The Descending Darkness

by Michael Chulsky

  “Ellie, I don’t–”

  “No,” Tereya interrupted. “I’ll do it.”

  “No, Reya,” Shadow replied. “I already lost Andrew to these freaks. I won’t lose you, too. And the same goes for you, Ellie. If anybody is going to be bait, it will be me.”

  “Shadow’s right,” Ellie added. “We can’t let you go alone. It’s too dangerous.”

  Tereya frowned. “Don’t treat me like a baby, you two. I know what I’m doing. Only I can cause a distraction big enough to take their focus away from that building.”

  “Tereya–” Shadow began.

  Tereya held up a hand, silencing him. “Don’t try and talk me out of it, Shadow. I’ve made up my mind. You tell us all the time that we need to be strong and do what needs to be done. It’s my turn to help. So let me do this, please.”

  “Reya, this is crazy,” Ellie said.

  “Ellie, stop,” Shadow declared, his lips pursed. He could see the situation from Ellie’s point of view and even from his own. Tereya was the youngest out of all of them and the thought of sending him off to take on a village’s worth of people was unnerving. But he also knew that sheltering Tereya wouldn’t do the young boy any favors in the long run. If they were to survive, everyone on the team needed to know their true strength – Tereya included. “He’s right.”

  “So you’re saying you think it’s a good idea to let him go out there by himself!?”

  “I’m saying that we’re being unfair here. We can’t tell him it’s too dangerous for him yet consider either one of us capable for the job. Tereya is either a full member of our team or he isn’t, and since he is, we should allow him the chance to prove himself that he’s asking for.”

  Ellie sighed. “You’re right…but I hate it.” She turned her gaze to Tereya. “I don’t mean to make you feel like you’re not part of the team…it’s just I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you, Reya. You’re like a little brother to me.”

  “Ellie, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ve been training like crazy…I’m not scared, so don’t be for me.”

  Shadow smiled. He felt a surge of pride at the change in the young boy in such a short amount of time. It seemed like only yesterday he was running away from an attacker, unable to properly defend himself. And now, he was eager to fight. It was inspiring. “Okay, let’s make our game plan.”

  5

  Unforgiving Flames

  “So, you all ready?” Shadow asked a few minutes later, after they had discussed the best course of action to take. It was simple: Tereya would go out in the middle of town and cause a distraction with his powers. Meanwhile, he and Ellie would slip by unnoticed and enter the cathedral.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  Shadow opened his mouth to give the young boy words of encouragement but fell silent, sensing movement ahead. He watched as the speakers retreated back inside the cathedral and closed the big, wooden doors with a loud shudder, which echoed all around them. “Alright, it’s time.”

  “Be careful, Reya, please,” Ellie said, gripping his arm.

  Tereya blushed and looked down. “Don’t worry, Ellie. I’ll be fine. You’ll see.” He took a deep breath and proceeded out into the open. He stopped just short of the town square and glanced back at Shadow and Ellie, who gave him nods of encouragement. Emboldened, he continued forward and stopped right in front of the cathedral steps. It didn’t take long for him, a teenager whom nobody had ever seen before, to be noticed by nearby villagers.

  “Hey, you!” a man said, walking up to him. “Are you lost, little boy?”

  Tereya shook his head. “I’m not.”

  “You sure look lost, kid.”

  Another villager walked up, this one a woman. “I’ve never seen you before. Where did you come from?”

  “I’m just passing through, is all,” Tereya replied. “Is that…against the law or something?”

  The man frowned. “We don’t do well with strangers, especially on one of our holiest days. So I think you’d better move along, kid. Or else.”

  Tereya stared at him. “Or else what?”

  “Or else we’ll have to teach you a lesson.”

  A few more villagers wandered over, hearing the commotion. They advanced; torches, blades, and other weapons in their hands.

  Tereya backed away from the steps and away from the cathedral. The group of villagers followed his movements and moved with him. “Don’t come any closer…!”

  “Or what?”

