Feast

by Merrie Destefano

  With every step the ground called, sweet and melodious. Like a feather bed lined with velvet pillows, it beckoned. One knee gave in and I sank to a kneeling position.

  No.

  I glanced back at Tucker, tucked between fronds and ferns, the moon causing his skin to glitter like diamonds in the snow. So beautiful. Like he was carved out of ice—a flesh-and-blood sculpture brought to decorate this Darkling garden.

  It would be so easy to give in. To curl beside him, wrap him in my arms and float away into ever-sweet dreams. Instead, I pulled myself back up, studied our surroundings, tried to remember what had happened and how we got here. I rubbed my eyes. Ignored Thane’s ever-present chant that tickled and teased.

  Sleep, my love. Just close your eyes.

  Help. Somebody, somewhere, please help.

  I could feel myself drifting into a strange land, somewhere between sleep and something much darker. The spell surrounded me, a fragrance like a meadow of wildflowers. I stared through to the outside, but it was like looking through a murky haze. In the distance, dark winged creatures swooped down from the heavens like fallen angels, grabbing people and dragging them off.

  Feasting.

  Chapter 86

  A Black Shadow

  Maddie:

  Woven as delicate as strands of invisible hair, the barrier glittered and sparked whenever new captives tumbled inside. The wall curved in a wide arc around us; it almost glistened in the moonlight, taller than the trees. I studied the enclosure, ran a finger over the strange material.

  It was a cage.

  I slammed my fists against the wall, sent a percussive shower of sparks bouncing all around me.

  “Help! We can’t get out!”

  But no one on the other side could hear or see me.

  That was when a black shadow flew closer.

  Thane.

  I cringed when he stared in at me, when he grinned. Then, with a rough toss and another flurry of poetic words, two more children tumbled through the wall to join the crowd of sleeping captives that now littered the ground. As soon as they were inside, they collapsed on the snow-covered grass, asleep. Thane flew off, disappearing in the distance, nothing more than a blur of dark wings.

  I couldn’t let Tucker sleep, wasn’t about to let that monster harvest him.

  “Wake up.” I jostled my son. “Don’t sleep, not now!” His eyes fluttered open reluctantly and he moaned. I grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it in his face.

  “Mom! Stop it,” he mumbled.

  I glanced outside and saw Samwise far away. The dog’s ears perked up when Tucker complained. I took another handful of snow and poured it down my son’s collar.

  “What’s wrong with you?” He grimaced and pulled away. “That’s not funny.”

  I was filling my hands with snow now, scooping it up and tossing it at him.

  Tucker frowned. “You better not do that again, or I’ll—”

  Samwise was running toward us then, like a flash of black lightning, speeding across the field faster than any dog had ever run.

  “Or you’ll what?” I asked, teasing. I grabbed his shirt and dumped another handful of snow inside.

  “That’s it! I’m telling you—” But now Tucker was fully awake and he started to laugh, he began to chase me around the inside of the enclosure, his hands filled with snow. I stopped and let him throw a handful in my face, glad for the brisk cold.

  And then like magic, Samwise appeared, bolting to a stop on the other side of the invisible fence, barking, trying to see us, sniffing, trying to smell us. He scratched at the ground but couldn’t figure out how to get through.

  “Dig boy, dig a hole right here,” I called to the dog.

  “Dig, Sam!” Tucker echoed, his fists still clenching snow.

  The dog stared at us, unseeing. But he understood the command, nonetheless.

  With a fury, paws and chest growing, he started to burrow, paws moving in a blur of speed. He began digging a tunnel that would go beneath the barrier. He was going to set us free.

  I fought the enchantment that continued to circle overhead; I gently shook my son to keep him awake, I draped my coat around his shoulders and I called to the dog on the other side of the Veil.

  But all of my attention was focused on escaping, and because of it, I didn’t notice what was happening a few feet beyond, back in the junkyard.

