Taming the Darkness

by Sarah Carter

  The look on his face changes and I can’t really tell what it is. “What?” He exhales.

  “He didn’t start nor stop with you,” I say. “He started when he was much younger.”

  Avery shakes his head. “How did my mom not know?”

  “Sociopaths are very good at manipulating people,” I say. “That’s what he was. She probably never saw or suspected a thing.”

  “Can you talk to her?” Avery asks

  I nod. “I would have to go to heaven though and I can’t tell you what we talk about.”

  “I never knew her,” he whispers, looking down. “I wish I knew something.”

  “She loves you,” I whisper. “That much I can sense. She loves you so much.”

  Tears form in his eyes. “I will have to wait until I am dead to see them again, huh?”

  “That’s how it works,” I reply. “Maybe when this is all over, I can relay a message, but I can’t leave you alone right now.”

  “Yeah, please don’t,” Avery half laughs.

  I smile a little bit, too. “Yeah, you need a little help since all of hell is after you.”

  “That’s a scary thought,” he gulps.

  “Isn’t it, because they are after me, too?” I mutter.

  “Aren’t there other reapers who can help?” Avery asks.

  Looking up at him, I ask, “What do you mean?”

  “The angels probably won’t help, but are there other reapers who will help?”

  “We are kind of solitary,” I reply. “I don’t know many other reapers.”

  He shakes his head. “You don’t know any?”

  “A few,” I reply, thinking about what he is saying. “I wonder though…”

  “Do you know any who are more light than dark?”

  I narrow my eyes and say, “Shantrell, maybe her.”

  “Anyone else?” Avery says, urging me with his hands.

  “Maybe not reapers, more light than dark, but I could gamble.”

  “Gamble?”

  Biting my lip, I say, “I think I have an idea.”

  “What is it?”

  Crossing my arms, I go and look out the window. “We have to wait a little bit.”

  Avery comes over and looks out the window. “For what?”

  “The hours to be right,” I say, looking at the sun. “We can only get there when the sun hits the horizon.” I turn and look at him. “I also don’t know if you can go, but we will try.”

  “Where?” Avery asks.

  I narrow my eyes again. “You may not want to know.”

  “Why, where are we going?”

  “Well,” I start. “Purgatory.”

  His eyes widen in shock and his jaw drops. “You want to take me where?”

  “Purgatory,” I say.

  “Hell,” he gasps. “That’s exactly where I don’t want to go.”

  “No, it’s the space in between,” I say. “Neither demons nor angels can go there.”

  “What’s there then?” He asks.

  Biting my lips, I reply, “Things that don’t exist on Earth. The stuff of nightmares.”

  “Why does it exist?”

  “There are worlds out there other than Earth,” I reply. “Purgatory is a whole different world. That’s where poltergeists come from.”

  “So, hauntings aren’t caused by demons?” Avery counters.

  I shake my head. “No, some are. Some are from purgatory. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Why can reapers go there?” He asks.

  Shrugging, I say, “I have no idea. But there is a place there. A scary place where some reapers hang out.”

  “So, we can find people to help?” Avery asks.

  “We can try,” I sigh. “These reapers have not succumbed to Lucifer but they are a little dark.”

  “Why can’t we find good reapers? There has to be some.”

  He gently puts his hand on my arm. I look at it and then back up at him. “Shantrell, but she won’t work with the darker reapers.”

  “Even if we explain what’s going on,” Avery says. “If we explain that the redemption of the angels hangs in the balance.”

  “All we can do is try,” I whisper. “We have a few hours left. You should rest.”

  “I’m not tired,” Avery states. “I will be fine.”

  “I don’t know when we are going to be able to sleep next,” I reply. “You should try to rest a little bit.”

  Avery rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to be able to sleep. I’m paranoid that demons are going to pop out every second.”

  “These are very strong runes,” I declare. “You don’t need to worry so much.”

  “I still couldn’t sleep,” he mumbles.

  “Lay down,” I instruct. “I can make you sleep.”

  He shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to.”

