Master of Darkness

by K T Kaye

  “Jason!” Angel shouted at me, “Let’s swap. You deal with this thing and I’ll deal with the fish.”

  “I can’t deal with that thing!” I exclaimed.

  “Just turn into a demon and eat it!”

  “How!? I still can’t transform on demand!”

  Angel sighed heavily before slicing me through the middle with her sword as she passed me. Like before intense pain rippled up my body. I collapsed to the ground. My vision went blurry.

  Then it stopped.

  My demon had taken over.

  I turned to the slug-demon. It didn’t smell tasty like the demon before had. It smelt like old socks. I sighed and then attacked the slug-demon. I hit it with my tail knocking it over. I then pounced on top of it and ripped it apart. It tasted disgusting! It was slimy, and its skin stuck to my fangs. Once I was certain the demon was dead, I jumped to the ground and gobbled up the fish-faced demons. These demons were very tasty! They tasted just like tuna. When I had eaten my fill, I collapsed to the ground and transformed back into myself.

  “Nicely done mate!” Roger smiled, pulling me to my feet.

  “Can I sleep now?” I muttered feeling exhausted.

  “Not yet. What did that slug taste like?”

  “Don’t just don’t,” I stuttered feeling sick to my stomach.

  “Is your stab wound healed?” Angel asked.

  “Yeah, thanks for that.”

  “Don’t mention it, really don’t mention it because if the Colonel finds out that I’ve stabbed the Master of Darkness twice…”

  “You will be in lock up for life,” Ethan laughed. Suddenly a tentacle burst from under the ice. It wrapped around Ethan’s body and threw him across the cells. It bashed Ethan into the walls, his head cracking open as it made contact with the stone. The tentacle then dragged the werewolf under the water.

  “Ethan!” Angel yelled. She ran over to a hole in the ice and jumped into the water. A few minutes later Angel dragged a bloody Ethan up to the surface. Roger lifted Ethan into his arms, gently placing him down on solid ground.

  “He’s not breathing,” Angel muttered. She pressed her hands against his chest. They glowed white as she performed CPR on her brother. After a while Ethan coughed up water. I was expecting him to wake up but after spitting out water, Ethan’s body went limp.

  “He’s breathing,” Angel pressed her hands against her brother’s head. A soft white light ran down his bloody body. At that moment another tentacle burst out of the ice. It wrapped around Angel’s legs and dragged her under the water. As Angel’s body disappeared into the freezing ocean below, me and Roger were attacked by a small army of demons. They came in different shapes; some were like the fish-faced demons we had fought earlier, some looked like orcs whilst others crawled out of the ice with naked slimy bodies and faces filled with fangs.

  “Stay here and protect Ethan,” Roger ordered. He transformed into a wolf and began to attack the demons.

  I stood next to Ethan, exploding any demon that came close. The problem was that some of the demons just wouldn’t die! Every time I exploded them, they just healed themselves and began to attack us again. One larger demon grabbed hold of Roger and threw him across the corridor. Roger stumbled to his feet. The wolf raced forwards and pounced onto the demon, knocking it to the floor. He sliced the demon’s face. Its acidy blood burnt Roger’s paws, but the werewolf didn’t stop until the demon was dead. Roger then transformed back into himself and ran over to me.

  “If only it was a full moon,” he hissed as he picked up Angel’s fallen sword.

  “Why? What difference would that make?” I asked as I clicked my fingers and a circle of black fire surrounded us, sending the demons stumbling backwards.

  “Oh you don’t know. When it’s not a full moon, werewolves can transform whenever they like into giant wolves, as you’ve seen. However on a full moon, werewolves are forced to transform into horrific half-man/half-wolf monsters. Put simply, on a full moon we transform into proper werewolves,” Roger shouted as he fought against a demon.

  “Ah, a proper werewolf would be handy right now.”

  “If I stabbed you would you turn into a demon?”

  “Probably.”

  “Then I’m sorry about this.”

