The Darkness in You (The Darkness Series Book 2)

by Diane Ashley Nortje

  Fuck I don’t know what is going on.

  “Don’t worry Jace. Albert will mix some shit up for you.” Bishop says to me as he lifts me up onto the couch I had fallen off and puts me in a sitting position, but my head flops back and I numb on the couch.

  “I’m never smoking Hades shit again.” I say out to him.

  “You always say that. And here we are yet again.” Bishop says back to me.

  “Never like this though.” I say to Bishop when a shriek comes from somewhere near me.

  “Oh my god, my poor boy. What the hell happened!” I hear a woman saying, but her voice is unclear, and it pounds in my head. Her voice is like an angel, mixed with sin. It runs over my body as if I drank a shot of vodka. Fucking smooth until you feel the burn.

  “Melinoë! What was in that smoke you made for Hades, its knocked Jacin down!” I hear Bishop over my high.

  “Just herbs from home. I didn’t think Hades would be sharing it.” Melinoë says as I feel her soft hands run over my skin. Shivers rack my body as I can’t bat her hands away from me.

  “Here’s Albert!” Hades screams, and then a crash sounds in the room as something hits the floor.

  “And now Hades is out! Fuck!” Bishop screams.

  “By the gods, what the hell were these two smoking?” Alberts voice is now echoing in my ears. If that crash was Hades, why couldn’t I have been the one to be knocked out.

  “Melinoë, whatever was in that smoke. Cannot get out to anyone! You’ve just created something that could possibly be used against The Brotherhood.” Bishop says.

  “I would never, Bishop! How dare you!” Melinoë shrieks, screams, fucking whispers, I don’t know. But fuck its ringing in my ears.

  “You will go now and give it all to Mason. And not a fucking word of this leaves the room.” Bishop orders and the room goes quiet, or I go deaf. Either way. Fucking peace at last.

  “Jacin?” I hear someone asking, but they are so far away, and I can’t catch onto the voice to stay with it.

  “Jacin my boy, I will figure this out. Don’t worry.” Someone says to me again and pats me on the head. My body doesn’t want to flee, so it’s someone I trust.

  “What can you do?” I hear Bishops voice more clearly now. Where the hell did my peace go?

  “Considering its herbs from their home, only a spell can help at this point. At least it’s not too far gone, if we hadn’t found him as soon as we did. It could have been a lot worse.” It must be Albert that is talking, why does his voice sound so fucking old?

  “What of Hades?”

  “He should be fine; he is just completely buzzed. But Jacin, Jacin is borderline comatose.”

  “Why the hell would it affect them differently?”

  “My guessing is, the herbs are from Hades home, where he would have been exposed to them as a child. Jacin hasn’t. Hades has most likely built up some sort of resistance to it. But, nevertheless. Its knocked him out, which should be impossible.”

  “How quickly can you get the spell done.” Bishop says, why does he sound so fucking far away.

  “Give me fifteen minutes, I’ll be back with everything I need.”

  “Okay, thank you Albert.”

  “And Bishop.” I hear Albert, his voice is growing weaker, or is it just because of the distance he has put between us now.

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t leave their fucking sides for even a second.”

  “Never.” Bishop answers. And then nothing. I feel Bishop move away from my side and then I hear a groan coming from afar. Something or someone is dumped next to me on the couch followed by another moan. And then again nothing.

  I hear nothing for a long while. Now I have my fucking peace at last.

  ~Natalie~

  I stand there. I’m silent. I don’t move. I dare not move closer. My fist is in my mouth and I’m biting down on it so hard, I’m sure to pierce my skin at any moment. I watch the torture being given out, by each and every one of them. They don’t let up. He doesn’t give up. He takes it. Hit after hit. Kick after kick. Blood now pools around him; it coats his body and drips down and pools beneath him on the cold stone floor.

  I feel what he feels. I feel each hit, each kick, and the pain disappears instantly. I’m connected with him somehow. Whatever he feels, I feel. I feel the blood run down my face, down my body, as it drips off my bare feet. They are going to kill him, slowly.

