The Nightling: Darkness Within

by Danae Ayusso

  That was a lie.

  The poor Necromancer wasn’t giving Giovanni a tour.

  Not even close.

  Alder was chasing after my brother that was like a fat kid locked in a candy store.

  It was hilarious.

  Alder didn’t seem to mind, he was laughing.

  The section, cube is the best way to describe it, next to the green rave club was flooded with party lights that painted the patrons grinding on each other in rainbows. The dance floor was white glass that was glossy but seemed to absorb the light instead of reflecting it. The patrons dressed how you’d expect someone hitting the club would dress, if it were the 1980’s. The floating deejay was a tall, pale white skinned man with pink spidering of veins that blemished his overly large orbital sockets and led to his large solid pink eyes and the soft pink-tinged membranes that covered them. His out of control white hair was standing in every which direction, his headphones barely visible in the tangle of flowing hair, and his head moved in a blur of movement which made it nearly impossible to follow every time the tempo picked up with whatever song he was spinning. The pink light humming from the walls separating the space made the area almost ethereal.

  What is that?

  ‘That is a person, and it is rude to call things That.’

  I rolled my eyes.

  ‘But to answer your question, that is a White Stag and is a type of woodland fae. If his hair was not as full as it is, you would see his antlers,’ Andrei explained. ‘That one suffers from a higher level of albinism than those of his kind, and it makes him an outcast. I do not know that one’s name, but he is more than he appears. The fae are very powerful, especially those shunned by their own kind. It makes resentment bloom in their heart and it turns their magic into something else. I will find out what I can later in regards to that one. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.’

  Oops.

  Uh, can you not kill him or whatever?

  Softly Andrei chuckled. ‘I have no interest or intention of killing the White Stag. In many cultures it is a sin and an act of war to kill a fae blessed by the white light of a full moon. I was merely curious as to why this is the first I have heard of him. It could mean nothing, it could mean something, but it is not for you to worry yourself with.’

  So he tells me, but it makes me suspicious and paranoid of what he really meant.

  “Shawn?” Tybalt asked, softly shaking my shoulder, causing me to jump, startled.

  I looked over then leaned away from him and the burly man standing next to him.

  “Shawn, this is Randolfr,” Tybalt introduced, motioning towards the hulking giant. “He is my head of security.”

  Absently I nodded, looking up at the giant.

  The seven-foot blond had to weigh over three-hundred pounds, the black suit he wore looked as if it could double as a tent for someone my size, and his face was scarred up on one side by, what I assumed to be, a claw swipe. His beard was perfectly cropped, eyebrows pulled together and shadowed his sapphire eyes.

  Randolfr was menacing.

  “Hi,” I squeaked. “I’m Shawn.”

  Randolfr nodded that he heard me.

  Is that a giant?!

  ‘No, merely a tall Norwegian.’

  You are not amusing.

  ‘Again, agree to disagree.’

  Tybalt caressed the backs of his fingers along my jaw, coaxing me to look at him. “I have to see to something. It’ll take ten minutes at most. Alder is currently trying to wrangle your brother, and I don’t want you feeling as if you’re on your own. Is it okay if Randolfr gives you a tour of the main level while I see to this issue so it doesn’t ruin our night?”

  That’s just lovely.

  Being pawned off on a stranger.

  “Does it have something to do with the royal that was killed?” I blurted out.

  Both of their eyes widened.

  “That wasn’t what I needed to address,” Tybalt said, his head tilting slightly as he regarded me. “I’m assuming he that shall not be named and that isn’t from a book about muggles is the one that told you that need to know information?”

  I nodded.

  Randolfr looked to Tybalt. “Sir, if what the girl says is true, you need to leave and take the Queen, birthday or not, with you,” he warned, his voice deep and gravelly. “There are a dozen crowns that came to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, but only you and the Queen are of concern.”

  That isn’t cool.

