“I’m sorry.” Looking around, I couldn’t place our location, but it was definitely not the Moon Realm. “Where are we?”
“The human world, in the forest near the gate. I assume they sent us as close to the Blessed Realm as they could,” Kristy said and then smiled. “So, did you get your real powers?”
“Yes.” Opening my palms, a purple fireball appeared, glowing. “Thank you, by the way, I couldn’t have passed the test without you.”
Giving me a blank stare, Kristy shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. I was in the Moon Realm where you left me all the time. Why did you assume it was me?”
“Because I saw you and you helped me climb away from the darkness like you always do. You both did,” I confessed.
“Maybe your mind made up the images, but Light can come in many forms,” Jacques said, skeptically. “So, what happened exactly?”
“I—” A loud explosion set the trees on fire and we had to make haste. When we were at a safe distance, we watched as a raging black fire spread, burning everything in its path, but that was not all. Where ashes should have been all that was left, was a dark substance pooling on the ground, smoking.
“It has started,” Kristy said, putting her arms around her body.
If that was all, I thought as I watched the dark fire consuming anything living as it seeped out. Soon it would be too late to save anyone. Fleeting images of my family flashed in front of my eyes and I tightened my lips. I could not let that happen.
If I must be a sacrifice so they can live, so be it!
Chapter 14: A Crack in the Sky
When we were at the entrance, a gate with scorch marks, resting off its hinges awaited us instead of the regular oak door. Hand in hand, we walked in to face the horrors.
Even if I had seen the silver fairy’s visions of a dark world, I wasn’t at all prepared for the scene that unfolded in front of me. Darkness had fallen in the Blessed Realm and fire surrounded the fields, reached the rooftops and was laid out like a fiery river flowing unchecked into the paved streets. The sun had turned dark like an eclipse, but this was emitting Darkness, and if you stared at it for too long, your thoughts turned dark and hopelessness possessed you, making it impossible to think or breathe.
“That should keep the Darkness away,” Kristy said when she formed a pink bubble like the one before, but this one was in the form of a crystal. “We must hurry. Do we need to look for her?” She trembled, but biting her lips, stood straight and levitated us in the sky.
“Not much,” Jacques said, holding his sabre in his hand and pointed to a ball of dark fire at the center of the Blessed Realm that was so big, it was hard not to notice it. “I imagine she’s the main supplier of Darkness. We cut the supply, power is off.”
“Easy task,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek, but I felt his warm hand, holding mine.
“It won’t be, but we’ll have a funny tale to tell later on,” he said, giving me his sarcastic smile. “The Moon Spirit stabilized my shifting rate so I might be able to help you.”
Nodding, I felt relief wash over me. I cast a look at the giant ball of dark fire ahead. “Let’s do this!”
As soon as we landed a few feet close to the fireball, our problems started. Kristy’s fairy bubble burst. Fortunately, we had already landed, but sensing us, the dark fire rose up to the sky.
“I’ll fix it!” Kristy cried, but as soon as she surrounded us with the new fairy bubble, it popped once again. Fairy magic could not withstand the power of pure Evil.
She is weak, a voice said in my mind, but it was not mine. Powerless! You can do it without her. Useless! The voice continued filling my mind with dark thoughts, but I remained unaffected. “Is this the best you can do?”
Silence followed as the dark invader ceased its bubbling. The dark flames lowered to the ground, revealing the figure I had been dreaming about for so long. Turning toward me, she removed her hood and Kristy along with Jacques gasped.
“That is…” Kristy lowered her head, unable to look anymore.
“Absolutely horrid,” Jacques completed. He was focused on her grotesque visage as any of us.
Carefully gazing at her, I couldn’t understand how could she be alive. Scorch marks blotched every surface of her face and yet, she acted like she could feel no pain of her current situation.
In my dreams, the Evilship was always hooded, and this was the first time I lay my eyes on this atrocity. Seeing our reactions, the Evilship laughed with a rusty sound and I stared, unable to believe she could produce such violent sounds. Did she feel nothing at all?
