by Мишель Роуэн
There was no reply. Nothing.
My frustration gave way to a thread of worry. Where was he? Did he think I'd already taken the potion? Wasn't he coming back like he said he would?
Michael, if you're out there, please think something. Tell me you're okay.
I kept walking, but a little faster now. He'd said that the telepathy only worked when we were close to each other, hadn't he? I'd forgotten. It was one small piece of information in the sea of knowledge about the Shadowlands I was wading through. I was so confused.
Maybe he'd been punished for not telling me he was a servant. Maybe he wasn't allowed to contact me ever again.
I jogged down the hill leading into Hungry Hollow and over the little snow-covered bridge. The river was icy but it gurgled along underneath. Michael had been there twice waiting for me, watching over me. But he wasn't there today. That park had been the location of a lot of drama for me lately and I suddenly felt very alone and vulnerable.
Normally I would have thought I was just being all paranoid. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
The huge guy stepped out from behind the oak tree and blocked my path. It was the same one from yesterday-the one with the knife. The knife he still had.
"Princess," he greeted me.
Panic welled in my chest and I hoped that Michael would come marching down the path behind him, but there was nothing. Only the two of us stood in the middle of the empty park.
"Leave me alone," I told him and was surprised by how commanding I sounded.
"Can't do that, Princess. I have a job to do." His knife glinted. "As a Darkling, you have to die."
I'd been told I had to do a lot of things I didn't want to do lately-dying was right at the top of the list.
My throat tightened and I held up a hand. "But… I'm not a Darkling anymore. My father… the king… he gave me a potion and I drank it. I'm completely human now."
He studied me for a moment and then sniffed the air. "If that was the case, I would sense it. I don't smell only human. You're a liar."
I took a shaky step back from him. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. The only thing that matters is what I have to do."
"Where's Michael?" I demanded. My heart slammed against my ribcage and every muscle in my body was tense. "What have you done to him? Have you hurt him?"
"Who's Michael?"
"He was with me yesterday when you tried to attack me."
He narrowed his eyes. "The Shadow." "Where is he?" "I killed him." I gasped. "No!"
His expression twisted into a cruel grin. "Just kidding, Princess. Why would I bother to kill a Shadow? But it's very interesting. A princess concerned for the fate of her servant. I'm sure the king wouldn't be too happy about that."
I felt like I was going to throw up. The thought that Michael could have been dead. .
He eyed me then, his gaze moving down the length of me and changing from dangerous to leering. "You are very beautiful, Princess. I can see why your Shadow has developed a bond with you. It's unfortunate that I must destroy you now. I think we could have gotten along very nicely."
He closed the distance between us so fast that I didn't have a chance to move. He pressed the sharp knife against my throat.
Anger, panic, and fear surged simultaneously through me and my headache raged forward again so badly that my knees buckled.
"Don't do this," I managed as I grabbed his forearm, but he was like a tank. I knew I couldn't fight him off for very long. He was too strong.
But I couldn't just give up. I couldn't just let him kill me. I'd fight as much as I could for as long as I could. Past the fear, past the anger, past the panic. I concentrated all of my energy on doing whatever it took to get out of this alive.
My fear began to wash away from me like a sheet of water. I knew I should be scared. I should be begging for my life, but fear was suddenly the last thing on my mind.
I thought of my father, I thought of Michael. This couldn't be the end. I needed to see them again. One last time. The thought melded with the anger I felt and grew stronger and stronger.
I felt something very strange then. It was like somebody had lit a hundred sparklers inside of me. Little bursts of energy shot around in my stomach, only it didn't hurt. Actually, it felt pretty good. The sparks moved along my limbs, down my arms, and into my fingertips.
"I promise to make this quick, Princess," the brute said, so close to me now that along with feeling the painful sting of the knife at my throat, I could smell that he'd chosen not to use any form of deodorant that day.
I raised my eyes to his.
He growled. "No, Princess. You shouldn't do this." "Shouldn't do what?"
"Your Darkling. ." He began to loosen his grip on me.
"Darkling?" As I said it I sensed something shifting in my mouth. My teeth were changing. When I looked down at my hands, they remained my regular hands, but my fingernails grew to be long and black and pointed. I felt a rip, but it didn't hurt, and from the corners of my eyes I could see the black wings spread out from my back. Strength unlike anything I'd ever felt before welled inside of me, as if I were a kettle filled with boiling water about to start whistling loud enough for everyone in Erin Heights to hear.
I took a deep breath and realized that it didn't seem cold outside anymore. The temperature didn't bother me. I wasn't shivering from fear. As my attacker backed away from me, I stood straight and tall and energy hummed beneath the surface of my skin.
When I raised my hand I watched with amazement as a ball of energy formed and hovered an inch above my outstretched palm. The colors-red, orange, yellow-swirled and surged together faster and faster, the ball getting denser and denser the longer I concentrated on it.
Too cool.