  “Screw this, let’s get him!”

  When the first villager’s fingers were within touching distance, Tereya let out a cry as energy pulsed from his entire body. He brought his hands up over his head and the ground began to shake and crack beneath his feet. Rocks and dirt broke free from the ground and flew at his attackers.

  The villagers tried to run, but some of them didn’t make it, and were sent flying by the chunks of earth that slammed into them. They were joined by reinforcements who charged at the boy.

  Tereya moved his hands once more, and the ground beneath the new villagers took them up high into the air and crumbled around them. The earth surrounding them liquefied into mud, and the entire thing came splashing down and sent the screaming villagers sliding away.

  Ellie stared at the scene and whistled. “Wow…I didn’t know he had it in him.”

  Shadow nodded and motioned for her to follow him. “That’s our cue.” He sprinted past the distracted villagers and up to the great wooden doors.

  “Think it’s open?”

  Shadow shrugged and pulled at the large iron doorknocker. To no surprise, it was locked. “Should have seen that coming…because why on Earth would this be easy?”

  “Well, what are we going to do?” Ellie asked. “We came all this way, and I refuse to be stopped by a locked door.”

  “We just need a key…or something.”

  Ellie gave him a puzzled look. “You have the key?!”

  Shadow thrust his fist through the door. He maneuvered his hand and unlocked the door through the hole he created. “I guess you could say that.”

  Ellie opened her mouth and then closed it. She shook her head. “It’s not like they already didn’t want to kill us…so whatever.”

  They walked through the now-open door into a new room. It was a typical church-like cathedral, several rows of pews lined perfectly across the floor, and gigantic panes of stained glass hung from the walls and ceilings.

  Ellie made a noise as a thoughtful look crossed her face. She nudged Shadow. “Hey….”

  “What is it?”

  “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

  Shadow gave her an annoyed look. “Oh, come on, Ellie. You know you can ask me anything. I won't get angry or offended, no matter how stupid - unless you’re Tristan.”

  Ellie smirked. “Okay, fine. So…you know how you’re half-vampire?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Okay, well if you're part-vampire, how can you be in a church without....?”

  “Bursting into flames?” Shadow finished for her. “That’s a very good question. Due to my half-human blood, holy objects only hurt if they come in contact with my skin. So don’t worry, I won’t be bursting into flames while we’re in here. Not to mention that it generally only works on the dead or the nonbelievers. Both of which I am not.”

  “Oh,” Ellie replied, looking at the floor fixedly.

  “Don’t sound so disappointed or anything.”

  “No! I mean, it’s good that you’re not going to die on me. But I feel bad asking about it…because you’ve made it clear that being part-vampire isn’t exactly something you're thrilled about.”

  “That’s true. But there are rare moments like this situation that make me happy I’m part-vampire. Because it gives me the strength to help those in need. And that makes it all worthwhile.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine.”

  Shadow gave her a reassuring smile. “Anyway, let’s go. The sooner we find this kid, the sooner we can go home.”<
br />
  “Well, don’t look now, but there’s another locked door,” Ellie said, gesturing in front of them. “Go ahead and use your vampy door-smash thing.”

  Shadow chuckled. “Vampy door-smash thing. That’s one phrase for it.” Again, he punched his fist through the wood and felt around the back for the lock, which he turned, and it clicked. He pulled the door open, and they continued through it.

  The door led down a long hallway and came out to a large white room, with a high ceiling. The floor was composed of many tiles of different colors arranged in strange patterns.

  Shadow stopped just short of the tiling and held his arm out to prevent her from passing in from of him. “I don’t like this….”

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked.

  Shadow gestured to the tiles. “It seems weird that they’re multi-colored when everything else in this place has been so monochromatic. Call it my vampy sense, but I just have a bad feeling.”

  “Do you think it’s a trap or something?”