  “Avery, either you lie down or I make you fall asleep standing up and you get a concussion. You need to sleep. I really don’t know when we will get take a break next.”

  There is a moment of silence as we eye each other up in this challenge. Avery finally sighs. “Alright.” He sits down and leans against the wall. “Just for a little while.”

  “Of course, we only have a small window to get into purgatory,” I say. “You can sleep for a few hours and then I will wake you up.”

  “Don’t you need to sleep?” Avery asks.

  I shake my head. “No, we can go days without fully resting,” I answer. “It’s just the way angels work. The fallen and reapers need to sleep more than white angels. You don’t sleep much in heaven.”

  “Interesting,” Avery whispers.

  “I think it has to do with the way time works there,” I state. “I’m not in heaven enough to really tell.”

  “If it’s paradise, why aren’t you there all the time?”

  I pause. “I have to reap on Earth so I spend most of my time here.”

  “I’d vacation in heaven whenever I could,” Avery declares. “It’s perfection, right?”

  This conversation is making me uneasy. I walk over to Avery. “I’m going to put you to sleep now.”

  He narrows his eyes. “You just don’t want to talk about heaven.”

  “Go to sleep,” I instruct. Tracing my fingers down his face, Avery’s head slowly falls forward.

  With a heavy sigh, I go back and look out the window. I know I’m supposed to find the light. I get that. Sighing once again, I stand guard watching the horizon. I need to figure this out. Why haven’t I wanted to find the light? Why does it scare me so much? Why am I so drawn to the dark? I pause for a second. I know why the light scares me, it’s love. I don’t deserve it and I certainly can’t show it. I was born this way, or at least that’s what I’ve always believed. Now I don’t know. I’m not falling in love with Avery. Raphael said I have the light inside of me, so I may have the ability to love. And that changes everything.

  I turn and look at Avery. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. I need to protect him. I have to make sure to keep him safe. I hope this plan works. Looking back out the window, I sigh. This is dangerous, but he’s right, we need help. And who better to help than reapers.

  A couple of hours go by as I gaze out at the horizon. Finally, the sun is almost up. I walk over to Avery and push him with my foot. He shakes his head and wakes up. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s time to get up. We are leaving soon,” I say. “Now, don’t say a word when we are down there. I’m not even sure if a human can go into purgatory. If this does work, you have to stay silent. Nothing. At. all. Just keep quiet, no matter what you see or hear.”

  “Is it going to be that bad?” Avery asks.

  “It could be,” I reply. “This is going to be dangerous, so you need to be careful.”

  Avery nods. “I got it.” He still looks terrified.

  “Oh, and don’t make eye contact with anyone,” I say.

  “So, just stare at the floor.”

  I nod my head. “Try not to show fe
ar.”

  “That’s going to be hard,” Avery snorts. “I have a feeling I’m going to be scared shitless.”

  “Probably,” I agree. “But, try and be strong. You can be scared, but try to not show it. And don’t interrupt what I’m going to say or do.”

  “Got it.” He curtly nods.

  Stepping over to the window, I check the horizon again. “Come here,” I say. I extend my hand. Avery walks over to me. I pull him against me and watch as the sky changes. “Alright, here we go.” With that, we disappear.

  We reappear and Avery spins around. “Holy shit.”

  I follow his gaze. The sky is red. The whole world is covered in a dark haze. The air is thick and I know it’s difficult to breathe. Dark shadows cover every inch of the sky.

  “This is crazy,” he whispers.

  “Come on,” I say. I grab his hand and we walk forward. Suddenly, there are buildings around us.

  Avery looks around. “Where did these come from?”

  “Purgatory is weird,” I state. “It’s all a distorted haze. You won’t see anything until you are directly on top of it.”

  We continue to walk forward. A pungent smell starts to waft around us. Sulfur. He brings his hand up to his nose. “Oh god, that's awful.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I laugh. “You will get used to it and it won’t be so bad.”

  “Where are we going?” He asks, in a hush.

