Darkness Falls (The Dark Series Book 1)

by Steffany Steffensen

  "But I thought you said that people fear them," said Simon.

  "Oh yes, but you would fear something you don't understand or have never seen before, wouldn't you? Not until you've met one. One impression can make or break a person's view of something. Since Gaelen was the first Magus that appeared, we were worried because of what he had done to the castle. But that was two years ago. No other Magus, from what I understand, has shown that much hostility since, but we have been cautious. What we do understand, though, is they were everyday people like us, hiding their powers, making everyone think they were one of them."

  Jenevi looked down at her feet. "I want to go out. I want the people to see me for who I truly am without the black sash."

  Mace's eyes knitted together in concern. "Are you sure? The moment something goes wrong, we leave as fast as possible."

  Jenevi nodded her head hesitantly, battling whether she wanted to or not.

  Traila shooed the men out as she left the room to search for clothes Jenevi could wear. She came back with a wide neck black dress with long sleeves. "Since you seem to like black so much," she said with a smile as she handed the dress to the Magus.

  Jenevi smiled back. "Thank you so much for your kindness." She put the tight fitting dress on and then fastened her cloak over it.

  "You said that you developed a new power," said Traila.

  "That's right. I lost my memories two years ago and haven't recovered much at all. I just found out I can teleport, but I can't control it."

  "I would like to try to help. A long time ago, I used to travel around the kingdom. I mainly helped many of the poor, sick people, but I also helped the ones who were lost on the inside and didn't know who they truly were. I guess it's on an entirely different level, but I think you are fascinating and would like to assist any way that I can."

  Simon and Mace waited patiently outside. Finally, Jenevi and Traila walked side by side as they exited the house. The dark-skinned woman held onto the limping Magus.

  "You guys didn't come on a horse, did you? Where are you three headed?" wondered the healer.

  "Alte," replied Simon. "We're off to find...a friend of ours."

  Mace shook his head. "We were...um...going to buy a few horses..."

  Traila laughed. "I'm not an idiot. I know three thieves when I see one. No worries, though. We don't have an abundance of horses, but they are affordable. I'm sure you can buy at most two with that money you stole." Traila motioned her head towards the hefty looking coin pouch around Simon's waist.

  The former knight chuckled in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head. "Got us there."

  "You two go buy the horses. I'm going to take Jenevi out of town so she can practice for a bit."

  The two men nodded and headed off, both equally worried for Jenevi's safety. Who knew what she would teleport into next time?

  Traila led Jenevi through the town, taking the more public route. As they passed townsfolk, they all stared in a mix of fear and curiosity.

  "Magus!" a woman from the crowd called out hysterically. "A Magus!"

  Jenevi stared at the faces of the people slowly gathering around.

  "She's harmless!" said Traila. "This young woman is a Tenebrae Magus!"

  A little girl with dirt on her face, big green eyes, and blonde hair tied into a ponytail ran up to them and stopped. She glanced up at Jenevi's glowing green eyes in wonder. A big smile crossed her small face.

  "Mashae!" cried another woman in the crowd. A tall woman with waist-long blonde hair ran out of the crowd to grab the child. She picked the girl up and stared at Jenevi apologetically. "I-I'm so sorry for my daughter's behavior." She took a cautious step back.

  "Mama!" cried the girl excitedly, not once looking away from Jenevi. "I want my eyes to look like that, too!"

  Jenevi looked at Traila and said, "let me go."

  The healer nodded her head and slowly took her arm back as she took a small step to the side.

  Jenevi slowly limped over to the mother and her child. The mother, stuck between whether or not she wanted to run or to stay and see what the Magus was going to do, ended up frozen on the spot with a scrunched up look on her face.

  Jenevi paid no attention to the woman, though. She beamed down at the child and smiled widely. "You already have such beautiful eyes, child."

  Mashae giggled and turned her face away in embarrassment.

  Her mother gave Jenevi a small smile and said, "We've never seen a Magus before in this town."