  But before he could stab me, another large demon burst from under the ice, catching Roger in its mouth. The demon had a muscular body with blue skin and large webbed feet. Its face looked like a shark and its mouth was filled with sharp black teeth. It had piercing red eyes and a sinister gaze. Roger transformed into a wolf as the demon threw him into the air. The demon opened its mouth and Roger dropped inside. The wolf struggled as the demon’s teeth snapped and chewed down on his fur.

  I needed to turn into a demon. Ethan was unconscious, and Angel had been dragged under the ice by a demon. The only person who could help Roger was me. I ran and picked up Angel’s curved sword. Just as I was about to stab myself with it, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. The pain was so intense that I collapsed to the ground. I coughed and spluttered. My body shook, and a dark mist covered my vision. Lightning forks sprang from my fingertips, they bounced around the cells frying any demon that got in their way.

  The pain vanished as suddenly as it had arrived. I looked down at my body and found that my demon had taken over. I ran forwards and jumped on top of the demon, forcing it to drop Roger. The demon slashed its claws. Hot blood ran down my face. I bashed the demon with my tail. The demon caught my tail between its teeth.

  I howled in pain.

  My cry was so loud that it caused the room to shake. The demon stumbled backwards. As it did so two bullets flew through the air and burst the demon’s eyeballs. I turned to see a bloody Roger slump to the ground, a gun in hand. As the demon wandered around blindly, I jumped onto its back and dug my fangs into its neck. The demon screamed and threw me to the ground. It was about to pounce on top of me when a white dragon burst through the ice distracting it. I used this to my advantage and wrapped my spiked tail around the demon’s neck. My spikes dug into its flesh. Its blood dripped onto the ice. The dragon blew fire at the demon’s face and scratched at its blinded eyes. I unwrapped my tail and took a step backwards. I then coughed up thick black mist. The mist wrapped around the demon.

  It sank into its scales.

  And the demon exploded.

  I stumbled backwards. I fell to the ground and transformed back into myself. The dragon transformed back into Angel. She picked up her fallen sword and ran over to me. She was soaking wet and blood coated her body. Angel held out her hand and helped me to my feet.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I think. I just transformed without being stabbed,” I muttered.

  “Good for you. That mist thing was pretty impressive.”

  “Yeah, I have no idea how I did that!”

  “Roger!” Angel exclaimed as she noticed her brother. We ran over to him. Roger was covered in blood. One of his arms was missing and his stomach was cut open. Angel pressed her hands against Roger’s chest. Water ran from the hole in the floor and covered Roger’s body. The water sank into his wounds causing Roger to cry out in pain.

  “I’m sorry. Just hold on,” Angel muttered, “We need to get you to Rowan.”

  Angel stood up and pulled out her wand. She flicked her wrist, Roger and Ethan rose into the air surrounded by pink lights.

  “We need to l…”

  Before she could finish, the ice broke once more, and hundreds of demons began to crawl to the surface. Angel grabbed hold of my wrist and dragged me back to the entrance, Roger and Ethan flew alongside us. Once we were at the top of the stairs, Angel flicked her wand again. Roger and Ethan flew out of sight.

  “Where did they go?” I asked.

  “To the medical bay,” Angel muttered, she shoved her wand into her boot and raised her hands. A bright white light burst from her fingertips and covered the entrance to the cells. As the demons raced towards us, they crashed into the white lig
ht.

  “Is that a forcefield?”

  Angel nodded, “The two of us can’t stop them. Even if you turned into a demon. There are just too many of them. I need you to head to the medical bay and tell the others. If they’ve got the teleportation systems working, then leave. That’s an order.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to stay here and hold them off for as long as possible.”

  As Angel spoke the demons crashed against the forcefield. Angel yelled out in pain as the forcefield began to strain. Her hands trembled, and blood began to run from her ears. I stared at Angel. Her coat had been lost long ago, her blood-stained shirt was ripped and soaking wet from being dragged into the freezing ocean. Her right hand was still blue from where Mr Jet had broken it, her forehead was branded and the demon bite on her left ankle hadn’t healed. Angel’s skin was bruised, and her face was a ghostly shade of white.