  “I guess there’s only one way to find out,” Shadow replied. He put one foot forward and gingerly stepped onto one of the tiles. After a brief pause, he applied a bit more of his weight, and then a few second later, his entire body. He waited a bit and then shrugged. “I guess I’m just paranoid. It seems to be fine. Let’s continue…I can sense that the kid is close.”

  Ellie gave him a curt nod. She moved forward into the new room and went past him, stepping on a blue tile. Immediately, the tile sunk into the floor and there was a loud grinding noise. A split-second later, a metal pole shot out of a crack in the wall, heading straight for her.

  Shadow used his inhuman-like speed to grab Ellie’s arm and jerk her back into the doorway of the room. The movement brought him in the path of the pole, causing it to impale his left shoulder. “Agh,” he gasped in pain, the brunt of the impact forcing him to take a step to the side. His foot landed on a red tile, and he had to throw himself backwards to avoid a torrent of flames that shot down from the ceiling.

  “You idiot!” Ellie exclaimed, once the flames had died down. “What were you thinking, pulling me out of the way like that? You could have killed yourself!”

  “And if I didn’t, you would be dead,” Shadow replied, shaking his head. “It’s not that big of a deal. I knew I could take the hit and it wouldn’t damage me. You, on the other hand? It may have permanently damaged your arm or punctured an organ.”

  “But–”

  “It's fine,” Shadow insisted, narrowing his eyes as if to say the topic was closed for discussion. “Watch.” He closed his eyes tightly, and in one swift motion, ripped the pole from out of his shoulder. Blood slowly trickled down his arm, but nowhere near the amount that should have been, or rather, nowhere near the amount that a normal human would have bled. In less than a minute the flow of blood stopped and the flesh beneath the tattered hole of his shirt was untarnished.

  Ellie blinked a few times. “Wow…you really aren’t normal.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “No! I mean, it’s impressive…and cool that you can heal like that.” She paused and blushed slightly. “Thanks…for saving me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. I just really hope that there are no more traps like that. Because while I can heal from most wounds quickly, I really don’t feel like being impaled again.”

  Ellie nodded. “Fair enough.” She looked at the tiles. “So what do you think is the story here? Like, what caused the projectile?”

  Shadow followed her gaze to the floor. He stared for a few breaths and then pointed to a red tile. “I remember stepping there after taking the hit for you. So I’m assuming the red tiles cause flames to shoot out.” He then pointed to a blue tile. “If I remember correctly, you stepped onto one of the blue tiles…which caused that projectile to shoot out.”

  “So we figured out blue and red…want to take a guess on the others?”

  Shadow made a noncommittal noise as he studied the rest of the floor. There were only three colored tiles that were left: white, green, and black. But without testing each individually, there was no way to be certain what would happen if they were stepped on. “I have no clue, but I'm going to assume that the white tiles are safe, since there’s one right by the entrance and we both stepped on it to no ill effect. But I’ll have to test the theory to be sure.” He started forward before she could object. He gingerly pressed his foot on a white tile and looked around. Nothing happened. He put his weight onto another and all remained still. He breathed a sigh of relief. “They’re safe.”

  Ellie nodded and stepped forward behind him. She followed his path until they reached a door on the far side of the room. “Is this it?”

  Shadow closed his eyes for a moment. He reached out with his sensory abilities and scanned the room ahead of them for any sign of power. It didn’t take long for him to feel a slight pull of energy tugging at him. But it was faint, and growing fainter by the second. Not good. He continued his metaphysical sweep of the room and found two other sources of power, much stronger than the previous one. They pulsed with energy, and their power sent goose bumps down his arms. He opened his eyes and focused his attention on Ellie. “Okay, listen. I sense that the kid is beyond this door, as well as our two fanatical friends. When we enter, try to be as silent as possible. We don't want them to know that we're here just yet. Okay?”

  Ellie nodded. “Right.”

  Shadow slowly pulled open the door and they both slipped through and quietly closed it behind them. He looked around the room and was in awe at the size. Large white stone pillars held up the ceiling like an offering to the sky. The pews that lined the room in neat rows were carved from solid marble. Voices coming from the far end of the room drew his attention. He motioned to Ellie, and they darted behind one of the nearby pillars to avoid being seen.

