Born of Darkness

by Jamie King

  I leap for him. My wings flap providing an extra push into the air. I roar as I crash down on top of him in a swirl of flames. I hit a cool translucent teal barrier. It flickers as it reacts to the impact. A shield?

  “Good!” He laughs. “More!” He steps back.

  I feel the energy hum course through my body and electricity sparks over my skin. I wonder if I can blend the fire with electricity. I picture the electricity dancing around the flames in a harmonious ball.

  The crackle of flame mixes with the snap of electricity as the two elements swirl around me like a shield.

  I hear Luka laugh. This time all animosity is gone. I look up at him and see only pride. I stiffen as he closes in on me. His arms come around me in a tight embrace. “Wait.” I pull back. “It will hurt you.” Cracks and sizzles echo through the room. My flames lick at his body, but are unable to touch him. He’s completely encased in the teal shield like a full body suit.

  “I’m so proud of you.” He whispers into my hair. “I’m sorry I said all of those things. I figured that since your powers feed off anger it might help in this situation.”

  My flames and electricity sizzles out. “It still hurt.” I murmur.

  The teal glow dissipates from his body and he cups my face in his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything I said, Ri.” His forehead presses against mine and I close my eyes and inhale him. The smell of sweat and sage. The warm caress of his fingers against my neck.

  I lean in and brush my lips against his. He yanks away from me like I burned him. I open my eyes to see horror on his face. Anger flows over me once more. I push him and fire spins around me. His teal shield shimmers as tendrils of flame and electricity slap against his body.

  “Ri?”

  “Don’t! Just don’t!” He always does this. Leads me on and then runs away at the last second. Holds my heart in his hands and then squeezes it until it bleeds. “Don’t you dare.” I hiss and storm out of the room. Flames shoot out around me.

  “Holy shit.” Toby whispers. Dominic and Toby back against the wall as I pass by them in my blaze of fury.

  “Luka, what did you do?” I hear Dominic behind me. I stomp up the stairs allowing my flames to subside.

  I came to the roof to wallow in despair. My tattered tank top and yoga pants still in pieces. I haven’t moved in hours. I’ve been looking through the large windows at a sky I’ve been hidden from for weeks.

  A light knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. “Ri, its Rae, hon. Can I come sit with you?”

  “What do I care?”

  He plops down on the sofa beside me and wraps an arm around my shoulder tugging me close. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Mind if I just hang out and watch the sky with you?”

  I shrug and rest my head against his shoulder. “You know. A lot of shit has happened, and he acts like he’s the only one to suffer.”

  “Sweetie, you know that isn’t true. You need to give him time and remember that others deal with pain and grief differently from you.”

  “He just keeps giving me mixed signals and I can’t take it anymore.”

  He tugs me closer to him. “Give him time.” He plays with my hair. “You know, when I first met Dom he was in a similar situation as Luka.”

  “Really?” I peer up at him.

  He nods. “His boyfriend of five years ran off one night without a word. It took him a long time before he was able to love me the way he does today.” He pauses and gazes at the sky. “When you lose someone you love. Someone you chose as a mate. It can be one of the hardest losses to move on from. Luka was about to marry a woman he’s loved for many years. He planned a life with her and he betrayed her. Don’t forget, Ri, Luka betrayed his future mate and his entire coven and covens to witches are both family and country.” He squeezes my arm. “He’s going through a lot right now. Imagine if you betrayed everyone and everything you believed in since childhood. Imagine that you are a hero to those same people. Children look up to you and the elders have placed you in a position to become a strong leader for your people. Then a girl, a random girl comes along and causes you to question everything you know and then you betray everyone for her. This girl that you owe nothing to. And you give up your entire life to save her. Do you understand the implication of that?”

  I nod into his shoulder. I did that to him? I caused the hurt that he feels right now and yet I’ve had the audacity to become angry at him for shying away from me? How cruel am I? “God, I’ve been so selfish.”

