A Toiling Darkness

by Jaliza Burwell

He glanced at his clipboard, back at me, then the clipboard again. His caterpillar eyebrows scrunched up as if the clipboard was lying to him and he didn’t like to be tricked like that.

  “You’re not Darkness,” he mumbled. “There is no way.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Mark,” he said slowly. The man said it like he wasn’t too sure. I didn’t roll my eyes at him. I wanted to. I really did, but I didn’t and just for that I should have been given a damn metal.

  “Well, Mark. Either let me in now or the next time I see Lord Kay, I’ll tell him you refused me entrance. Then after he pulls your spine out through your ass, maybe you won’t challenge me again.”

  He paled, his dark skin turning a weird dull shade of his skin tone. His throat worked like he was trying to swallow an entire rotten apple. Finally, he nodded and stepped to the side.

  The room was still dark, but unlike the last time I was here, the place was filled with teams of fighters. The tables and chairs were all removed and the walls were lined with beings acting as guards, each one of them were capable of destroying the fighters in a matter of seconds if anyone started anything. Kay held the best security around.

  I glanced around, looking for a familiar face when I spotted the warlock standing by the ‘No Admittance’ door. As I weaved through the crowd, he spotted me and had to do a double take, not believing I was coming to him. When I finally reached him, he had backed up against the door, glancing around for an exit that existed right behind him.

  The plump warlock was someone to be hunted, and tonight he was a weak little gazelle in a den of lions. Why would Kay keep him around, especially tonight of all nights? He screamed victim and the others were beginning to notice, switching their attention to him, some sniffing the air and enjoying what they were finding. There was a lot of lip licking going at the moment. Maybe some stomach grumbles here and there too.

  The loc was covered in sweat, his greasy hair plastered to his face and a pimple stood out against his skin as he continued to freak out even more. Now he was playing with his hands in an obvious sign of panic. He looked just like a sickly gazelle, the kind that gets chased down because they are the slowest and weakest in their herd.

  “Devon,” I said, unable to prevent myself from flashing a predatory smile. He really did make it so easy.

  “Darkness.” He flinched and looked away. “How may I help you?”

  “I need to see Lord Kay.”

  “I’m sorry but as you can see, tonight’s a busy night.”

  “I’m willing to wait.” My irritation with everyone was starting to reach a new high. If this continued any longer I was going to explode and screw anyone who approached me. I just wanted one simple answer to one simple question: Who created Kalen?

  He frowned, picking up on my irritation. “He wasn’t expecting you tonight.”

  “Kay is always expecting me,” I said, letting the coldness seep into my voice.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come back tomorrow?” he asked. He really didn’t want me to be around tonight.

  I shook my head. “Time is of the essence. I need to see him tonight.”

  He nodded in nervous jerks before opening the door. “I’ll have you wait in another room while I tell him of your visit,” he said glancing around the room nervously. He made me want to look around too. What was he so worried about other than the fifty gazes that were now on him?

  “Lead the way.” I followed him down.

  The stairway was large and made of stone. It was also wide and from the looks of the steps, other forms other than human-like ones have made good use of these stairs. There were dry, dark stains on the concrete walls, suggesting blood, and looking down showed only darkness. Pitch black darkness. The good kind.

  The stairway was set up to test the fighters. Only those brave enough could make it down into the bottomless pit of the darkness. Most of the fighters wouldn’t know how far down it would go and they wouldn’t be able to see anything. Small ruins in an ancient language was etched in the wall to ensure that they couldn’t use their powers to produce some kind of light source. The ruins also messed with their minds, using their imagination against them. For some, I’m sure there was no end, not if they weren’t worthy.

  Wouldn’t want the weak down there, diluting the intensity of the matches. No cannon fodder allowed.

  As we made our way down the stairs, the small light from the top dimmed until eyesight became a useless sense. Beings would have to rely on their touch and other senses to make it to the bottom. The air smelled of death and decay, the railing caked with dried blood and years of dirt, and only the sounds of our footsteps and water dripping could be heard. At least for other beings it was suppose to be that way. It definitely was like that for Devon as he slowly made his way down in front of me. He was already freaking out, and the test wasn’t even activated. It was just really dark.

  I could see clearly in the dark, maybe even better than during the day. So when Devon stumbled a little and nearly tumbled to the bottom of the stairs, I giggled. That scared him even more and he looked back, scrunching up his pudgy face to make me out. Eventually he gave up trying to see me and turned back around to continue—this time keeping a death grip on the railing. I wanted to tell him he was lucky the spells weren’t activated yet. He wouldn’t make it three steps.

  When we made it to the bottom, he felt around until he found a knob and turned it, opening up into a brightly lit room. I blinked, my eyes readjusting to the light.

  This room was filled with the clients who were going to bet on the fighters. They talked with each other, laughing or scowling, depending on if they were the butt of the joke or not. The air was filled with all the different powers, some of them felt calming, others explosive and a couple of them elusive, as if hiding what they were capable of. Voices lowered when they noticed my presence. I recognized most of them from rumors and personal experience. His clientele was really impressive; they were all powerful in their own way.

