Heart's Darkness

by H D A Roberts

  Thank God for over-eager postmen, I was early!

  I opened a small Gate and looked at what I was dealing with.

  Crystal was tied to a chair, again with silver. She was stripped to the waist, and covered with deep cuts. She was still bleeding freely from her face and chest.

  I felt fury, and then a horrible hatred, and all of it at that creature standing next to her.

  Solomon wore a suit of baroque black armour, made of heavy metal plates that covered him from neck to toe, leaving his head bare. It hugged his form, perfectly made for him, articulated around his joints to allow easy movement. He stood with a blade in his hand, covered in her blood.

  I had to say that he looked the worse for wear since the last time I'd seen him. His skin, one bright with life was now pale and sickly, sunken at the cheeks. His eyes were dark and hooded, glinting with sadism and madness. His lips were blue, like he hadn't been breathing, his teeth yellow, lined with black, like they were rotting in his mouth. His face was covered in black veins, where his poisonous Magic was corrupting his very flesh.

  The Black... it just wasn't good for you. It was corrosive to the body, the mind and the soul. It brought out the very worst in the people that used it, and Solomon was a sadistic, murderous bastard before he'd made his literal deal with the devil (who I was going to kick firmly in his cosmically powerful balls one day, but I digress).

  Crystal was crying, obviously in pain. I started casting, unwilling to waste another second. I wasn't going for a quick win; I just needed two things to work. The first was a Spell called Alexandria's Hope. I crafted it carefully, knowing that it was crucial to how this would turn out. I had to let him cut Crystal again while I was doing it, but finally I was ready, and the cast was perfect! The Spell latched onto him and melded with his aura in an instant.

  He felt it and turned towards me.

  Then I threw pure Magic at him.

  At his shoulder, to be precise.

  Mage Sight had allowed me to see the residue of my earlier Black Magic attack. He'd cut the Grotesque arm away, as you might expect, but the root of it was still there. A little raw Magic was more than enough to wake it up, especially my raw Magic (make of that what you will; I was far from happy about it, even if I was willing to take advantage of it).

  He screamed as a brand new limb tore its way clear of his shoulder armour, the plates ripped clear of the leather strapping to fly across the room. The limb formed as before, but bigger, thicker, and more muscular, black veins protruding from the pale flesh. It was a complete hand this time, and it closed around his face in a single, terrible movement that tore through flesh and crushed bone.

  Such was the way of Black Magic; if you didn't dispose of it properly, it came back stronger until you did, almost like an infection.

  I enlarged my Gate and stepped through it, lashing out with my Shadows while he was distracted (and bleeding). Barbed tendrils, as hard as diamond, slipped between the plates of his abdominal armour and stabbed into his chest, slamming him back and through the window behind him. He fell hard, but his wings extended before he could hit the ground (damn it), flapping hard to get him moving away from me. He smashed into trees, and then into buildings as he fought both against the Grotesque limb and gravity, gradually dragging himself back into the air, almost flailing as he drove himself faster and faster.

  I only waited long enough to make sure that he wasn't coming back before I darted to Crystal's side. I used my Will to pull her restraints off before kneeling next to her and pulling her into a hug. She sobbed hard as she sagged against me.

  "Oh," she managed, wrapping her arms around my neck, "oh, Matty, Matty. You came! You came for me."

  "Of course I did," I said, holding her tight, not caring about getting blood on me, which now that I thought about it, was still oozing. What the hell was on that weapon?

  "Are you hungry?" I asked, "You need to feed?"

  "No, that's okay," she said, but her pupils were dilated, her fangs were showing, and she was licking her lips.

  I shook my head and focussed on a little Extraction Spell, holding out my hand. A sphere of blood appeared and expanded to about four inches across. Crystal's head darted forward and she sucked greedily, drinking it all down.

  Her wounds closed, but not all the way, and they were black around the edges, red and inflamed, which was worrying. Vampires didn't get infections. So, I repeated my spell and she drank again, her wounds closing fully this time.