  I start to panic. I know who hangs before me. I would know his face, his eyes, his body, even his tattoos that decorate every inch of his body.

  Jacin.

  But then, Jacin has one of the men and simply rips out his throat and kicks him to the other side of the room, as if it was nothing but an inconvenience to him. How? People fear Jacin, that I know. But I never knew why and maybe I’ m starting to see the monster that lays beneath his human skin.

  The monster that wants me.

  Chapter Ten

  “My soul senses yours.” - Natalie

  ~Natalie~

  I run; I don’t stop running. My breath is coming out in short huffs and my lungs are starting to burn from the lack of oxygen I’m taking in. I’m no runner. But I run my heart out from this.

  My dreams.

  Myself.

  I don’t stop.

  I keep going until I reach the edge of the woods. Gravel kicks up from my bare feet, which are starting to cramp from the pain of running on tar road. I know if I look down, I will see blood running down my feet from the grazes I have earned from tripping on the tar.

  I don’t stop. I run into the woods. The soft ground does nothing for my feet, the jagged stones, the uneven terrain, the sticks, branches and pinecones that damage and pierce my feet don’t stop me. I continue. I run where there are more trees than space to move. I duck under branches, sometimes not enough and I feel the burn on my back as the branch lashes out at me. I continue. If I stop, that demon will find me. I can’t be found. Where will I be safe.

  I eventually come to the clearing I know so well. It hasn’t changed. The grass grows wildly out here, flowers bloom over the clearing during the day, but at night they close and sleep. I wish I could just sleep as they do. Forgetting about the world that is around them. Turning into themselves for comfort, when all I feel is chaos within myself.

  I slow down, I don’t think I would be able to handle anymore, my lungs are on fire, my body is sweaty and my feet ache. I just had to get out of there. Out of the house, I just know I had to get somewhere safe. The one place that I have always been safe, is here, in these woods.

  I feel the residue of the dream crawling over my body. I drag my nails over my arms, through my hair, down my body, I need to get this feeling off me. I feel the blood running down my neck, making my clothes cling to my body. I know it’s not real, I know that’s not blood slipping into my view as it drops from my hair. I know it’s not real, the blood that has soaked my clothes through, making it cling to my body, it’s only the sweat I broke running like I did. I know these things. But it changes nothing.

  I drop to the wet soil beneath my feet, I want to crawl into my safe position and try to convince myself that it wasn’t real. No one would be able to survive that kind of brutality. But I know it’s real, because I can still feel it over my body. Even though Zaylee said that I might hallucinate and will take some time to distinguish between what is real and what isn’t. But that was real.

  I let out a sob I’ve been holding in since I woke. I feel my tears running down my face for the man my heart tells me I love, but my brain isn’t functioning properly. It still can’t distinguish what is real and what isn’t. My heart telling me one thing, the pain I feel at the loss of him and my brain not remembering anything.

  I look to the clearing, to where the witch would always be when I needed her. She said she would always be here for me, whenever I needed her. But she isn’t. The clearing remains empty. I latch onto the long grass, it’s the only thing I’ve got right now to hold onto, before my sanity
leaves me. I realize I’m rocking, back and forth, back and forth. Nothing is working, and I’m slowly losing my grip on myself. It’s clear I should never have returned. Never have come home again. Nothing ever good comes from me returning home.

  The grass snaps from my grip I have on it, and it comes away with my hand. I feel like I’m the grass and I have finally lost it. That I’m broken. I choke back a sob at the despair I feel. I’ve never in my life been so out of it and yet here I am, in the middle of a clearing, sobbing my heart and soul out at the loss I shouldn’t feel, at the love I feel for the man in my dreams. I’m drawn to him on another level of sanity.

