Taming the Darkness

by Sarah Carter

  “But, you found your light,” Avery says. “You’re safe.”

  I sigh heavily. “No, I’m not safe. I have found my light which means I can fight the darkness a little more intensely, but I can still fall to it. I still must be cautious and aware. You can’t let your guard down for one minute.”

  “And that’s how you have to live the rest of your life?” Avery gasps.

  Wyatt shakes his head. “We only meet Lucifer once. Either you defeat the darkness or succumb to it. It’s a test. The biggest test we will ever have to make.”

  “None of you have done it yet?” Avery asks.

  We all shake our heads. “No,” Katerina replies. “None of us have faced him yet.”

  “It will happen one of these days,” Israel says. “We just have to be cautious. We must not let the darkness eat us whole.”

  “That’s terrifying,” Avery says, with an obvious shiver.

  He has no idea. Even with my light, I can still fall to the darkness. “It is what it is. You have your trials and tribulations and so do we,” I sigh.

  “So, maybe we should come up with a plan for tomorrow,” Wyatt suggests, leaning forward and putting his cup down. “What are we going to do when these wards fall?”

  “I have no idea,” I sigh.

  “Another crowded place?” Avery offers. “When we were in the restaurant, you said the demons wouldn’t attack us there and they didn’t. Azrael possessed that guy though.”

  My eyes widen and I look at everyone. “He invoked Azrael and Azrael couldn’t possess him.”

  Katerina shoots up. “No way. Seriously?”

  “Yeah, weirdest thing ever. Level 10 demon and he couldn’t do a damn thing.”

  She looks at Avery. “Then there is something special about you.”

  “I guess,” Avery replies, shrugging. “I don’t feel like anything special.”

  Wyatt shakes his head. “Hell sure thinks it’s you and clearly, so does heaven. So, you must have the ability to do something.”

  Avery shakes his head. “This is all so unreal.”

  “So you’ve said,” Julius states. “But that doesn’t change the prophecy that you’re the chosen one, so accept it and move on.”

  “Azrael is scary as fuck,” Avery states.

  “I should have killed him a long time ago,” I sigh. “It’s my fault. I have had so many opportunities.”

  Looking at me, Avery asks, “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because as long as he’s alive, I don’t have to face Lucifer when I deliver a soul to hell,” I answer. “Azrael intercepted me the first time I was in hell and that became our agreement.”

  “You should have skewered him with your seraph blade,” Katerina sighs.

  I reply, “Then another level 10 demon would have been sent after us. Lucifer doesn’t care who it is.”

  “Azrael is one of his favorites,” Wyatt snorts.

  “Indeed,” I agree. “He’s one of the highest demons and therefore it gives us a fair fight.”

  “Gives you a fair fight,” Israel says. “Not us.”

  Katerina declares, “Well, if anyone is going to bring both sides together, it would be Raven.”

  Shaking my head, I ask, “How do you figure that?”

  Katerina replies, “If you found your light, then you are truly half-light and half-dark.”

  “I think you are part of this prophecy,” Wyatt declares, with a nod. “This would all make a lot more sense. Why you were sent to protect Avery. Why this is all happening. You have a purpose. As does Avery.”

  I sigh. “Well, we have to figure this out in the next few days, otherwise, everyone is going to hell.”

  “You found your light,” Katerina rebounds. “That is a step in the right direction.”

  “All because of Avery,” Keifer says.

  Avery looks over at him. “You’ve barely talked since we all got together. Why do you think it’s because of me?”

  Keifer shrugs. “I listen and watch,” he replies. “I gauge people before speaking.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve said like three sentences,” Avery says.

  Shrugging, Keifer replies, “I didn’t have much to say, but now I do. She found her light because of you. I think the two prophecies are intertwined.”

  “Maybe,” I reply. Avery helped me find my light, but why? When I’m around him I feel the light. What if he leaves? What if after this is all over, he leaves and I never see him again? A hardness starts to form in my chest. I finally mumble, “It is what it is. Just because I found my light doesn’t mean it’s going to stay there.”

  “Oh no, don’t let the darkness take over,” Katerina says. “Fight it.”