  Chapter 87

  Ghost-Like Wraith

  Thane:

  I swung through the air, wings beating midnight, Veil slicing time into neat little quadrants. I flew, near invisible, a ghost-like wraith with a heart filled with vengeance and a belly that hungered. No one saw me as I swept through the field, grabbing humans and carrying them off. Not even the other Darklings were aware of my plunder, they were so engrossed in their own decadent revelry. They all gathered around the humans, feasting until one by one, the Darklings fell to the ground, drunk.

  I slung two more children through my Veil, pausing for moment to admire my own reflection in the glimmering weave. It was the strongest I’d ever made, plaited from the silken thread that flows through dreams, that binds the human soul to its body.

  Then I noticed movement on the other side—Madeline was wandering around inside the enclosure, fighting sleep.

  I smiled.

  Rest, my sweet. Save your dreams for me. For no one but me.

  Then I soared away, close to the ground, listening to the dreams that scorched the near sky, dreams being harvested as I flew, some of them brushing against my skin, tempting me.

  I thought about Madeline, skin like starlight, pale sparks that glimmered around her face, that shot from her lips when she spoke. And just below the surface—behind the waking thoughts that cluttered her mind—were her dreams. Like a vast unguarded playground, swings moved in the breeze and Ferris wheels sprang to life, sweet as spun sugar and just as fragile. Likewise, her boy had all the magic of a summer sunrise, of a breeze as it blew across a field of nodding poppies.

  My nostrils flared, and deep in my belly, hunger stirred.

  They would make a delicious feast—an appetizer and the main course. All I needed was dessert, maybe the whimsical dreams found in a little girl. I scanned the field, searching for just the right addition to my table when something caught my attention.

  Maddie’s dog.

  The beast stood at attention, ears up, staring back toward the line of distant trees. Listening. I glanced in the same direction, back toward my hidden enclosure, and suddenly I could hear it too, the boy was laughing and playing with Maddie. They were both awake.

  A dull fear surged in my gut.

  Then the dog was running, a black-and-tan streak across snowy field, one part dog, one part werebeast, feet pummeling earth faster than any animal alive.

  I bristled. Now the dog was digging at the edge of the enclosure.

  No! It was going to tunnel beneath the Veil and set them free.

  I turned, cast wings to the heavens, ready to fight the beast, strength flowing through my limbs. I would win. Tonight I could defeat even a werebeast if I had to.

  Then a mooncast shadow suddenly held me in place.

  Fingers gripped me by the throat. A body appeared in front of me, materializing from the mists, Darkling flesh and broad shoulders, silver eyes that sparked like fire, wings spread wide as a midnight cloak. The fragrance of a forest and the rushing of wind through the leaves.

  A growl rippled from my opponent’s chest and his lips parted, revealing sharp dagger-like teeth. “You were ordered to leave,” Ash said, his voice like a nightmare brought to life. Then with a claw-studded blow to the gut, the fight for Ticonderoga Falls and everything in it began.

  Chapter 88

  Half-Cast Enchantments

  Ash:

  We rolled and tumbled over icy ground, slammed against the edge of the junkyard fence, fists burrowing deep in flesh, claws leaving trails of blood. Half-cast enchantments sputtered from my lips, each stopped by yet another blow
to the face. I rumbled with anger, a fierce heat radiating from my skin, scorching Thane with every blow.

  Then the other Darklings began to surround us, attracted by the fight and by the high stakes. They left their humans asleep on the ground, then gathered in clusters to take bets, all of them drunk from the feeding. Twittering with coarse laughter, the crowd began to hedge us in, forming a circle of black wings, their crude enchantments glittering.

  Time in the human world slowed down and the fight seemed unending. I felt like I was moving in slow motion, every punch, every kick exaggerated by the incongruent spells that were continually cast about.

  And then, all the other Darklings began to dance and fly, chanting, singing, laughing, caught up in the wild fury. From time to time one of the northern barbarians would fly close enough to take a nip at one of us, then he or she would sail away.

  Meanwhile, the fight continued.