  My thoughts are stopped when I hear a snap of a twig. Its eerily quiet out tonight, the moon is hidden by the clouded night sky. I still. I look into the darkness that surrounds the trees, and my eyes can’t penetrate the darkness, the tears that threatened to fall blur most of the night. I don’t feel threatened at the moment, and I’ve always gone with my gut feelings, but I really should rethink that moto, since I’ve been in nothing but shit lately. Everything remains silent and it could possibly just be some sort of woodland creature out there. When the silence continues, I look away from the darkness. I want to curl up into a ball, and just remain out here, but I know I can’t.

  But at least the sound has knocked me from my short walk with insanity. I start to get to my feet, my legs ache, along with my feet, which I’m sure are cut up nicely. I wince when I finally put pressure on them. I better get them cleaned up; I’ve got to go in to help Faith with her shop in the morning.

  Another snap of a twig makes my heart stop and I hear the crunch of leaves nearby. This time though, it doesn’t stop. The rustle keeps coming closer and I can’t make out in which direction it’s coming from. It sounds like it is coming at me from all sides. My heart rate picks up and I feel my ancient enchantress start to stir. Not now. I think to myself.

  More twigs snap and the rustling of leaves have turned into footsteps. They are coming closer and closer and when the moon finally escapes its prison of the clouds, I let out a shriek.

  Between the trees, hundreds of yellow eyes linger. The eyes watch me, they barely blink, but I can’t stare to long into the bright yellow eyes, as I feel my own eyes start to burn from within. More branches snap and leaves crunch from behind me. I’m afraid if I look away, they will attack me, but I’m more afraid of what I’ll find behind me.

  I look anyways. More eyes hide within the trees. I keep turning and turning, I’m caged in by these eyes. I hear the footsteps start again, and I snap my head in the direction it comes from. The eyes are moving forward. But they are no longer just eyes. They are wolves, massive wolves. They move slowly towards me, growling with every step they take. They are black as night. It’s hard to distinguish between the one from the other. I want to crumble to the floor and let them take me to my death. But I can’t. The fighter in me is way too stubborn to back down, even from a field full of wolves.

  Jaws snapping, teeth scraping come from the other side of me. I know what I will find behind me. My death. But I have to look. My body ready to turn into flight or fight mode, but considering I won’t escape this, I will have to go into fight mode.

  I turn to face the snapping jaws and come face to snout with a massive white wolf. Its eyes are a pale yellow but glow more brightly than the others. It’s body is chalk white, but I can make out the its body is coarse, with spikes hanging off the ends of its fur. God, I have seen this before.

  My mind once again fractures, as it tries to scream at me to remember what I should know. A piece of paper floats before me and I know this paper isn’t there, as the wolves don’t even bat an eye at it. It floats there in front of me and then slowly drops to the floor. I look down at it, but before I can read what it says, my eyes snap back to the white wolf, who is growling softly.

  My body begins to shake, I know my death is going to soon follow, but once again my brain is screaming at me. My headache is beyond tolerable. It finally fractures. And words pound at my brain.

  Protectors of the gate.

  Guardians of the underworld.

  Army of the devil.

  I scream. I let a full ear-piercing scream out.

  I realize what I’m caged in by.

  I’m face to face with the devils army. Why? Why do they keep coming for me? I remember my encounter with them. They saved me. So many unanswered questions then and so many now.

  The ground begins to vibrate, and I drop to my knees. I can’t look anymore. I feel something traveling over my skin. Its black smoke. It floats around me and then makes its way towards the hounds. Is the devil himself coming to take my soul? I look away. My eyes focus on the ground before me. When a man’s voice penetrates my thoughts.

  He really did come.

  My eyes shoot up, along with my body.

  I come face to face with a man.

  “Get the fuck away from me!” I shriek out at the white-haired man, only to collide into another man that was behind me.

  “Calm down, Little Lady. I will never hurt you.” The white-haired man says to me while holding up his hands in surrender. And I stiffen at his voice. I’ve heard that voice before. It’s so familiar to me.

