A Toiling Darkness

by Jaliza Burwell

  My instincts were in complete control as darkness deepened all around us. If I was going to die, then I was going to take a chunk of life with me.

  All of them. They hurt me. Kill them all.

  I blended in with the darkness, becoming one with it. My body wasn’t tangible anymore. I dispersed, becoming who I should have always been. My powers expanded outwards, filling the room and spilling out of any cracks in the foundation.

  The slauve made a move for me, a shine in his eyes. The little orbs taking place of his pupils looked like two little moons. The witch was chanting again, the fae joining in with her.

  The slauve slashed at me but how do you hit something that is everywhere and yet nowhere?

  I could feel every being, including the humans, in the area to their very core. I could smell the dirt embedded in their skin, the alcohol on their breath. I could taste the sweat on their skin and the drugs in their systems as they huddled in for the night. They weren’t who I wanted though, my targets were the ones in the room with me.

  I expanded completely, nearly entirely true self for once.

  I felt the cold steel as it went for me. I resurrected a wall between me and the blade. It was no use. The blade cute right through it. The knife leaving behind a blinding white path. I jumped back, ignoring everything.

  My insides were on fire, my cursed brand on full blast, trying to remind me who and what I am.

  I know who I am.

  I am Night.

  I am the creation of mankind’s fear.

  I can’t die. I won’t.

  I came back into my human form and cemented the blackness, forming a three feet thick wall between me and the blade. A thump bounced around the room as I turned to face the witch. She finished chanting and sent a blinding yellow light of magic right at me. It hit the center of my chest and pushed me backwards, up against the wall I just made.

  The pain of her spell was only a spark compared to the inferno inside of me. It was beginning to hurt to breath. I was going to lose.

  No.

  Yes. I was going to lose.

  How? Why was I still so weak even though I have so much power?

  I won’t die. I won’t.

  I screamed and wrapped myself around the witch. She screamed, but it soon became muffled. I tasted her fear, her knowledge that she fucked up, that I was far stronger than she could imagine.

  “How can you be so shocked?” I asked distantly. My voice was a whisper everywhere in the room. “I destroyed your family, remember.”

  Her eyes grew wide with terror. I seeped into her psych and found a small pond of darkness. It was a cess pool, breeding her hatred and need for more power. Faintly, I felt more pain. Someone was doing more damage to me. I ignored it, focusing on my current victim. I’ll get to them all in due time.

  I dipped my toe into the pool. It was freezing cold. I smiled softly and sat down, putting my feet inside. The witch screamed as I splashed my feet within her psych.

  “Get out!” she screamed, her hands going to her head.

  I looked up and out into the world of her mind.

  “No more,” she whimpered.

  “Yes, more,” I said simply and stood back up. “You want power, then here.”

  I raised my hand over the pool and pushed out my own power. It mingled with hers, blending in before becoming explosive. She screamed again while I laughed. I flowed out of her and back into my human form, too weak to stay intangible anymore. That took more power than I had to spare, but I just couldn’t help myself. I smiled.

  The witch was still screaming, magic around her pulsing as she lost control of herself. For what felt like forever but was probably only a few seconds, she continued to scream, holding her head as she rolled around on the floor. Finally, she stopped. Dead.

  “What did you do?” the fae cried out.

  The witch was at his feet, her eyes open and glossy. Her red satin dress surrounded her like a pool of blood. Her coven tattoo was a stark stain against her tanned skin. It didn’t have the shine it used to. All the magic within her dispersed along with her soul. Nothing, not even her coven could have protected her. Not that they would even want to. Now in death, she had to face an afterlife of suffering. A black witch was despised, even after death.

  I turned and faced the two remain beings. The slauve was breathing heavily, warring with the darkness I pitted against him to keep him distracted. The fae was still looking down at the witch with grief. He didn’t want her dead.

  “Kalen, do it now,” he said.

  The slauve hesitated, looking between us. I didn’t know what he was about to do

  “Yeah, Kalen. Do it.” I said, rolling his name off my lips. It was a comfortable name. I didn’t like the comfort of it at all.

  He still hesitated. I couldn’t figure out why. Wasn’t I the enemy? The one he had to destroy?

  “Kill her!” the Fae yelled.

  The slauve flinched, but his mouth formed into a word. When he released it, all those fiery balls of pain turned into explosions in my body. I screamed and fell to my hands and knees. Black pits of blood grew on the floor, my life spilling out onto it.

  The Fae snickered and walked towards me. I tried to breath out, but my lungs were crap now, one of them refusing to work and the other barely able to take in air.

  My sight went in and out and somehow, the connection between me and my body grew back, putting my instincts on the back burner. I recognized this magic. It was ancient, very ancient and came from a family line just as old as I was.

  “Moonlight,” I wheezed.

  Frey laughed, kneeling down a couple of feet away. I glared up at him.

  “Paige found him for me. It takes a special kind of person to be able to kill you.”

