Chosen Darkness (Chosen Series)

by Fawn Atondo

  He dismounted too. While his horse grazed and rested, he walked around, looking at the cliffs. He could not see all the way up because they disappeared into the swirling around them. But he could tell it was a rocky climb and a fall could kill a weaker man than himself.

  Magically, Lark was able to make soup that tasted halfway good, or maybe they were all too hungry to care. Alex had yet to find any game to feed on. Although hungry, he was in good enough shape.

  “We should all rest for an hour, then we will make the climb. With any luck we will be close to the top before the sun goes down,” Luria said with a weak smile.

  Something was bugging her. She seemed very unhappy. When Alex had first met her, she smiled a lot and was much friendlier. Now she hardly spoke unless it was to tell them they had to leave or to answer a question one of them asked.

  Alex pulled her aside and asked her if she was all right. She clearly did not like being singled out and this too seemed odd to Alex.

  “I’m fine, Alex, but we are on a journey which could mean death for some, if not all of us, so forgive me if I seem a little reserved.” There was a hint of anger in her voice.

  “I just wanted to see how you were doing is all,” Alex assured her.

  “Like I said, I’m fine,” she snapped before marching over to her bedroll.

  Alex did not ask her anything else. Her answer sounded reasonable enough: being on such a trip could make anyone less than happy, apart from an elf. Nothing seemed to dampen their mood!

  Taking to his own bedroll, Alex watched the fog drift around the high peaks of the cliffs. He could not sleep so he used the time to hash out a plan of action should they come to meet this unnamed foe. Yet, he still had the feeling they already had. He looked over at Luria who appeared to be asleep. Granted, he could not know if they had the ability to fight off an attack. And besides himself, he had no idea how skilled the others were.

  “Lark, you know how to use a bow?” Alex assumed the stories of elves fighting with bows and arrows would be true.

  A deep laugh came from Lark.

  “No, afraid not!” he grinned.

  “How about a sword?” Alex asked hopefully

  “Do you see a sword on my person?” Lark asked.

  Alex did not recall ever seeing one on him.

  “What can you do then, beside sense feelings?” Alex demanded.

  “Want to see?” Lark asked eagerly.

  “Why not? I’m not going to get any sleep,” Alex muttered.

  Lark came to stand in front of him, his hands at his side, looking relaxed. Alex waited, watching him and wondering if he was going to punch him in the face, just to prove he could. Then he was gone, and before Alex could turn around, Lark knocked his feet out from under him. He landed on the ground with a thud, and Lark held his foot to his throat.

  “Nice,” Alex croaked.

  “I am great at hand to hand combat, if one is fast enough to keep up with me,” Lark said, with a haughty air.

  “Good to know,” Alex nodded.

  And he meant it. After all, being able to best a vampire was not something easily accomplished, meaning Lark was fast. Really fast.

  Lark gave a mock bow, smiling as usual walked back to his bed. He sat, there looking up at the cliffs. Alex did the same. After all, these massive cliffs above them demanded their attention. Alex lost count of the time as he watched the cliffs, so he was startled when Luria got up and said they needed to head out. Alex cast a worried glance at Falyn, but she looked refreshed. She gave him a small tight smile as she rolled up her bed.

  Once more the group set off upon their horses. With one last glance at the flat land, Alex followed Lark up the cliffs. He took the rear out of habit; he was always on watch. Luria took the lead, followed by Falyn, then Lark.

  The elven horses where sure-footed beasts and this gave Alex some peace of mind, but not much because the higher they went, the rockier the cliffs became. Alex did not try to use his reins; his horse seemed to have a better sense of where to put its hooves.

  At one point the fog cleared from the trail, and if Alex’s heart had still been beating, he was sure his heart would have stopped because the view of the straight drop down was sobering. Alex held tighter to the reins and instinctively leaned toward the other side. But only for a moment. Seconds later he got a glimpse of the other side and saw it was also a sheer drop down. They were on a narrow rocky ridge. Alex kept his body straight as an arrow after that.