  "Mm, that's nice," she purred, "You do know how to treat a girl, Mathew Graves."

  I held her cheeks and looked in her eyes.

  "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

  "You did just fine, as far as I'm concerned!" she said, dragging my lips to hers, she planted a deep kiss on me, and I tasted a little of my own blood on them, "I'm alive, I'm fine, and I got to drink a little of the good stuff. Everything's coming up Crystal!"

  I chuckled and hugged her again, kissing her cheek.

  "Affectionate today, aren't we?" she whispered in my ear, rubbing my back with her hands.

  "I thought I'd be too late."

  "But you weren't. And that pussy was nothing. I've had worse spankings off your Kandi."

  I laughed at that but couldn't bring myself to let her go.

  "Matty, if you hold me any tighter, there's a risk of me popping out of these panties," she said.

  "Sorry," I said, finally pulling back.

  "Oh, I wasn't complaining," she said impishly, "I just wanted my hands free to properly apprecia- oh, are the others okay, by the way?!"

  "They're fine, I found them first; they told me where you were. They're at my place now."

  I stood and offered my hand. She took it and stood up before slipping on a silk robe she pulled from a nearby cupboard. I focussed again, and after a few moments a Portal appeared. I led the way through.

  She nodded approvingly.

  "Finally figured that out, huh?" she said, pecking my cheek fondly.

  "It took a lot of work," I said proudly, "Quite a few... mistakes."

  "After this is over, you can tell me all about it. I should warn you, it's is going to be a very, very long and intensive... chat," she said in a husky voice.

  I shivered and the Portal collapsed behind us with a pop and a flare that smacked a tiny bolt of electricity into my behind, which made me yelp and jump.

  "Ow!" I said, rubbing my bottom, "See what happens when you distract the Magician?"

  "Aw, poor baby, want I should kiss it better?" she asked, stroking my arm.

  "A little bit, actually," I said with a grin.

  She giggled, and was about to reply when...

  "Mathew Graves!" Cassandra barked from the front door. I winced.

  "Ooh, you're in trouble!" Crystal said, hiding behind me.

  "Why are there fifty Vampires and their hangers-on in my house?!" my Warden shouted, "And what were you doing out without an escort?"

  "Crystal, would you go in? I think I'll need to have a word with my friend."

  "Don't let her spank you, that's my job," she said, nosing my cheek as she walked past, her bottom rather eye-catching in that robe...

  "Graves!"

  "Sorry!" I said, turning my eyes and my brain back to the situation.

  "What happened?" Cassandra asked.

  I told her everything.

  She didn't like it.

  She didn't like what I'd have to do next any better.

  "No, Mathew, I forbid it!" she said.

  "I have to, Cassie. I'm finishing this now, while he's hurt and distracted. Just trust me, alright?"

  "You haven't come out too well against this man, Mathew, what makes you think this time will be any better?"

  I smiled grimly, "This time, I'm coming for him."

  "How do you even know where he is?" she asked, her scowl wavering.

  My grin became wider.

  Alexandria's Hope was invented by a Greek Sorcerer in 230 BC. He was a bit of a sailor, but, like m
yself, a terrible navigator, so he created a Spell that he could bind to a person or location, that would forever allow him to know where it was, almost like a compass tied to his Aura, pointing him in that direction. His first casting had been on the Pharos of Alexandria, the great lighthouse, hence the name.

  For my purposes, I'd wired it into Solomon's very Aura, and in such a way that it would take a rather powerful Magician quite some time to get it out. Until they did, I'd always know what direction he was in, and a general idea of the distance. According to the compass on my phone, he was North-North-East of me. I felt him to be about ten miles distant and getting further away, moving at a pretty fair clip, too.

  Before Cassandra had the chance to talk me out of it, I wrapped myself in Shadows and darted into the air, rocketing after him. I made sure to get further up, so I could attack from above. I had no intention of being gentle this time. I was going to hit him with everything I had.