  Tears pushed against my eyes as memories I’ve almost forgotten about came back to the surface. How couldn’t I figure this out before? Kalen was the descendant of a very old family. One of the few humans I loved was a woman. I met her when she was already old and I spent quite a few nights just talking with her. She was going blind, but it didn’t stop her from seeing into me. She was Mother Moon. Moonlight was hers to use and she could do such beautiful things with it.

  “Hey hun, look at this.” She held out her hand and slowly she collected the moonlight and subjected it into a reality, creating a small figurine in her hand of a beautiful bird long extinct. The feathers were long and flowy, the beak short, the eyes big and doey. “I heard it the other day. Didn’t think I would ever hear their song ever again.”

  Maybe that was why I was so easily attracted to Kalen. He was the new Mother Moon. Or would that be Father Moon?

  The night and the moon are true companions. It all made sense now. I was doomed from the beginning.

  “You bastard,” I whispered, spitting out more of my life force. It was more than just blood. It was a mixture of blood, flesh, and power.

  I can’t even explain the anger I felt. Mother Moon was someone I probably loved. I don’t really understand what it means to love, but I like to think I loved her. And then here, in front of me was her descendant and Frey turned him into a slauve.

  I wanted Frey’s death and more.

  Kalen stepped towards me and I used up most of my power to create a wall. It was a wall of black with a depth of eternity to it. He would have to fight through it to get to me and Frey.

  I stood up slowly, coughing out more of my life force. My legs were shaking, I was getting tunnel vision and light headed, and the pain.

  Oh fuck, the pain.

  I can’t let it stop me.

  When I glared at Frey, he seemed surprised by my strength.

  “Do you have any idea who Kalen really is?” I asked.

  “He’s the man who can kill you.”

  I shook my head. I was wheezing now, the edges to my vision were closing in on my sight. Was this death?

  “He’s part of the revolution of the earth and you got him killed so you can control him?” I barked out. I stared at
him, calling on the very last trickles of my power. Kalen’s magic was definitely effective against me. I felt so damn empty. I’ve never felt this empty. I would have said it was impossible, but obviously that was a lie. I gathered every last ounce available and focused on the fae in front of me.

  The edges of the darkness surrounding the room crept in, getting closer and closer to us. I used it to reach out to Frey.

  He noticed and tried to step away, but while he focused on one of them, another came up from behind and wrapped around his legs. It pulled on him and he fell down hard. It dragged him, pulling him a couple of feet away on his stomach. His long arms reached out, searching for anything to grab onto.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” I asked through clenched teeth. I could actually feel my heartbeat slow down.

  “Y-you can’t do this! You don’t even have enough power,” he screamed in pure desperation while clawing at the ground. His blue curls covered one of his frantic eyes. The other one was wide, his pupils bouncing around.

  “No, I don’t."

  When he knew there was no hope, his expression twisted with anger. “I’m just the beginning, Akhlys. More will come. Especially since word has gotten out about who you are and what you will do.”

  “What I will do?” I asked, a little surprised. I shook my head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” I pushed out the last of my power, making the shadows’ grip tighten and pull him faster into the depths of its emptiness.

  He screamed and I fell to my knees as I watched him disappear into the shadows with a one-way ticket to the underworld.

  He was right. I didn’t have enough power to do that. I was more than on empty, I was in the red. The abyss within me was completely empty, with not even a drop to heal my body. This was why Kalen was capable of killing me. He destroyed most of my powers with those explosions.

  The wall formed behind me shattered, sounding just like broken glass. I looked over to see Kalen standing there, his chest heaving and his eyes wide.

  Chapter 27:

  Kalen approached me slowly, unsure of what to do. I just stayed on my knees, too weak to move. Even if he attacked, my instincts wouldn’t be able to make me fight back. I just wanted to close my eyes and give in to the darkness all around my vision. And this was not the kind of darkness I was familiar with.

  It was the darkness of death, of the end. Of finality. There was nothing to manipulate. Not that I could in this state.

  “You killed him,” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Not yet,” I wheezed. “If you hurry, you can finish me off.”

  “Wha-”

  “Just do it!” I screamed. He flinched, so confused and unsure of himself. “If you want to truly be free. You need to kill me.”

  He came over and tried to help me to my feet. I shook him off and glared up at him.

  “I’m going to die whether you do it or not. If you don’t, then I sacrificed myself for nothing,” I snarled.

  His eyes widened. “You put yourself in danger on purpose?” he asked incredulously.

  I snorted, spitting out more of my life force. Was the ground getting closer? “No, not on purpose. But I turned it into a good opportunity. You want to be free, right?”

  “I can’t kill you.”

  “You can and you will!” I closed my eyes. The ground looked so comfortable. No. He had to do it.

  “I can’t.” His voice was gruff. Shit. This was exactly what I was afraid of. He felt compassion and it was hindering him.

  I grabbed onto him, using his body as an anchor as I pulled myself up closer to him. “I am already as good as dead. You need to do it now, before Frey makes it to the underworld.” His eyes widened and when he went to say something, I shook my head. “No, shut up! Just do it. Move on to the next phase of your life. You’re the new Mother Moon.”

  “Mother Moon?”

  “Well, probably Father Moon. The point is, your existence is far more important than mine. You need to be free and to do that you need to kill me before Frey dies. Do it!”

