Approaching Storm (Alternate Worlds Book 2)

by Taylor Leigh

The Darkness had taken her.

  The Darkness had taken her.

  She’d been so worried about a Daemon trying to possess, she hadn’t even considered the Darkness. She’d lived with it all this time, trapped in her ring, it hardly felt a threat. But now...The one beast that Tollin could not stop, could not understand, could not save her from was inside her. Even as Tollin held her she knew it was useless. He didn’t know what to do. He was just as lost as she was.

  ‘Sam?’ his voice called, distant, struggling frantically to stay near her against the dark waves in her head.

  ‘Tollin!’ Sam attempted his name. She was shoved farther back by the gale; darkness ebbing in on her. She was disembodied in the blackness now. Lost at sea.

  Tollin struggled. ‘Sam, you have to fight it! I can’t stay here long. This is your body, don’t give it up, you have to fight!’

  Sam was buffeted back. ‘I can’t!’ She might as well have been drowning. She was going under; the Darkness, cutting off her air, sight, everything.

  ‘Don’t say that! Sam, I believe in you!’ She could almost see his face; a gentle smile perhaps playing at his lips. ‘You’re brilliant, Sam, and this body is yours! I am sorry, I know I swore I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, but I can’t stop this, only you can. You are strong enough, Sam, you can do this! I’m still here; I’ll never leave your mind. I promise I’ll never leave you!’

  Sam followed his words, trying to kick her way to the surface, even as Tollin slipped away from her. She was going nowhere. Dark tentacles were pulling her back.

  Her body wasn’t obeying.

  All control was gone.

  And then, inexplicably, the Darkness gave her back her sight.

  Tollin was still standing before her, staring with a mixture of confusion and helplessness. There was a sheen of perspiration across his crinkled brow. Those familiar brown eyes were wide with desperation, wretchedness.

  And then, by will not her own, she moved. So slow and careful he did not appear to take notice; he was focused on searching her face, looking for her.

  Sam felt her hand leave her side but was aware of it only vaguely. Her fingers closed round something cool and metal and Sam’s stomach dropped away from her. Oh, gods…no.

  Her gaze locked with Tollin’s and in sickening panic she tried to warn him with her eyes, her mind, anything. This is why the Darkness had given her back her sight. To land one final, crushing blow that it knew would kill her.

  Her hand thrust forward, plunging the blade Tollin had given her into his stomach. All the way to the hilt. The blade slid through his flesh, directly above his hip, twisting savagely on its way in. Her hand yanked the weapon free and she plunged it in yet again, slamming the knife over and over till Tollin’s belly was in tatters.

  The look in his eyes was one frozen. There was no accusation, no betrayal; they were just locked on hers, his usually quirky mouth slightly parted in a gasp. Sam could feel something slick and wet washing over her hand.

  Tollin stumbled away, tripping over his own feet, teeth clenched, a strangled gasp escaping his lips. His hand went to his stomach and came away soaked with brilliant, coppery blood. He was staring at Sam again, but she was too distant to do anything. She could only silently scream. On the outside Sam could feel herself laughing at him, at the state he was in. He fell backwards against Marus’s still side and he slumped to the ground in a pool of blood.

  She was hyperventilating, panicking; wanting to fall away and escape all of this emotion. It was too much to bear. Tollin was dead, or dying—and it was her fault. Why couldn’t she go mad, or release the scream that was splitting her skull? Anything to free some of the revolting horror that was crushing her. Her body stepped forward and nudged Tollin slightly with her foot.

  ‘Don’t touch him! Don’t you dare!’ Sam screamed.

  That’s when the repulsive sensation inside of her began to stir. It felt like a snake uncoiling in her nerves and it struck her hard, smacking her back like a hard slap. It was a relief when it took away her sight. She no longer had to see Tollin’s body, but it was still burned in her mind.

  She was pushed down, away from everything. Lost again in the sea of blackness. It felt stifling, hot and foul. She had no lungs yet was choking. Crippling despair hammered inside of her.

