by MJ Schutte
‘If you stopped using your talent sixty years ago and back then you were thirty, that would make you ninety now,’ Brighton worked out.
‘Yes,’ Thomas said.
‘You said seventy.’
‘Yes,’ Thomas said again.
Brighton thought for a moment and said, ‘You started using your talent again, didn’t you? You’re stealing energy from everyone here.’
Thomas didn’t answer but by the look on his face, Brighton knew he guessed correctly.
‘Why?’ he asked.
‘Because of you,’ Thomas said softly.
‘ME!’ Brighton gasped. ‘What did I do to you?’
‘You did not do anything! It’s because of who you are. Actually what you are.’
‘What do you mean?’ Brighton asked curiously.
‘Roughly sixteen years ago I was gathering lemons in the woods close to the foot of the eastern mountain one day. I heard something in the bushes and instinctively used my talent to sense what it was. I detected a single life form, a woman, coming towards me.
When she appeared out of the bushes, I was surprised to see her clutching a baby.
‘Somehow I did not sense the baby. I tried again but still could only detect the woman’s energy with my talent. I thought perhaps my talent was failing since I hadn’t used it in so long but something about that baby nagged in the back of my head.’
‘And that baby was me,’ Brighton said in understanding. ‘You were curious about me so you started using your gift again to live longer. You wanted to see what I would become.’
‘Correct,’ Thomas confirmed. ‘I brought you and your mother to town and introduced her to everyone as my niece and her baby.’
‘Do you know who my father is?’ Brighton asked.
‘It would be better to have that conversation with your mother,’ Thomas said with such finality that Brighton didn’t even think to press the issue.
Thomas drained his mug and poured more lemon juice.
He looked at Brighton’s cup and saw that it was still full.
‘Shall I dilute that for you?’ he asked.
‘Please,’ Brighton said gratefully. ‘My throat is dry but I don’t think I can drink the juice just like that.’
Thomas chuckled while he emptied half the juice out the window and added water.
‘Try that,’ he said.
Brighton sipped and nodded his head.
‘You must have a few questions,’ Thomas prodded.
‘Yes,’ Brighton confirmed. ‘Why is it that your talent is so much weaker than that of the Supremes? You’re a descendant of theirs, it should be the same?’
Thomas scratched his chin.
‘How do I explain that?’ he mumbled.
‘When a gifted person and an ungifted person have a child, the talent is only half as strong in the child since it was only inherited from one parent. Does that make sense?’
‘No, not really,’ Brighton said.
Thomas looked perplexed, How to explain this? He saw his full mug of juice and got an idea.
He pointed to the mug.
‘Let’s say the juice in the mug is the gift, ok?’
‘Ok,’ Brighton replied, a little confused.
‘At the moment the cup is full and the juice is very strong.’
Thomas drank half the juice and filled up the cup with water.
‘Is the juice still as strong as before?’ he asked.
‘No, it’s diluted with water. It’s only half as strong,’ Brighton said.
Thomas drank half of the diluted juice and filled up the cup with water again.
‘And now?’ he asked.
‘You diluted it again so now it’s half as strong as before, a quarter of the original strength.’
Understanding washed over Brighton’s face.
‘Oh I see!’ he exclaimed excitedly. ‘When a gifted person and an ungifted person have a child the talent gets diluted because it’s only coming from one parent,’ he surmised.
‘That’s what I said! Weren’t you listening?’ Thomas complained.
Brighton ignored the question and pressed on.
‘How “diluted” is your talent?’ he asked.
‘Very,’ Thomas said. ‘I am only a very distant descendant of the Supremes, many generations removed. I am a descendant of Danika, second daughter of the Supreme Raina.’
‘What will happen if two gifted people have a child?’ Brighton asked.
‘The talent will be stronger in the child than the parents. It’s like taking the water out of the lemon juice and adding more juice to it again, but it is forbidden. When the Supremes realized that this would be the case, they made a law that no two gifted people may ever have a child. This ensures that the Supremes will always be the strongest.’
‘Who can steal energy without touching their victim? With the black smoke, in other words?’
‘Only the Supremes and their children,’ Thomas answered.
‘Each of the Supremes took a spouse when they were all still very young to ensure that the talent will not die out. They did not know at that time that they would live forever.
‘When they realized this, they killed their spouses and seven of the eight never had children again. However, this was many years on when their grandchildren were already grown up and had children of their own.
‘The Supremes were worried that their descendants would rise up against them but Seth, the oldest, theorized that if they can control the gifted, the gifted can control the general population and thus the Supremes can become the rulers of all mankind. His plan worked. It was a bad time. Dark Ones would simply pick a person off the street and kill him right there just to prove their dominance. When energy flows that quickly out of the body, it burns the skin. The Dark Ones enjoyed leaving black imprints of their hands on their victims for everyone to see, mostly on the victim’s chest. It did not take long before the Dark Ones ruled through fear and intimidation.
‘From time to time there would be talk of rebellion but the Dark Ones always managed to suppress it. The Supremes grew tired of this and that’s when they decided to put an end to it, once and for all. Since that day in Zedonia I told you about earlier, there has never been any talk of rebellion again.’