  Her daughter peered up at her and said, "I'm a Magus too, mama!"

  "No you're not, sweetie, your eyes don't glow."

  "But I've told you before that my eyes were glowing once!"

  The mother sighed deeply.

  Jenevi looked at Mashae and inquired, "Do you remember what you were doing that made your eyes glow?"

  "Please don't encourage her," whispered the mother, even though her daughter could hear her perfectly well.

  Mashae glanced up in thought. "Hmmm," she started. "They just started glowing when I was in the river for my bath."

  "And that was the only time?" asked Jenevi.

  The little girl nodded her head. "Let me go, mama!" she squirmed as her mother put her down. The girl ran up to a large bearded man, snatched the waterskin from his belt, and then ran back to Jenevi.

  "Hey!" called the man, though he did not move from his spot.

  "Mashae!" scolded the mother. "Give Ymir his water back!"

  Mashae didn't listen. She drowned out all the noise around her as she poured water into her tiny hand. She stared intently at it, wanting it to move.

  Her mother was getting impatient. "Mashae!" Before she could grab hold of the child's shoulder, Jenevi stopped her.

  "She wants to try," started Jenevi. "So let her try."

  "My daughter is not a Magus."

  "And how do you know that?"

  "I just do! I'm her mother, and I would know if she was a Magus."

  "Magus are truly blessed," said Traila. "Don't let fear blind you. Even though she is a Magus, she is your daughter first."

  The blonde woman glared over at the healer with her eyebrows knitted in frustration. "She is not a Magus!"

  Traila smiled. "Why don't you look at what she is doing."

  The mother peered down at her child. The small puddle of water was levitating above her hand and her eyes glowed green.

  The mother stared, dumbfounded, as did the rest of the townsfolk. "M-Mashae?" she stammered.

  Upon asking the question, Mashae's eyes stopped glowing and the water splashed onto the ground. She turned to beam at her mother and smiled. "You see? I told you I was a Magus!"

  The mother blinked wildly. "H-How is this possible?"

  "It is possible that another member of your family was a Magus," responded Jenevi.

  "What can you do?" called a man in the crowd. "I mean, besides destroy property."

  Jenevi turned and saw the voice come from the man who was next door when she punched a hole through the wall. She sighed heavily.

  "I apologize for that," she responded. "I am unsure as to what the extent of my powers are, but as far as I know, my senses heighten, and so does my strength. I also recently found out that I can teleport short distances."

  "Can we see?" asked an excited older woman in the crowd.

  "I'm afraid she doesn't have complete control of it yet," responded Traila. "Jenevi and I have work to do. We must go."

  The crowd burst into talk as the two left. Jenevi gave Mashae a small wave and a smile before people started to block her view.

  The two women stood outside of town at the same spot that Jenevi teleported to the first time. The horse Traila borrowed from one of the townsfolk grazed on the grass next to them. They looked up at the large white crescent moon. Close by it was a bluish moon that appeared minuscule as it orbited next its companion.

  "Do you know what the moons are called?" aske
d Traila, breaking away from the moons to look at Jenevi.

  Jenevi stayed staring up at the sky. "I can't seem to recall."

  "Lyn is what the big moon is called. It's named after a mythical Magus. The other moon is Ro, but what's strange was that before Lyn was named, Ro wasn't there before."

  The Magus made eye contact with Traila. "A Tenebrae Magus, perhaps?"

  The healer shrugged. "I believe so. From what I heard, many years ago they didn't even know what to call the moons. The myth has to do with the first Magus known to have existed. Her name was Lyn. She was a beautiful young woman but was also powerful. Just like you, my dear."

  A small smile started to form on Jenevi's face, but she quickly frowned. "Go on," she urged.