  ‘This body is different from what we are used to occupying,’ its voice purred smugly. ‘I imagine your soul will be worth the time it takes to digest.’

  Sam beat against the overpowering voice with a rage she didn’t know she was capable of having. It pushed her down, like a pillow pressed over her face. She couldn’t even form the thoughts to communicate with this horrible creature. Its will overrode anything she wanted to say. There were too many nightmarish images that flowed through her mind from this creature. Its evil was consuming. She wanted to sob, scream, beg for it to stop, but even that control was gone.

  ‘You are surprisingly strong for a human. Your consciousness should have been expelled by now.’

  It was walking with Sam’s strides towards the portal, raising a hand—her hand— that had just rammed a knife through Tollin’s flesh towards the dark bubble of energy. She could numbly tell what was happening through the Darkness’s intent. She was seeing, unclearly, through its mind, what it intended.

  ‘I admit, I was slightly unsure of you at the beginning. We thought perhaps you were The One at first, but we see now you’re nothing but another human. Just another in the long line of corpses in the Traveller’s past.’

  Her hand was still dripping wet with his blood. She could feel it sliding down her fingers, burning. The ring glinted through the mess. Sam could see the dark inside twisting like some maggot. And then, as if a hook had been looped through her insides, it began to leak out, writhing, growing. She was setting it free. The Dark inside of her was breathing deep and a sense of becoming more whole filled her. The way she felt with Tollin, but some twisted, morbid version of it. The Darkness knew what it was like to be one, to be separated, and it had the ring, it had part of itself, and that was what it wanted. It had…missed itself.

  The Darkness was speaking again. ‘Not that it matters, it won’t take long for you to be devoured. Nothing can withstand. That is why Scrabia and every other Realm will fall. With such spirit as you have, the meal will be fairly pleasant. Of course, you will be nothing compared to the Traveller. His being we have hungered after for a thousand years and now finally we shall be satisfied. All we need is to draw in his soul…’

  It stopped and spread her hands wide, sucking in a deep breath. ‘Come…’

  Sam didn’t want to listen. She wanted it to end. And as once again the blackness began to overtake her, Sam didn’t fight it. She couldn’t. This time Sam gave in.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  It wasn’t as complete as Sam would have wished. She was still there. Still alive, stuck somewhere in the blackness, on the tepid ocean floor of her unconsciousness. Random thoughts and snatches of awareness drifting down like debris around her.

  Rasping breath sounded loud in her ears, fearful and angry and uncertain if there was enough air. Her mind was cloudily jumping from question to question without ration. It was her only companion, her thoughts, and they were few and scattered.

  One that kept drifting through her consciousness was, ‘Is this death?’ if this was, then Sam realised just how horrifying it truly was. There was nothing. Nothing but blackness.

  Sam had expected something different and she felt cheated. Part of her had hoped, prayed that Tollin would be here with her. But there was nothing. It wasn’t what Erikson had described as he’d died. It was the exact opposite. Nothing but the hungry Darkness. That strong and oppressive evil, waiting in the dark. And when it finally devoured her—as she knew it would—then she would truly be gone. Cease to exist. Wiped from existence.

  That was what death was. Nothing but a crushing, lonely void with only a hungry Darkness for company. No Mum, no Dad, no Tollin. Just Dark.

&nb
sp; But…now that she was alone with it, Sam no longer felt the same terror she had for it when she was alive. She knew she should have felt fear for what it would do, but Sam felt none. As terrified as she had been of the Darkness, now that it had invaded her, now that it was eating away at her, she was okay. It had already taken away all she cared about. She had already met it and spoken to it and no longer cared. It had no use for her.

  She bowed her head; at least, she thought she did.

  And in the blackness she saw something.

  Something was flickering.

  Sam froze. It seemed impossible for anything to be in the heavy darkness around her, but still, she saw it.

  A light. Flickering in her mind.

  Sam sucked in a breath in surprised wonder and watched, stunned, as the light expanded.