‘You said seven of the Supremes never had children again. What about the other one?’ Brighton asked.
‘You don’t miss much, do you?’ Thomas observed. ‘Seth has a taste for young woman. He is the only one that still leaves the caves to satisfy his urges. Sometimes these young women fall pregnant.’
Brighton thought for a moment then asked his next question:
‘How did you steal energy from other people? Just walk up to them, take their hands, and steal it?’
‘Casual contact, walking in town brushing against people. Shaking someone’s hand as a greeting, that sort of thing. That is actually where the custom of shaking hands as a greeting originated. It’s a means of touching the victim so that the Dark One can take some of their energy without them knowing.’
‘That’s clever,’ Brighton marvelled. ‘If you just took my hand I would wonder why but shaking hands as a means of greeting is the most natural thing on earth.’
Brighton frowned.
‘But doesn’t it hurt? You said to take the energy slowly means excruciating pain for the victim.’
‘Only if you take all their energy. If you take a small portion, they shouldn’t notice and it leaves no mark. Let’s say there are a hundred people each with a hundred lemons. If I take one lemon from each person, they won’t miss it all that much because they still have ninety-nine left. I, on the other hand, will have a hundred lemons.’
‘I understand. You don’t take all the energy from one person but rather little bits from a lot of people.’ Brighton said.
‘You learn quickly,’ Thomas smiled.
‘Can you take energy from me?’ Brighton asked.
‘I honestly don’t know,’ Thomas answered. ‘But I don’t think
so. If I can’t sense your energy I don’t think I can steal it’.
‘Try,’ Brighton said holding out his hand.
‘No.’
Brighton did not back down.
He sat forward.
‘Try!’
He grabbed Thomas’ hand.
‘TRY!’
Thomas waited a moment and said, ‘There, I tried. I can’t.’
He pulled his hand back.
‘You’re lying,’ Brighton accused.
‘Just try,’ he pleaded. ‘You said you can control it and it won’t kill me.’
Thomas sighed and slowly held out his hand to Brighton.
‘Take my hand,’ he said softly.
Chapter 4
LILIAN OPENED HER eyes but couldn’t see anything.
Am I dead, she wondered?
‘Get up,’ a deep voice rumbled.
Slowly a few images started to appear. She was lying on the floor. A kitchen table, a chair, and a man sitting on the chair.
‘Next time I will not stop and you will die,’ he said.
Lilian slowly sat up. She looked around. Clarissa’s dead body was right next to her. Lilian scampered away.
‘You killed her!’ she screamed at Seth.
He got up, walked to the door, and said, ‘Come.’
Remembering what happened last time she did not react she immediately jumped to her feet and rushed over to the door. Her muscles protested, but it was nothing compared to the pain the black smoke caused.
‘You learn quickly, that’s good,’ Seth said.
Lilian followed him out of the house.
She noticed it was almost dark. Instead of turning towards town and going back to her house, Seth took course towards the east. Lilian followed silently. She was frantically trying to think of a plan to get away from Seth. Running wasn’t an option. She was sure he could run faster than she could. Besides, she saw how fast the black smoke could move. Nothing could outrun that.
She walked a little slower until Seth was fifteen paces or so ahead then quickly slipped behind a tree.
‘If I have to turn around to fetch you, you will be sorry,’ his voice came from up ahead.
Lilian quickly ran to catch up.
How did he know?
Panic started to rise in her. She walked right behind him until they reached the clearing where the goats were. As they were crossing the clearing, she started to lag behind again.
‘Mister, my legs are tired. I can’t walk anymore,’ she tried.
Seth lifted his hand slowly. Lilian did not need any more motivation. She ran again to catch up. Noticing the goats, she got another plan.
‘Would you mind if I took the goats home quickly?’ she asked.
Seth lifted his hand towards the goats. The black smoke shot out and briefly touched every goat. In a blink of an eye, all the goats were dead. Lilian started crying softly. She was desperate to get away from this monster.
‘Mister, I……’
‘Shhhh,’ Seth interrupted.
Lilian fell silent. The moon was full providing more than enough light to follow the path.
Maybe when we stop to sleep I can sneak away, she thought.
Seth continued on, through the woods towards the eastern mountain with Lilian following closely. He did not stop as Lilian expected and by the time they reached the foot of the mountain, she was dead tired. She had trouble keeping up now. Her legs felt like lead. All her muscles protested with every step. Seth kept going at a steady pace up the mountain towards the pass.
Lilian had never been this tired in her life. She mechanically put one foot in front of the other. Seth didn’t seem tired at all. He simply kept walking at the same pace.
Step after step they climbed higher until Lilian’s legs simply gave way.
Her whole world went black.
When she opened her eyes again, she was flat on her back with Seth standing over her. She knew the black smoke was coming but she was too tired to care.
‘Good,’ that deep voice rumbled.
‘Don’t go anywhere,’ he mocked. ‘I’ll be right back.’
Lilian watched him disappear into the woods. She knew now would be a good time to run but her legs simply wouldn’t respond. Just lifting her hand to wipe the sweat from her eyes took almost all the energy she had left.