  A few more hours and the fog lifted completely, they could all see the menacing scenery. Alex heard Lark’s low whistle as he took in the sight, and Falyn’s soft groan.

  “The cliff walls will come up on our right soon,” Luria said by way of comfort.

  The sun was now setting. They would not have daylight for much longer so the need to push on was urgent. Luria was right, the cliff wall appeared on their right again. Alex was never so thankful for a rock face before in all his life. One precipitous drop was enough to worry about! The view of the moon from the cliffs was almost worth the risk of life. It was so huge, so close, Alex felt as if he could reach out and touch it. The valley below, however, was just different shades of darkness so he could not get a true feel of the land from up here.

  Eventually the cliffs gave way to normal ground. Everyone was too exhausted to say they were thankful. They rolled out their beds and collapsed onto them. Alex found himself watching the moon and wondering what he was going to face in the coming days. No one could be trusted, and the farther Luria led them, the more convinced he became she too fell into that group.

  Chapter fifteen: Lost

  Falyn woke with a sharp pain in her head. She rolled to her side and fortunately the pain faded away. Breathing hard, she looked into the darkness. The moon was now slipping out of the sky: soon dawn would light the land.

  She stood on shaky legs and looked about her. She could hear the sound of rushing water, she needed to wash her face, and Falyn felt she wore most the dust from the cliffs. It was not hard to find the large river. Thankful for its cool water, she splashed it on her face, drinking a few swallows before taking a seat by the bank.

  Falyn wanted to leave this world urgently. She did not like the way it was wreaking havoc on her body. These headaches hit so hard and she had never had so many in all her life! She had a feeling.… And then pain came and it would not let her finish her thoughts. Her mind was forcing her to think about something else, about her Druid power. As odd as she knew this was, she let her mind wander where it wished.

  The pain subsided and she felt a sense of power. It was this which made her head hurt. This voice inside her inner mind was almost pleading with her to believe this. And the moment she fought the idea, the second she thought it was wrong, the pain came and she once more gave in, buying into the statement her mind fed her.

  I am The One, she told herself, I am strong. I will help bring down the waste of this world! She felt the power in her blood rushing through her body with every beat of her heart. And she was at peace; once more.

  Falyn was in a hurry to get going. She had a feeling she was close to the Gate and the sooner she got there, the quicker she could start righting the wrongs in both her worlds.

  “Falyn!” She heard Luria calling her name.

  “Over here,” she answered, coming out of the woods.

  “Thank goodness! I thought you lost, or worse!” The girl’s eyes were wild with worry, pulling at Falyn’s heart strings.

  “No, I just needed to use the river for a moment,” she assured her.

  “We should head out,” Luria told her.

  “Yes, I can feel the Gate is close,” Falyn nodded.

  Luria looked slightly shocked over this.

  “You can?” Luria asked.

  “Um yes. I feel I am close to getting the hell out of here,” Falyn smiled.

  “Oh” Luria said with a smile herself, but it was a forced smile.

  Before Fa
lyn could ask what was wrong, Luria was busy giving orders to the men and packing her stuff. Falyn packed too. She would have to wait until later to ask Luria what was wrong.

  Alex gave her a long, hard look, as though he was trying to find something. Falyn had that feeling from him ever since the night of her change. Was he still worried about her? About this place? For a moment she wanted to tell him she felt his concern, but, like before, her mind pushed the idea way. In its place, a cold feeling grew. She would not let him in her head! Never again, she vowed. Mounting her horse, she took up her place behind Luria as they headed out.

  The day was bright. The grass up on the hills was green and lush. Falyn could hear the birds and saw a deer. Animals somehow made this place seem safe. It might not be logical, but it reassured her, all the same.

  Her feeling of being almost to the Gate grew with each passing mile, and with it her joy. But at some point along their way, Luria switched directions and the feeling of proximity to the Gate began to fade.