  “He will come to you in time.” We stare up at the sky for a few moments in silence. “Ri, your presence is a tornado on this earth. You come into people’s lives and bring with you the ability to tear down even the largest of walls. You will render the realms helpless against your destiny, whatever that destiny may be.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  23

  The sun peeks through the foggy bedroom window. Spring has finally arrived, and the snow is melting away. Birds sing happily as the sun peeks over the horizon. It seems like I’ve been in a dream since we came to the pack’s safe house back in December. I glance at the clock on my night stand. Almost seven. I slip into my leggings, sports bra, and tank before sliding into my sneakers. I rush through the hallways and down the stairs as I make my way to the second floor. Loud grunts echo through the stairwell as I step down far enough to see into the training room.

  Luka’s heavy body slams into Dominic and shoves him into the mats that line the floor. His hair falls loose from its hold. Grunts of pain escape Dominic and then he twists away from Luka’s grasp and bounces to his feet. Luka sweeps a leg under Dominic and sends him to the floor again. Dominic finds his footing again and flips away. Luka raises his hands above him and the room becomes encased in darkness.

  The memory of us standing on the garden rooftop at the Golden Oak headquarters dances painfully on my mind. A gentle show of power and the elegant plants of Fae that he adores glowing in the darkness. Tears well up at the memory. It’s hard to believe that was five months ago. It feels like ages since that day. I blink away the tears and listen to the sounds of the sparring under the shroud of darkness. A moment later a hand slaps heavily on the mat and the darkness shrinks away exposing the sight before us. Luka has Dominic in a chokehold on the ground. Dominic taps the mat one more time before Luka releases him.

  “Okay,” Dominic rubs his neck, “You win, fairy.”

  Luka chuckles with a laugh that lights up his face. I haven’t seen him smile like that since he was still General at the white coven. Guilt surges through me. Am I the reason he rarely smiles like that anymore?

  “I told you I would.” Luka says playfully.

  “Are you sure you’re not part shifter?” Dominic says as he reaches for a water bottle on the floor. “I swear you’re a beast of some kind.”

  Luka releases a deep chuckle. His eyes sparkle with excitement. “Spread the word wolf.” He tosses a hand towel over his shoulder and wipes the sweat on his brow with the corner. “I’m accepting challenges.” He winks. His eyes rest on me for a moment and his smile falters.

  Ouch. The hurt between us has yet to heal and when I think he’s about to open up, he shuts me out again. I’ve given up. And by giving up, I mean I avoid him at all costs unless he’s teaching me to use my powers. I rush down the stairs to the kitchen and round the corner quickly. Tia is sitting at the breakfast bar reading a book and sipping from her coffee mug.

  “Hey, girlie.” She sips her coffee. “Watcha up to? Don’t you have training with Dom?”

  “Oh nothing.” I sit next to her. “I was watching the boys mess around and came here to grab a drink.”

  “You mean show off?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you mind if I’m honest with you, Ri?”

  “Not at all.” I shift uncomfortably. “Say whatever’s on your mind.”

  “How long are you and Luka going to ignore each other?”

/>   I twist my fingers together and glance at my lap. “Uh, well, it’s complicated.”

  “Well, everyone knows that you like each other.” She looks down at her coffee cup. “It just seems like the two of you have been avoiding each other and I don’t think it’s right of you to do. It has all of us walking on eggshells around you two and I’m really tired of it.”

  “I don’t really know how to answer that.” I cheeks flush. “He resents me for what happened.” The escape I had been searching for is not here. “It’s easier this way.” I stand and start toward the stairs knowing that it isn’t easier. My heart breaks every moment I see him. Every moment I speak to him. Every moment I can’t touch him. But what can I do if he won’t have me.

  She sets her cup down. “Look, I just think you two should talk. I just can’t stand watching this weird thing you two are doing anymore. It makes all of us feel very uncomfortable.”

  Maybe she’s right. Maybe we need to talk. No. He doesn’t want me. And if he wanted to talk then he would come talk. I’ve made the first move plenty. It’s his turn.