Smiling with her cracked lips, she cried, “We finally meet, Believer.”
The black flames engulfed her body, making it billow out away from her body like a dress while her feet remained bare. I noticed that wherever she stepped, the earth turned black and the stench of death and decay emitted from her presence. The worst thing though was her face or rather the lack of it. Looking at her was painful. A broken mirror was the closest resemblance I could think of. Millions of cracks formed her broken face along with dust, dirt, and darkness. Liquid smoke poured from the open cracks and in all that destruction, two empty holes composed her missing eyeballs, but in their place, dark fire burned alive and evil.
I remembered Madelena’s words when we first talked about her, that her lack of typical facial features was a result of taking the form of whatever a person feared the most but I was not afraid. On the contrary, I found her repulsive and I felt a sense of pity.
I guess she could be called beautiful in a sort of evil, disturbing way, but to the Light, she was a damaged person. “So, we have,” I said, tightening my lips. I was not terrified by her ugliness, but rather from the evil she emitted. I could feel Kristy behind me shivering from terror and even Jacques had paled. He tried not to show it, holding his sabre in front of him, but it was impossible not to be affected by the Darkness.
“So pretty and clever,” the Evilship said, giving me a cruel smile. “You even fooled my precious soldier, the one who could persuade anyone in the world about his goodness.” She uttered the word like it was something utterly horrid to be. The black flames surrounding her being flashed crimson. “And you killed him!” She screamed. “A small, stupid, human girl managed to kill him even though he had my medallion!”
“He shouldn’t have murdered my grandmother,” I said shrugging, giving her a blank stare. “And he did what you asked…you wanted me alive.”
I felt the ground vibrating beneath my feet and in a small corner of my mind, I thought it was not wise to piss her off but I didn’t care. She was emitting evil, and I was emitting anger.
“Now, why don’t we solve this peacefully?” I proposed and the look she gave me suggested I made a bad choice of words.
“Peacefully?” she screamed. “I’ll show you peace!” Holding her arms up, the dark fire that until now was lying dormant on her feet, rose up and headed my way with such ferocity and speed, a human could only catch glimpses of it. “I was exiled from my home because I had ambitions!”
“Take cover!” Kristy yelled, but I was not going to hide from a deranged person with no true face who spewed bitterness.
As the Evil fire approached, I quickly unsheathed my sword and hoped for the best. When the two powers clashed, the Sword of Light released a light so bright, it blinded us all. When it dissipated, every trace of the fire had disappeared and the Evilship stood there, wearing nothing but her raw skin.
“Can we bring the fire back? Somehow, I liked her better with her clothes on.” Jacques said, his face a mask of repulsion.
“Oh, my fairy dust!” Kristy said, covering her eyes. “Well done, with the sword, Violet!” Her gaze turned to me, avoiding the ghastly sight. I wish I could do the same, but I had to stay focused on her in case she made a move.
“What have you done?” the Evilship said slowly. “What have you done?” Her flaming eyes enlarged, making her empty sockets seem like pools of blood. Raising her arms,
she whispered, “I am pure Evil. You won’t see me coming as I disarm you of this tool of Light,” she spat and slashes of dark fire shot up. I ignored her warning and placing the sword in front of me, I commanded it to protect us and it worked, at least up until the point I felt my hands burning like fire.
“Violet, your hands!” Kristy screamed. “Let go off the sword!”
“I can’t!” I felt stings and slashes, trying to open my arms, but I could not let go. Tears gathered in my eyes and biting my lips, I held on.
“Let go, I’ll hold her off,” Jacques said and trusting him, I let my sword fall on the ground, red, burning and smoking.
Kristy using her magic, healed my damaged hands, and I sighed, relieved as the wounds closed and the blistered skin began to heal. Turning my gaze to Jacques, I noticed he still held on but his sabre wasn’t damaged like mine. In a crucial moment, he backed away and holding the sabre with his two hands, he used his body’s strength to push the Evil fire away and to the Evilship who was enveloped in its tight embrace.