  ‘Do not-’

  “Crown or not,” I started, irritated they had such low opinions of those without crowns in their company, and they looked at me, “none of these people deserve to be targeted or killed. The crown Tybalt wears is no more important than the one I grudgingly do, nor are our lives worth more than those without the weight of a crown upon their head. What transpired is need to know, and I was warned to only tell you if it was to protect me. He that is stuck in my head should know by now that my well-being is a secondary concern to those that are innocent, especially my date and company this evening. Tybalt, if you’ll be safe while you handle your business, I will have Randolfr show me around and explain that,” I said, motioning towards the cubes of light. “Because it is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

  Randolfr looked to Tybalt. “I am not a tour guide,” he warned under his breath.

  “You are tonight,” Tybalt informed him in a tone that warned not to press it. “Keep her safe at all costs, for her crown is bloodier than mine, and I really don’t feel like waging war against the Children of Blood or her Maker on our first date. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Randolfr snarled.

  Tybalt took my hands in his and rolled them over then kissed the inside of each wrist. “It’ll only take ten minutes, I promise, and Randolfr will keep you safe. He was once a Marshal in his homeland and I entrust him with my life so you’ll be in very capable hands. If you need anything, or have questions, ask him and he’ll take care of it or answer your questions.”

  I forced a smile. “Thank you. Be safe.”

  “I’ll be in my office with guards,” Tybalt promised, motioning for Randolfr to see to my needs.

  I looked up at the hulking giant and smiled. “This is really cool,” I said, motioning towards the dance floor.

  Randolfr softly growled under his breath. “Yes, I suppose it is for someone that doesn’t get out much.”

  My smile fell. “Sorry. Even before I was forced to the dark side I didn’t get out much. I’m not much of a party person. And I’m honestly impressed by whatever those are.”

  Randolfr made a face, realizing he upset me without meaning to. “It was a means to keep the peace between those that bankroll the club,” he conceded, motioning for me to walk with him. “One partner wanted an exclusive club, where just one race or species was solely permitted. A blending of the races and species in the mythical world, as you know, can be dangerous,” he explained as we walked down the aisle that surrounded the dance floor.

  “I didn’t know that,” I admitted, walking next to him.

  It was like being at a zoo, only it wasn’t animals on the other side of the glass.

  It was dancing people.

  “You have a crown, how could you not know that?” he grumbled under his breath.

  “I’m a new born,” I said with a shrug. “I haven’t even fed in the traditional vampiry sense when conscious… Can they see us?” I asked, stopping when the next section of dance floor came into view.

  Red light separated it from the others, and inside the club looked as if it fell out of a nightmare in the making. The floor was concrete that sloped towards drains, overhead were pipes that looked as if they were part of a fire suppression system, but instead of water raining down on the jumping, gyrating patrons, it appeared to be blood. They wore black vinyl and leather outfits, two deejays were overhead with head lamps on, head-banging like madmen, and the puddling blood the patrons were jumping around in splashed all over everyone in the
vicinity.

  “That is so gross,” I mumbled, shivering in disgust.

  Randolfr looked at me curiously. “You are a vampire and yet you are disgusted by blood?”

  I nodded. “I’m a really crappy vampire,” I admitted.

  “Not crappy, rather evolved,” an all too familiar voice mused from the booth behind us.

  I turned and smiled when I saw Connor sitting there nursing a drink. “Hey!”

  She nodded, toasting me with her drink. “Always a pleasure, and now my cousin’s presence makes sense. That brother of yours is going to be nothing but trouble.”

  Trouble should have been Giovanni’s middle name.

  “Will I see you around or are you heading out soon?” I asked, fighting the urge to run over and slide in next to her since I felt much safer next to the angry Marshal than I did the former Marshal.

  Connor shrugged. “Not sure yet. Stay out of trouble,” she said with a wink.

  Randolfr huffed, stealing my attention.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing. You know many of reputation in our world for one that is a new born, according to them.”

  That was true, and now that he mentioned it, that couldn’t have been normal.

  Is it?

  ‘I do not know what you speak of.’