  “A bar,” I whisper. “We are almost there.” There is a sick sucking noise as we come around the corner. I grip his hand. “Don’t say anything.” We come up to a doorway. Something is there. Not sure what, but it’s there. It’s got arms and legs but it’s covered in slime.

  Avery’s hand flies up his mouth. I grip his other hand tight, to make sure he doesn’t say anything. We slowly walk past this…monster. There is not other word for it. We continue to walk. When we get a bit of distance from it, Avery spins to face me. “What was that?”

  “I have no idea,” I reply. “I don’t know much about purgatory. It’s a whole other world.”

  Finally, we come up to a building. It’s black and darkly shadowed. “Okay, we are going to go inside. Try and prepare yourself.”

  He nods. “Got it.”

  I have to take a deep breath myself. Even for me, this place is terrifying. We open the door and the smell of death washes over us. I can feel Avery tense up next to me. Reaching over, I squeeze his hand and we walk in.

  Beings, if you want to call them that, are sitting all over the place. There’s a bar that wraps around on the right, and tables to the left. A juke box playing unearthly creepy music sits in the corner. We start to walk in. Everyone turns and looks at us. I hold my head up and continue our way to the back. I can feel the anxiety coming off Avery. I hope he keeps his cool.

  There are all sorts of creatures in this dive. Some of them hold no form and are pretty much goo. Things with claws as long as my arm. Others with as many teeth as a shark. One that’s just a huge eyeball with a mouth. I swear it’s like a bad version of Star Trek in this shithole.

  We slowly make our way into the back. There are four guys and a girl sitting around a table. They have cards and chips in front of them. They are all channeling their best goth impersonation. Black on black. Leather boots. Dark expressions. I pull Avery up to the table.

  One reaper, Wyatt, looks at us with a glare. “Raven, how did you bring a human here? Better yet, why would you bring a human here?”

  “I need help,” Raven says.

  “Since when do you need help with anything,” Wyatt sneers. “You aren’t like us. You’re the one with a seraph blade.”

  I cross my arms and shoot him a steely glare. “You know I don’t have a clue why they gave me one.”

  “You’re their golden child,” Katerina purrs, but not in a nice way.

  “Me? Golden? Do you realize who you’re talking to?”

  “The deadliest reaper,” Julius says. “We know. What could you possibly need help with?”

  With a sinister smile, I reply, “Who’s up for slicing and dicing some demons? Level 10 demons?”

  “Why are we battling level 10 demons?” Katerina asks.

  “We need to protect him,” I emphasize. “He’s my charge.”

  “We have marks,” Israel laughs. “Not charges. Or are you going soft?”

  I walk up to the table and lean over it. “He’s going to save the fallen.”

  They all stare at me for a second and then burst out laughing. “Yeah, okay,” the girl snorts.

  “They told me,” I whisper.

  Suddenly, everyone gets quiet. “Seriously?” Kiefer rebounds.

  “Yes, his name is Avery,” I quietly state. “I need help protecting him.”

  “Why should we?” Israel rebounds. “You’ve always done everything on your own. Or aren’t you the biggest, toughest reaper of all time?”

  Crossing my arms, I reply, “This isn’t a reaping. I have to keep him alive so he can do whatever it is that saves the fallen.”

  Again, they all stare at me. Katerina shakes her head. “If we were supposed to help, the Marked Ones would have told us.”

  “What if I put a wager on it?” I ask. “If I win, you guys help.”

  Their eyes widen. “What are you putting on the table?”

  “I will deliver a soul to Lucifer for the winner, so you don’t have to.”

  Wyatt slams his hands down on the table. “You could lose your soul in the process.”

  “I need help and he is part of the prophecy. I will do what I need to.”

  “I’m in,” Katerina says.

  Jumping in, Kiefer says, “Me, too.”

  “I’m not going to pass this up,” Israel states.

  “I think you are being stupid,” Julius snorts. “But, I’m in.”

  Staring at me for a second, Wyatt says, “Let’s do this.”

  “Deal,” I say.

  Reaching over, Israel grabs the deck of cards and starts to shuffle. “What exactly is he supposed to do?”

