He chuckled, rolling the parchment into a cylinder, sliding the delicate paper into his pocket, eager to deliver it.
His master was worthy of his service. If everything went according to plan, Vale would be on the Surface in a matter of months. Days, even. He’d be able to go home.
Only, he wouldn’t be going back as a human. He’d be going back as a god. He’d make the one who’d hurt him and his sister pay.
A storm growled overhead. Clouds of scarlet and black wove their way around the snarling stalactites that hung from the ceiling of sky. A low cluster of nimbus rolled over the mountains like an angry, vaporous ocean. Red sands from the Crimson Desert whipped about, biting her face and exposed skin.
“Keep up now,” Fate called to Ick toddling far behind. Glancing back, she saw how far they’d gone. The obsidian monoliths that stood as markers for the location of the underground demon city were just black dots marring the horizon.
It hadn’t been difficult escaping the city; in fact, it wasn’t an escape at all. She’d simply walked up to the guards stationed at the main gates and asked to be let out. They were more than happy to get her out of their city. She wasn’t so sure they’d be in Kane’s good books after that though. Or would they? He didn’t seem to want her around any more than the rest of them.
Except Ever.
She would miss the sweet princess. Her only friend down here in the broken underworld. She’d been the only one who cared.
It had been hours since she’d left. Kane would certainly know by now.
He’s probably relieved.
A shaky sigh fell from her lips, still hidden behind the mask. The phoenix, propped regally on her shoulder, released a soft chirp and flickered from copper to gold. His way of communicating, Fate had come to learn.
He had a small vocabulary based on colors and intensity of flame; both intermingled with a unique and haunting song.
Ick grumbled in his own language behind her. He dragged his feet and tossed the occasional rock in her direction. He reminded her of a pouting human child.
“Alright, we’ll rest here,” Fate conceded, a cloud of fatigue hovering over her as well.
She needed to eat. Badly. Her biggest regret having left the city was that she didn’t speak to the old Shaman again. He’d thought of a way for her to avoid consuming the souls of others, but she might never learn what it was.
As it stood, she’d have to kill—soon.
Her gaze fell upon the phoenix. Calmly resting on her shoulder, his beady black eyes observed her with quiet wisdom. She was grateful she’d learned enough self-control so she wouldn’t hurt Ick or the phoenix.
That’s when it occurred to her. “You need a name, little one.” She paused, trying to think of the perfect name for her new friend. He squawked excitedly, sending sparks flying in all directions, nearly setting Fate’s hair on fire. She laughed, patting any embers singeing her silver locks.
“Ah, I see,” she said with a smile. “Spark, huh?”
She ran a gentle finger over his chest. The flames parted, allowing her pale finger to pet him without burning it.
Ick leapt onto her other shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek, a deep purr rolled from him.
A lump rose into her throat. It felt good to have friends again, even if they were just animals.
Her illuminated eyes scoured the landscape, trying to determine the best direction to take. The voice was stronger now. As though it knew she was endeavoring to find the source. It whispered thoughts to her. Told her how badly she was wanted. Needed.
Gazing off to the south, Fate somehow knew which way to go. Jagged mountains pierced the horizon, colossal rocky giants. But one was different. Amongst the panoramic landscape, one peak stood alien to the others. Its reddish glow tinted the skies. Like a beacon, it called to her.
The Crystal Pyramid.
The winding path snaked before him, leading him home, hunger building within. He knew he’d have to eat soon. Very soon.
Vale scanned the barren wastelands for any wayward beasts he could consume. Drifts of married ash and red sands billowed around him. It was the stormy season again. Very few creatures ventured from their dens at this time of year. Ones that he could defeat with little effort, anyways.
Glancing behind him, he was pleased his footsteps had been washed away by the ash, leaving little trace of his travels. He was nothing more than a ghost wandering over the lands, and he preferred it that way. Very few knew of his existence. And of his unique abilities.
