Darklight 7: Darkfall

by Forrest, Bella

  The dark souls collected in the tornado at the bottom. A glowing, crystalline machine sat in the middle of the chamber on a floating black island. My skin pricked with unsettled goosebumps as I remembered the last time I'd seen that machine in Ruk's memories, and how it took everything from him. The machine let out a whirring sound, but it was all wrong. The apparatus inside it gave a ghostly shriek over the wind from the tornado as the dark souls were wrung dry.

  Beside the machine, Alan shivered and screamed at the remains of the Immortal Council. The maker guards and revenants were there. I counted seventeen revenants in all, but they hadn’t noticed our presence—yet. The chaos promised a good cover.

  Dorian snarled beside me, his fangs extended. The incredible amount of dark energy in this place was overwhelming him and Laini. They had just fed, but this was… unprecedented. I could feel it even without vampire senses. There was something incredibly off about this place. And it had everything to do with that glowing crystal machine on the floating island with Alan.

  Alan spotted us and roared out an order to attack.

  "Get on," Ruk ordered as he transformed into his dragon form now that there was more room. I scrambled onto his back with Gina, Sonia, and Inkarri. Dorian and the others went with Sen, who transformed into a large redbill. They carried us on mighty wings, dodging a flurry of shots from the maker guards. I sucked in a breath as Ruk managed to dive past a gem blast. He still wasn't healed completely.

  My heart hammered against my chest as the spirits gathered in the corner of my eye. Alan hadn't seen them yet. The dark souls were still coming down from the peak's opening, allowing a stream of darkness to siphon down into the machine. The machine grunted, giving off sparks that I hadn't seen in Ruk's memory. One of the maker guards hurriedly stepped away from it. Lanzon and Zach told us Alan had lost control. His Immortal Council members looked terrified.

  We navigated around the gem blasts. Ruk grunted as he veered around the floating island with the machine. Alan let out a frustrated sound as we landed safely on the stone. Up close, I saw his face was strained and glinting with sweat.

  Sen landed right behind Ruk, with a snap of her wings that knocked a few of the revenants into one another. They furiously gnashed their fangs together, overwhelmed by darkness. My rage coursed through me as Alan gave us a little sneer and snapped his fingers.

  Four revenants threw themselves at us, but the rest seemed strangely uninterested. They stared out at the churning tornado of dark souls and mindlessly opened their mouths, letting out dull groans. A few climbed the machine, clawing at the metallic surface and reaching for the souls being sucked into the machine, like cats batting at an aquarium. I parried one revenant, but it was easy. Their strength and speed was half of what I was used to. The one in front of me went down like a sack of potatoes and didn’t get up again.

  Between all of us, we easily knocked out the remaining revenants. Dorian and I pushed our way to the front, needing to access the machine. If Zach managed to get close to Alan, we could focus on our task. Alan stepped in front of the machine, his red gem eye bleeding slightly. His tight smile made my stomach lurch with anger. His maker guards and his shiny stolen armor had made him brave, but I would rip that false sense of security from him. His council members were smart enough to be frightened, huddled behind him. But it wasn’t Alan they were scared of. Their eyes were glued to the machine, which was whining with the number of souls it sucked up.

  The nervous maker guard from earlier reached his hand out to the machine with a furrowed brow. The energy crackling off it was alive with danger. The machine spit out crystals into a gleaming golden bin, the crystals snapping with tiny bolts of lightning. The maker guard channeled the energy coming off the machine through one of his own gauntlets. He crushed the crystal in his hand, absorbing the glowing rock into the palm of his glove as it shifted into energy. He shifted his body to send a stream of energy to the other makers. They surrounded Alan, continuously reinforcing his armor. I noticed hairline cracks in Alan's bracers and chest plate… as if the metal couldn't handle the energy coming off the machine.

