I clench harder around his neck. “Ben, was it? My sister told me about you, hunting my friends.” I feel him start to push against my energy, holding me at bay. Crap. He’s a lot stronger than I thought. I can’t hold him down for long. I take a deep breath and, with all I have, push back harder. The makeup on display rattles as his wall of energy shatters and he’s laid out flat on the floor.
“Listen to me. You will never come near Airca or my other friends again, or you’ll have to answer to me,” I say, putting as much power behind my words as possible. He nods.
I let up, and he disappears out from under me. He appears outside the shop, breathing heavily, a look of shock in his eyes. I stand to watch him. “You’ll pay for this. Mark my words,” he says with a slight tremble. In a flash of darkness, Ben disappears.
His energy vanishes along with him, and that’s when I relax. My legs nearly give out on me, and I fall back against the register counter. That was crazy, but at least it worked. He looked scared. Hell, I scared myself, sounding so threatening. When did I get strong enough to best an actual demon?
I look over my shoulder. “Airca, you okay?” She yelps a little, pressing harder against the wall. “Airca, please don’t be afraid,” I say, putting my hands up.
“What just happened? What’s going on?” She starts hyperventilating.
Man, if someone were to walk in, this wouldn’t look so good on my part.
“Just listen to me and let me explain,” I say, holding out my hands. She just looks at them. I can clearly see the fear in her eyes and in her every movement. I slowly step around the counter and offer my hand. “Airca, please.” Her face is full of skepticism. After a few deep breaths, she hesitantly takes my hand. I help her up off the floor and back into her seat. “I’ll start from the beginning.”
I tell her everything that I’ve gone through and learned, and what’s happening tonight. Her face is completely blank as she tries to comprehend it all, and I know exactly what she’s going through. She starts to move her lips, saying something too low for me to hear.
“What?”
“You can’t do it,” Airca says, grabbing my hand. Somehow, she just completely bypassed the whole me being a demon thing, along with me having sisters I never knew about.
“My sister told me the same thing. Threatened to kill me before she would let me go, but my mind is made up.”
“So, what is this, a goodbye?” I nod. Her eyes begin to water, and her shoulders shake. “You suck, Kyle Ross. You suck so much!” she yells, tears now running down her face.
“Airca, calm down. Look, I’m sorry, but—”
She hops up off her stool and shoves me off mine. She takes me by surprise, but I manage to land on my feet. “No,” she says through her tears. “You vanish without a word for more than a week, and now you show up out of the blue to tell me that you’re some kind of demon, your aunt is actually your sister, you’re going on some super dangerous undercover mission with some random demon-girl, and that this may be the last time I get to see you alive? I can’t forgive you for this. Just leave,” she shouts.
Not the reaction I thought I was going to get, but she has a point. “All right, I’m gone.” My heart is in my throat as I try to fight back tears.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” she yells angrily as the door dings.
“You just told me to leave.” I turn to see her stomping toward me.
Reaching me, she slaps me as hard as she possibly can, then hugs me. “God, you’re so stupid sometimes!” She cries into my shoulder. “I’m off in an hour. Let’s get some food. This can’t be goodbye.”
I sit with her until her relief shows up. We are silent all the way to the food court, and up until we’re halfway through our meal. Airca brings up something from our childhood, sparking a long conversation. It lasts for hours—from the food court, through the city, the tram ride, and then to her house. It’s late in the afternoon now; the sun is on the verge of setting. I didn’t even notice the time go by, but that normally happens when I’m with her.
Her mom makes us dinner. Mrs. Cove doesn’t cook often, but when she does, she gives Serena a run for her money. After dessert, Airca and I go out onto the roof, just outside of her bedroom window, to watch the sun set. This time of day has always been our favorite. We wait for the stars to begin blinking to life in the darkening sky.
Airca takes my hand. “Do you remember when we would sit up here when we were little?”
“Looking for the wishing star, telling secrets, making our silly little promises.”
“Yeah. Kyle?”
“Yeah?”
“Make me a promise,” she says, gripping my hand tighter and looking over at me.
“What is it?”
“Promise me that this won’t be the last time we see each other.”
I think about it for a second. “Airca, with this mission coming up, I don’t think…” I see the sadness in her eyes. “You know I don’t like making promises I’m not sure I can keep.”
She just smiles. “I know. That’s why I know if you make this promise, you’ll do all you can to keep it.” She lifts her right hand, pinky extended. “Now promise me.” I latch my pinky with hers. “Promise set.” She turns her attention back to the sky. “So, you really have a girlfriend now? That happened kind of fast, didn’t it?”
As I look at Airca, I can see the skepticism she has about my relationship with Valene. “Yeah, it did. We just hit it off. She’s so cool though and super strong.”
She leans against me. “I want to meet her. See what I lost to.”
“Airca, that’s not—”
She puts her fingers to my lips. “Just forget I said anything,” she says, her voice filled with annoyance. She wraps her arms around mine and snuggles up to me.
For a while, we just talk and stargaze. It’s not long before she’s fast asleep in my lap. Gingerly, I pick her up. She weighs practically nothing. I take her back into her room and tuck her in with a kiss on the forehead.