  They were all dressed in formal wear, the men in perfectly fitted tuxedos that probably cost more than all my custom made dresses and some of my dresses were expensive, pushing a thousand dollars for at least one of them. The women were in all styles of cocktail dresses ranging from long-sleeved to no sleeve and full length to almost showing off their ass. These beings were definitely the rich and powerful. They probably came through another entrance that didn’t involve testing their flimsy resolves.

  I kept my mouth shut, head up, and strolled behind Devon. He led me to another door that opened into a small room. As soon as the door started to close, the voices rose up and some nervous laughter broke out. Funny how I was the one out of place with my simple dress and sandals and yet I made them nervous.

  “Wait here.” He pointed to a small couch before quickly slipping out of the room.

  The room was small, similar to a doctor’s waiting room, filled with sterile colors, chairs, and a table with all the latest issues of popular magazines on top. I ignored the magazines and stretched out on the couch.

  I told myself I wasn’t ever going to come back down here—such a damn liar. Who was I fooling other than myself? Kay had been so sure I would come, even after I returned his invitation. He only sent it back. The man knew me to well. He knew I would find my way here.

  If it weren’t necessary, I wouldn’t be here. I would have been busy gracing another city with my presence for a couple of weeks while the tournament went underway. This tournament attracted beings from all over the world, to either fight or make bets. Just in that room, I spotted beings I’ve pissed off hundred of years ago and beings are incredible at holding grudges. Half of those I pissed off could probably raise a slauve thinking this kind of event would attract me and so giving them an opportunity for revenge. The invitations were sent out months ago, plenty of time for someone to rally up and create a slauve. It would also explain why Kalen was so inexperienced about everything.

  This was just the begi
nning of the tournament too. Not even the beginning. The fighters were upstairs, introducing themselves to their opponents and trying to find each other’s weaknesses. The clients were down here, also collecting information, trading and buying what they knew to others.

  Tonight, the clients will go into the arena and settle down in their seat, and then one by one, the teams will come down, testing themselves with the staircase before introducing themselves to the clients and showing off their talents. The next week will be them training and sparring against each other before the tournament really began. During training some accidents may or may not happen and by the start of the tournament the numbers will mysteriously have dwindled down to only the absolute powerful.

  I picked a hell of a night to talk to Kay.

  Not even ten minutes later, Devon came back, not looking happy at all. I stopped banging my head against the couch and stared at him.

  “Lord Kay will see you tonight, but he wants you to watch the showcase before you talk.”

  “Of course he would,” I replied. The pompous ass—he would drag this out.

  “He will let you sit with him in his private room,” Devon said it as the lord just graced me with his attentions, calling me to his quarters. I snorted, but still followed the loc.

  Kay’s private room was like walking into a suite. It was large and roomy with large comfortable chairs. A full bar with a not-quite human bartender was tucked into the corner, and a long table ran along a wall, filled with fruits, cheese, and other delectable snacks I had no name for. Modern day foods still escaped me. A large TV hung up above a large one-way mirror and was zoomed in on the arena to better see the fights.

  The mirror looked over the entire arena. Rows of chairs leveled down to an arena filled with sand and lit up with spotlights. The lighting on the upper levels of the stadium was dark, getting brighter as it got closer to the arena. At the bottom of the spectator’s section, it flattened out to a floor with tables next to the railing for the really rich and special clients. The fighter’s arena dropped down like a pit. The pit was large, about half the size of a football field. A massive screen was suspended above it to give the spectators a closer view of what was going on. Otherwise, they would need binoculars if they didn’t have excellent eyesight.

  To think Kay was able to hide this place under a city. He was the strongest magic user on this side of the states for a reason. I was impressed the first time, and still am now.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Kay asked from behind. His words were a tickle across the back of my neck.

  I whirled around, surprised by his presence. He stood leaning in the doorway looking almost like a man out of a porn video. Leather pants hugged his legs and an off white shirt stretched over his chest. Kay may not have grown into his full body shape, but he wasn’t scrawny either. If he ever did grow into his body, he would be drop-dead runway gorgeous. His light hair was spiked up with gel and he played with the sunglasses in his hands. The normal swirls of silver in his skin seemed brighter and denser. The magic around him was drawn tight around him, acting as both armor and as a weapon. He was being especially defensive tonight. Why?

  “I would rather not be here,” I replied. No, I’d rather be anywhere but here. Maybe over in New Rheems. Some of the buildings there had a great view of the harbor and city.

  The impending storm was now underway and could be felt through the ground, a slight rumbling from the thundering. There were no windows since we were deep underground but the tight energy in the air told me the storm was picking up.

  “I thought this place would call to you.”

  “Greed has never interested me.”

  He stared at me, his eyes twinkling, and his smile widened. “No. No…it never did.” Bastard was remembering our time together. If I had to choose a moment I didn’t like the most, being with him was high on the list. Not the highest, no, that spot was reserved for when I first came into existence, but it was close.

  “Thirsty?” he asked. I nodded.