  “Ri?” Dominic whispers beside me. “Everything okay?”

  “Just peachy.” I yank training knives from the wall. “Let’s get started.”

  I collapse onto the floor and stare up at the ceiling. “Okay, Dom. You didn’t have to kill me today.”

  Dominic stands over me. “Oh, but I did. You haven’t been struggling to stand after these lessons lately.” He extends a hand to help me up.

  “I hate you.” I grab his hand and pull myself up.

  “Oh, my little RiRi, you love me.” He pinches my cheeks.

  A towel lands on my head enveloping me in darkness. “Hey!” I shout playfully. I pull the towel away and fully expect to find Rae standing beside me. My stomach sinks as Luka stares back at me.

  “Ready for training?” Luka grumbles.

  “She sure is big guy!” Dominic slaps Luka on the back. “Have fun!” He shouts as he rushes up the stairs at a full run.

  Luka opens the door to the magic room and waits for me to follow before he slips inside. Weeks ago, we placed a metal table and chairs in the room. This way I can diligently take notes during my lessons. I pull out the journal that I’ve been writing his lessons in and wait for his instruction.

  “We’ve been through a lot of lessons on personal magic already, so today is going to be a lesson on external magic.”

  I scoot forward in my chair. “What’s external magic?”

  “External magic is the magic that is used for spells that require more magic than any individual witch is able to own. An example would be creating large portals like the one we went through to get to Fae. That portal was built on a Leyline where the energy of the earth was used to power the portal to the realm of the Fae.” He leans back in his chair and runs his hand through his hair. “Another example would be when you rescued me from the white coven cell and I took your energy and combined it with mine and the earth’s to create the portal that helped us escape.”

  “Oh. I see.” I jot down my notes in the journal.

  “External magic has a second requirement and that would be the use of sigils and runes.”

  “What are those?” I gaze up at him with pure curiosity.

  “A sigil is essentially a symbolic representation of the desired outcome of the magic. These symbols come from the grimoire of Jaedorea and have been passed down for generations.”

  “Wait are those the symbols I see when you create the portals? The ones that glow and dance around you.”

  “Yes and no. When I create a personal portal using my own magic and that of the earth that I’ve gathered you will see runes appear. The runes will combine to create a circle of intent around what becomes the portal. Because the portal is small enough, I don’t need a complete sigil like I would for the portal to other realms.”

  “This is so cool.” I lean back and think about the symbols I’ve seen in his portals. “Do they each mean something?”

  “Of course. I can find you a book on runes and sigil magic later if you’d like.”

  I nod vigorously. “I would like that a lot.” I think about the dream I had of Baal being summoned through a ritual circle with symbols painted in blood and how Endellion had mentioned one of them was the sigil for the demon realm. “Does each realm have a sigil or rune that represents it?”

  “Absolutely. There is one for Fae, Earth, Demon, and even the Celestial realm. Entering the Celestial realm is forbidden though.”

  “Why is that?”

  He leans forward and places his elbows on the table as he clasps his fingers together and watches me from behind his hands. “The white coven does not teach this, but I discovered it a few years ago while I was overseas in Europe. According to some scrolls, Anu locked the realm when he forced Lucifer into Demon. When he did so, he made sure that anyone who attempts to enter the Celestial realm will be cursed to live in the Demon realm for eternity.”

  “That seems like overkill.” I flick my pen. “This Anu doesn’t seem like a god I would want to follow.”

  “Anu has many flaws, but he is still king of the Celestial realm.” He places his hands flat against the table and pushes away. “Anyway, I’ll go find those books for you and bring them up to your room. You can continue your rune and sigil study through those.”

  “Thanks, It’s like a homework assignment.” I smile at the thought and close my journal. I follow him through the door. “Oh, Rae is making spaghetti tonight are you going to join us?”

  “Probably not, I’ll just grab leftovers later.” He Disappears upstairs without another word.