With his hand, he shielded the assaulting winds and sands from his illuminated eyes. He could distinguish sharp protrusions of crystals growing vertically from the ground.
The Crystalline Forest.
He’d surely find a meal there.
After adjusting his pack, he gave a reassuring pat to the scroll tucked in his pocket, and trudged forward.
The hunger had evolved into a lust. It gnawed and clawed at her insides, wearing down her resistance. She eyed both Ick and Spark with reluctant desire. Snapping her eyelids shut, she cursed her weakness. These were her friends. Her only allies. How dare she consider stealing their life.
Peering through the veil of dust blanketing the land, she could make out a familiar sight. Relief washed over her.
The Crystalline Forest, she sighed, knowing there would be something, a creature unknown to her, that she could consume.
It’s like…a cow. Yes. Just a piece of meat. She tried to reason. It was not unlike a carnivorous meal on the Surface, one she’d eaten a hundred times. It was natural. She was a predator and they, the prey. While she could tell herself that, it didn’t make her any more willing to kill an innocent being.
She thought back to the moment she devoured the sphinx’s soul. It was easy. Too easy. An instinct had owned her. She wondered if the same thing would happen again, or would she have more control over it? The ordeal with the sphinx felt different though. He had attacked them, and she felt compelled to protect both her and Kane.
Kane.
His cerulean eyes burned a hole through her memory. How could such passion lie behind those eyes and hold no feelings for her? Did she just imagine it? All those moments when he seemed to care for her, was it just the wishful thinking of a foolish girl?
Deep pain curled around her heart like a venomous serpent.
He doesn’t care about me. He’s just a demon. Fate fumed, feeling the roots of her true nature surfacing. He and I are enemies now.
Ambushed
Against the crimson horizon, mammoth shadows through over the desert sands. Their long, cylindrical bodies breaching the surface like humpback whales rising and falling amidst the waters of the ocean. Though the motions of the death worms appeared graceful from afar, Vale knew the beasts were not a typical predator—they were lethal.
Careful not to leave any vibration upon the ground, thus attracting the monsters, he treaded with the grace of a cat towards the Crystalline Forest. Once there, he would be shielded by the marble forest floor. He considered wisping to his desired location, but decided he should conserve his energy. His innate ability to vanish and reappear a few feet from where he began was a rare talent among shades.
Upon reaching the safety of the woods, sharp quartz protrusions surrounded him. The long crystal stalks loomed, unfruitful trees, eerie yet beautiful with their icy trunks and spindly glass fingers.
Even on the Surface, Vale had been particularly fascinated with quartz. Rocks, gems, and minerals of all kinds, really. He may have even become a geologist—if he hadn’t been forced into Dark World, that is.
A chill slid over him. One hundred years he’d endured the darkness of the underworld. He would have liked to say time had gone by quickly, but it had not. All this time. All that he’d sacrificed—and he still hadn’t found her.
Caressing the polished face of a nearby crystal tree, his thoughts drifted back to the last day he’d seen his sister.
Sybil, his mind whispered.
Why
hadn’t she just stayed home like she was supposed to? Why did she have to sneak out to see that boy? Heat prickled to the surface of his skin and he ran his hand through his disheveled silver hair. He should have followed her. He should have known where she was going. It was all his fault.
If only he’d listened to his intuition, he could have kept her safe. Away from him.
The memory of the ritual nauseated him, overshadowing the biting hunger growing inside of him. He’d begged her kidnapper. Pleaded with him to show him what had happened to his little sister.
A whole year he’d waited after her disappearance. A whole year he’d kept Blake’s disgusting secret, just so he could experience what had happened to his sister. To find her. To die for her.
If only he’d known he was going to a dark world filled with monsters and nightmares. If only he’d known what evil lay beneath the surface of the earth—he might have reconsidered.
A soft rustling ahead stole him from his dark thoughts. A flash of white fur piqued his primal side. His hunger reacted with lightning reflex. Vale caught the creature’s seductive scent lingering on the breeze and he sucked it deeply into his lungs.