  I furrow my eyebrows and glare at the ground. Avery gets up and comes over to me. He grabs my hands. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t lose the light.” I look into his eyes. “Stay with me,” he whispers. “Don’t get lost in the darkness.” He places a hand on the side of my face.

  My heart starts to swell and I feel the light battle the darkness. A tear trickles down my face. Avery brushes it away. “It’s so hard,” I whisper.

  “Remember the light,” Avery says. “Remember what that feels like and hold onto it.”

  “But, it’s because of you,” I reply. “I found my light is because of you. What if…”

  Avery breaks eye contact and looks down. “Raven…”

  Brushing his hand away, I snap, “Don’t play games with me. Leave me alone if you can’t stay.”

  His eyes dart back up to me. “Why would I leave?”

  I push past him and stand up. “Isn’t that what humans do? Leave each other.”

  “Not always,” Avery says.

  “Whatever,” I snap. “This will all be over in three days. You refuse to open up to me and claim you’ll never be able to love. I’ve been vulnerable with you and you keep the wall up. Why would I ever think you plan to stick around once this battle is over and your safety is secured?” I brush past him and walk over to get something to drink. I need something stiff to numb the bullshit.

  He follows me and puts his hand on top of mine when I grab the bottle. “Don’t do this.”

  “What does it matter to you?”

  Avery grips my hand and whispers, “You matter to me.”

  Taking a deep breath, I say, “That’s what you say now, but you keep telling me that you can’t care.”

  There is a moment of silence and then Avery replies, “Well I’ve been proven wrong quite a bit over the last few days. There’s nothing to say I won’t be proven wrong about love.”

  I turn and look at him. “I don’t want to lose the light.”

  “I’m right here,” he assures. Avery wraps his arms around me and pulls me against him. I hug him back and put my head on his chest. “I trust you and I don’t trust anyone. And incidentally, I do care. I would be devastated if something happened to you, if you were lost to the darkness.”

  Those words stir something in my soul. “I don’t want to be swallowed by the darkness. Lucifer cannot win.”

  “You have to hold onto the light,” Avery says. “You found it. Now, hold onto it and don’t let it go.”

  I tighten my grip on him. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  “Then don’t,” Avery whispers. “Just keep holding onto this.”

  The darkness starts to slowly melt away and the warmth returns to my chest. “I feel better,” I sigh.

  “Good,” Avery replies.

  Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. “Foods here,” Katerina says.

  I let go of Avery. Walking over, I grab money from the little drawer of my desk. “I’m starving,” Wyatt states. “Chinese, yum.”

  “Well, you will like this. It’s pretty good,” I say. There is another knock. “Coming!” I yell. I open the door and see the usual delivery guy. “Hey Chuck,” I say, greeting him.

  He smirks, and an uneasiness sets in. “That will be 29 bucks,” he says, holding out the food. I eye him carefully. Reachin
g out, I grab the food. Before I can blink, Chuck grabs my wrist. I twist out of it and shove him against the wall.

  “Azrael,” I growl.

  “Yes, cupcake,” Azrael snarls.

  “I’m going to kill you,” I threaten.

  Azrael laughs tauntingly. “I would like to see you kill an innocent human.”

  “Well, it won’t happen here.” I counter.

  “Oh, we will,” Azrael purrs. “You’re going to slip up and when you do, I’m going to kill Avery while you watch.”

  “Not if I kill you first,” I snarl.

  A sinister grin crawls across the boy’s face. “You’ll never kill me, cupcake. Who will take your souls?” His eyes dart into the apartment. “That goes for all of you.”

  My heart sinks. “We will save the fallen,” I state, getting in his face. “Then I don’t think we have to worry about you anymore.”

  Azrael growls. “You will not win this war child. We have been around for thousands of years. You are just a baby. Don’t think you can go up against me and win.”

  “I will kill you,” I whisper, getting closer. “I will take my seraph blade and shove it through you.”

  “Sounds like foreplay,” he purrs. “I can put all that skill to some use. You will fall, Raven. You will fall and be ours, more importantly mine.”