The brute's eyes were wide as he watched me. Was that fear I saw in his expression? But then his eyes shifted to red-he was a demon, too, but still in human form-and he roared, clutching the knife tighter in his grip, and ran toward me. Without thinking, I threw the ball of energy at him. It hit him squarely in the chest. He flew backward and landed hard on the ground.
That's all it took. He was out cold.
I approached him in my demon form. I didn't feel completely in control of myself any longer-it was like something else had taken over. Something much more powerful, and something angry that anyone would try to attack me in the middle of a park. There was a car to my right at the edge of the parking lot and I walked past it so I could see my reflection in its windows. I tilted my head to the side and looked with shock at the demon-girl reflected back.
I looked different from my father. He'd been completely demon when he changed, but I was only half-a Darkling. My hair had changed from honey blonde to become red and long and flowing. It looked as if it was on fire, but it wasn't, which was a very good thing. My eyes were red and catlike, with no whites showing at all. My teeth weren't all sharp, only my canines-as though I wore fake vampire fangs.
Small, spiral horns emerged from just above my temples, red like my hair and shiny like metal. My talons were black and as sharp as X-acto blades. My wings stretched out behind me to their full width-about four feet on either side of me, black and leathery and perfect.
I still wore the clothes I'd left school in, as well as my winter coat, but it now had a huge gash in the back to make way for my wings. Underneath my clothes I could sense that lean muscle corded my arms and legs as if I were some kind of fitness model on ESPN. My hand glowed bright red from where I'd thrown the energy ball.
My eyes also glowed red like demonic lightbulbs.
Holy crap.
Being a Darkling made me feel different than I did in human form. I felt. . bigger, better, stronger. And extremely dangerous to anyone who messed with me.
I reached down and felt at the unconscious brute's exposed neck. There was a pulse. Demons had pulses. This was very good to know.
He was still alive. Even though he wanted to kill me, that was also good to know.
I felt utterly exhausted. In fact, I felt like collapsing to the ground, curling up into a ball, and falling unconscious for the next five years.
Elizabeth had told me not to harness my powers or I might die.
I'd just harnessed. Big-time. And the pain from it racked my body.
I doubled over and fell to my knees on the ground. It took me a minute before I could stand up again, stunned and amazed and scared beyond belief by what had just happened. I felt seriously ill. I needed to rest.
I'd just managed to save myself. But at what cost?
Chapter 12
I was utterly convinced I was dying by the time I staggered home.
"Nikki," Mom called out as I made my way past her writing room. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," I replied weakly.
What could I tell her? I needed to get her to take me to the hospital. I didn't have much time. Elizabeth was right. I'd used my powers and now I was dying.
But instead of saying anything at all, I went directly to my room and closed the door. I knew what had to be done. I looked in the mirror on my vanity and saw a scared girl looking back at me. I didn't want to die.
Michael, I thought desperately. Where are you?
When there was no response I sat down on the edge of my bed and pulled the necklace out from under my shirt. I uncorked the vial of potion and held it up to my lips.
Drink it, I told myself. Just drink it and get it over with.
Get rid of the demon in me. Get rid of any trace of Darkling. Then what had happened wouldn't matter. I could get back to my normal life where the dance was the biggest thing I had to worry about. I could be normal. I didn't have to die.
Drinking the potion would solve all of my problems.
Do it. Do it now.
There was a knock at my door then and I pulled the bottle away from my mouth and jammed the stopper back into it.
"Nikki?" my mom said. "Is everything okay in there?" "Fine," I managed. "Can I come in?"
I tucked the bottle of potion under my tank top and pushed the tears off my cheeks. "Sure."
The door eased open and she looked in at me with concern.
I heard a male voice behind her. "What's going on?" It was Robert.
She glanced over her shoulder. "Nothing. Give us a minute, please."
He shuffled past the door and glared in at me. "Strong little thing, aren't you?" he said unpleasantly. His arm was in a cast now-the arm I broke like it was a pencil when he hit my mother.
"You have no idea." My eyes narrowed and I felt my headache return.
No, I thought. I have to stay calm. I couldn't risk my Darkling coining out again.
Robert didn't give any indication that he thought our altercation was anything more for me than a. . well, a lucky break. I guess he hadn't noticed that my eyes had turned red. That was a relief.
When he'd left and I heard the door at the other end of the hallway click shut, I looked at my mom. "I thought he was staying with a friend?"
"He came back."
"I swear, Mom, if he hurts you again-" She raised her hand. "I know, Nikki. Don't worry. It's not going to happen again. I won't let it." She leaned against the wall. "I was worried that you were sick coming home early today. But you actually look wonderful."
"I do?"
She nodded.
I sure didn't feel wonderful. I frowned at the thought. Then again, I didn't feel that bad anymore. The pain was starting to fade away to nearly nothing at all.
"I brought you something." She entered my bedroom fully so I could see she held a paperback novel in her hand. "It's the new one. I just got my copies today. I think you'll like it."
I took it from her and checked out the darkly good-looking cover model staring at me. I ran my finger along the embossing on her name. "What's it about?"