Shrieking, she cast a spell, making it vanish. “That’s enough of your meddling.” Snapping her raw fingers, sparks appeared and suddenly, Jacques turned into a rabbit. “I was thinking of a rat, but with shapeshifters, your choices are rather limited.” She laughed but Jacques bared his teeth. “Now I’m truly scared,” she taunted, making her flared eyes bounce, and I assumed this was her version of rolling her eyes. Turning to me, her smile disappeared. “Now, to take care of the remains.”
Remains? I’ll show you remains!
The sky suddenly filled with black fireballs, all aimed at me and with her nod, they swarmed to me but I did nothing to defend myself. Closing my eyes, I could see the traces their magic left and calculated the distance and their powers. Kristy’s pink aura left my eyesight, and I was glad she was safe, I assumed she was standing with Jacques.
Give me strength, I thought, touching my grandmother’s necklace, and I instantly felt my veins hum with energy. I opened my eyes slowly only to gaze at a million fireballs at a time descending from the sky and the Evilship laughing maniacally and Kristy frantically casting fairy magic that ricocheted all across the area.
Opening my one hand, I released my power that froze the scene while I annihilated the black fireballs with my other. It’s time to put an end to this madness. The scene unfroze and the Evilship’s laughing turned into screams and threats of curses.
“What did you do?” Kristy said from behind me.
“I stopped the moment.”
“Amazing!”
Black lightning descended from the sky and fire so massive, it matched the globe’s surface. “You are done, Believer!”
“We’ll see about that, blistering corpse,” I said, and she sneered. Purple sparks flew around me, forming a circle around the fire and steadily, they ate parts of the lightning fire, consuming it and I watched in satisfaction as it diminished in size and intensity. While I was focused, out of nowhere, a gust of bloody fire appeared and headed my way, but it was too close to me so the only thing I could do was put out my hands, hoping for it to be quick.
Minutes passed, but nothing happened and hearing Kristy’s surprised cry, I opened my eyes slowly. Witnessing the cause of the disturbance, my mouth fell open for a giant white rabbit stood in front of me and I witnessed the moment he swallowed the ruby fire.
“What the—? Jacques?”
With a loud Pop!, he turned back into a human. A pale and sweaty human who placed his hands on both sides of his head. “Disgusting!” In shock, I gazed at his arms that were glowing ruby. “Don’t worry,” he said, coughing as Kristy kneeled beside him in order to heal him. “I consumed the fire and now it is inside me. It will take some time until it dissipates, but that was truly, impossibly disgusting.” Shivering, he added, “The fire burning inside my skin is nothing. It has a metal taste, burning your throat in every place possible.
He made it sound so trivial.
The worst is the feeling of ice snakes crawling underneath and the fact I know I can’t get them off.” Shocked, I stared at him, admiring his willpower. If it was happening to me, I would remove them even if that meant peeling off my skin.
Giving me his sarcastic smile, he motioned in front of me. “I’ll be fine, Mademoiselle. Now put this pile of skin into the ground where she belongs. Evil is supposed to be hibernating deep underground.”
Nodding, still in shock, I mumbled, “Thank you,” and turned to the Evilship who was about to explode. Rage mirrored in her eyes as she screamed and the sound penetrated my ears. A movement beneath my feet alerted me to the upcoming earthquake and just as I predicted, the shifting of the tectonic plates sent us all reeling. Taking advantage of my momentary confusion, the Evilship threw lassos of fire, but I was ready for her.
My power writhed inside me for a long time, waiting to be released and now the time had come. Purple fire shot up to meet its counterpart while I used my whip to destroy any more of her attempted efforts.
“This Realm is mine!” she screamed, clapping her hands. As to illustrate her point, bolts of lightning overflowed the sky.
“It will never be yours! Light always wins,” I yelled, drawing strength from the core of my power. A bolt of brilliant purple lightning lit up and rent the sky in half. The Darkness that until now possessed its surface, broke and a little bit of sun pierced the gloom. Holding my hand up, I called purple sparks to eliminate what remained of the Darkness. The more light broke through the sky, the more the Evilship shrunk in size as she could not withstand its burning light.