Seth returned holding two little rabbits. He placed them just outside Lilian’s reach.
‘Hold out your hand towards them,’ he instructed.
Still lying on her back, she reached for the rabbits.
‘Now feel them,’ he said.
‘Too far,’ she whispered.
‘I did not say touch, I said feel.’
Lilian did not understand. The black smoke slammed into her head but only for a moment before it retracted back into Seth’s hand. She felt the last of her energy slipping away.
Closing her eyes, she waited for death. She became aware of a tingling in her outstretched hand and opened her eyes. There was a thin line of black smoke between her palm and the one rabbit.
Seth was watching silently.
Lilian started feeling better. Energy seemed to flow from the rabbit through the black smoke into her.
All too soon it stopped.
Lilian wished for more. It made her feel good. She looked at the rabbits. One was watching her, with fear in his eyes; the other was dead.
Sitting up she asked, ‘What happened?’
‘Your talent woke up,’ Seth answered.
Seth saw confusion in her eyes.
‘You’re a Dark One,’ he explained.
‘What’s that?’ Lilian asked.
It was Seth’s turn to be confused.
‘You don’t know?’
‘No.’
‘Strange,’ he mused.
‘What’s a Dark One?’ Lilian repeated.
Seth ignored the question.
‘We need to keep going. I am uncomfortable out here,’ he said.
‘I’m tired,’ Lilian complained.
‘Take the rabbit’s energy,’ Seth instructed.
‘What?’ Lilian gasped.
‘Put out your hand, establish a link, and drain its energy. Take it.’
‘That’s ridiculous. I can’t do that,’ Lilian said.
‘You just did. Why do you think the one rabbit is dead?’
‘You killed it,’ she accused.
‘You did,’ he corrected.
Lilian knew in her heart that this was true. She didn’t like it but couldn’t deny it.
‘Hurry up,’ Seth said.
‘No.’
Seth raised his hand.
‘Ok, wait, I’ll try,’ Lilian said quickly.
She looked at the little rabbit.
‘I’m sorry. I have to do this,’ she whispered to the rabbit.
She held out her hand and instantly a thin line of black smoke snaked across to the rabbit. As soon as it touched the rabbit, Lilian felt the tingling in her hand again. Energy flowed from the rabbit through the link into her body. Lilian could feel her strength growing but felt terrible for killing the rabbit.
‘What is this black smoke that’s attached to my hand?’ she asked.
‘It’s an energy link,’ Seth answered.
‘There are more animals in the woods up ahead,’ he went on. ‘Come, we will both replenish our strength.’
Lilian got up without a word and followed Seth. She didn’t look at the rabbits again. Although she felt guilty for killing them, it gave her an idea. If Seth could steal her strength through the link and she could do that to the rabbits, it made sense that she could do it to him.
She was going to kill him.
Brighton took Thomas’ hand.
‘Do it,’ he said.
Thomas frowned.
‘I can’t,’ he said.
‘DO IT!’ Brighton shouted.
‘You misunderstand young man,’ Thomas said softly. ‘I am trying but I can’t feel anything. It’s like you have no energy
in you.’
Brighton sat back, confused.
‘Technically that means I’m dead, doesn’t it,’ he said.
‘Technically, yes, but that’s quite obviously not the case. No dead man can crush another man’s hand,’ Thomas said looking down at his hands.
Brighton also looked down and saw he had the older man’s hand in a death grip. He quickly let go.
Thomas rubbed his bruised fingers.
‘You can probably crush rocks with that grip,’ he tried to joke.
‘Any idea why you can’t feel my energy,’ Brighton asked.
He wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
Thomas shook his head.
Brighton looked out the window and saw that it was dark.
‘I better get home. Mother hates it when I’m late for supper,’ he said.
‘Ok young man. Give Clarissa my regards,’ Thomas replied.
He wished Brighton would stay longer so they could talk more but knew the young man had a lot to think about.
It was best to give him some time to do that.
‘May I return tomorrow so we can talk more?’ Brighton asked.
‘Anytime,’ Thomas answered.
Brighton left without another word.
Walking home Brighton’s mind was a mess of confusing thoughts. He was still no closer to making sense of it all when he got home. Deep in thought, he walked into the house.
‘Mother,’ he called to Clarissa.
He couldn’t see anything in the dark room.
‘Why haven’t you lit a candle?’ he asked.
He noticed a few glowing embers in the fireplace.
Holding the candle close to the glowing coals, he blew a little. A small flame jumped up, just enough to get the candle going. Brighton used the candle to light two more above the fireplace.
Light filled the room.
‘Mother, where are you?’ he called as he turned around.
‘MOTHER!’
Brighton rushed over to Clarissa.
‘Mother?’ he said again as he knelt next to the body.
He knew she was dead but he checked for breathing anyway.
Nothing.
He put his hand on her chest to feel for her heart.
Still nothing.
Brighton cradled her head in his lap. Sadness and rage fought inside his mind. He looked down and noticed a black mark on her neck. He leaned closer and saw that it was in the shape of a hand.
