep her safe—but Cecil’s sacrifice paralyzed his core.

  It didn’t sway Lucy, though—nothing could.

  Kevin turned to the mysterious assassin on top of a nearby roof, his body quickly recuperating as he watched them knot another arrow in the string, refocusing their aim. His daughter would’ve been dead had Cecil not reacted so fast… And it was because of them!

  Enraged, Kevin reached for his side, quickly realizing that he did not have his sword with him. Desperate, he spun and turned to face Lucy, who ran towards him with her dagger.

  “Give me that!” he commanded hastily, reaching out and snatching away the knife that she brought him.

  Lucy skid to a halt, aghast.

  Immediately, Kevin whirled on his heels back to the murderer, pulling his arm back and chucking the knife as hard as he could towards the rooftops.

  They nearly had enough power in the string when the knife made a direct hit with the base of the figure’s throat, flying in between the collar bones
with such force that they were thrown backward, stumbling and falling right off of the roof and onto the street below, adding one more to the body count.

  Lucy remained rigid, standing far back like a pole as her deceptive eyes identified the slumped figure.

  Anna.

  Daisy paid no attention to the commotion around them, staring at Cecil with a broken face as she watched the tears roll down his cheeks. A part of her hated him, but another could not be more thankful for all that he had done. She didn’t understand all of it, but she knew at that moment that everything he did was not only for himself… Because in the end, he chose her life over his own.

  Daisy struggled to hold back her own tears, sniffling, when suddenly, the green light in Cecil’s eyes switched to pink.

  She forced herself to smile, the excretions from her eyes, nose, and their combined blood running together. “…Cecil… You did it…”

  He smiled, blood racing down his chin as he placed his trembling hand on Daisy’s pale cheek. “’Cause of ya…” he whispered. He rolled his neck so that he looked at Kevin, who slowly shifted his eyes away from the unknown assassin, rooted in place by shock. “Ya take care of her, Kevin… Use yar powers, and save her…”

  “…Powers?” Kevin repeated, creeping over to him and kneeling down.

  “Yah… Ya… Ya’re a healer… Ya done got the gift of life. Save her…”

  Ignoring Kevin’s gaped jaw, he turned his bloody face back to Daisy. “Remember what I done taught ya… My sweet, sweet…” He took a deep, agonizing breath, his blood suffocating him.

  “No!” Daisy screamed, begging him to stay as both his life and hers slipped away. “Cecil!”

  He could hold on no longer. His neck went limp, his forehead slumping down on his arms right beside Daisy’s face. “My… Sweet… Angel…” he finished in an almost inaudible voice. A second later, the pink, holy light in his eyes was extinguished, and Cecil was finally relieved of his duties.