“We’re not done,” she whispered, her eyes two smoldering coals, the light in them almost extinguished. Disappearing, she left, but I had the nagging feeling that she wasn’t finished with me. She gave up too easily. Why didn’t she bring the Darkness back up or attack again?
“You did it!” Kristy said, jumping to hug me. I smiled, but my doubts didn’t let me enjoy my victory. “It was amazing!”
Pulling away, I noticed Jacques looking at the sky. “The Darkness is not gone,” he said and a loud laugh followed his words.
“I will never leave!” The red flamed eyes appeared in the sky and looked down at us. “You thought you won, silly Eulogimenoi but you will be destroyed like your beloved guardian.”
Gasping, Kristy said, “The witch!”
With the Evilship’s laugh echoing, I only realized I hadn’t seen Madelene since we stepped into the Blessed Realm. Where was she? Was she really gone? I didn’t have time to wrestle with the questions as dark lightning rained down on us and burned everything in its path. Putting my hands up, I cried, “Enough!” A power like never before overwhelmed me like someone else had taken control of my body. Hovering off the ground, I stood close enough to the Evilship’s dark eyes that seemed to be her only substance in the world now.
“What are you going to do now, Believer?” she mocked. “Everyone is gone or destroyed. Your world is about to collapse along with the human world.” Twisting her lips in a malicious grin, she showed her ugly teeth. “I will create a new world bit by bit and it will be under my control. My world will obey me for I am the Queen of Darkness!” Her laughing fit overwhelmed her and it was scary to watch the mouth anchored to the clouds move uncontrollably.
“It’s too late,” I said, gazing at her.
Still in her delirious state, without paying attention to me, she yelled, “What?”
“It’s too late for that. You are no more!” Opening my arms, I let the red butterflies free. Watching, the small droplets fly away, the EvilShip glanced at them calmly, my mind went back. First butterfly when I broke Jacques’ heart, I thought as I pictured the pain in his eyes. Second butterfly when I learned the truth about my past. My mind altered as I struggled going forward with the more painful memories. Killing Khalid, passing the test and… A crimson butterfly stood apart from the crowd for just a moment and I nodded, accepting my fate. I had to do what I had to do. The world was more important than us.
T
he little creatures formed a circle around me and I held my hands. In a deep voice that was not my own, I said, “Creature of the Darkness, you wreaked havoc long enough. Under the violet sky, be gone, forever locked in your cave, never to escape again.” Putting my faith in all the world’s goodness, I remembered all the things worth fighting for. Love, friendship, and the joy of children playing, all the parties I had ever attended, the smells from my favorite dishes and so many more bloomed in my mind, forming a power so great, it could only compete with the power of the sun.
Violet, I heard a voice in my mind and recognized it to Madelena’s.
Madelena? Where are you?
I’m locked in between worlds, but never mind me. Violet, if you release this power, you are going to die.
I wouldn’t have to do it if you had warned people, now would I? I fired back.
I’m sorry. I tried to act on my own without telling anyone but the Evil slipped through my fingers. I felt her sad smile in my mind. Don’t do it, Violet.
I have to. The Lady of Fate has told me what’s to pass and I have seen how the world is when she has won. I don’t want this! The world has many good things that must be protected no matter what. We must put ourselves last if we are to win the battle with the Darkness in the world and in ourselves. When you get out of your prison, don’t forget to fix the red bush in the Enchanted Forest, I said and returned to the present.
Holding the violet ball of fire, I looked at the red fiery eyes in defiance. “Sayonara!” I yelled and let the fire off my hands and pushed it to her cracked face.
“I will not be defeated!” the Evilship screamed as pieces of her face fell down. Suddenly, a sharp pain cut through my chest and when I placed my hand upon my heart, it returned with droplets of blood. “If I cannot win, nor you shall live!” she shrieked as the remaining pieces fell and turning to dust, she was absorbed by the passing wind.
Beware the Violet Page 21