Resonance

by T. G. Ayer

  But Evie couldn't pause right now to think it over. She had to force herself to focus on a small group of the Marks which had gathered at the base of her wrist, near her wrist bone. As she stared, a plan began to form in her mind.

  What if she could coax the markings to move to within reach of her fingertips? That would take away the issue with her cuffs stopping her from taking any action to protect herself.

  At last, Evie felt a little more focused now that she had a proper plan in mind. She relaxed the tiniest bit and allowed her mind to reach for the energy of the Marks which writhed on her skin as though they were alive.

  Evie focused her mind on them and flexed her wrist a tiny bit, then tapped her finger and thumb together, keeping the movement out of the line of sight of the shade who was currently standing in front of her, head tilted to one side--a little too far to be comfortable--and was studying Evie intently.

  She had to pray he couldn't see what she was doing, or read her mind. That would be very, very bad.

  Evie’s skin sparked as the marks jostled against each other, as though arguing about who was going to go first. At last, the energy pulses eased and a cluster of markings shifted out from under the leather cuff remaining close to her wrist where they writhed around, slithering like a ragged snake along the heel of her hand before moving toward her fingers.

  Oddly, they seemed unable to transition to the skin on her palms, a strange thing but she had no time to think about why. Instead, she waited impatiently as the markings slithered along slowly appearing to struggle to gain ground even though all they had to do was cross five inches of her hand.

  As the dark smudges reach the edge of Evie's thumb, she curled the digit into her palm and closed her forefinger onto the skin that was now covered in the dark Marks of Hades.

  Another part of Evie’s brain had remained focused on the dark evil who was approaching her, one tiny step at a time. He moved as though he was also constrained inside a pool of water, or as though time for him had slowed down so much that he couldn’t move faster. Or was it just that he had no clue how to move while within a human body.

  Evie shushed her mind, she was thinking things through far too much instead of focusing on the emotions and images the marks of Hades had begun to send into her mind. How she'd known that the marks wanted to tell her something, she had no idea, but the knowledge they passed on to her now was way beyond her imagination.

  Evie’s terror only amplified as she stared at the creature in front of her.

  Terror that filled her until she was afraid to breathe. How was it possible that this was the evil that had sought her out? What did the creature have to do with Evie? And why had it been lurking around in Marcellus's office?

  The Marks of Hades had delivered the history of this evil right into Evie's consciousness, had shown her what it was capable of, and now she knew the truth in a way that felt to her as though she'd been there at the very beginning.

  Evie shook her head slightly. The barest of movements, though it helped her to ground her thoughts. This was about the worst time possible for her to truly begin to understand the meaning of the Marks, and how they were meant to help the god of the underworld do his job.

  Why had Julian not told her the truth of the Marks? They were a channel of information, a living repository of history that would be with her the entire time she was Hades.

  Evie swallowed slowly and shifted in her seat. Head swam with the knowledge of this evil, and what it probably intended. But more than that, she hated the fact that she could do nothing while being restrained.

  It didn't matter what knowledge she possessed, it didn't matter what power she had, the very fact that she was bound by the Angel Bonds ensured that she could not react to protect herself. even her wings had been bound, the feathers, enclosed within the net of leather all inscribed with the words of the angelic spells, all designed to contain a nephilim, to imprison a nephilim.

  And in that moment Evie understood that she wasn't just a nephilim. She'd known she was also Hades, but something in the knowledge given to her by the Markings, some grain of information had found its way into her mind and she caught a hold of it like a lifeline.

  For that is what it was. A lifeline, a possible solution to her problems.

  The Angel Bonds held her angelic powers captive, and there was nothing she could do to get around that. But those angelic words were incapable of holding the god of the underworld hostage.

  Chapter 6

  But because Evie had had no clue as to what that title truly meant, she'd believed she had no power to escape, no ability to defend herself.

  But now she knew. Now she understood what the energy that had been building within her skin had meant, what she could do with that power that had been flowing within her since the moment she'd received the Mark of Hades.

  The markings, the shadows that lived on her skin, swarming around underneath her skin, were living spirits who absorbed information and knowledge about the world and everything in it. And that knowledge was available to Evie whenever she should need it.

  And she'd need it now.

  The marks knew she'd need the power and they'd been building up that energy, allowing it to simmer and await her orders. Orders she had no idea how to give until now.

  Evie waited as the creature took another step toward her. She shifted her gaze until she looked at the door, chin up higher so her peripherals would catch more of this creatures shape and from. Energy pulsed around him but Evie now knew what her was. When she'd first seen him her mind had labeled him as a shade.

  She'd been more accurate than she'd known back then. He was a shade, a splinter of the real being who most definitely wasn't here in the cell with her. this thing was a shard, sent to deliver the message he wanted her to hear, her ending.

  He'd sent a part of himself to her cell to kill her, for whatever reason Evie planned on finding out. Though she knew there was little likelihood that she'd be able to extract that kind of information from the splinter of the darkness.