  The maker guards had also given themselves an upgrade, I realized. They must have had to, in order to handle the quantities of energy they were harvesting from the machine. They looked bigger up close, with thicker metal lining their armor. That would make it harder to take them down. Fantastic. I really hate this. Taking over Irrikus's plan must've taken them months. They’d figured out all of Irrikus’s secrets, while Alan patiently waited for his opportunity to act. Well… everything except the machine. It sputtered wildly with lightning, similar to the tear. The smell of ozone and rot permeated the chamber now. I yanked my shirt over my face.

  Alan grinned. He seemed unruffled by the revenants’ failure. "Your group will never make it through my armor, not with the amount of energy coursing through it. Do you think you can fight me?" He made a fist, and energy formed around it. Crackles of electricity sparked off his skin. He's part of the tear himself.

  He grinned at our stricken expressions. "I feel better than I have in years. You’d be surprised at what such a concentrated amount of energy can do for you."

  How the hell were we going to fight him? He was like a lightning rod for energy. Zach had told us to get close to the machine, but it was impossible, with Alan right here. I gritted my teeth together, irritated by Alan's unnerving grin. Could he even feel the blood running down his face? He had too much power in him.

  Alan chuckled. "It's so nice to make you listen for once, Lyra." My stomach boiled with anger when he spoke my name. "Your stubborn nature costs you a lot, doesn't it?" He was about to continue in this vein, when the tiniest glow of amber fell over his face. He stiffened.

  The spirits came at him like a flood. They spilled over the edge of the ceiling's opening and darted down, flying past the broken stairs and driving themselves in a torrent to the floating island. The maker guards shouted. The Immortal Council members huddled together as the spirits circled us. After forming a circle around us, the spirits dispersed like a blanket to cover the entirety of the cave. The machine was no match for the lightness in their souls. For a moment, the device sputtered as the supply of dark souls was temporarily cut off, but I vowed it would never run again. The light energy blocked the darkness from making its way to the machine. Their amber light was beautiful, even with the wreckage of the planes melding around us. I was tempted to look for Zach, but I didn't want to risk revealing him to Alan. He recovered quickly from the surprise of the spirits. I kept my attention on him, my rage focusing me like a sniper's scope.

  He took everything from me.

  "I'll never listen to you," I shouted hoarsely. Alan let out an annoyed breath, as if I were nothing more than a bug. "Tell me why you did it! Why did you shoot your own nephew?"

  "Why not?" Alan asked. He cocked his head. “Zach made his decision, and I made mine.”

  I clenched my fists and glared at Alan. Soon, he would know what it felt like to lose everything. "You're a monster."

  "You look at me and see a monster, but I'm trying to protect you," Alan snapped. His red gem eye glowed with a flare of new energy. "I'm doing what I've always done, what others have been too afraid to do. I'm searching for ways to make humans safe from bloodthirsty vampires. You are being exploited by these creatures. Irrikus had the right idea, but he was only looking out for the rulers. I will govern with more logic, more mercy for all."

  You’re going to kill everyone, and there won’t be anything around for you to rule over. Bile rose in the back of my throat. After everything we’d shown him, Alan still thought he was saving us from predation by vampires. He was a ghost of a man—no, a true monster with a corrupted human soul. His darkness radiated off his armor. It was like the crystals couldn't give him enough energy . He was just like the machine, with the sole intent to churn up as much energy as possible to consume. All he did was consume.

  "Nobody else has the strength it requires to rule. You must be
logical. I watched vampires plague our society, watched them feed on us. They can say what they want about evil, but they're murderers all the same. You like to twist your morals to fit your narrative, niece."

  I radiated hatred as I looked into his ugly, mismatched eyes. "Perhaps I learned that from you."

  Alan let out a choking laugh. Energy flew off his armor but never reached out to strike me.