  The healer chuckled. "Well, as you would have guessed, people started to accuse her of being a demon. They abused her, tortured her, but she never fought back. Then one night, she met a man named Ro. His father was one of the men that raped her, so of course, Lyn got defensive when he approached, but she never used her powers. Her and Ro eventually escaped together, but it wasn't long before they were caught. Lyn went crazy and unleashed her true power, but it ended up killing her and everyone nearby her in the process. I believe the moon granted her power, and the cause of her death granted powers to other humans."

  Jenevi thought back to the old woman in the forest, causing chills to go up her spine. "Do you know what kind of power she unleashed?"

  Traila shook her head. "That's as far as I am aware. People have been calling it a myth for so long I almost didn't believed it." She smiled widely at Jenevi. "That is...until I met you, my dear. Now sit down."

  The Magus eased her way down without any help from the healer. She winced in pain a bit, but she tried her best to ignore the stabbing feeling in her side and her leg.

  "Now close your eyes. I want you to be able to clear your mind as much as you can. Breath in through your nostrils, and out through your nose."

  Jenevi did as she was told. Her hearing was going all over the place when she thought about Mace and Simon. She ended up straining her ears to listen to where they were, and from what it sounded like, they ended up paying for one horse and got the other for free because the stable belonged to the woman who wanted to sleep with Mace when they first entered the town. Mace, of course, let her down once again.

  Traila smacked the back of the Magus’s head. "Concentrate!"

  Jenevi rubbed the now tender spot on her head and then proceeded to focus.

  "If you start to think about something that will distract you, think of the thought as though it were a bubble forming. I want you to pop that bubble."

  Jenevi stayed silent as she popped many bubbles. She couldn't tell how long she had been sitting on the grass, but she was starting to feel relaxed. She was starting to get better at avoiding additional thoughts and was able to focus on her breathing.

  "Now I want you to think about the few feet in front of you. I want you to teleport that far."

  Jenevi's breathing started to get deeper. She tried not to think too hard, but she also wanted to get it right the first time. The Magus also wondered if she would realize that she traveled if she did.

  Jenevi felt a weird, cold feeling go through her as if she walked through a thin wall of clouds. She opened her eyes. It didn't appear any different than when she first sat down. Sighing in defeat, she craned her neck around to look up at Traila. "I don't think I did it right."

  Traila smiled. "But you did!" She exclaimed. "You traveled a short three feet, but you willed yourself to go where to wanted to go!"

  Jenevi looked around. It was a minuscule step, but she was proud of herself. She pulled it off. Before she could turn around to thank her teacher, though, she collapsed on the ground. Traila calling out her name was the last thing she had heard before everything went dark.

  The next thing she knew, Jenevi woke up in a dimly lit forest. She felt strangely smaller and weaker.

  The sound of footsteps approaching made Jenevi turn around. She looked up and saw the face of a stunningly beautiful woman. She had gray eyes and her black hair was tied up into a thick bun. Her skin tone was a bit darker than Jenevi's, but they shared the same face shape.

  "It's alright, Jen. Try again. This should be a lot easier since the sky hasn't darkened yet. You need to learn how to let go of the world and focus on yourself."

  Behind the woman, Jenevi noticed a stone house. Without control, the Magus looked back up at the woman and said with a child-like voice, "I'm trying my hardest, Auntie Sharlette. I'm just starved right now."

  Sharlette smiled widely. "Well, that's good, because dinner is almost ready. I expect you to finish your plate tonight!"

  Young Jenevi nodded her head excitedly and followed her aunt inside. Before she could see what the inside of the home looked like, she woke up.

  Like how it was when she woke up in the burned down house, she gasped for breath as her eyes shot wide open.

  "Oh, thank Slarin you're okay!" cried Traila in relief. She was knelt down next to Jenevi and placed her hand on her chest and sighed.

  As Jenevi sat up, she recalled the memory. Her face contorted in agony, bringing confusion to Traila. Tears started to pour out of the Magus's eyes as she began to wail. She covered her face with her hands and hung her head.

  The healer embraced Jenevi and rubbed her arm as she made soothing sounds. "What happened, my girl? What did you see?"