  This is how it’s been. We get along like good friends and then he escapes into his room. I hug my journal to my chest and make my way to the kitchen. Dominic and Rae are bickering over the stove. “Gosh, what time is it?”

  They look up and smiles spread over their faces. “Hello, my lovely.” Rae sings to me.

  “Rae, it’s going to boil over.” Dominic grabs the lid to a pot as bubbles pour over the sides. Hissing erupts from the stovetop.

  “You guys seem to be working diligently in here.”

  “We sure are.” Dominic shoots me a wink and places the top back over the pot. “Is he going to come to dinner, Ri?”

  I shake my head. “Nope. He said he might grab leftovers later.”

  “That’s too bad.” Rae frowns and shoves a spoon into a large pot.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Dominic asks. “I know things have been very weird since that day you ran off with the flames swirling around you and whatnot.” He makes a hand motion around his body to mimic the flames. “You seemed pretty angry and things haven’t been the same with you two.”

  “Not like they were very comfortable to begin with.” Rae chimes in.

  Dominic nudges him in the side. “You aren’t making it better.”

  I giggle. “I know. I’m sorry guys. This is probably my fault.”

  “Bah, no, RiRi. He’s a big boy. This is his decision, and no one is forcing him to be this way.” Dominic dumps noodles into a large pot of boiling water. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. Dinner will be done by the time you get back.”

  “You’re the sweetest, Dom.” I lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re a lucky man, Rae.”

  “Don’t I know it.” He sticks his tongue out at me.

  I rush up the stairs to my bedroom. Luka’s door is open and the lights are off. Where could he be? This isn’t like the covens where there is an underground city to explore.

  Toby steps out onto the patio. “Hey, Ri, almost lights out. Give my door a knock so I know you’re back inside when you’re done. And don’t stay in the water too long, it may be spring and heated water, but it’s still too cold for this craziness.”

  “Okay.” I shout and then push off for another lap.

  “Make sure you lock the back door.” He shouts at me through the splash of the water.

  I give him a wave to indica
te I heard him and flip onto my back to gaze at the night sky. This place has been serene. Even if I’m not allowed to leave this place, why would I want to? I pull myself out of the water and lock the large folding doors behind me. As I pass by Toby’s room I knock gently on the door and gingerly make my way up to the fourth floor.

  I hang my Bikini on a rack in the bathroom before stepping under the warm stream of water in the shower. Once the scent of chlorine is gone I wrap a fluffy white towel around myself and pull my hair into a pony tail. I slip into a t-shirt and gather my dirty clothes from the counter and dump them in the hamper just outside the bathroom door.

  Deep green eyes stare at me from my bed. Butterflies take off in my stomach and my pulse pounds through my veins. His hair is wet and is draped over his V-neck t-shirt. “What do you want?” I ask, thankful that my voice sounds normal.

  He rubs his hands over his face and pulls down on his beard. “I brought those books about runes and sigils.” He whispers. He places his hands on his lap and rubs his thighs. The soft fabric of his sweatpants folds and bends under the pressure.

  “Oh, thanks.” I slide onto the bed and sit on top of the comforter purposely keeping his back to me.

  He takes a deep breath and combs his fingers through his hair as he stands. “I’m sorry I bothered you.” He grips the door handle and looks back at me as he quietly slips through the door.

  I reach to switch the light off and find two books beside the lamp. I should have been nicer to him. He did me a favor just like he said he would. I lay back on the pillows. I’m such an idiot. I turn the light off and stare at the ceiling unable to settle down. Heavy footsteps rumble in the hallway and the door opens. Luka appears holding an armful of clothes. I sit up. “What’s going on?” I whisper.

  He rips his sweatpants off. “Get dressed.” I freeze and stare at him. “Now.” He hisses at me through the darkness. “And do not turn the lights on.” He warns.

  A howl echoes through the house. “Toby.” I breathe.

  “I sensed them coming.” Luka says as he slips into his black cargo pants. “Do you have a weapon up here?”