  I increased my speed and quickly started to gain on him. He was well out of Stonebridge now, deep in the countryside, passing over sleepy hamlets and small market towns. I increased my height a little more and cast Mage Sight.

  There he was!

  A mile ahead and getting closer. He was trailing black blood from a brand new gaping wound in his shoulder, where he'd managed to rip the arm away again. His flight path was erratic and weaving, I assumed that he was in pain, and was pleased.

  I threw my Shadow Lance from thirty feet away, and the bugger was still fast enough to evade the worst of it! It should have hit him centre mass, and caused his chest to explode, but instead it clipped a wing and tore off a chunk.

  He still screamed and fell out of the sky, plummeting straight down, barely producing enough lift to avoid ploughing into the ground.

  He hit the top of a hill, tearing a furrow in the soft earth as he skidded to a halt. I landed, Shields in place, and resumed my attack, tendrils of Shadow darting out, sharp and barbed. He screamed in pain as I tore off an arm and half his untouched wing, but then he had a shield up, and his sneer was back in place soon after.

  I started gathering energy, Space mostly, as he conjured his black sword out of thin air, into his remaining hand, and leapt for me. He ran straight into my Shadows and slowed to a halt before I tossed him back, Shields and all. He landed on his feet and threw his sword at my face. I don't know how he knew where I was, but the sword was right on target, and only a hasty Will Shield stopped my head from getting bisected, as it passed right through my Shadows.

  I saw him gather energy for a Portal, he was trying to escape!

  Thankfully my own Spell was ready and I released it.

  It was something else Hopkins had taught me. I may not be the best Portal maker ever, but I could mess them up just fine. The Portal Jammer scattered any Space Energy that tried to coalesce into a Portal, with a radius of about a mile, he wouldn't be escaping. If he was fazed, he gave no indication. He just smiled nastily and came back at me, his body reeking even more of Black Magic as his wounds healed, though the one in his shoulder remained open and weeping.

  That was actually an interesting point. A wound made by Black Magic that couldn't be repaired by the Black... Was that a testament to the Black's ability to injure, or my greater affinity for it? Probably not a question I would enjoy the answer to.

  He tore into my Shadows, and smacked straight into another Will Shield, where he took a face full of Force, which blasted his own Shields to bits, forcing him to retreat, but they were back up again in an instant, and he resumed his attack.

  He was stronger this time.

  It seemed that every time I came across him, he was more powerful. His shields regenerated faster, his Black Magic reserves were deeper, and his wounds were healing at an even more rapid rate; his arm was already half re-grown; his wings were already back to normal... I wondered why he even bothered to run away from me!

  I was surprised that he wasn't using Black Magic as a ranged attack this time, though. It had been a big problem during our first battle; perhaps he was simply too angry? Too distracted? Either way, I wasn't complaining!

  He blurred and the sword was back in his hand; then he was driving back at me, cutting through my defences one by one.

  I was continually gathering energy, but I was very concerned. His defences seemed to be getting more resistant to my every attack the more I used them. I tried a Chaos Ball, and it barely made a dent. A flurry of Shadow Lances hardly slowed him down, nothing even got close to his skin anymore.

  And I was getting tired. My energy supply wasn't infinite, and I'd already used quite a bit of it during the rescue and pursuit, whereas Solomon showed no signs of slowing down. If I didn't find a way to end this quickly... well, you can guess what would happen.

  I cast a Dispel Cannon, and that worked for a while. His Shields came apart, and I managed to slide some Heat through, which charred him from neck to groin, causing his armour to smoke.

  He just laughed as the damage repaired itself.

  There was one thing I could do...

  His body was full of it, after all, that's why he able to regenerate and bring up new Shields so quickly.

  The Black.

  I could feel it, it was all right there. I could end this with an instant of effort. The Black in his body was so concentrated, so potent, that with his shields in place, there was little else I could do; he had just evolved too far since our first battle. What would he be like in a month, a year?