  Because that was what this evil was called. In every language there was an ancient name for him, and the simplest label was the darkness. but he was nothingness, he was evil, he was living hell. If Hades was the god of hell, then this creature was the very epitome of hell, something that even Hades could never hope to destroy.

  And this thing was roaming around in the EarthWorld.

  And now this creature was inside her sell with her. Evie tried to control her breathing as the energy of the marks grew stronger, to an almost white hot heat on her skin.

  She shifted again as the shade took another step closer, close enough for her to see the pores in his strange skin. Why go to such trouble to emulate some semblance of a human shape if this creature wasn't humanoid in the first place.

  It was an odd enough feature that Evie spent a few moments thinking about the logic of the shades exterior form. But then his eyes began to glow with a silvery light that seemed altogether inappropriate for the kind of evil he was capable of.

  Evie's knowledge now contained an endless supply of what this sentient being was able to do, the destruction he was capable of causing, and the secrets that lived beyond the knowledge of the DarkWorld that had been handed down from one generation to the next. It all felt as though it had been a terrible lie told to the people to avoid mass panic.

  And since her knowledge told her that he hadn't been active enough over the last few centuries for there to be much of a concern perhaps it had been the right call to keep his existence a secret. Shadows began to leak off his dark form, trailing like wisps of smoke, swirling around him as though he were soon to melt away into nothing right in front of Evie.

  His mouth widened and the magic within the cell shivered, vibrating at a level that the resonance irritated Evie's nerves and making her flinch at the sound it wasn't loud in volume or high in pitch but rather the waves of the noise felt like their were smothering her consciousness.

  It was all far too
inexplicable for Evie to put her thoughts into a logical progression. For now she kept her attention mainly on him as he tilted his head back and opened his mouth.

  Smoke threads spilled out as he let out a cry, a soundless, call that was loud enough to strike deep into Evie's ears. The pain dug deep inside her Ears and felt warmth begin to pool then spill out of her ears and trail down the side of her neck.

  But even with her shattered eardrums, she still remained conscious and she could sense his frustration, He pushed more energy into his magic and she understood his frustration.

  He'd assumed this would be a simple thing, set the magic and allow Evie to drown, to lose consciousness. Perhaps he'd intended to take her away while unconscious but he wouldn't have needed to worry as whoever his spies were would have told him that she was bound.

  Which meant he hadn't planned at all for the power she held within her. His angry cry told her he'd seen something that he didn't like and she wished he'd speak enough for her to understand.

  And then she blinked and the markings on her skin undulated, the feeling strange now as they appears to drag themselves through her flesh leaving a trail of pain in their wake, as though they were becoming solid, jagged enough to damage her as they moved within her hand.

  Evie blinked away the heat of tears and steeled herself against checking her hands of the blood she was sure she'd be seeing.

  The shade transformed into a screaming whirling dervish of shadows that looked more like a large ragged cloak slowly shredding into tattered remnants while spinning around in a mini tornado.

  The air began to feel heavier now, as the water was turning into a more solid jellylike substance rather than transforming back into its naturals state

  Evie had to resort to holding her breath this time as the air thickened into a gloopy sludge, threatening to fill her lungs and remain there. Death by slug suffocation was something she'd rather avoid. The screaming, if that was what it truly was, continued and Evie became certain that time had either slowed or come to a standstill.

  A combination of time slowing down and the use of ultra powerful magic would be a more logical explanation for what was happening in the cell at that moment.

  The shade grew steadily larger, shadowing cloak spreading about like eerie tentacles beginning loom over Evie like a terrible monster. He'd revealed himself to her and appeared to have decided there was no point now to hold back.

  Air rushed inside the cell and Evie knew now that the magic had flowed away as the shade had lost control of himself and whatever hold he'd ha on the magic he'd cast. Evie figured it was about time now to let the shade know that she'd noticed him. She shifted her gaze to him, her skin still continuing to pulse and throb with the energy form the markings.

  The creatures eyes began to glow, the burnt orange of sunsets, the pale pinks of a calm summer morning, colors that didn't belong in the eyes of pure evil. The shadows flitted within the dark orbs that passed as eyes and Evie was stuck almost frozen staring as his gaze wove a web around her.

  Only the burning heat of the markings that covered her skin kept her sane. Her entire body now throbbed with that burning power and Evie sensed she didn't have much longer. She'd have to expend that energy or she'd probably explode herself.

  She took a slow breath and pushed with all her might, using her mind and her spirit to defend against the horror now determined to wipe her sanity away. The shade flew at Evie and her vulnerability was never more obvious to her at that moment.

  She wasn't getting herself out of the bonds that was for sure, but the power within her body would need to find a conduit, a way out. The most logical was her hands, and she hoped that it would work because she took only seconds to decide before conveying the intention to her markings.

  She'd done it instinctively, without being told how, and she understood that there was so much more that she had to learn about the marking and how they worked and what they had to do with her role as Hades.

  For now, she would be the god of death and deliver a good ending to the shade who'd come to eliminate her.