Mouth watering and predatory instincts possessing him, his luminous eyes targeted the creature playing in the trees.
A gargoyle.
“Ick,” Fate called out, concern welling in her chest. He’d been gone over an hour, romping in the trees and splashing in the mineral pond.
It was the exact location where she and Kane had fought off the sphinxes.
“And here I am…again,” she muttered, wondering what she was going to do. Was she brave enough to seek out Malus? From what she’d learned of Malus, she was a cold and cruel Queen who would stop at nothing to dominate Dark World. Ever had spent her entire life underground in efforts to avoid the new Devil. She’d warned Fate of the danger, yet here she was, searching for the elusive Queen’s lair.
Her thoughts shifted reluctantly to Kane. Had she just imagined his affection towards her? Why did she feel so drawn to him anyways? He was a demon. As far as she could recall, demons were amongst the most loathsome creatures in mythology. What with their possessing people, conjuring evil, and embracing all things unholy.
She shook her head, confusion blurring the borders of logic. But the demons weren’t that way at all. Ever, Kane, the old shaman, none of them resembled the dark stereotype given to them on the Surface. Even Deme, despite her sour expression, appeared to be inherently kind—deep down, anyways.
It was the shades who were the real enemies here. She felt it in the way they looked at her. How ironic that the demons were the good guys. Not surprising when she considered human nature though.
A sigh escaped her. She had so many unanswered questions. Who—and what—was she? An undead being named Fate or a dead human named Scarlet?
She settled onto a nearby boulder, her shoulders weighing more than they ever had. How could she expect Kane to know his feelings for her if she didn’t even know herself?
Spark chirped loudly, startling her. Fate brought her face to the tiny bird nesting on her shoulder, his flaming body rolled with shades of copper and gold.
“What do you think? Am I just crazy?” she asked of him.
Just as he tilted his head inquisitively at her, a shrill, animal-like scream resonated through the forest, bouncing off each individual quartz tree.
Fate sucked in a panicked breath and jumped to her feet.
“Ick! Oh god, where is he?”
The echo of his terrified voice reverberated from every direction, her ears burning with maternal fire. Just when she thought she’d located the origin and started towards it, his voice seemed to come from behind her.
“Ick! Please! Where are you!” Her heart thudded relentless, fueled by worry and fright.
Then Fate stopped, straining her supernatural hearing. She couldn’t hear him anymore. A piercing silence owned the forest. Not a whisper. Not a breeze. Her throat felt tight. What if she lost Ick? He was like a baby to her. She’d watched him emerge from his spherical cocoon. Nurtured him. Loved him.
“Ick?” Fate relinquished, her voice strangled. Tears worked their way into the corners of her eyes.
Not Ick. Please don’t take him from me. I…need him.
A barely audible snap reached her ears. Behind her. She paused, holding her breath. Fate slowly turned towards the sound. Her infrared eyes scanned the darkened forest. Only the hundreds of ice-like torsos rooted in the marble floor returned her gaze.
Poised, ready for a fight, Fate sensed another pair of eyes out there. Watching her. Waiting for her. Her primitive alter-ego stirred within. A power fired in her core. The evil coalesced with the gnawing hunger. She was ready for whoever was out there. She was ready to kill.
Vale heard the beast’s heart fluttering madly as it tried to escape him, its pulse pounding in his ears. Nothing mattered but the kill. It was worse than a craving. It was a burning thirst. A raging hunger. Like he hadn’t eaten in years. He’d never felt anything like it when he was on the Surface. Not the need for cigarettes. Food. Nothing. It was a painful need to devour. And the only thing that could satiate the need—souls.
The gargoyle fled at an impressive pace. Too young to fly, he darted amongst the sparse crystalline branches. Vale considered toying with the creature, but was far too hungry and moved straight in for the kill.
“Ick!” Vale heard a feminine voice call out, halting his attack. The gargoyle would satiate him, but not like a conscious soul would.