  Shoving him back, I grab the bag of food. “Go away, Azrael. You can’t get in.”

  “Those runes will fall,” he hisses. “Then you belong to me.”

  “We will be gone before you know it,” I state. I grab the necklace and clutch it to my chest.

  Azrael starts looking around. “Where the hell did she go?” I step to the side. He goes to the apartment door and puts his hands on the frame. “Where the hell did they all go!?” A thunderous scream comes out of him. Then the delivery boy falls to the floor.

  I swiftly step back into the apartment. Chuck shakes his head and gets up. I extend my hand to help him to his feet. “Here’s the money.”

  He takes it and mumbles, “Thanks.”

  Hastily, I slam the door. “How did he not see us?” Wyatt asks.

  Holding the necklace, I answer, “This. They blessed it, so we can’t be seen by any creature from hell, but only when I hold it. The Marked Ones told me while I was in the bathroom.”

  “Well, that will be handy,” Wyatt says. “Now, food. Azrael better hope he didn’t fuck up my dinner.”

  “What if he comes back!?” Avery yells.

  I look at him. “We’ll eat and then sleep in shifts. The wards will hold up until then. I promise. We can tell when they start to fall.”

  “Are you positive?” Avery asks, looking petrified.

  “Yes, we can tell when they start to fall.”

  He nods, obviously relieved. “That’s good.”

  “We should eat,” I suggest. “Then rest.”

  Everyone is very quiet while we eat. This is a lot to take in and I don’t think there is anything really to say. Finally, Katerina exhales. “We should sleep now.”

  Wyatt says, “Avery should try and get a full night’s rest. Katerina, Israel and Raven, you can sleep first.”

  We all nod. “Wake us in four hours,” I say.

  Avery looks at me. “Four hours? Is that enough for you?”

  “Yes, we don’t need to sleep that much. Full white angels barely need to sleep at all. Fallen need to sleep more because they are bound to Earth and hell.”

  “Okay,” Avery whispers. “I’m exhausted.”

  “We all are,” Julius states. “But you will feel better after some rest, trust me.”

  I sigh. Tilting my head, I tell Avery. “Come on, my room is this way.”

  “Raven, you’re supposed to actually sleep but I suppose the alternative would make you both feel better, too,” Katerina teases. I shoot her a look, and she laughs.

  Shaking my head, I grab Avery’s hand. “Wake me in four hours,” I state.

  “We will,” Keifer replies.

  Avery and I walk into my room. I shut the door as Avery walks over and falls over onto the bed. He looks up at me. “Come, sleep with me.”

  “That’s the plan.” I walk over to the bed and kick off my shoes. Avery sits up and does the same. We crawl into bed. Avery slams down onto the pillow, face first, and grumbles incoherently. I smile. “When this thing is over, you can sleep for a couple of days straight.”

  “If it’s ever over,” Avery says. “What if I’m not successful?”

  I shake my head. “God has faith in you, so do the archangels. Who are we to argue with them?”

  “Good point,” he sighs. Avery rolls over and sticks his arm out. “Come here.” I look at him hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I say. I scoot over to him. Avery wraps his arm around me and I place my head on his chest. “Let’s just sleep.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem,” he snorts.

  We lay there for a few minutes and then I feel the rhythmical breathing that tells me Avery is asleep. Now, it’s my turn to fall asleep. My mind won’t turn off. How is he supposed to save the fallen? What if Gale is right? How am I supposed to bring the two sides together?

  Burying my face into Avery’s chest, I close my eyes. It takes a little while but my mind finally drifts off.

  Chapter 12

  There’s darkness, so much darkness and a weight on my chest. I see flames. I hear screams. The heat is stifling. “Raven…” I hear whispered in my ear. “Come to me, Raven. You belong here. You belong with me. I can give you anything you want. Come to me.” I turn around and see piercing red eyes. “Your soul belongs to me.” I scream.

  Suddenly, I shoot up in bed. Wyatt is shaking me. He barely whispers, “Come on. It’s your shift.”