  I bit Thane in the shoulder and dragged him across the field. I tried to get away from the other Darklings but they refused to let us pass, hemming us in on every side. All the while, my adversary thrashed and screamed, sliced his talons through the air. Thane spun out of my grasp, shoulders and arms broadening for yet another attack. My cousin lunged forward, head down, kicking and swinging and screaming an ancient battle cry. The shriek of war then echoed around us, taken up by every accent and clan. Suddenly an unexpected punch caught me in the gut as Thane slammed his fist into the still-healing wound in my side.

  I bellowed in pain.

  Again, Thane had found my weakness—this time, no longer hidden by a Veil. He glared, opened his mouth in a wicked grin. He narrowed yellow eyes, tilted his head to the side as if studying me. I didn’t move, save a shallow breathing.

  Thane crouched, got ready to pounce.

  Then he soared the short distance between us, pummeled a talon-studded fist into my wound, ignoring the heat that blistered his skin, digging deeper and deeper: sparks flew in a shower all around us, until Thane’s knuckles shoved all the way through the hole and emerged on the other side.

  A raucous cheer resounded. Now wings hid the sky, became a dome of black and gray leathery flesh that surrounded us.

  I collapsed on the ground amidst the screaming and howling of rival clans, while other fights broke out like drunken brawls.

  While my own blood stained the ground.

  Chapter 89

  Supernatural Power

  Maddie:

  Samwise, sometimes dog, sometimes monster, dug furiously at the edge of Thane’s created stockade. He tunneled beneath the Veil, squirmed through dirt and leaves and twigs until he burst through to the other side.

  And there, on the other side, Tucker hooted and howled, then grabbed the dog—for he was all dog now and nothing else—around the neck, kissed and hugged him, rejoicing as Thane’s enchantment began to fade when exposed to fresh air. The dog frolicked around the perimeter of the enclosure, big sloppy grin on his face, mud caking his paws and chest.

  He was the hero.

  He had saved the day.

  I laughed too, then fell to the ground almost exhausted from trying to stay awake. I braced my arms on both sides of the hole in the earth, took a lungful of sweet mountain air, and with it I suddenly sensed a tension, a danger brewing outside.

  It felt ominous, like the air pressure had changed and a tornado was brewing; I sensed a storm on the other side. A storm of Darkling against Darkling, supernatural power sizzling through night sky.

  I sat back on my haunches, oblivious now to the antics of boy and dog, to the awakening of the crowd Thane had corralled. I focused on the words and the firestorm just outside, then widened the hole in the ground with bare hands so I could slide through. I pushed my head down inside, the smell of wet earth surrounding me; I wriggled through, feeling stuck but not giving in.

  I didn’t see the appearance of two white transparent figures inside the enclosure, or how they each reached down to help the trapped humans scramble to their feet. I didn’t know that Nick and Pinch, my two darkest and most dangerous characters, had been mysteriously summoned, or that they were already pulling pranks, elbowing a few people and then tripping them on their way toward the exit.

  Despite this, my chimerical villains were listening to me. For no one had ever loved them as much as I did.

  They were watching me.

  Ever faithful. Ever ready.

  Just like they had been from the moment I first created them. Listening even now, ready to do whatever I asked them to do.

  Chapter 90

  A Great Wall

  Maddie:

  I pushed my way through to the surface, mud in my hair, on my face, fingers wet and dark with it. The scent of the earth clung to my clothes and skin; I pulled myself out of the narrow hole, then climbed to my feet and brushed my hair away from my face.

  A black cloud bristled in front of me. Wings darting, talons gleaming, Darkling bodies merged together to form a great wall of negative and positive shapes, ever moving, a turmoil of hellish arms and legs and teeth. Screams and laughter filled the night air and the ground trembled. Something horrid was happening on the other side of this wall of Darkling flesh. Then a voice called through the hallways of my mind. The red-black blood on my hands burned again, blisters reminding me.

  Ash.

  Stay back.

  He was trying to warn me.