His slivered human soul retreated into an abyss inside him, mouth flooding with fresh saliva. He ran his tongue over his lengthy fangs. The shade—the monster—stepped forward.
Vale shifted his focus sharply to his left. He took a deep breath in, testing the air. Searching for her scent. Was she a lone demon? A banshee who’d wandered far from her village? A dark thrill crawled over him. He had to see her. Had to have her.
Stealthily, he peered around the crystal trunks, hoping that each would be the one to reveal his prey. Without a sound, he stalked by wisping from tree to tree. Each wisp bringing him closer to his meal.
The sound of water dribbling into a pond caught his attention, then a glint of light ahead. His undead heart beat against his chest like a wild animal, caged far too long and crazed with the need for release.
A clearing in the crystal trees greeted him. He paused, sniffing the air. Desperate for her aroma.
Sudden movement behind a geode both startled and excited him. She was hiding. He strode quickly and confidently across the opening, his eyes locked on the large stone. He leaped, crouching as he landed atop the rock, hoping she’d run. It was more fun when there was a chase.
He leaned over; the far side of the geode was hollow, exposing its collection of glittering quartz. Maybe she was cowering in there, huddled into a ball, hoping he wouldn’t find her. The shade in him was giddy. With his wisp energy exhausted, he’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.
Impatience germinated inside. He readied himself to spring. No more waiting, he’d go and get her.
Just as he moved to attack, a flash of copper and gold flew from behind the boulder. Set afire, the ball of light tore past him, narrowly missing his face and yet he felt the imprint of heat left upon his cheek.
For only a moment, he lost concentration. Startled from his strategic attack. Then she was on him. Pinned, he struggled to no avail. She was as strong as he was.
Never before had he been overtaken in Dark World, his strength and wit unmatched.
Until now.
Clarity
Fate held the point of the quartz icicle tight against the shade’s throat with one hand and a fistful of his silver hair in the other. His head yanked back, the soft dip in the center of his neck exposed; she waited for any reason to plunge her makeshift dagger into him.
He stiffened, raising his hands into the air like a captured villain, then stated casually, “Hello there.”
Her grip tigh
tened, the urge to skewer him growing wilder by the moment. A murderous rage generated inside of her.
The human she used to be wilted when the shade took over. As though she had some sort of multiple personality disorder, an evil entity surfaced at its own volition and possessed her. Ironically demonic.
He cleared his throat, his Adam’s apple sliding past the tip of the quartz blade. “Um, you got me, so if you’re going to kill me, let’s get on with it.”
Not appreciating his tone, she hissed, “I should! It was you chasing my gargoyle, wasn’t it?”
“Your gargoyle?” he repeated, his voice condescending.
Fate gave his hair a fierce pull. “Yes, my gargoyle.”
“Oh,” he exclaimed suddenly, as though having had an epiphany. “I didn’t realize he was your meal. My apologies.”
“Meal? No, he’s my friend,” she explained, scanning the clearing for any sign of Ick.
“Friend?” the shade chuckled. “But…you’re a shade. Shade’s don’t make friends with…food.”
“He’s not food to me,” Fate replied, loosening her grip a little.
The shade placed a pale hand onto her forearm, caressing it. “So, are you going to let me go…or do you just want to hold me in your arms all day?”
She pushed him hard from her, grunting with disgust. He took his time turning around, almost debonair, then eyed her up and down. Seemingly pleased, he nodded with a smooth smile traversing his lips.
“Interesting,” he commented, walking towards her. “Very interesting.”
“What’s so interesting,” Fate retorted through gritted teeth.
“You’re a rogue shade…like me.” His luminescent white eyes shone with quiet curiosity.
The malevolence inside her withdrew to whatever sinister place it dwelled, allowing her to fully inspect this stranger. His hair carried the same sterling hue as hers, only his was much shorter, and wilder. His eyes burned the same as her own. Magnesium strips set afire.
Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) Page 15