  "You know nothing. I make sacrifices because others cannot stomach them. It's so heavy to wear a crown. It requires strength and a coldness that others find revolting, but it must be done. I learned so much from Irrikus. Long before going to the Immortal Plane, I knew of him. I recognized the cunning in his plan, but I knew I could outwit him. We started communicating via a single revenant vampire—the first ever created—only two years after the original tear in the barrier. Do you know what it's like to have to wait in the shadows for your moment of glory? I swallowed my pride, knowing Irrikus saw me as a means to an end. He thought of me as an annoying necessity. I waited. I played the fool."

  As he spoke, the amber lights around grew brighter. Somehow, I got the sense that all the spirits knew exactly who Alan was, and if they could sense all the emotions in the living, then they knew what he was planning. My anger grew right alongside their brightness. Alan, for his part, couldn't be stopped in his grand monologue. If it had been any other moment, he would've struck while the iron was hot… but something in him needed us to know how brilliant he was. Perhaps the last scraps of his conscience, demanding to rationalize everything?

  "The Immortal Council contacted me and the other board members because they realized our mutual interest in eliminating vampires. I was pleased initially, but I saw the opportunity for more. Irrikus wanted a piece of the pie, but I wanted the entire thing. He counted on me being foolish. I mean, only a simpleton would've believed Irrikus would simply stop at vampires. Not me. The rulers helped me learn about the vampires. They taught me about dark energy weapons. I let them feed everything to me, under the guise of being a single-minded man bent on my own personal glory." His human eye twinkled with sick delight. "It was so easy. Greed sinks into every species, something I've realized after experiencing both planes. After he rescued me from you, I wriggled into Irrikus's good graces and learned everything I could from his servants. They were happy to talk. I suspect there were many who realized Irrikus’s grand plan was short-sighted.”

  I snarled, unable to help my fury. "Greed just like yours." He’d lost all sense of morality in his quest for this moment. He’d killed, and he would continue killing to get what he wanted.

  "Your opinion is irrelevant. You cannot see my grand plan. The barriers gave the vampires their powers, and I'm removing those barriers. Perhaps it'll finish the vampires, perhaps not… but, when it's all over, then I will have made the best world possible. There is no need for beings who claim to know darkness and lightness. It only limits greatness. Without barriers, I will be able to do everything I've ever wanted. I can find this energy, study it, and learn everything I need in order to destroy every threat in the Immortal Plane. I will work out a new system that allows me to arrange things from the top," he said, his tone lapsing into grim, satisfied determination. "I will make sure everything is balanced, the way it should've been from the beginning, making sure no more humans will have to suffer under tyranny. Dark energy would have so many uses if humans could harness it. This machine promises greatness.”

  "My father would never have used it for this,” Inkarri snarled. “He envisioned a glorious future for rulers, but he would not have destroyed the planes in the end. He would have been smart enough to pull back, once he saw this meld and realized that his plan threatened Itzarriol.”

  Irrikus certainly did make hard wartime decisions… Like planning a massive genocide.

  "He lacked ambition," Alan snapped.

  "He would've realized the madness when he saw the machine like this," Inkarri fought back. "He was proud, but not completely blinded by the lust for power. He should've ripped out both of your eyes, human. You do realize that no amount of armor can change what you are?" My skin pricked with complex empathy for Inkarri. On one hand, she believed her father was capable of a true vision that benefited others. On the other hand, he still looked as guilty to me as Alan. They were both madmen, chasing complete domination over the world. The only difference? One of them had lost.

  Alan touched his crown with a smirk. "Irrikus never thought the meld was something to worry about, but he also never saw its potential. I was the one who figured out that once the tear was unstable, I could turn on the machine and use it to feed energy to the revenants. They’ll be so powerful that I’ll be unstoppable. I’ll take over both planes easily. I pulled all the revenants through the tear at once, positive that the unstable energy would initiate the meld. And I was right, like always. Even if some people are killed in the melding, they will be a necessary sacrifice. I will rebuild our world far better than it was before. Humans will never have to worry, once I do what needs to be done.”

