Moments of Darkness

by Jason J. Nugent

  “Who…who are you?” he asked. He’d never heard of dead dragons that appeared to the living. No stories ever mentioned such monstrosities.

  The closest dragon towered over the other two. It roared shaking the ground. The two other dragons added horrible roars while raising their tattered wings.

  Jareth shuddered. There was no escape from the dead dragons. Something stirred on the burning altar. Turning his head slightly Jareth noticed movement in the flames. The once dead dragon rose from the flames like a stubborn weed. Flames acted like water supplying it with life.

  The small dragon hovered in the flames of the altar, its scaly skin peeled away in places. Shredded wings appeared where flesh once clung to long ridges. It glanced at Jareth with milky dead eyes and screeched a loud, deafening sound. Jareth covered his ears.

  “She is too young,” Jareth heard behind him. The raspy voice slower and deeper than any he’d ever known penetrated his hands over his ears. “How does such a young one join us? What have you done human?” the booming voice called out.

  Jareth dropped his hands.

  “I don’t know. I did nothing. We found her in my father’s woods. By rite I returned her here. I didn’t do—”

  “Silence! I care not for your excuses. This is a terrible thing. How could this be?” The largest dead dragon said.

  Jareth dropped to his knees. “I beg you, I had nothing to do with this. I followed custom to bring your little one here. I mean no harm or disrespect. My family has been an ally of your kind for generations, we mean no offense to you.” Jareth faced the ground, unable to bring himself to look the dead dragon in its empty eyes.

  “Her time is not come. She’s too young. A second chance she will have,” one of the smaller dragons said. Its voice was not as deep and more feminine.

  Bony claws grabbed him. The two smaller dragons held him. They raised him off the ground. Jareth tried freeing himself from their tight grip.

  “Let me down!” he shouted. “I’ve done nothing wrong! I followed custom!” He twisted in their grasp, but to no use. Their dead claws dug into his skin piercing his flesh. Warmth spread down his chest and stomach as the blood flowed from their grip soaking his worn shirt. He swatted at the claws.

  “Struggle will only make things worse human. It is your duty. A duty your people agreed to long ago,” the large dead dragon said to Jareth. His voice reverberated throughout Jareth’s body. “Your ancestors needed us. This was the bargain. This became your duty,” the dragon continued. Jareth struggled harder, but he did nothing to loosen the deadly claws. They dug deeper in his muscles.

  “I’ve done my duty,” Jareth replied gasping. It was as though the dragons intended on squeezing his life from him.

  The dragons slammed him down on the altar, the blue and orange flames dancing after him.

  “No!” Jareth cried out. Flames licked his skin. His shirt caught on fire, hissing and crackling. He smelled his charred skin, the immense pain searing through him. “No, please, don’t do this!” he screamed. The dead dragon claws held him tighter in the flames.

  “It is your duty,” the large dragon replied in its deep, dead voice. “Your duty to our kind. She was too young. Much too young,” the dragon said.

  The flames engulfed him and Jareth screamed. He thrashed in the flames, the dead claws tearing at him. His skin pealed back revealing muscles beneath.

  “She was much too young. Your duty allows her to fly once again, to hunt among the living until her time is done. Her time is not now, but your time is. It was your duty,” the largest dead dragon said as the flames overcame Jareth.

  The small dragon grew more vibrant as Jareth’s life burned away. Its wings, once tattered, now filled in with flesh free of holes. Its eyes lost their milky sheen and turned a bright red color. Jareth’s last scream was echoed by a long, loud cry from the small dragon. Renewed once again.

  The Chosen One

  Several years ago when working at a screen-printing company I left my annual review and had a message on my voicemail.

  “Hey Luke, this is Nestor. I wanted to take you out to lunch. Just a thank you, nothing more. You were super cool and I’d like to pay you back. Be there around noon.”

  Sweet! I thought. I’d been in sales close to two years and no customer offered to do something nice for me. I called my wife to let her know I wouldn’t be home for lunch. “Do you know anything about this guy?” she asked. Grace was by far the more cautious of us and her question didn’t surprise me. “Don’t worry I’ll be fine,” I replied. “Well don’t get killed!” she said with a laugh. I said good-bye and called a few customers until Nestor showed at noon.

  I greeted him in the lobby and we left the building. “I’ll drive,” he said. He had a red Camaro that needed bodywork but I wasn’t complaining. A free lunch and I didn’t have to drive? Not a bad deal.

  Or so I thought.

  The moment I closed the door and clicked my seatbelt on, my world changed.

  “I knew you were the one,” Nestor said.

  “Excuse me?” I replied.

  Nestor smirked. I felt a nervous energy flow through me.

  “I had Feelers out looking for you. And then when you gave me those towels, I knew it. My Feelers found you and told me about you. You proved them right!” he said slamming a fist on the steering wheel. I didn’t know what to say.

  ***

  A few days earlier Nestor came in to buy more t-shirts. He noticed my bright red complexion and I moved slowly. “You all right?” he asked me. “Yeah just a little sunburnt. I was at a boating rally this past weekend and didn’t use enough sunscreen. Lesson learned I guess.” His face lit up. “A boat rally? What kind?” In sales I learned to engage any customer no matter what. “It was for Star Cruiser Boats. There’s a huge rally every year and we get to vend it. We sell shirts, key chains, can huggers, stuff like that to the owners. This last rally we got to go out on the boats. It was fun but now you see what came of it,” I said.

  Nestor smiled wide. “I own a Star Cruiser Boat! Twenty-five footer,” he said. Being the eager sales rep I was, I offered him two Star Cruiser towels out of stock. They were meant to create goodwill. They were a gift to keep a customer happy.