  It was growing even as she breathed, flaring inside of her, tracing along the edges of her skin; reminding her that she was still there. Sam could picture her body lightening, starting to sparkle. Mentally, Sam raised her hands. They were aglow with a golden light. All of her was, growing stronger, more brilliant by the moment.

  The light felt so familiar, like stepping inside of new, perfectly fitting clothes. Sam belonged to it. It was as a part of her as her own cells. From somewhere, life was coming back to her, dragging her back to the surface.

  And then she broke through.

  Sam could see things differently upon reopening her eyes. The room was dull and still. The colours all faded to shades of grey. She could blink, turn her head, breathe. Inside, the Darkness’s control was slipping. She could feel it; twisting like some ugly snake, starting to cower.

  She was standing there in her skin, surrounded by the bodies of her dead friends, somehow there. The Daemons were still there too, she was surprised to see. They were insubstantial, ripped from their forms by the swords of Marus and Tollin. Yet here they were now, shimmering with a reddened glow. Spirits. Gaping at her.

  With good reason, too, for she was glowing intensely now and steadily growing more brilliant with each breath. It was frightful. And exciting.

  As the Light grew in Sam, some of it started to leave her body, for she was now shining so brightly she wasn’t sure how much more she’d be able to hold. It burned inside of her, both painful and pleasant at the same time. One thing was becoming increasingly clear: Three entities could not inhabit the same body. And it was two against one. The Darkness was on the losing side.

  Erikson’s words as he died echoed back to her: Bright and real.

  The Light that left her was drifting towards the stone and the portal above, flaring in angry sparks.

  ‘Wait,’ the thing groaned. ‘Something’s not right…’

  Sam raised her head. ‘I am the Light,’ she breathed.

  The Darkness seemed so small, melting, like a bat in the sunshine it fluttered around inside of her, trying to escape.

  ‘WHAT?’ it demanded.

  When the Light hit the portal, there was a violent reaction. A blinding flash of gold burnt forth, turning all of the Daemons in its path to vapour. The portal shone like the sun, so bright Sam had to look away. She gasped, exhilaration rocketing through her as a wave of warmth washed over her skin. Her skin! She could actually feel!

  She heard a metallic ping! and looked down. Her ring slipped from her finger and went spinning across the floor. The red gem was shining with a brilliant golden light and it shattered. The Darkness leaking from it was thrown free and sucked into the portal with a violent yank.

  Sam turned back to the Light of the gateway, taking her eyes off of the confused, panicked Daemons who were scrabbling backwards, trying to find some small corner to hide in. She narrowed her eyes against the glare.

  Someone else was standing there, across from her, standing on top of the giant stone, smiling. She was framed by the radiant threshold.

  The Guide.

  They were both shining so brilliantly they could have been twins.

  Sam felt a strange smile pulling across her face. She could see the trail of Light now, twisting from her to the stone. She was the Light, she was the one who opened the portal to the Light. Something inside of her, something she didn’t know she had. Something she hadn’t had before had come alive. The golden glow was drifting up off of her skin like sparks. She could not be possessed. Where had it come from?

  Tollin.

  He had given it to her; the realisation hit her like a thunderbolt. He had the Light inside of him, whether he knew it or not, and now it wasn’t just his. She had it too. He had given it to her when they’d changed.

  She felt the Light surge through her veins as an antidote, purging away all of the thick blackness clogging her mind. Warmth filled her, flooding every muscle like lactic acid. Sam threw her head back, eyes shining, mouth wide, heart hammering so fast she felt it would burst; accepting the cleansing of her body all-too eagerly. Allowing the glow to fill her and leave nothing left. Exhilaration coursed through her.

  The Darkness was screaming. And its screams were strangled, those of a drowning animal, a pathogen overrun by the host.

  She focused her attention on the stone, willing the portal to grow wider. She didn’t know how, but she knew she could send the Daemons there. The bright shine pulsed from the centre of the stone and with a loud crack! it split, growing brighter and brighter by the second as Sam breathed it alive, till it grew so bright Sam finally had to stumble away from it.

  Whooping screams began to fill the air. Sam looked up and watched as Daemons were pulled from their hiding and sucked into the glow. They whipped past her with wild, terrified screams as they were swallowed up.

