Dark Is Her Nature

by Judith Berens

  A tingle began to move through Alison’s fingers and into her chest and she rubbed the spot with her hand, figuring the cherry tart had given her indigestion. Izzie looked at her, furrowing her brow, then walked over and stood next to her.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I just have indigestion. Must be the sawdust and glue.” Alison chuckled.

  “No, I mean because of the weird darkness swirling at your ankles.”

  Alison looked down at her feet. She had somehow created a darkness around herself. She had never done anything like that, and wasn’t sure why it was happening now. Then out of nowhere she heard a cracking sound, like a falling tree. She turned quickly, threw a flash of light, and batted away a fireball that was heading straight for Izzie’s head. When they looked up three young dark wizards stood there with their hoods pulled over their heads. The one in the center clapped briefly, then stepped forward with his hand around his wand.

  “Haven’t they told you kids not to come so close to the dark territory?”

  “We don’t want any trouble.” Ethan stepped forward, his chest puffed out.

  The wizards all laughed loudly and glanced at each other. The leader stared at the group, his eyes shining. “Too late.”

  He cast a beam of light out of his wand and without thinking Alison lunged in front of it, sending out tiny orbs of light that absorbed the magic. Ethan and Alison rolled across the ground as Izzie began to fight back. She threw her hands out, pulling energy from the ground. Symbols flashed across her skin and she shot bolts of lightning from her hands, catching one of the wizards’ cloaks ablaze. The others did the best they could, using what they had learned in class to defend themselves.

  Alison and Izzie stood side by side throwing magic at the wizards. When Alison twisted her hand around purple flames engulfed her fingers and she hurled them at the leader, sending him up in flames. He couldn’t feel them, but it blinded him long enough for Izzie to launch a giant fireball. It hit him in the chest and knocked him backward into the other two. They slid across the black stone and Alison looked encouragingly at Izzie.

  “I thought you didn’t know a lot of magic.”

  “I thought so too.” Izzie shrugged as the wizards picked themselves back up. The leader rushed forward and sent out a bolt of dark energy that wrapped around Alison’s arm. She looked at it, then at the wizard, and shook her arm. The magic had no effect on her. The wizard narrowed his eyes and considered her for a moment, then fired another stream, then another, but she shook each one off with no damage.

  “It can’t be,” he whispered.

  Alison wanted to know what he meant; wanted to know why what she was doing was so strange and unusual that he stopped in his tracks. Izzie sent waves of magic out that slammed into the other two wizards, knocking their wands from their hands. Ethan and the others cheered as the wizards scrambled for their wands.

  The leader of the group was still staring at Alison and kept testing his magic on her until she balled her hands into fists and slashed them through the air in front of her, creating a wave of darkness that rushed toward the wizard. He ducked and it flew past.

  “You... You are her!”

  Just then there was a loud howl from behind them and Izzie jumped next to Alison as a werewolf came barreling toward them, teeth bared.

  20

  The wolf was large and black and its eyes glowed bright yellow. It snarled and growled as it moved toward them, its sharp vicious teeth dripping saliva. Alison narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, seeing the energy of the beast as its muscles tensed and moved.

  Izzie was trying to pull her back. “Wait,” she whispered.

  The beast was familiar, and she could feel this pull toward him like they were connected in some way. As he got closer he leapt over Izzie and pounced on the wizard leader, and they rolled across the ground. Alison spun to watch the two souls battle. The wolf looked back at Alison and she knew that wasn’t just some strange shifter—it was Luke.

  He turned back to the wizard and growled, then put one immense paw across the wizard’s throat to hold him down and used the other to shake the wand from his grip. Izzie pushed a stream of energy in front of her, blasting it straight into the chest of an approaching wizard who had recovered his wand. His wand flew up and magic swirled from the tip and nicked Luke in the ear, and he winced and pulled back just enough for the wizard to get his knees up and push Luke off him.

  Alison froze as blood trickled down into Luke’s fur, matting the hair and Izzie grabbed her arm and shook her out of her trance. The wizards had gathered again, and though they looked worse for wear they weren’t backing down. Luke got up on all fours and went to Alison and Izzie, looping around Alison to protect her. He seemed to be drawn to her just as much as she was to him, and it was confusing them both. At that moment, though, there was no time for questions; the wizards were preparing for another attack.

  The others were gathered together behind them, casting as much magic as they could muster. Ethan shook his head, looking at the burn mark on Peter’s shirt.

  “This doesn’t make any sense. Sure, the dark wizards are dangerous, but they don’t just go around attacking in the streets.”

  “Times are different now. Magic is coming to Earth and the dark beings are getting bolder.” Peter was out of breath, and though the kemana recharged their magical powers they were all exhausted.

  Alison nodded at Izzie when she felt the energy burning through her. Izzie lowered her hands and pulled light magic around her body and into the palms of her hands. Alison looked down at Luke and circled her hand in front of her chest, releasing small balls of light and cast them between her group and the dark beings. The orbs danced, creating a show of sparkling energy around them. The dark wizard growled and threw a fireball at Alison, and one of her orbs opened like a mouth and swallowed the dark magic.