  I take him in, and I realize I’ve seen him before. Before the man I now know is now Jacin was taken. I saw him, he was fighting those creatures after the bomb exploded and I was thrown from my dream. I look at the man behind me. His eyes are as dark as chocolate, with hair to match and something about this man tugs at my memories too.

  The black smoke wisps around the men before me, all of which are bare chested at the moment. And I realize the black smoke is the only thing hiding their nakedness from me.

  “Are you okay, Natalie?” The white-haired man says to me, pulling my attention away from the dark-haired beauty behind me and the smoke that moves with his every breath.

  “How- how do you know my name?” I ask him wearily, as I hear more snaps of twigs and rustling of leaves as the men that surround us, move about. Their eyes never leaving me.

  “We will never hurt you. It’s okay. This isn’t the first time we have met.” The white-haired man assures me.

  “I remember you from a dream.” I say to him. I don’t know why I’m admitting this to him.

  His eyes snap towards mine and then to the man behind me.

  “You remember what happened in that dream?” He asks me.

  “I remember he was taken.” I simply state.

  The white-haired man takes a step towards me and I take a step back and wince from the pain in my feet. Thankfully the man behind me has given me some more space.

  “What else? Have you seen him again?” The white-haired man questions me. It looks as if he wants to grab hold of my arms and shake the living daylights out of me.

  “Yes, he haunts my dreams, they are doing things to him. Things no normal person could ever survive.” I say. My hands start to claw at my arms. I start to feel the blood running down my body again, but I know It’s not there. I’ve checked. Growls start sounding around me, they echo in the field we are in. They vibrate the floor I’m standing on. Again, I start to take steps away from these men.

  “Enough.” He shouts out at the men and slowly the growling stops.

  “I don’t know who or what the hell you are.” I say to him while taking more steps back. But with every step I take he takes one forward with me. “But just leave me alone.”

  “My name is Weyland, Little Lady. I am Jacin’s friend. You know me.” Weyland assures me but I don’t remember him, other than from the dream I had.

  “So you say, but I remember nothing, and you were a bunch of hounds not even minutes ago, and then there are these dreams. And nothing is ever good in these dreams.” I ramble on, and I’m not so sure why I would admit this to a group of naked men.

  “We are here to protect you, Natalie. Nothing bad will happen to you, ever.” Weyland says to me. “We need your help. You can find him, and we need to find him.”

/>   “Why are the hounds of hell, the devils army, coming to me for help?” I ask him.

  “Yes, we are the hounds of hell, but we are far from the devils army.”

  “Who was it that saved me that night. I remember that night I was attacked.” I say to Weyland and a look of shock crosses his face before he could cover it up.

  “It was me.” A man says from the darkness. I can’t make out his features, but his voice is very familiar. I wait until he comes forward, his features becoming clearer.

  “YOU!” I shout at Tray, who is coming forward from the darkness. “What are you doing here?” I demand of him. There are things such as chance encounters and then there is whatever the hell is happening here.

  “I have never left your side, Natalie, I am one of your five.” Tray says to me in a calm voice. My body wants to calm down, but then I remember that I’m surrounded by men who change into hounds and that the fact they are very naked, and just a small fact, that I’m outnumbered, at least three hundred to one.

  “Again, I don’t know what that means!” I shriek out and I want to collapse again. But I will my body to stand strong. Well stand as strong as it could ever be.

  “I am one of your protectors, Even.” Tray indicates to the man behind me, and I look back to see him still standing behind me. “Even, is another one of your protectors.”

  “If you are my protector, why weren’t you there that night, why didn’t you save him?” I question him.

  “I was with you, well with your body that is. We can’t walk with you when you dream.” Tray admits to me. And I’m not sure if I should be freaked out by his admission and start running for the hills. Who says shit like that, like it’s the most normal thing in the world to say?

  I assess him for a bit and take in my surroundings once more and then look back to Weyland. “You were there with him when he was taken. And I remember things about him and I.” I say to Weyland. I feel my cheeks start to colour, the way it sounded could mean a multiple number of things.