  “I can’t!”

  “You can!” I screamed at him in frustration. Tears were falling down now. That’s three times now that I’ve cried. Thanks Kalen. Thanks a lot. “So many would jump up at this opportunity.”

  “I’m not most people.” He kneeled down, his arms holding me carefully. He was panicking. I could see it in his expression. He wanted to save me.

  Always trying to save me.

  “No, you’re not. That’s why you can. Please.” I leaned my forehead against his chest. “I’m tired, Kalen. I’ve lived through too much. Please, give me a mercy kill. End me.”

  He stayed silent, his body harder than a rock. He was warring with himself.

  “Please,” I begged. I never begged, I didn’t know how to. Okay, apparently I did. I was desperate and if the saying was correct, this was a desperate measure.

  “Okay.” His voice was tight with emotions. I nearly sagged against him, relieved. “I’m so sorry. I should have known. I should have.”

  I shook my head, my eyes squeezing shut. Here was to hoping I knew how to die properly. I mean, come on. I didn’t even have any powers left to heal myself and half my life force was already on the floor.

  I felt the blade’s tip in my back.

  “It’s going to hurt,” he said.

  I felt Kalen’s lips press against my temple.

  “Just do it,” I replied.

  I felt the tip slide in, quick and with precision. Right into the middle of my heart.

  “I’m sorry,” he cried.

  My heart tried to beat, moving against the blade and tearing itself up.

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I tried to hug him but all my strength was gone.

  My body grew still. I grew weightless. My eyesight went into an eternal darkness.

  The pain went away.

  Chapter 28:

  I woke up with a gasp, screaming as something shoved itself inside of my body. It grabbed my heart and started squeezing.

  I screamed. Hands pushed down on me. Words were spoken, but none reached my ears. I was in a world of pure agony. I thought I knew it all, felt it all.

  I was wrong.

  “No!” I screamed out and shot my hand out to hit whatever was touching me. I heard cursing, but the arms didn’t leave my shoulders as they held me down. I tried to kick out, but whoever held my legs down was strong.

  The pain sent white hot flashes through my brain and then I was engulfed in complete darkness again.

  This time, when I woke up, it was gently. I felt heavy again, weighed down by something intangible. I forced my eyes open and looked around carefully. The room was dim, torches on the walls all around, casting dancing shadows against the light brown ceiling and dark walls. It felt homey.

  When I tried to sit up, someone helped me up, keeping me from moving too quickly. I looked up into sleepy deep brown eyes with an endless depth of knowledge. His face was strained with tension. His silky brown hair fell a couple of inches longer, needing a trim. The beard was full and made him look almost like a caveman.

  Kalen.

  “I’m not dead.” My words came out scratchy. I looked around but it was just the two of us. I did a quick mental check of my body and found I was completely fine. I sat in my true human form and felt completely whole. All my powers were back in its abyss.

  “No, you’re not.” He smirked, his expression softening.

  “And you’re still here,” I said.

  “I am.”

  My chest went heavy with dread. I cried out softly, my voice hitching with the next words. “You’re not free. You should be free.”

  He grabbed my hands and squeezed. “Hey…hey, look at me.” He cupped my face and tilted it up until I was looking into his eyes. I nearly got lost in them, but a sickly feeling in my stomach kept me grounded. I failed him. “I’m free.”

  My focus snapped back to him. I looked down at his chest and reache
d out. He let go of my hand as I pressed my palm against him and opened up my senses. It was true. His soul wasn’t shackled down. He was free. “I don’t understand.”

  “You died.”

  “But I’m here.”

  “You were brought back,” he said. All I could do was look at him, completely dumbfounded. Kalen kept talking. “After you died, Death came, looking for Paige. He brought you back.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “No,” he shook his head.

  I looked around the room, still stunned. Finally I turned back to him. “Why?” I asked, unable to grasp what he was saying.

  “He’s saying I brought you back because it’s important that you live. You also help keep the world going right now.”

  I looked to where the voice was coming from.

  Death stood there, just as cocky as ever. He looked just like a middle-aged businessman. His suit was tailored to his lean frame. His face clean shaven, grey eyes still piercing and his hair cut short to his scalp, nearly bald looking. He looked like some rich CEO of some massive company. He probably was too. Rockefeller and Ford had nothing on Death when it came to business. The man has always been able to stay mainstream through all the eras.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I was in town,” he said and stepped closer.

  I wanted to shy away from him but held my ground instead. He knew it too, because he smiled. His presence pressed against my body, making me feel heavier. He always had a strong presence. If you weren’t careful, he’d crush you with it.

  “I just wanted to see what my lovely little daughter has been up to.”

  I scoffed, the hatred for him surfacing. “I’ve seen what a father should be, and you’ve never been one.”

  “I think keeping you alive is fatherly enough,” he said, still smiling.

  I snorted, very un-lady like. “For what purpose now? If I remember correctly, I’m only a… What were the words you used? Ah, ‘a token hell spawn to do everything and anything I need to be done. I can’t be bothered with lesser beings and you’ll be the one to do it for me.’” I mocked him.