  With every dark fireball he threw Alison’s orbs grew larger, until there was a solid screen of light between the group and the dark wizards. On the other side the wizards just gripped their wands, unsure what would come next. The leader squinted his eyes to stare at movement in the center of the wall of light, where tiny purple flames danced in a circle. He paused, then his eyes grew wide as Luke jumped through and bit down on his arm.

  When the wizard screamed in pain, Alison dissolved the orbs and Izzie released bolts of energy one after another, foiling the wizards’ attempts to fight back. Luke lost his grip when the lead wizard punched him hard in the head, but when he shook the stars from his eyes the wizard’s wand was at his feet. He picked the wand up in his mouth and gave the dark being a toothy smile. The boy pulled his hood back, revealing bright white hair and ice-blue eyes.

  “Do it and I will hunt down every one of your shifter kin and murder them,” the wizard hissed through gritted teeth.

  Luke gave him a big wolfish smile and bit down hard, splintering the wizard’s wand. Dark energy seeped from the pieces as Luke spat them onto the ground, then he growled and backed toward Alison. Orbs of dark and light flew around them as Izzie and Alison attempted to push back the other wizards. Everyone was tired, but Alison’s energy pushed her to keep fighting. Sweat poured down Izzie’s forehead as she pushed light from her body, spiraling the bolts at the two other wizards.

  “I don’t know how long I can keep this up,” Izzie yelled.

  “I know,” Alison wheezed.

  Just then, as if someone were listening, there was a rustle from the left. The bushes around them shook as some Willen—three-foot rodent-like creatures who were known as artful thieves and could hide their bounty in the folds of their skin—stepped out. They walked on their hind legs, but their bodies resembled those of oversized rats, and some wore fitted waistcoats. Others wore pearls or caps on their heads, but most wore only a charming smile on their faces. The largest of the Willen stepped out first, putting his paws in the air.

  “Dirty rats,” the wizard spat.

  “Watch your tongue, little wizard. Five b
ucks says your father would happily pay for information putting his son in the center of an underground dark city fight.”

  The wizard looked at the Willen, then at Alison, unsure what to say. The other wizards lowered their wands as Willen surrounded them, scurrying between their feet and staring at them with their warm brown eyes. Willen loved information. Their dream was to know everything.

  They were an honorable kind of thief, and they never lied and would bargain away the very shoes off their feet if it got them a gold coin or two.

  “Don’t think I didn’t see you in the dark alleys looking for trouble.” The Willen narrowed his eyes. “That information… Oh yes, that would bring a pretty penny.”

  “I’ll kill you where you stand.”

  Izzie held up the bright orb on her palm. “The hell you will.”

  The Willen patted Izzie on the leg. “It’s all right, little elf. He knows we never lie.”

  The wizard just stood for several moments, grinding his teeth together and staring at the Willen around them. There had to be at least a hundred, their sharp little claws tapping against the black stones beneath their feet. Finally, with a growl, the leader glared at Izzie, Luke, and finally Alison.

  “This isn’t over, Drow.”

  The lead Willen’s head snapped to Alison, his eyes narrowing. The leader of the group snatched one of the other wizard’s wands, then swirled it and pushed the Willen back. The wizards ran for the dark alleys in the distance, leaving the rest of them staring down at the furry creatures.

  “Thank you.” Alison released her magic back into the ground.

  The Willen sniffed around her, ignoring the growls of the werewolf, then looked up at Alison in curiosity.

  “Hmmm, a Drow. Very peculiar indeed.”

  Izzie looked to her right as another large Willen stepped forward, staring at her familiarly. Another Willen whispered something in his ear and his expression became one of shock. She turned toward the furry being, wanting to ask him how he knew her, but as she stepped toward him the Willen scurried in all directions, the large one mixing in with the rest.

  “Be careful, young magical ones,” the head Willen warned, still gazing at Alison. “The Darkness is approaching, and you are not safe here.”

  With that her furry savior scampered off, running back to the darker part of town where the sun never shone and the residents liked it just fine that way. Luke groaned and when she looked down he’d shifted back to his naked human form. She helped him to his feet and for a moment the two stared at each other, unsure of what happened or what even to say about it. Luke’s ear was bleeding and the hair on the side of his head was matted down.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” He touched his ear. “Looks worse than it is. Just a nick really. No big deal.”

  “Good lord, what was that?” Ethan walked forward slapping Luke on the back and handing him his overshirt. “The three of you were like rogue magic warriors.”

  Kathleen stepped forward with her arm still around Emma, whose energy was fearful. “Thank you, guys! You too, Luke.”

  “No problem,” the shifter growled.

  Alison hugged Emma tightly and the girl slowly began to relax. “They are gone now. We are safe. If it weren’t for Izzie...”

  “I don’t know where I learned to fight like that, but I’m glad I did. And Alison, you have all sorts of magical talents.”

  Kathleen smiled. “Drow usually do, but they develop over time—like your silver hair.” She pointed at Alison’s head, the silver tips having inched up farther on her long hair.