  “You’ll die,” I realised, “You’re too injured to keep the forcefield going.”

  Angel smiled, “Maybe you’re not as stupid as you look.”

  “This isn’t the time to joke!”

  “Jason, please just do as I say.”

  “I…” My words were lost as I became distracted by Angel’s blood. I was vaguely aware that Angel was speaking but I didn’t hear a word she said.

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her blood. The crimson liquid glowed as it ran down her arm and dripped onto the forcefield. I looked down at my own bloody hands. Unlike Angel’s that seemed to shine, my blood was so dark that at times it seemed black. Without thinking, I raised my hand and pressed it against Angel’s.

  Her beautiful bright blood and my bleak black blood mixed together. The mixed blood spread across the forcefield causing it to change colour. A ring of black light surrounded the white light. As the ring of black touched the ring of white, the forcefield expanded dramatically. It engulfed the cells, evaporating any demon that it encountered. The forcefield stroked the ice. The ice grew. It covered the holes in the ground then rose, submerging the cells in an icy cage. The entrance to the cells completely disappeared. All that remained was a block of black tinted ice.

  “What did you just do?” Angel asked, placing her hand against the block of ice that used to be the entrance to the cells.

  “I have no idea. How…how did I just do that? I wasn’t planning, it just…just happened,” I stared at my hands in wonder.

  “Add this to the list of things you need to have a mental breakdown about.”

  “I…yeah…I will…do you think that will hold?”

  “For now…Come on we need to get to the medical bay.”

  As we ran towards the medical bay, Danny and Alexander ran to meet us.

  “Are you okay?” Danny and Alexander asked in unison.

  “Later. I need to find my brothers,” Angel gasped as the four of us ran to the medical bay. Angel swung the doors open as we arrived. Ethan and Roger lay on hospital beds, attached to monitors. Rowan was trying to sew up Roger’s wounds while Sue was trying to stop Ethan’s head from bleeding. Angel ran over to them. She grabbed her brothers’ hands and a soft white glow embraced both werewolves.

  “What happened?” Rowan asked.

  “Ethan, sea demon. Its tentacle grabbed him and threw him around, then dragged him underwater. He was underwater for too long, so I had to perform CPR, and Roger…Roger was…” Angel stuttered.

  “Eaten,” I explained simply.

  “Angel,” Roger whispered, opening his eyes slightly.

  “Roger,” Angel smiled as tears pricked her eyes.

  “Stop. Stop trying to heal me. You’re just wasting your energy.”

  “What are you…?”

  “You can feel it, the wolf bond, I’m dying Angel.”

  “Don’t say…”

  “Angel, it’s okay,” Roger placed his only remaining hand against Angel’s face wiping away her tears, “It’s okay…you know that I love you right? The day Pops brought you home. That…that was the best day…of…my life…”

  “Stop it!”

  Roger looked over to Rowan, “Rowan, look after Jack for me. He’s not as strong as he looks. Make sure you…you give Pops…a big litter of were-maids…”

  Rowan sobbed as she nodded.

  Roger turned his gaze towards the rest of us, “It…was…an honour to fight alongside you please…look after…protect…my Angel…”

  “Stop it,” Angel begged, “Please!”

  Roger smiled faintly, “A…Angel.”

  Roger’s head flopped. His hand went limp.

  “Roger? Roger!? Wake up, I was healing you, wake up!”

  I stared at Roger. He was dead. Roger Night was dead. The loveable werewolf who was kind to everyone, loved food and a good laugh was dead. I looked at Roger’s once playful eyes and saw nothingness. Tears ran down my face. I stumbled backwards. The world seemed to spin. Araminta hugged me close but I didn’t even register her existence.

  All I could see was the corpse lying on the hospital bed.

  27

  ‘Soul Suckers’

  A long-held beep echoed through the silence.

  Roger’s heartbeat had disappeared from the monitor. Angel pressed down on Roger’s chest in a desperate attempt at CPR. Her hands glowed a bright white as Angel’s healing magic sank into Roger’s body. But Roger’s heartbeat didn’t return. Rowan pulled Angel from her brother’s lifeless body.