  “It’s not long now, Leon,” a woman said. She stood at a large altar at the back of the room and looked upon it with zeal. “Soon, the unholy child will be lifted into God's graces, and the foul stench of evil shall be removed from our people!”

  Leon, the man she addressed, shifted his gaze to her and smiled with love on his face. “Right you are, my dear wife. Our town shall soon know peace.” He grabbed a few bottles from the table he was standing at and brought them over to her. “Shall we continue the ceremony?”

  “Yes, my love.” The woman unscrewed one of the bottles and poured it out onto the table. There was a muffled cry and then silence.

  Ellie, hearing the cry, peered out from behind the pillar to see what the source of it was. She got a glance of what was on the table and brought her hands up to her mouth in horror. “Oh my God…Shadow.”

  Shadow glanced over and saw the look on Ellie’s face. He followed her line of sight and understood her reaction at once, because what he saw made his stomach tighten uncomfortably. Lying face-up on the table was the young boy they were told about. His skin was a shade of light tan, like coffee with too much creamer. The boy’s hair was short and dark brown, almost black, but it was hard to tell if it was truly that dark or if it was dried blood, because his face was littered with bruises and cuts – a few of which were still bleeding.

  The boy’s shirt and pants were ripped and torn in various places. The skin visible underneath the cloth was burned and raw. With Shadow's keen eyesight, he could see scars all over the boy’s arms and a cross-shaped burn on the area of skin right above his heart.

  “This can’t be real,” Ellie whispered, her voice cracked, and she sounded as though she were on the verge of tears. “Nobody’s this cruel…nobody could be this evil.”

  Shadow just shook his head. There was nothing he could say to the contrary. It was entirely possible for someone to be so evil. He had seen a lot of evil in the short time of his existence, and it seemed as though whenever he thought he had seen it all and seen the most evil possible, there was always someone who made him think again. He put both of his hands on Ellie’s shoulder and nudged her closer to him.
“I know this is horrible…but don’t worry, Ellie. We’re going to save him and make sure they pay. Give me a minute to work out a plan, and then–”

  A scream rang out, echoing all around the room and drowning out the rest of his words. He slowly turned his head in the direction of the altar and saw smoke rising from the young boy’s chest.

  The woman was standing over him and had one of the small bottles in her hand. “Now, now, now, Cameryn, hush,” she said, caressing the side of his face. “I know it hurts…but this is necessary. You are an abomination and you must be cleansed.”

  “Get on with it, Clara,” Leon said. “We don’t have time for you to coddle the boy. We need to finish this now. It is almost midnight, and our window of opportunity will close.”

  “Forgive me. I almost forgot myself…I don’t know why I bother with kindness. It’s not like this boy was kind to us or our people.”

  “You’d do best to take care. If we don’t finish the ceremony, the dark goddess will smite us all.”

  Clara nodded. “I’ll proceed as planned, my dear.” She poured more of the strange liquid onto the boy’s chest. His screams of pain were even louder this time as the scabbed flesh on his chest was burned away by the liquid. The wounds started to bleed again and she smiled, satisfied.

  Shadow felt fury grow in the pit of his stomach and spread like a wildfire. He couldn’t stand by any longer. Something had to be done. “Enough!” he yelled, jumping out into the open.

  “Who are you?” Clara exclaimed. She watched him walk up to the platform with a look of disgust on her face. “Nobody is permitted inside this building once the rites have begun.”

  Shadow laughed coldly. “Well, that’s too bad, because here I am.”

  “Well, you’ll be leaving, or else I’ll call the guards.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t think you’ll have much luck there. My friend outside has probably taken care of them all by now.”

  Leon frowned. “What is the meaning of this?”

  Ellie came up to stand beside Shadow. “The meaning is that if you touch that boy again, I’ll kick both of your asses up and down the aisle.”