  Inkarri growled. “You're nothing but a pale imitation of my father. You're not fit to wear that crown." Her gaze fastened on the crown on Alan’s head.

  He’s not fit to wear the crown, and he's giving away secrets like Halloween candy. I could do nothing but listen, keeping an eye out for our chance to destroy the machine. I bit my tongue, keeping all the hateful words I wanted to throw at Alan under wraps. If he sensed that I was trying to stall, then our surprise would be lost on him. The desire to crush him into fine dust danced through my mind, but I held on to my patience with bleached knuckles.

  The amber light had grown even brighter while Alan spoke. Happiness filled me as the realization suddenly dawned on him and his maker guards. Alan’s smile wavered as a ghostly hand passed through the air.

  Alan jerked to the side as a wayward soul dipped down too close. The flying rocks and debris had hidden the cover of the spirits Zach and Lanzon brought with them. At first, Alan failed to notice the souls encroaching into the area, but their light was growing stronger. Now, he saw their human forms. He snarled as a woman floated away from him, lashing out as if he could hurt her. The woman smirked and drifted back to join her companions in the giant spread of souls.

  When Alan turned back, he was not alone. Zach stood right in front of him, solemn and judging. My brother. My heart squeezed with just as much grief as pride. We’d done our part by distracting Alan and letting Zach get close to him. Now, Alan had no option but to regard the phantom before him.

  "It's time we have a talk," Zach said.

  35

  Lyra

  A sick sense of satisfaction passed over me. Alan's face quivered as he faced Zach's spirit. It was taking every inch of Alan's willpower to not crumble beneath the sight of Zach staring at him, alive even after death. Alan had never imagined there was a problem he couldn't snuff out, if he just thought his way out of it. He’d never expected to face a problem he’d already disposed of. I found his expression extremely rewarding.

  My brother was here to face down his own killer. The courage he radiated was incredibly alive.

  "You know, I thought you wouldn't shoot, in the end," Zach confessed softly. "I still believed you had some semblance of goodness in you. I thought you would've looked at me and at least seen your own brother, if not me. I think that by the time I grew up, you were already well down the path of evil, even if none of us saw it. Mom and Dad loved you. Being related to you used to make me proud, but now it's more like a nightmare. Worse, I believed in you when nobody else did. I held strong to the idea that there was an explanation we hadn’t considered, that you were… somebody else. But this is the genuine you in front of me now. I can see you for who you truly are." He shook his ghostly head with pity. Alan exhaled with an irritable huff.

  "I died hating you," Zach said, before Alan got the chance to speak. "I realized my mistake at the end, when I saw you aiming at Gina. You saw her as nothing more than an obstacle. You know, I ca
n see so much in your soul right now… it's incredible, how long I believed your act. All that comes to my undead heart now is pity for you. You never felt any of the care we, your family, had for you, and you threw away the best parts of your life out of fear. Your fear of vampires consumed you, and then your ambition grew like a wild forest that you couldn't stop, turning to hatred. You're just a bitter, frightened old man who uses your power as a shield. I can feel your desperation.”

  Alan ground his teeth. He threw up his gauntlet, and a shot passed through Zach, who, after a moment of shocked silence, doubled over laughing. He wiped a feigned tear from his phantom face.

  "Sorry," Zach said. "That won't work twice. You've got no power over me, and I've got some news for your maker friends. I can't read your thoughts, dear Uncle, but I can sense your emotions. You feel such smug contempt for them. You're planning to betray them as soon as they're done being useful, aren't you?"

  Alan simmered with rage. I raised my eyebrows, a bit shocked that it hadn't occurred to me before that Zach might be able to turn Alan's allies against him. The spirits had a way of sensing things that not even the vampires or arbiters could feel. Alan’s maker guards began to back away slowly, but Alan’s growl made them freeze. His control was slipping. One of the makers had backed into the machine. Sparks flew off, casting an eerie blue light over the maker's expression of fear and betrayal.