  “Luria, you’re sure this is the way?” Falyn called to her.

  Luria did not answer. She had ridden slightly ahead now and might not have heard her. Falyn frowned to herself but kept following. Soon her sensation of being near the Gate was gone altogether and she knew they were not going the way they should.

  Falyn stopped and so did Alex and Lark, each looking at her, then at Luria, still riding ahead.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex asked her.

  “We are not going the right way!” Falyn exclaimed.

  “How do you know this?” Alex was watching her carefully.

  “I can sense it, Alex. Before we turned west, I could feel we were close to the Gate,” Falyn admitted.

  “You could?” Lark asked her.

  “Yes, but not anymore. We need to stop her!” Falyn said.

  “I’ll catch her,” Lark announced.

  Alex stayed with Falyn, his face going hard. She thought it was because Luria had not known which way to take them.

  “Maybe she’s lost,” Falyn shrugged.

  “Or leading us into a trap,” Alex snapped.

  “A trap!” Falyn gasped. “Why would she do that?”

  Falyn had been so sure Luria would not do this, but she realized she didn’t know the girl well enough to make such an assumption. Perhaps that is why she would not stop.

  “We have to head back!” Falyn cried.

  “In a moment,” Alex told her, watching Lark chase down Luria.

  Lark closed the space between him and the Binder. He pulled her reins and her horse stopped. She was trying to pull free clearly upset.

  “We should go see what is wrong,” Falyn suggested.

  “No.”

  “Really, Alex, I...”

  She stopped. She could hear the sound of horses. Both she and Alex turned to see a large army fanning out around them, seemingly out of thin air!

  “Shit!” Falyn whispered, holding onto Alex’s arm.

  She was scared. But then she reminded herself she was The One and she had nothing to fear. Suddenly she didn’t feel scared at all.

  “Go, Alex!” she shouted at him.

  But he didn’t move. He stayed at her side.

  “Alex, go… I’ve got this!” Falyn urged again.

  She slid off her horse. She heard him curse and call her name, but she ran toward the army.

  The riders slowed when they saw her. She smiled. She held her hands up and ordered them to stop. And they did, just feet from her.

  Alex was suddenly in front of her all she could see now was his back. She went to step around him but he pushed her back. Falyn was able to peek around him finally, seeing the riders were all dressed in black robes. Without a doubt these were the Dark Druids. She would face them! The power raced through her body.

  She heard Lark and Luria riding toward her now too, but she did not turn to look at them. Luria was screaming for her to come back. Falyn did not move. She just stood there, watching the Druids.

  “Gatekeeper,” one in the front said.

  Falyn figured he was the leader. Once more she went to step around Alex but he would not let her, so she spoke from behind him.

  “Leave us be and I will not hurt you,” Falyn warned them.

  The man laughed and shook his head.

  “I have an army. You have three unarmed riders!” he pointed out.

  “True, but I am The One!”

  “One of something you don’t even understand!” he sneered.

  “I know more than you think,” Falyn answered.

  “You know nothing! You’re merely a pawn in a sad little game, and now you will be useless to anyone!” he snarled.

  And for a moment, Falyn felt panic building, but inside her mind a soft, calm voice cooed, “You are the only one… you have nothing to fear. Do not run!”

  Falyn felt the power in her body growing.

  “I warned you!” she shouted.

  She stepped back from Alex, she did not want to be too close to him while changing. She attempted to turn into a wolf, but her body would not obey her. Only pain came. She tried again, but nothing! Then she saw the leader pull out her silver cuff from within his cloak.

  “You’re mine!” he cried, and with that he closed his hands over it.

  As he did, she felt her bones snap and she fell down to the earth. Somewhere in the distance she heard Alex screaming her name, but then it went black. The pain was too much.