  Her body was jerked as if jolted by electricity and she felt something come dislodged inside of her. A black, inky cloud spilled from her mouth forcefully, choking her on its way out. Sam could see the Darkness for one split second as she recovered from the expulsion, and then it was sucked into the intense golden glow of the portal. Gone.

  It was then that her strength failed her. She sank to the floor.

  Sam could feel the water beneath her palms. She turned away from the noise and Light and looked up to where Marus and Tollin lay.

  Tollin’s body was pulsing with a fuzzy light, similar to her own, but much weaker. Just to his left, something was reclining against the dragon’s still form, glittering and jumping like a holograph.

  Sam pushed herself up and stumbled towards the shimmering, hunched form. She felt a hesitance pull at her and she slowed her pace; she didn’t want to know the truth. She didn’t want to be faced with the fact that both of her friends were dead. But she couldn’t stop herself.

  The figure sensed her presence and stood straight. She could feel the blood hammering through her ears. It told her she was alive, but as she grew closer, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be.

  The figure turned and Sam’s heart jumped to her throat. It was Marus, but…not Marus. A spirit form of his old self, shining with a warm orange, like flame.

  The screaming Daemons seemed to melt away as Sam faced the man. His lips twisted up into a sad smile and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. A quiet part of Sam’s brain wondered why he was human and not dragon. He’d always been human to her. Perhaps that was why.

  ‘I guess this is the end, isn’t it?’ Marus said, gesturing around him. He walked towards her with a slow gait, not stirring the water. ‘I won’t complain; it was an honourable way to go. For once I did something good.’ He looked her over. ‘Damn, you look beautiful. Shining gold is a good look for you.’

  Sam tried to fight the hot feeling building in her eyes. ‘No, no, this can’t be the end. Marus, we’ll figure something out. Stop talking like that.’

  Marus reached her and surveyed the gloom around them. Sam could see different points of faded light flickering around them, other spirits, Daemons, but none mattered besides the one before her. ‘You were brilliant, you know? You always were. I should have told you sooner,’ He laughed slightly. ‘Didn’t ever think I’
d say that to a human,’ He looked down at his hand, spread his fingers wide, and smiled to himself. ‘Who would have thought this is what I would be at the end? Human. Guess I was going softer than I thought.’

  ‘Marus, please, you’re still here, can’t you just…’ She glanced back at the cold lump of the dragon’s corpse. Tears began to escape from her eyes and she looked away, biting her bottom lip. ‘You have to come back, we’ll both figure something out; this isn’t the end.’

  Marus looked at her gently. ‘You’re right, it isn’t really the end. Not for you, at least. You’re going to go back; you’re going to save Tollin.’ He looked back at the crumpled form of Tollin, still glowing softly against the black dragon.

  The Light from inside the stone shone brighter. It was like a living thing fighting break out. She could feel it inside of her starting to drain away. Marus studied the glittering trail and Sam’s eyes followed his.

  A faint tendril of Light, twisting and curling like a thread of blood in water, was winding from Sam’s chest to the yawning portal, slipping away. Sam’s hand went to her heart and she grasped at the wisp. It curled around her fingers, intangible, unbroken. She didn’t know for sure, but once the Light left her she would no longer be able to see Marus. She was running out of time in this netherworld. There wasn’t enough time to say goodbye. This wasn’t what she wanted.

  But Tollin was there. So close to her she could almost touch him. She could just drop to her knees and pull him to her, save him, somehow.

  ‘Marus, let me help you. Surely this stuff can do something—’

  He smiled at her sadly. ‘It’s too late, Sam. You have a different path to take. You’re alive, don’t waste that.’

  Sam shook her head wildly, tried to keep her voice firm. ‘No! No, I won’t go without you. There has to be a way we can both live. Please Marus, please, don’t go.’

  The world around them trembled and both of them stumbled slightly to regain their footing. Her eyes flew to the stone again. Light was starting to etch through it, the ground beneath began to crumble.