  “We actually have no idea,” I sigh. “His love will set the fallen free.”

  Israel looks up at Avery. “Your love? I’m sorry, since when are we playing the supporting roles in a romantic comedy?”

  Avery looks at me. I wave my hand to signify that he can talk. Avery looks at Israel. “Not our love, asshole. Evidently, somewhere in my cold dead soul is a powerful love that not I’m even aware of.”

  Katerina laughs. “Yeah, sounds perfect for saving the fallen.”

  “God told me that,” I declare. “Who am I to argue?”

  “Just deal the damn cards,” Wyatt snaps.

  I sit down at the table. My stomach is in a knot. There better be some divine power here. I can’t face Lucifer. Not now. Not until I find my light. This may be a great idea or the worst idea I’ve ever had. But, I’ve put it on the table and now have to play the game.

  After he’s done shuffling, Israel deals out five cards to everyone. I pick them up. I have a three, a five, two aces and a queen. Well, at least I have a pair. Everyone looks at their cards and then at me. “Are you sure about this?” Katerina asks.

  “I need help,” I reply. “And we already dealt.”

  Israel looks at me. “How many cards do you want?”

  “Three,” I say, throwing down the other cards. He lays three in front of me. Everyone else throws their cards down and he lays their new cards in front of them.

  “I hope you don’t lose your soul,” Katerina says. “But, it’s better than losing mine.”

  I watch everyone else pick up their cards. My hands freeze. I don’t know if I can get myself to look. My eyes just stare down at the cards in front of me. This could be my doom. It could be my soul. Wyatt asks, “Are you going to look at your cards?”

  “No,” I reply. “I either win or lose. Let’s see what you have first.”

  Flipping his over, he says, “Three sixes.” Crap.

  Israel flips his over. “Two pair. I�
��m out.”

  Keifer stares at us all and throws his cards down. “Nothing.”

  “I only have a pair,” Katerina says, with a sigh.

  Julius puts down his cards. “Three twos. I’m out, too.”

  Wyatt looks at me. “You have to beat me. What do you have?”

  I slowly set down my two aces. With a shaking hand, I flip over the first card. It’s a five. This isn’t good. I flip over the next card. It’s a ten. Wyatt starts to laugh. Clenching my eyes shut, I say a small prayer in my head. I really need their help. Without opening my eyes, I flip the last card over. There is a gasp.

  Opening my eyes, I see an Ace. Avery yells, “Yes!”

  Everyone in the bar looks at us. “Avery, shut up,” I growl. He gets quiet and looks down at the ground. Finally, I look back up at everyone. “So, you’re going to help.”

  “I would have anyway,” Katerina says. “I just wanted to make you squirm.”

  “What are we going to do if we get a mark during this time?” Wyatt asks. “We have to do our job.”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I reply, “Then you go do that and come back I guess. I’m hoping that you are meant to help us and that the Marked Ones will leave you alone.”

  “What’s the plan?” Israel asks, leaning over the table.

  “I don’t really have one,” I reply.

  “Wonderful. You seek our help but have nothing to back it up except this shell of a human,” Keifer says, pointing at Avery.

  I shake my head. “Our safety was implied during the discussion I had with…God.”

  “Well, there will be six of us,” Wyatt snorts. “Let’s see demons get past us now.”

  Waving my hand to Avery, I say, “This is Avery Cross. Our charge. That’s Wyatt, Keifer, Katerina, Julius, and Israel.”

  “You’re all reapers?” Avery whispers.

  “Some of the best,” Wyatt says. “I’m great with a blade.”

  “Can we get out of here,” Avery asks in a hushed tone. He looks around him. Every…monster…is staring at him. “I think I might get eaten soon.”

  Wyatt nods his head. “That’s a pretty good idea. Where are we going to go?”

  “Food,” I say. “We need food. Pick a very public place. Then we can talk and come up with a plan.”

  “Let’s go,” Katerina chimes. “I want to see how many demons I can dice into little pieces.”