"It's about a handsome vampire and a beautiful woman who was his wife hundreds of years ago. She's been reincarnated so she doesn't quite remember him, but in her soul she knows that she's always loved him."
I thought about my father and how he'd loved my mother before being parted from her. How he was trapped inside the castle and now was going to die all alone.
"Does it have a happy ending?" I asked.
"Of course." She smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
I put the book on my bedside table. "I really want you to have a happy ending, too, Mom."
She sat next to me on the bed and put her arm around me. "Happy endings only happen for characters in books. The rest of us have to deal with reality."
I'd begun to slowly relax now that my brush with death had officially passed. I'd been so scared that I'd almost drunk the potion. If my mom hadn't stopped me… I'd already be forgetting everything.
Then I wondered if that would have been so bad. Mom was right. Happy endings weren't that realistic-not in my case, anyway.
"Maybe you just haven't found your handsome vampire yet," I said.
She scrunched her nose. "Not sure I'd go for a vampire. I hate the sight of blood."
"But since you write about them, you must think that… monsters. . are kind of sexy, right?"
It was a baited question, I'll admit it. If my father could have had his chance to tell her his secrets, what would she have done? Would she have run screaming from the room at his demon form? Or would she have loved him anyway?
I didn't know. I guessed I'd never know.
She shook her head. "It's just a book, honey. It's not like monsters actually exist."
"Right." I cleared my throat. "Forget about it."
After another minute she left my room to get her dress for me to borrow. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't going to the dance. Winter Formal was the last thing I wanted to think about, but again I didn't say anything.
I was tired. So tired.
I put my head down on my pillow and even though my brain was going a million miles a minute, I fell asleep right away.
When I woke up it was because my mom was yelling up the stairs for me. "Nikki! Melinda's on the phone for you!"
I sat up and rubbed my eyes and then looked at the clock. It was nearly six thirty. I'd just slept for four hours.
Not good.
I grabbed for the receiver and held it to my ear. "Melinda?" My voice came out all croaky.
"Please tell me you're almost ready," she said simply. I swallowed hard. "Not exactly."
"You're bailing on the dance, aren't you?" She sounded mad.
"I… I don't really think I'm feeling so great-I'm coming down with something. It's probably better if I just stay home."
There was a long pause. "Is it because you're not into Chris anymore?"
I sighed. "That has a little to do with it, but it's not the only reason."
Another long pause. "I don't understand what's going on with you."
"Look, Melinda, you'll have a good time tonight. Every-body will be there. You won't even notice that I'm missing."
She didn't say anything for a moment, but I could hear a muffled sound.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying. That's ridiculous." She sniffed. "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, Nikki," she said. "I get it. You don't want to be my friend. It's fine. It would help if you just came right out and said it."
"Melinda, that isn't what I'm saying."
"It's just… I don't know. This town. . everybody is so fake."
"That's not true."
"It is. Larissa is super friendly, but I know she's just using me, too, like today with getting her hair and makeup done. She wants to be friends with the popularity, not with me. She even passed my screening process, but she's just like the rest of them."
I couldn't exactly argue that one. "She's not that bad."
&nbs
p; "You have to come to the dance. I'm stressed out about Winter Queen. I have to win and you have to be there with me."
I racked my brain for another excuse, but I couldn't exactly tell her the truth, could I? Definitely not.
"Please, Nikki." There was an odd tone of desperation and loneliness to her words. Who would ever believe that the most popular girl in Erin Heights had issues with insecurity? "You don't have to stay all night. Just an hour or two."
"You do know how needy you sound, right?"
She laughed a little at that. "It's pathetic, I know. Don't make me beg. It won't be pretty."
I let out a long sigh and looked at the dress hanging from my closet door-the one that my mom must have delivered during my four-hour power nap.
"Okay. Fine. I'll go."
"Then get dressed! And hurry up, we've got to be there in an hour."
Qreat. Just great.
I hung up the phone and tried to relax. The last thing I needed right now was to turn Darkling again. After a few minutes, I forced myself to put everything out of my mind. I then ran to take the shortest shower of my life. After blow-drying my hair, I quickly attempted an updo that surprisingly worked out better than expected.
When I finished with my makeup, I grabbed the Austrian crystal earrings Mom had gotten me as a birthday present and put them on. Last but not least, I slipped the gorgeous, spaghetti-strapped, backless lavender silk dress over my head and felt the luxurious material skim along my skin as it fell into place.
I also borrowed my mom's heels-silver strappy designer heels not terribly appropriate for December weather, but they looked fantastic with the dress. I finished right at the stroke of seven o'clock, just as the doorbell rang. The limo was here to pick me up.
A last peek in my vanity mirror showed a wild-eyed blonde girl wearing a beautiful dress. I took a quick, shallow breath that sounded shaky at best.
I would go because Melinda, my crazy, overdramatic, popular-on-the-outside best friend wanted me to.
I would try to be normal.