  Chapter 7

  The shade grew in size, almost as large as the solid stone ceiling of the cell now, and Evie had to raise her chin to look up at the creature. He hovered above her, the darkness around him like a vacuum of color, electricity now streaking from his ragged fingers, white lightning flickering from his skeletal digits which were encased in rags of skin barely held together by ragged threads of rotten grey-brown skin.

  The air tasted of ozone now, and Evie found that the air was now back to its normal state of nothingness and she was no longer choking to death. though it was a good sign, it also implied that the creature had decided on another way of getting rid of Evie and she wasn't in the mood for surprises.

  Especially when she didn't know how in god's name she was meant to be wielding the power of the markings. Evie tugged at the bands around her wrists partly in frustration partly as a way to attract the creature’s attention.

  The shade wielded the power of the air and the elements, twirling lightning from within its darkness It was now little more than an ominous cloud, hovering over Evie, making her feel like this whole episode was simply part of her own overactive imagination.

  With zero experience with dealing with the kind of power she now faced she wouldn't have much chance of survival. Something this shade already believed. Not that he'd been fooled that she was entirely incapable of wielding her own power. Only thing was, he had no idea what sort of power she possessed.

  He struck then, before she was ready, while she was still deep within her thoughts trying to make sense of what was about to happen next, trying to second guess him, which was for sure a waste of her time. Evie shrieked in her seat, tugging hard at her bonds now, willing as much of her power into her hands as she was able.

  She'd have to strike soon, as already she'd sense a building up of the shades emotions. Oddly enough she could read him way better than she'd been able to read anyone before. Which was unusual considering she'd not been wrong so far,

  Until now.

  Evie had assumed that he would strike to take her out once and for all. And she'd pulled as much of her power to her palms as she could. The shade reared, moving almost as high as the ceiling before thrusting himself hard straight at her.

  He came with speed and force, moving so fast that she'd barely blinked before he got to her. He didn't expect that he'd simply keep on moving, that he'd slide right through her leaving a trail of icy deadness in its wake. Evie shuddered, wondering how she could possibly shower her insides when this was all said and done.

  But she didn't have time think about what he wanted to do next. Evie cupped her palm pooling her energy inside her curved half open fist.

  As soon as the power had built up to the raging force of a hurricane, Evie let it fly, sending spheres of energy right at the shades head. He stared wide as the energy forced slammed into him sending him cartwheeling backwards so suddenly that he'd been unable to grab a hold of his own power to keep himself upright.

  She shook her head now, focusing hard on the shade who was still watching her, expression curious and angry. How did she do this, he must wonder.

  Evie shifted her attention, only as briefly as she could afford, and focused on her bonds. They wouldn’t be removed but the magic has fashioned a barrier between her skin and body and the magic of the spell she intended on using on her.

  His screams cut into Evie's ears again and she groaned out loud She was so totally fed up of having to do this all by herself. Not that she had much of a choice to be honest.

  Now Evie struggled against the bonds again as the eyes of the shade followed her movements She pushed against the bonds vainly, her intent to distract the creature and she’d succeeded in that he redirected his gaze and looked over at Evie, likely waiting for her to attack, to defend against his onslaught.

  Evie swallowed hard as her tidal wave of power began to flare out around the cell, slamming into the s
hade. too late she realized she'd used the wrong amount of energy at the wrong moment. Then she shrugged away her doubts.

  The shade had perhaps tricked her, used a feint to draw her out and he'd succeeded. Now she had to figure out what she was supposed to do since the power from the Marks had somewhat depleted. The shade twisted in the air above her head, cackling laughter ringing around the room along with lightning bolts which he send out in an almost childlike joy.

  Evie ducked in time to avoid a bolt of electricity that zinged pas her cheek so close that she'd felt the singe of the heat as it marked her skin, then smelled the odor of burned hair. The lightning bolt had chopped a hunk of her hair off close to her cheek, but thankfully not too close.

  She'd avoided being struck full in the face so it would count as a success. More bolts came in her direction and Evie began to feel panic rise. She sent her thoughts at the Marks on her arms almost a prayer to build up more energy faster. And they complied, which Evie felt in the slow simmering rise of the heat in her skin.

  She didn't forget the creature flying around, again having to dodge a few lightning bolts. And then he sent a second bolt of lightning which was this time a strike that hit home.

  The creature crowed with delight and Evie forced her cry of pain down. She refused to let the shade know that that she'd been injured enough to feel such terrible agony. She controlled the urge to wince and took a slow breath, ignoring the rip in her pants and the strong odor of cooked meat. Cooked nephilim, actually.

  Evie gritted her teeth and focused on pulling the heat and energy from the Marks to her skin and through to the palms of her hands. The energy coming off the shade had become more intense, making Evie afraid now that the power she channeled from the marks wouldn't be enough to survive this battle with the evil shadow. But there were whispers in her mind, and in her ears, gently sounds that seemed to want her to calm down, to breathe and to focus. to stop panicking.

  And Evie put her trust in the marks. She'd done it once already and the marks had proven she could trust them. So now she concentrated on clearing her mind and dodging the oncoming lighting bolts from above her.