  I shake my head and look at Avery. He’s fast asleep. Throwing back the covers, I sit up on the edge of my bed. I grab my head and try to shake away the images of the nightmare. Lucifer wants my soul. The darkness starts to creep across my chest. Turning, I look back at Avery. He looks so peaceful and calm. I haven’t seen much of that since this all started. The sight of him looking like that makes my heart swell and the darkness begins to dissipate.

  Wyatt heads out of the bedroom and I follow. Everyone is sitting around. Wyatt looks at me. “Will you be okay while we sleep?”

  “Yeah, go ahead,” I reply. Wyatt nods and heads to the spare room. Israel and Julius follow him. I raise an eyebrow. “Are they all going to sleep in the bed together?”

  Katerina laughs. “No, Keifer slept on the floor.”

  “Ah, good,” I laugh in return. I walk to the wall and place my hand there. The runes blaze to life. “They are still pretty strong.”

  “They are,” she agrees. “It should hold for a while longer.”

  “Coffee, need coffee,” I mumble, walking to the kitchen. Very quietly, I start to make a pot.

  Keifer walks to the window and says, “Dawn’s approaching.”

  “We need to figure out what we are doing next,” Katerina sighs. “They know we are here.”

  “Actually, Azrael thinks we disappeared,” I laugh. “Man, was he pissed.”

  Turning to me, Katerina asks, “Are you going to be able to kill him?”

  “I sure hope so,” I whisper.

  She rebounds, “If any of us can kill him, it’s you.”

  I nod.

  “Where should we go?” Katerina asks.

  We all pause as we think.

  “It should be around Christians,” Katerina declares. “People who have faith. It is harder for demons to infiltrate and the archangels would protect them.”

  “We can’t go to a church,” I sigh. “What else is there?”

  “Someplace we can blend in,” Keifer suggests as he flips through stations on my stereo.

  Turning around, I ask, “Where are six reapers going to blend in?”

  Keifer pauses on a station as a DJ says, “Is everyone ready for the concerts today!? Heavy metal baby. Red headlin
es later!”

  “Hmmmm,” Katerina says.

  “That’s it,” Keifer says. “Red is a Christian heavy metal band. There will be people of faith there, but we’ll blend in at a rock concert.”

  “There’s such a thing as Christian heavy metal?” Katerina laughs. “Hell yeah. Where have I been?”

  I walk over to my computer and turn it on. I quickly do a search. “It’s a Christian rock festival,” I say. “There are a ton of bands playing. This is perfect.”

  “What time does it start?” Katerina asks, walking over to me.

  “11,” I reply. “The wards will hold until then.”

  Keifer looks around. “At least, they should.”

  “What better place to hide,” I laugh. “We will totally blend in and the demons will have a difficult time locating us.”

  “Perfect,” Katerina purrs. “Divine intervention.”

  “Right,” I snort. We have a plan.

  Do you have any idea how boring it is sitting in almost complete silence for four hours? I sit in my computer chair and spin in circles. Finally, my bedroom door opens. Avery walks out yawning. “Are the wards still up?” He groggily asks.

  “Yup,” I chime. “We also have a plan.”

  “What’s that?” He inquires, looking half asleep. “Oh my God, coffee. Yes!”

  “We are going to a Christian rock festival,” I reply happily. “We’ll totally blend in and most of the people will be believers of God. Not all, but most.”

  Avery pours himself a cup of coffee. “That sounds like a good idea. Is it going to be lame? Christian rock?”

  “No,” Keifer laughs. “Red is pretty awesome.”

  “Really? Very cool,” Avery says, sipping his coffee. “I need a shower.”

  “We all need to,” Katerina replies. “We’re all a little nasty.”

  I stand up. “I have some clothes you can borrow,” I declare.

  Keifer sighs. “I don’t wear dresses though.”

  We all laugh. “No, I don’t have anything for any of the guys.”

  Suddenly, there is twinkling of bells. “What’s that?” Avery asks, spinning around. “Demons?”

  “No,” I reply slowly. “That’s God.” I walk to the bathroom. That’s where the sound came from. There, sitting on the counter, is stacks of clothes. “Wow,” I snort. “Don’t help in other ways, but let’s make sure they have clean clothes.”