  What if he didn't stop getting stronger?

  Time stopped.

  "Quite the conundrum you find yourself in, Darling," Gabrielle said from behind me.

  I turned and tried not to roll my eyes. They were both there, Rose looked concerned, Gabrielle excited. They were unchanged from our last encounter; I could have seen them ten minutes ago.

  "Really, do tell," I said.

  "Glad you asked," the Succubus said evilly, "You find yourself opposing an all but unbeatable enemy, and the only way to defeat him is to let go of your precious principles and use the Magic that you fear so greatly, but therein lies an even greater problem. If you do manage to use the Black to kill him, well then... he's dead. And you're the one who killed him. You will have taken a life with Black Magic. It's hard to come back from that."

  She grinned, Rose just stared at me, very intently, watching for something.

  "But, if you don't, then he goes free and he comes back for you, and everyone you love. He'll torture them to death one by one until he finally decides to deal with you. So, my lovely Magician, what's it going to be? Death or damnation?"

  I couldn't help but chuckle.

  "Something funny?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes narrowing.

  "You should have advised him to move quicker."

  "Really?" Gabrielle asked, crossing her arms, looking rather annoyed, "And why's that?"

  "Because he gave me three months to think this all through, to obsess, plot, plan and figure. Not a great idea, Gabby," I said with a smirk.

  "What are you talking about?" she asked. Rose was standing just a little straighter.

  "You told me yourself," I said, "'Resurrection isn't one of the powers my side offers'. There's only one way you could have sent him back up here. He's a Demon."

  Gabrielle stomped her foot and scowled at Rose, who was beaming at me.

  "And that means that if I smash him, he just goes down to the Pit, he doesn't die, I'm not a murderer. But, thinking that I'm going to be and committing the act anyway produces much the same stain on the soul. It's actually rather neat, I have to give that to you."

  Gabrielle swore. A lot, seriously I'd never heard so much profanity in one place, "I told him not to dick around with you, but would he listen? Oh no, there had to be an intricate plan, we couldn't just slip a little Black Magic into your bacon, it had to be clever!"

  "Wait, what's that about my bacon?"

  Rose chuckled.

  "No! Wait a second," Gabrielle said, spinning back to me, "I still win! You
can't beat him without the Black!"

  "You know, that was very nearly true," I said, "but, bless you two, you've given me just enough time to think, and I do believe that I have another solution."

  "You are really starting to annoy me," Gabrielle said with a glare.

  I looked her in her red eyes and smiled at her.

  "No I'm not," I said softly.

  She growled low in her throat and took a step towards me.

  "I am going to hurt you," she said throatily, her eyes dancing with anger and what looked disturbingly like arousal, "I'm going to make you beg..."

  "Of that, I have no doubt," I replied, "but right now, I have something rather pressing, so, if you wouldn't mind?"

  "This isn't over, Darling," she said, her fangs suddenly very long and very sharp...

  "I know."

  She vanished.

  Rose smiled and clapped.

  "So when did you figure it all out?" she asked, coming over to stand next to me.

  I grinned.

  "Oh, it took me far longer than I'm happy to admit. I've been distracted lately."

  She laughed and hugged me tightly.

  "You wonderful man! But she's going to be very angry with you for a while. You really have a terrible habit of gloating. Pride's a sin, you know!"

  I chuckled, "Let her be angry, I owe her a lot. Unknowingly or not, she helped save my soul."

  I was fairly certain she'd done it deliberately, though. Gabrielle was nobody's fool, and she'd been dropping hints both broad and subtle about what Solomon had become. Not only had she saved me, she'd meant to. The rest... that was just theatre, but necessary. I doubted that Neil would be happy if it ever came out that she'd done all this on purpose.

  Unless it was all some elaborate double or triple bluff that was supposed to lull me into a sense of false security... ugh, too complicated.

  "Oh, can I tell her you said that? The look on her face will be just priceless!" Rose said.