  Liar.

  “Why would anyone want to dance around in blood?” I asked, looking back to the red cube. “That’s nasty… Wait! Bloodbath from Blade, the opening scene, right?” I asked with excitement.

  That’s where I had seen it before!

  He nodded. “Yes, it is the movie theme for the night in that room, cube, whatever you want to call it. The pink room is Pretty in Pink and all things John Hughes, green is Hackers, and this one,” he said, motioning me around the corner and towards the golden light cube, “is Gatsby. It is the Queen’s homage to all things Hollywood for their birthday. Last year it was Mardi Gras and Big Band… It was a cluster fuck I couldn’t wipe from my memory quick enough.”

  I giggled.

  The last cube featured nicely dressed patrons that looked as if they fell out of the roaring 20’s. Instead of a deejay there was a full orchestra floating over the dance floor, playing music that the crowd was dancing to. Waitresses weaved in and out of dancing couples balancing trays loaded with coupe glasses filled with champagne. From overhead curtains of sparkles rained down like sparklers on the 4th of July only nicer. The navy marbled dance floor had veins of shimmering gold and silver throughout, and chandeliers hung down from nothingness, adding to the magical, Gatsby feel of extravagance.

  “Which is your favorite this time?” I asked with a smile, looking up at the guard looking at me with a strange look on his face. “What?” I asked, embarrassed.

  Randolfr shook his head. “It’s nothing. You are weird and different.”

  “I hear that often,” I agreed.

  “I’m sure you do. My vote was vetoed,” he said, making a face. “I thought a Frozen theme would have been amusing. Apparently the Queen didn’t think so.”

  I roared with laughter, falling into him.

  To hear a blond giant that is terrifying looking say he wanted a Disney’s Frozen themed party was just too much, and I lost it.

  “Careful,” he warned, wrapping his large hand around my wrist to keep me from falling more than I already had.

  The moment his skin touched mine, his pupils expanded and covered the sapphire in black. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, a tingly sensation coursed over my skin, and warmth fluttered in my chest.

  “Is it the Norwegian side that wanted to build a snowman?” I teased with a smile, trying to distract him from what I am.

  Absently Randolfr nodded. “You are… You are a Child of Light,” he whispered, his eyes moving over my face many times. “How is that possible?”

  I shrugged. “Luck has never been synonymous with me,” I said, pulling away from him by force. “What you think I am isn’t correct,” I said when his pupils contracted. “I’m just a pale Italian that is unlucky even in death.”

  Randolfr’s eyes clouded over white. “That may be true, but I know what you are.”

  “You’re a Necromancer?” I asked.

  “Half,” he replied. “My father is a werewolf, my mother a necromancer. Forbidden blending was what created me.”

  “Fascinating,” I whispered in awe. “You’re Necrowolf?!”

  He gave me a look. “Are you making names now?”

  I nodded with a shrug. “My education of this world is all through secondhand accounts and comments in passing, and Connor’s drunken rambling. Lessons I haven’t been privy to, but not by choice. My Maker is trying to keep me veiled in ignorance.”

  ‘And your Maker will ground you if you mention it again.’

  Whatever.

  Randolfr shook his head. “I’ll admit that’s the first time I’ve heard necrowolf, and it sounds like a shitty Danish death metal band.”

  I giggled.

  “But I suppose it applies. My siblings are all wolves, I am not. I got the size but her magic… Why am I telling you this?” he asked as more of an afterthought.

  I shrugged. “Because I asked, and it’s nice to learn new things. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m a new born. My eyes hide the truth, and that scares me and all those that gaze upon them.”

  His eyes returned to normal. “They aren’t red or mirrors,” he whispered.