  It took Jenevi a moment to get a hold of herself. She wiped her tears and snot with her sleeve and said, "I know where I learned everything now. My auntie...she taught me... we lived together...when I lost my memories, I woke up in this house that was burned down. I didn't know who it was at first but...besides me was..." Tears started to pour out uncontrollably once again. "Burned body!" she managed to cry out before she continued to wail.

  Traila made more soothing sounds as she brought the Magus's head to her chest and rocked her back and forth. "It will be alright, my dear. It will be alright."

  The two looked up when they heard the sound of horses. Simon was riding a gray horse while Mace was riding a brown one. When they processed what was going on ahead of them, they rushed over.

  Simon was the first to jump off. "Is she okay?" he asked quickly. "Is she hurt again?" he looked at Jenevi's body to see if there was any blood.

  Mace got off his horse and joined them on the ground.

  "She's not hurt," replied Traila. "At least, not physically."

  Simon pulled Jenevi away from the healer and brought her close to his chest. He started to pet her hair and asked, "Did you remember something, Jen?"

  Mace was taken back by Simon's actions. He felt something he didn't like stir within him. He wanted to be the one holding Jenevi. Not Simon.

  The Magus sniffed. "I-I remembered...I remembered my auntie. She perished in a fire..."

  Simon had paused for a brief moment before he continued to pet the woman's hair. "I'm so sorry for your loss..." he kissed the top of her head.

  Mace didn't see Simon's brief pause, for jealousy towards him blinded the young blacksmith. Traila, however, did. She squinted at Simon suspiciously.

  "I hate to say this," started Mace, "but we have to leave to Alte soon. Who knows how long Wilson is going to stay there. He could already be gone by now."

  Simon shot the blacksmith a look. "Alte can wait for a while, Mace."

  The two stared each other down.

  The healer cleared her throat and said, "You guys can stay the night at my place." She looked up at the moons and said, "it looks like there are about six more hours left before daylight. I can make something light to eat before bed."

  Simon looked at Traila and nodded his head. "Thank you. We'll accept your offer."

  Mace, fuming with anger, took off first.

  Simon helped Jenevi onto his horse and Traila got on hers. They rode together as Jenevi held onto Simon, sobbing quietly on his back.

 
When they got back to the house, Mace was waiting out front. Traila went in first, followed by Simon. Jenevi was behind him, but Mace stopped her from going in.

  "We'll catch up in a minute," said Mace whenever Simon turned to look at him.

  The former knight nodded his head and closed the door.

  "Are you feeling better?" asked the blacksmith as he rubbed the Magus's arms.

  Jenevi nodded her head and sniffed. She stayed silent for a few moments moments before saying, "Yes, thank you."

  "If you need anything...I'm here for you."

  The Magus looked up into his eyes and gave Mace a small smile. "I know. You're too stubborn to leave me be."

  Mace's face started to heat up. He chuckled in embarrassment and said, "We better head inside. It's getting a bit cold."

  Jenevi started to turn towards the door, but Mace stopped her with an embrace which, to the blacksmith, was too short even though they hugged for a long time.

  Before Mace and Jenevi made their way into the house, Traila stood in the kitchen waiting for Simon. She had her arms crossed and had a stern look on her face.

  "What?" asked Simon, taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs.

  "I don't know exactly what is going on," started Traila as she sat on top of the long wooden table. "And I'm not sure if I want to know, but you're hiding something from Jenevi. I suspect you know about her past?"

  Simon turned away. He clenched his hands and then released them. "I know a portion of it."

  "So why haven't you told her anything?"

  Simon looked at the healer with anguish in his eyes. "Because no matter how hard she tries, she can't remember anything. If I tell her how I know her, the best scenario for me would be she doesn't recall any memories and think I am insane or something."

  "Why would you not want her to remember you?"

  Simon sighed heavily. He gently touched the scar on his face and said, "because I did something to her. And because of that, I can never forgive myself. Just traveling with her is enough."