“How cute,” says a voice from behind me.
I spin around and prepare myself. At the window, an Egyptian Mau hops down from the frame to the floor. “Mayra, what are you doing here?”
“Checking on you. Following you, really.” She sits. “I was impressed by how well you handled that worm back at the mall. I thought I was going to have to step in.”
“That’s what my training is for. Why are you here?”
“After our talk this morning, I’ve come to a decision. You are not going, and I will do everything in my power to stop you,” she says, never averting her eyes from mine. “Even if that means breaking you.”
My hands tremble. I’m not angry this time, just scared. Even with her being so small, I can clearly sense how powerful she is. Serena’s words play in my mind: she is a force. I prepare to stand my ground. “Look, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going.”
She growls, but instead of a groan, like most house cats, it’s loud and strong like a lion’s. “Very well.” Her form turns black and starts to change. The amount of energy she’s putting off is frightening. I’ve never felt anything like this before. The whole house starts to shake.
“Mayra, calm down,” I say as gently as possible. “I don’t understand why, but I know you can’t make your presence known here on Earth, or New Birth whatever, and if you continue the way you’re going, that’s going to happen. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
The shaking grows more intense, along with her energy. Car alarms echo from the neighborhood outside. “Banishment will be bearable as long as you’re alive.” Her shapeless form glows red and yellow as it begins to take shape.
I turn around to check on Airca. Luckily, she’s a heavy sleeper and isn’t fazed by this, but Mrs. Cove will be up here in any second. “Mayra. Drink long…”
Instantly, the shaking fades to a rumble, and energy ceases to flow from her. “What did you say?” her disembodied voice asks.
“And dr
ink deep. Let the sound soothe you.” The yellow and red lights that comprise Mayra’s incomplete body dull, turning black. She shrinks into a blob of darkness the size of her cat form. “Wild of heart, now calm of mind. Rest.”
Two circles of symbols appear in the air around the blob and constrict around her. With a long, pained groan, Mayra’s body turns back into her cat form. Steam rises off her fur as she stands shakily. “How…did you learn that binding spell… Damn you, Kir,” she says, trembling. I take a step toward her. She looks at me, her eyes now a deep crimson red. “Don’t come near me!” She hisses and then jumps out of the window.
Oh, Mayra.
Not even a second later, Mrs. Cove comes bursting through the door to make sure that Airca and I are okay. Airca is still out like nothing happened. Her mom offers to drive me home, but I refuse. After all that just happened, a walk would be best to clear my mind.
As I walk down the street, a wave of nausea and panic hits me. I lean against the light post at the end of our driveway to catch my breath and fight down my dinner. God, what did I just do? Betrayed my sister, that’s what.
The air grows thick with a familiar energy, and a hand appears on my shoulder from out of darkness. “Hey, Hero.” I turn to her and hug her tight. “What’s wrong?” Valene asks, rubbing my back.
“A lot. I had to use that phrase your dad gave me on Mayra. Apparently, it’s a binding spell. I feel like crap for using it on her.”
“It’s okay, Hero. Knowing her, she did something that forced your hand. All of this will blow over; just give it time.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek. “It’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know. The way she looked at me…”
“It will be fine. Trust me. Mayra’s a big girl who has been through a lot. She’s just upset. Give her a little time.”
I nod. “Thanks.” I step back and get a good look at her. Her hair is in a bun, and she has on a sleeveless purple hoodie, black tights, and purple tennis shoes. “You’re dressed pretty cute for someone about to do something life threatening.”
“Of course. Gotta show out no matter what you’re doing.” She takes my hand and leads me to sit down on the curb. She rests her head on my shoulder. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you too. How was your day?”
“It was good. I spent the first half of day with my family, Talked to today with Vivica and Simone, and then a couple of hours with Serena. How about you?”
“Spent most of the day with Airca. Fought a demon.” She looks at me, eyebrows raised. “Long story short: He tried to abduct Airca and the girls a bit ago. He was stopped, but not before getting a swift kick in the ‘nads. He popped up again today, and I scared him a bit.”
“You scared him?”
“Well, I at least chased him off.”
She sighs. “Thank goodness. Hero, you have to be more careful. I’m so proud though. Now I see that I can get a little more serious with you.”
“You mean you haven’t been?” She shakes her head no, which comes as a surprise. The only reason I considered taking Ben on was because I thought she had been.
“So, which of your friends kicked him hard enough to feel it?”
“Airca. She’s always been able to hit harder than most girls.”
“I think I like her. I want to meet her.”
“You two would probably hit it off.”
We sit in silence. The time for us to go is approaching fast, and my nerves are winding up. I take a deep breath. Valene puts her hand onto my chest; it’s so warm I can feel it through my shirt. She’s staring out into the darkness of the neighborhood, and I realize she’s nervous too. I take my arm from her, wrap it around her waist, and pull her in close. This startles her a bit, but then she starts smiling.
“We can be nervous wrecks together,” I tell her.
Valene brings her hand to my cheek and draws me in. Heat engulfs the two of us the moment our lips touch. My entire body unwinds, and my fear melts away. Before we are swept in the moment entirely, the both of us pull back and laugh.