  “They aren’t. Don’t be scared of me, please,” I said when he stepped back. “This is my first date, and I’m not making a good impression on anyone. I strong armed, care of guilt, Alder to come with us in order to shut my flirting, seemingly in heat, brother from freaking out about the neckline of my dress and from dry humping Tybalt since he couldn’t see him at first. I have a vampire in my head that is the least hospitable creature to ever exist and his attempts to be reassuring is making me suspicious, scared, and paranoid. All I wanted to do was get some coffee and go for a walk under the stars. Instead I have to meet the Queen… The last Queen I met, she wanted to kill me, then wanted to kill her precious for creating me, then she threatened me with death, a few times, and I ended up hiding out in my room for days and days without even my ghost brother to keep me company.”

  In my rambling, Randolfr relaxed and didn’t look as scared of me, instead he looked saddened.

  “I don’t know why I’m so emotional,” I stammered, wiping away the tear that rolled down my cheek. “I never cry and now it’s all I’ve been doing!”

  For some reason, that amused him.

  “It’s normal,” Randolfr assured me, guiding me by the elbow over to a private booth that was empty on both sides. “Those that are reliant on blood, there is a voice in their head, not their Maker, rather a voice of darkness that calls out to them. This club, and many establishments in the otherworldly market that cater to those reliant on blood or that follow the Dark Father, do not allow Fledgings to enter. It isn’t because they have anything against them, it’s because they are irrational, out of control, blood crazed assholes. That little voice in the back of your head, it is called the Darkness Within, because it shadows and consumes the light or humanity, and it causes a normal fledgling to embrace their inner most evil. Short tempers, out of control behavior, embracing the deadly sins that Man put into their holy books as reasons as to why they are evil... The list is rather long. Ignoring that voice, that darkness, is impossible for one so young. Typically a Maker spends decades with their Scion in order to wield some type of control over them, to teach them how to control it, before they are even allowed in public. You, Shawn, are a rarity and that makes you terrifying in an entirely different way.”

  That would have been nice to know, but I suppose it makes sense.

  Wait. Was that why I was so petty jealous over Jessica’s perfect nose?

  ‘Yes.’

  Why didn’t you tell me?

  ‘You are better than the Darkness Within that haunts others. Luka fights with tha
t darkness. I do not. I never have. Like you, I have never allowed it to control me. You are better than that.’

  Are you boasting?

  ‘Me? Never.’

  I chuckled; I clearly heard the smile in his tone.

  “You can communicate clear as day regardless of distance with your Maker, can’t you?” Randolfr asked, stealing my attention.

  I merely smiled.

  “Like I said, you are terrifying for an entirely different reason,” Randolfr reiterated. “A tiny terror,” he teased with a wink when my face dropped.

  “Thanks,” I grumbled when he patted my head like a little kid.

  Tybalt joined us. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “Did Randolfr show you around, explain what you were curious about?”

  Not really, but I was okay now.

  “He explained I’m emotional like I am because the Darkness Within hasn’t extinguished my Light,” I said with a shrug. “That was really helpful, actually. I thought I was broken because I was so emotional and quick to cry. Vanni suggested it was early onset vamp-o-pause, like menopause but for the weird vampire girl variety.”

  They both chuckled.

  “That ghost is something else,” Randolfr commented, and I nodded my agreement.

  Tybalt stood in front of me. “Close your eyes,” he said.

  Curious, instead of suspicious, I did as he asked.

  Softly he caressed his finger down the slope of my nose and it caused my breathing to hitch.

  “Each of your nerves, and every emotion you are capable of, are all heightened because of your rebirth,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing over my lips and they parted with a soft gasp. “The sensory overload,” he continued, softly, his thumb caressing over my trembling bottom lip, “is what causes those not strong enough to deny that darkened voice and it allows them to be consumed by it. We all have a sense of that Darkness Within. Child of the Moon, Child of Light, Child of Blood, it doesn’t matter. We all have that darkness within us, and denying it is the hardest struggle we each face. You, however, make it look effortless.”

  The backs of fingers caressing down my neck caused my knees to shake and goosebumps covered my flesh.

  It felt as if I was on fire but freezing at the same time, and as if a cold breeze was caressing every inch of skin I had, regardless of being clothed.