  “Stop now Angel. He’s gone,” Rowan whispered.

  “No he’s…” Angel grabbed her chest as pain flooded into her heart.

  “Angel!”

  “The wolf bond, it hurts. Why can’t I feel him anymore?”

  “What’s happening?” Danny asked as Angel doubled over in pain.

  “Angel and the rest of the wolf pack are connected through the wolf bond. They can communicate and feel each other telepathically. Which means when one of the pack dies, they all physically feel it,” Rowan explained.

  Suddenly Ethan’s heartbeat started to drop rapidly.

  Rowan rushed over to him. Rowan pressed her hand against Ethan’s forehead. A soft blue glow ran from her fingertips and embraced the werewolf’s body. Ethan’s heartbeat continued to drop. It dropped until a second long-held beep joined Roger’s. Ethan’s heart had stopped beating. Rowan quickly started to perform CPR, but Ethan’s heart didn’t start beating. Angel pulled herself up, pushed her sister-in-law away and cupped her hands around Ethan’s head. As her brother’s blood trickled onto her fingertips, Angel’s entire body began to glow a violent white.

  “Angel what are you doing?”

  “Ethan hasn’t faded yet. The wolf bond, Roger’s gone but Ethan hasn’t yet. He’s still here,” Angel gasped. The white glow engulfed Ethan’s body. It wrapped around his wounded head and spread down to his broken toes. Angel slammed her hands onto Ethan’s chest.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Beep.

  Ethan’s heart began to beat. Tears ran down Angel’s face as she slid to the floor. She tried to sit herself up but found that she couldn’t. Without saying a word, Alexander knelt beside her and rested Angel’s body against his. Danny was not amused by this, but he held his tongue. This wasn’t the time to start an argument.

  Rowan quickly examined Ethan, “You put him in a coma.”

  Angel nodded, “He won’t wake up until he’s completely recovered.”

  “If he can’t recover…”

  “He will.”

  “But if he can’t…”

  “He will! He has too!” Angel snapped, she then turned her attention to Roger, “Why didn’t it work…Roger, why didn’t it work on you?”

  “There was nothing you could have done,” Rowan cried as she spoke, “He was too far gone.”

  “What happened to the demons? You said you were attacked,” Araminta asked pulling away from Jason.

  “Dealt with. It turns out if you stab Jason, he’ll turn into a demon and eat your enemies for you
,” Angel looked up and noticed McLean, Fredrick, and Joel for the first time. “Angus died. I’m sorry.”

  McLean nodded as tears tickled his whiskers.

  “Did you get all the important documents and the weapons?”

  “The documents are in my backpack and the weapons,” McLean gestured to three wooden boxes.

  “Is that all you have?”

  “Clover is bringing the last one,” Danny explained.

  “Danny do me a favour, go tell Clover about…and go get Fern and Becks. We need to find out what’s happening with the communications.”

  “On it,” Danny quickly left the medical bay.

  Alexander helped Angel to her feet. Angel stumbled to Roger’s bed. She planted a kiss on her brother’s forehead then covered his body in a white sheet. She paused; a few stray teardrops fell to the floor. Angel wiped her eyes and walked over to the boxes of weapons.

  “Most of the weapons are very old and rusty,” Joel explained, “But they might still work.”

  “We can make use of them,” Angel took out an old-fashioned pistol and bullets, “I’ll take this, I lost my gun in the cells. The rest of you, go through the boxes and take whatever you can use.”

  At that moment Danny, Clover, Fern and Becks entered the room. Fern opened her mouth to speak but, for the first time in her life, she found that she had nothing to say. Her mind had gone blank. She couldn’t even find the words to ask if Angel was okay. Instead Fern just stared at the bodies of her fallen friends in complete silence.

  “Are you getting anywhere with the communications?” Angel asked.

  “We have a theory but nothing practical. And the theory is more about how the demons got here rather than about the communications,” Fern explained, “See we were wondering how the demons got onto the base. The big ones. The small ones obviously came in the supply boxes, but the big ones couldn’t have got here that way.”