  Take your boy and leave. Now. Never come back.

  Foolish creature. Foolish as any man I had ever known. As if I would leave now, knowing that he was in the midst of some vicious battle; after he had saved me, more than once. I glanced at the perimeter of the wall, saw three female Darklings trying to break through. One of them had tears running down her face as she repeatedly called out, “Father!”

  Even they couldn’t save him.

  Then I smelled Thane’s stench, spidery and moldy, like a creature you would find in an abandoned shed.

  I’m not leaving, I told Ash in a silent voice.

  A sigh circled overhead, wrapped itself around the field, seemed to caress me before it drifted off into the trees.

  For a moment the moon turned bright, even brighter than the sun.

  It smiled down. Narrow beams of light poured through misty clouds, glanced upon my skin and set it aglow. I felt suddenly stronger, like a surge of electric energy pulsed through my limbs, radiated from my fingertips. And behind me, though I didn’t see it, the field began to fill with the people who had been set free from Thane’s spell, all of them climbing through the hole, following the path I had forged. Nearly fifty people scampered through the narrow earthen tunnel, Tucker and Samwise at their heels. Until finally, they had all escaped and now stood behind me, poised and ready.

  Among them were Nick and Pinch.

  A transparent army of two.

  Chapter 91

  The Feast of Forbidden Dreams

  Ash:

  Incantations flew through the air, dangerous and heavy as weapons made of iron. One misstep and a jaw could be torn loose. Stay back. I knew that Elspeth, Sage and Sienna were trying to rescue me. I could feel their spells, delicate as a spring breeze, offering a light reprieve, just enough for me to open my eyes. Leave this place. There are too many.

  Those I loved would get caught up in the melee—they could be killed—if their enchantments broke through the wall and they tried to enter, but this fight was my choice, not theirs. My battle.

  My sacrifice.

  Thane laughed, withdrew his bloodstained fist from my side, then struck me across the face. He towered over me, pinning me to the ground, foot on my chest as he cast another enchantment.

  A spell of silence.

  Suddenly I was all alone, separated from my clan, unable to communicate through word or thought. Thane barked a command to those who huddled nearby.

  “Guard the perimeter of the fight, see that no one enters, not one of his clan,” Thane said. “Not even the werebeast!”

  The barbarians chittered and c
ackled, sent patrols to defend the ragged edges of the flock.

  Thane leaned down, then whispered, “And now I shall take the dreams that should have been mine. I take from you all the hope, all the glory, all the life that you have stolen from others, I take it and claim it as my own.”

  He began the ceremony of sacrilege, an act that left the surrounding Darklings incensed and amazed. No one had performed this rite in hundreds of years.

  He was going to break our most sacred rule.

  “Give me your dreams!” Thane cried then, conjuring magic that had been nearly forgotten, a spell so old he could barely pronounce the words. His voice carried through the crowd to the forest and the returning echo nearly shook him off his feet.

  Thus the Feast of Forbidden Dreams began.

  I trembled as each dream was siphoned off, each one like another layer of skin being ripped away. I clenched my fists, trapped in silence, cut off from the fragrance of the forest deep, hidden from the healing light of the moon, betrayed by one of my own clansmen, one I myself had invited. I wished I could see Elspeth one last time, wished that I would have been able to break through the barrier of fear within Maddie, that I could have shown her another side of myself.

  But humans can’t accept Darklings—our worlds are too different. To them, I would always be a monster that needed to be destroyed.

  My heartbeat slowed to the droning pace of a requiem poem. My blood thinned and my limbs grew cold.

  I fought for a few moments more, holding on to that last dream, the one that had bloomed tonight in the midst of the Hunt—the dream that I could be forgiven for what I had done to the Driscolls. And that I might be able to love again. I hid this last dream deep in my heart, where the red-black blood still glittered and sparked, where a few beats still remained.

  I would not give this last one up. I would keep it locked and hidden, no matter how fierce the battle with Thane, willing to take this one with me into the Land of Dreams.