  Alison pulled her hair forward and looked at the color, surprised how fast the white had increased. She dropped her hair and looked around at everyone. The only injuries were a small burn on Peter’s shoulder and Luke’s bloody ear. They had been really lucky, but Alison feared that if the wizards had been older and more powerful they would have never stood a chance. Then there were the Willen, creatures who never helped anyone—yet they had stepped into the middle of this battle and saved the day. Everything about it was odd, from the fight to the Willen.

  Emma opened her bag and pulled a white handkerchief, handing it to Luke with a smile.

  “I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Take this and clean up your ear.”

  “Thank you.” Luke nodded at Emma and glanced at Alison, his eyes still glowing yellow.

  Above them the lightning cracked as though there was a storm approaching, and from the dark side of town magical black clouds rolled over the sky. It was like a warning. Something distant and dark was angry, and Alison didn’t doubt it had to do with those three wizards and whoever their families were. She didn’t want to wait around and see what the storm brought. She’d had enough battles for one day—or for one lifetime, actually. She was just glad that her powers seemed to have a mind of their own, at least they had today.

  “We should get back and get cleaned up before dinner. Hopefully no one has noticed that we are gone. It’s one thing to sneak into the underground city, but it’s another to have an all-out battle while we are here.”

  21

  Luke grabbed his clothes and dressed and the group gathered their belongings, making sure they had everything. Peter unwrapped his book, since the paper on the outside was torn and burned. He shook his head and looked out over the caverns. Alison walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Good work with those blocking spells.”

  Peter scoffed. “Yeah, right. Good work, you and Izzie, for keeping us alive.”

  “I don’t know how we did it, but I know all I could think about was you guys behind us. I do have to say, I think I am about done with fun trips to the underground city.”

  “At least for a while.” Peter winked at her and they joined the others.

  Ethan put his arm out, stopping them in their tracks. In front of them was the long dark alley that led to the dark part of the city and a group of young magical beings was walking out, looking around carefully as they went. When the darkened sun hit their faces, Kathleen gasped. It was Claire, Scarlett, and several of the other upperclassman. Scarlett stopped her group when she saw Alison and the gang.

  Slowly she walked over to them, her brightly colored hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She stuffed something inside her bag and held it close as she approached. She inspected them curiously. Alison and her group were more than a little the worse for wear, but at the same time, Scarlett was coming from the dark side of the city.

  “I have so many questions.”

  Alison tilted her head to the side. “Likewise.”

  “You are lowerclassmen. You aren’t supposed to be here.”

  “And you are upperclassmen, forbidden to enter the dark area.”

  “It seems you were in some sort of fight. That must have been the noise we heard. And from the looks of your little pet pup, he got in on some of the action too.”

  Luke snarled, but Ethan kept his hand firmly on his shoulder.

  “The kemana helps the shifters change more easily, I would watch what you say to him. He’s really not in the mood.”

  Alison kept her eyes on Scarlett’s energy, in which the colors were changing and shifting. She was nervous, determined, and confused, and she was hiding all of this under a bitch persona. Alison knew that whatever she had put in that bag was not something she wanted them or anyone outside of her circle to know about—and that meant she had a negotiable situation.

  “It looks like we’ve reached an impasse.” Scarlett shifted her stance, keeping her lips tight.

  “It seems that way.” Alison followed her movements and streaks of fear flowed from the older girl’s energy.

  “How about we make a deal? I won’t tell on you freshies for being caught in the underground city or whatever fight you were in and you don’t tell Berens where you saw us come from.”

  Alison looked over her shoulder at the others. She could tell they were all on board with her, and she knew she had the upper hand. Still, s
he wanted peaceful days in the halls. She just wanted to not deal with their harassment anymore.

  “I think that can be arranged... if you and your little groupies also agree to leave us alone for the rest of the school year. No poking, prodding, teasing, or anything else. Act like you don’t even see us.”

  Scarlett tightened her jaw, hating to be under someone else’s control. However, this secret was too big and too important to be blabbed to the headmistress. She would just have to agree to the terms and hope that they, at some point, went back on their word.

  “Fine. It will be like we never saw each other.”

  “And we’ll never see each other again, at least not in a way that will make either of our lives more troublesome.”

  Alison held out her hand and Scarlett eyed her for a moment, gripping her bag tighter. Then she nodded, flipped her ponytail as she waltzed back to her group. She told them what she had agreed to, and Scarlett looked back and nodded before they headed back toward the center of the city. Alison let out a deep breath and Peter put his hands on her shoulders.

  “You should be President one day.”

  “Yeah.” Alison laughed uncomfortably. “Or I could just graduate and get the hell away from all the drama that seems to follow me around like an annoying little sister.”

  The group laughed, relieved at having had something positive happen. They walked back through the streets, all their energy gone, ignoring the glares from passersby who had heard about the fight. They traded their Ruby Falls money for Earth dollars and headed for the steps that led out of the kemana.

  Luke walked alongside Alison in silence, glancing at her from time to time. He didn’t know what it was, but he had sensed from the main part of the city when she was in trouble. It was like something had reached inside of him and pulled him along to look for her. When he had seen the wizards attacking, his first instinct had been to change and do whatever he could to protect her. The pull was there and he knew she felt it too, but he had no idea what it meant.