  Chapter Sixteen: Blood for blood

  Alex was in a rage. He was trying to fight off Lark who was holding him down. He couldn’t hear what Lark was saying to him; his words were not sinking in. All he could hear was Falyn screaming in pain. He had been in front of her but that did not keep them from taking her. Before he could turn around to help her off the ground, thick black smoke had wrapped around him, blocking out everything, but he could hear Falyn as she cried out in agony.

  “Alex, she’s gone. We have no choice now but to track her!” Lark was pleading with him.

  “Let me up!” Alex roared in his face.

  “Only if you promise to listen!” Luria said now.

  “They just vanished into thin air… a whole army!” Alex shouted.

  “Yes, they used magic, but we can still find them,” Lark told him firmly.

  Alex nodded, and once Lark let him up he had his hands around the Binder’s neck.

  “You did this!” Alex snarled with such hate it that all but burned in his words.

  Luria flinched, grasping his hands and trying to fight him off. Lark pulled him away roughly and told him to stay where he was. His voice cut through him to the quick, forcing him to listen.

  “She was under a spell, Alex, she had to do it!” Lark told him.

  “She’s lying!” Alex spat.

  “No, I’m not. You know I can’t lie. I was under a spell cast on me by the Dark Druids. They wanted me to bring them Falyn. I was forced to do it and lead you all to the Gate, but once we cleared the cliffs I was out of their mind control. I tried to steer her away! I would have if she had not drunk that potion!” Luria cried.

  “What potion?” Alex demanded.

  “The Wiccans they gave her something to bind her to the Darkness when she drank before her change!” Luria rushed out.

  “I knew something was wrong!” Alex exploded.

  “How can we fix this?” Lark asked Luria.

  “We need to find them. If we lose them we cannot save her!” Luria said.

  “You know where they went?” Lark questioned.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Then lead the way,” Alex instructed coldly. “And Binder, if she dies, so do you.”

  Luria nodded as she mounted her horse quickly and set out at a neck-breaking pace. Alex and Lark were right behind her. Alex’s heart was beating faster than it had since he became a vampire, it had laid still with lack of blood but right now, it was beating with fire! Tears of blood sta
ined his face. Being made of blood, vampires shed it and bled it. He would rip the throats from every single Druid who had dared touch her! He had been warned, yet he had failed to keep her safe. Someone had sent them down a deadly path. Someone had wanted her to stay in this world and now her soul was being tainted by dark magic.

  Alex had never felt so frustrated in his life. This world made him feel helpless. He could only hope that Luria really was leading them toward Falyn. However, Lark seemed to trust her and the elf had a keen sense of knowing such things. Still, the rage in him burned so hot he was fully ready to fight anyone over anything, and this could be why both Lark and Luria currently gave him his space.

  The moon once more hovered in the dark sky and Luria was sure she knew what place the Dark Druids had taken Falyn: the same place the Binder met up with them whenever they wanted something from her.

  “Have faith, we’ll find Falyn,” Lark said from the darkness that night as they made camp.

  They did not light a fire, not knowing if they were close enough to be spotted, and Alex sure in hell did not trust anything the Binder said!

  “I let them take her!” Alex’s voice harsh with emotion.

  The pain this caused him was overwhelming.

  “No, Falyn jumped from her horse thinking she could fight them,” Lark reminded him.

  Even with the facts in front of him, Alex could not let it go. He should have keep her safe! He had vowed this so many times in his heart. He may not be able to have her, but he could protect her.

  “We will get her back!” Alex declared roughly.

  “Yes,” Lark agreed.

  The only one who wisely did not say a word was Luria. She sat with her back to a tree and watched the pale moon rise above the trees. The night was not silent. There was the sound of a wolf pack every now and then, reminding Alex each time one of them howled he had brought Falyn to this moment.

  Alex sensed something watching him. He was sure it was that same spirit from the Green Forest. He got up and walked into the trees.

  “If you’ve come to warn me, you’re too late!” Alex hissed.