  He snapped his fingers and the bartender came over with a tray. The bartender was pale with flaming red hair and green eyes that stayed down casted. He knew his place and it was below his lord. The man put coasters down on a small table between two chairs that overlooked the entire stadium and then placed drinks on them. By the smell, one was tea with a whole lot of honey and the other looked like some kind of kind of opaque blue martini.

  “Tea?” I asked, trying to hide my surprise. I shouldn’t be surprised, Kay made it his business to always know about me.

  “It really has always been your favorite, even when I first met you.”

  I nodded and took a tentative sip. It was good, not as good as Baron’s, but still good.

  “Why do you want me to watch the showcase?” I asked.

  “For the pleasure of your company?” He stood at the window now, sipping his martini and watched as the spectators began to fill in the seats.

  I snorted. “Doubt it. What do you want?” I pushed further. It was the strain in his shoulders, in the way he stood and kept his eyes out in the crowd, searching for something that may or may not be there. There was a dangerous level of uncertainty in him and Kay made it his job to always be certain about everything. He was “flipping out” as they say. “Why don’t you go out and visit with your clients? Go be the social butterfly you’re so well known for. I’m sure some of them are too important to ignore.”

  He glared at me, slamming his martini on the table and breaking the glass. He swore and stood stiffly while the bartender cleaned up the mess. The temperature in the room went up a couple degrees and I swear the silver on his skin slithered.

  “Out,” he barked and the bartender jumped before scurrying out the door when he finished cleaning up the broken glass. If I knew how, I would feel pity for the guy.

  Kay paced around as the room turned into a sauna of nervous heat.

  “Why are you hiding in here tonight?” I asked again. He stopped and glared at me before flopping down on the chair and stretching out his legs.

  “Did my seer send you back here?” He ignored my question.

  “Yeah, she’s a lovely woman.”

  He smirked. “I know.” Well, any doubt I had about their relationship vanished with that smirk.

  I sat in the leather chair and got comfortable. The chair was so large that my feet didn’t even reach the floor. My knees didn’t even reach the end of the chair. I tucked my legs under me and fixed my dress so I didn’t flash my underwear to anyone. Lord Kay settled down next to me and we sat in silence, watching as the event started. The first group came out and started showing off, trying to impress everyone with their killer talents. People cheered or booed, depending on which teams they were placing their bets on.

  “These events really attract the big fish, don’t they?” Kay asked.

  “I guess.”

  “It attracted you, and you didn’t even want to be here.”

  “I’m not here for the event, I’m here to talk to you about something urgent.”

  “The slauve’s master?”

  I nodded.

  “You still came here tonight of all nights. You could have came here tomorrow if you wanted. Instead you put urgency in finding someone who really wants you dead.”

  “I didn’t say the slauve was after me.”

  “But it’s so easy to see that you’re the target. You’ve been quiet, in the background, these last couple hundred years. Then all of a sudden you’re proactive again, searching for answers that can’t be found. You’re easy to figure out,” Kay said. Not once did he look at me, his eyes were fixed on the audience. He wasn’t even paying attention to the fighters.

  A different group was up, each one tall and bulky. A group of mountains relying on their strength. They weren’t going to last because there were very little rules to this tournament and any that did exist are only to protect the spectators or make the matches interesting.

  Death, cheating, magic, power…all of it al
lowed. Mind control, manipulation, raising the dead, all allowed as long as they kept it to the arena.

  Kay was right—a whole lot of strong beings were here, all packed into one area. Security was extra tight, any fights not taking place in the arena was unacceptable and Kay had the juice to ensure it, including the availability of some highly trained guards.

  “Who are you scared of?” I asked.

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, his hands clenching his armrest, knuckles turning white.

  “The Consort are here to keep an eye on things,” he said in a tight voice.

  The bogeyman for all beings. Here tonight.

  You ever get that feeling where everything fades out on you. Your senses go numb as you focus on what was causing you to go into shock. That was happening to me right now.

  I was reintroduced to truly feeling fear. My heart pounded a little harder and the hairs on my body stood up. Sweat beaded against my skin and my mouth all of a sudden decided it needed a drink of water. I sat up straighter and scanned the ground, looking at each being and trying to remember who I knew, what they were capable of and trying to spot anyone who could be a Consort member.

  Meeting the Consort didn’t mean I knew them. When they did show themselves, they kept themselves hidden with cloaks and masks. Being near them when they are like that is like being in a vacuum. Magic is nearly impossible to use, your weaknesses are exploited and you can’t do much but wait for their verdict. Like I’ve said before, there are only two beings I’m afraid of, the Consort being at the top of the list. The first time I met them, they punished me for crimes I didn’t do, cursing me with the pesky little brand on the inside of my left thigh.

  It was a bad start to my relationship with them.

  Trying to spot them when they didn’t want to be seen was impossible. Everyone in the crowd didn’t seem powerful enough, important enough, or suspicious enough. If the Consort were in the crowd, I couldn’t see them and by Kay’s reaction, neither could he. Sometimes I really did wish the enemy walked around with a billboard attached to make them easier to spot.