“All right. So, what’s the plan?” I ask.
We appear in the room the Messenger summoned us to yesterday. The rancid, rotting smell that crosses my nose nearly makes me puke. Luckily, I swallow it back down before I hear the Messenger moving behind us. Valene and I turn toward him and kneel.
“Please, rise,” the Messenger says with what sounds like amusement, but it’s a muddled gurgle in his throat. We look up at him. I thought he was bad before, but man, this time, he truly looks like a walking corpse. His skin is speckled with black goo and translucent; I can see his muscles moving underneath. His hair is patchy, and the hair he does have is pure white, as are his eyes. I gag a little, but catch myself. “Are you okay, Kyle?” he asks.
I compose myself. “Forgive me.”
“Please, no need for excuses. This human husk is so pitiful, unable to contain true power without burning out. I would have the same reaction if I were in your shoes looking at this. I am happy that you have found your way back here. I was worried that you would not.”
“Of course, it is our duty,” Valene says.
“Glad to hear it. Now please, follow me.” He takes us down the long corridor filled with the leaky pipes. Steam belts from them every few seconds.
With everything that’s been happening, I never thought to ask where this place is. We’re underground in a sub-basement, that’s for sure. Probably in The Core somewhere. We come to a threshold leading into an open area. Unlike when I was here last, it’s bright. It’s the same place the rally was held, but with everyone gone, there’s a tension in the air that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Watch.” The Messenger snaps his fingers. The tension in the air disperses. The floor rumbles, then fire bursts to life in a huge circle before us, taking up the whole floor. The fire fizzles out, leaving a five-pointed pentagram and other symbols within the lines of the star. At each point of the star is an object of some kind, no bigger than a doll. “I need you two to stay here and protect this place with your lives while my men and I run a few errands.”
“Will we be the only ones?” Valene asks.
“Yes, will that be a problem?” Valene shakes her head with a slight bow. “Good. I’ll be taking my leave. Good luck,” he says with the creepiest of smiles and vanishes.
I look to Valene. She makes a circle with her pointer finger. Walk the perimeter. We split up and walk opposite ways around the circle. This room looks way bigger now that a huge crowd of demons isn’t stuffed in here. Wires and pipes line the wall. Some of them lead to the corridor, but others have been cut and bent, like they’ve been disconnected from something. Machines of some kind were probably installed in here before.
There are a couple of rusted metal doors along the wall as well. All of them have secured padlocks. I look up at the catwalk. There is a door up there as well, but it looks damaged from down here. Then there’s the large ventilation grate on the ceiling. There’s no other way out of here aside from shadow walking.
I turn my attention to the pentagram and the objects at each of its points. At the tip of the longest point is a small, bronze container the size of a mason jar—the soul catalyst; I recognize it from the night I saw Leo. The closer I get to it, the more I feel the staggering amount of energy emanating from it. It’s a little nauseating, so I don’t linger near it long.
Not far from the catalyst, at another point of the pentagram, is a totem or statuette. The body looks like it’s made of tarnished gold, and its eyes are rubies. It shimmers in the fluorescent light, but the light coming from it gives me chills. My chest aches as I walk by it. This thing looks so familiar for some reason. Its eyes seem to follow my every move. Creepy.
“Hero?”
Startled, I jump back and step on something. A terrifying energy washes over me, creeping up my leg and body until it wraps around my neck. “Thus, it begins again. Our return is nigh,” says a voice in a sinister whisper. The energy grows tighter,
and I’m growing light-headed. A hand grabs my shoulder, disrupting the energy. My legs give out from underneath me, and I fall to my knees, gasping for breath.
“Hero, are you okay?”
“What happened?”
“You touched that thing and spazzed out.”
I look at the statuette. “It spoke to me. What are they?”
She looks at me with worry. “They are what’s left of the generals after their defeat at the hands of Shadow.”
“Wait, you mean this whole thing was about summoning the Generals?”
She nods. “Yeah. They’re all here.” She points to them. “A statue made of wood, with the face of a wolf: Bane. One of sandstone with rainbow gems for eyes: Dusk. One of marble with an iron spike through its heart: Masini. And finally, one made of blackened gold with ruby eyes.”
“Beal,” I say, still rubbing at my chest.
“You know about them?”
“From nightmares, I used to have.” She looks at me, confused. “Long story. How did the Messenger find them? Surely things like this would have been hidden away.”
“Who knows. Father said after the destruction of the army, the light took them. No one should have known where they were.”
Clearly someone did. “So, I guess these are the targets of your father’s plan.”
“Yup. Father and his team are going to infiltrate this place and take them away. All we need to do is play our part.”
“Protect this place with our lives.”
She nudges me. “Everything will be fine.”
“If you say so.”
We continue to patrol the room. I’m bored and on edge all at once. I’ve counted the spots of mold on the wall four times now. How long has it been, an hour or more? Over on the other side of the circle, Valene is pacing. I walk around to her.
“They should have been here by now. Something has gone wrong.” There’s a rumbling noise, then the room starts to shake. From the vent above us comes a roar. “That’s pretty far away.”
Light of Darkness Page 27