  Those towels placed me in the car with Nestor.

  ***

  My arm hairs stood on end. What was he talking about? Feelers?

  “Look Nestor, we can go back to the office. You don’t have to take me out to lunch. We’re cool.”

  “Oh no, I owe you. My people were so right about you. I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. Now I do and your life is about to change.”

  I could hear my wife’s voice telling me over and over again, “I hope you don’t get killed!” and her giggle as though it were the funniest thing ever.

  Nestor drove to the restaurant with eyes so wide I wondered how the daylight didn’t blind him.

  “We found you at last!” he said again when we exited his car. I considered running away. If I did, would he chase after me? The way he spoke, the conviction in his voice warned me running wouldn’t help. I had to see this through to the end.

  We got a table at the back of the room. I saw my insurance agent and his business partner sitting at the bar eating their lunch. He waved a polite “hi” and I reciprocated. In my head I yelled, “Help me!”

  The waitress took our order. Nestor ordered water - that’s it. I figured if I was gonna die at least I’d have a last meal I loved. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries. After our drinks arrived Nestor started again.

  “You’re gonna be rich! I’m going to give you everything. You will have so much money! You'll own where you work in a couple years and your boss now,” he said and took a sip of water, “will lick your feet. He’ll grovel for a job because of what I’m going to give you. You’ll have your own fleet of boats. You’re the Chosen One! I’ll give you everything! Except,” he said leaning in closer, "except you can’t give any of it to a church. Screw them! Religion is fal
se. None of it’s real. My father knows better. There is no God. There is no paradise. Hear me? What I give you cannot be given to a church or a charity. It’s for you alone.”

  He confused me. How did he plan on giving me this? He owned a small roofing company. How would he have enough money for me to have a fleet of boats? And why couldn’t I give it to a church?

  “Hey Luke,” my insurance agent said. My freedom from Nestor’s rants lay at the mercy of Donnie my insurance agent! “How’s the gym been treating you?” he asked. For the past few weeks Donnie had been to the gym I go to. The early morning crowd was sparse but dedicated. “Not too bad. Still at it!” I said. I opened my eyes wide and nodded slightly towards Nestor. Donnie smiled and turned back to his burger.

  “That lazy bastard will beg you for money! He’s gonna grovel at your feet for a single crumb! Look at him. He thinks he’s so good. He doesn’t understand what I’m about to do for you,” Nestor said. He caught me off guard. The entire conversation tilted towards the bizarre but my insurance agent? He did nothing to deserve this! My arms twitched. I drank my soda plotting my escape, dribbling on the table.

  “I’m telling you Luke, my father has given me the power to endow you with these gifts. You’re the Chosen One! My Feelers told me about you. How can they be wrong?” He sat back in his chair sipping water with a grin. His eyes sparkled. For a moment I thought they flashed red. It must have been my overworked psyche alerting me this guy was crazy. I had to get out. I slammed down the rest of my lunch hoping he’d get the hint we needed to go.

  The waitress dropped off our check. With only my food on the bill, it was close to fifteen dollars. Nestor pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and paid the waitress. I figured he’d leave a huge tip proving he had the money to give away. He left a five on the table and turned to me.

  “Here, this is for you,” he said shoving eighty dollars in my hand.

  “I can’t take this,” I replied. I could use the money but any ties to this guy were hooks digging deeper into me.

  “Did I say no when you handed me the towels?” he said. I shook my head unable to speak. “Then take the money. It’s a gift. You’ll get so much more from me, I promise. You’re the Chosen One!”

  We left the restaurant and got in his car. It was too far from work to walk back and I had no way of getting home. I had to get in the car. I held the money in my hand at my side, running through the possibilities.

  I could leave the money in the floorboard and be rid of it. But if I did, would he take it as an insult stoking his anger to a degree I didn’t want to know? If I kept it what did that mean? How could I accept an eighty-dollar gift from a customer? It felt unethical. I couldn’t hand it back he was clear about that.

  “Luke you’re lucky I found you. You’re lucky my father gave me this power and money to give you. He’s been around for thousands of years. He was kicked from the earth for hoarding power but now I can give it to you. That’s what it means to be the Chosen One.” I said a prayer I’d make it back alive. Did I sell my soul for a cheeseburger and eighty dollars?

  We pulled in to the parking lot at work. I’d never been so excited to make it to work. He pulled to a stop, put the shifter in park, and turned. Nestor’s eyes blazed red with dark yellow irises. His voice grew deep. “I told you Luke, there are perks to being the Chosen One. You’ll soon be rich beyond your imagination. My father promised it. He never lies.” His eyes flashed back to normal and his voice lost its deep tone. “I’ll be talking to you soon Luke,” he said. The doors unlocked and I left barely able to walk on my shaky legs. I clutched the money in my hand as if holding a snake.

  Stumbling in the front door I sat at the chair usually reserved for customers waiting to pick up their order. Lynn, the customer service rep that got the orders for our customers looked at me like I had something growing out of my ears. I clenched the money and slammed my hand on the desk. “You alright Luke? Looks like you saw a ghost,” she said. “How was lunch?” I told her my experience to her growing amusement. Her face lit up as I explained my unusual lunch.

  My friend Marco overheard my story and laughed hysterically. He called me “Neo” since I was “The Chosen One.”

  I didn’t forget that day.

  Ever.

  Nor would I.

  I’ve met with Nestor almost every other day since then. He kept his promise. I quit my job about a month after our lunch. His father gave him the means to make me rich. His father turned out to be the keeper of all pleasures and desires. I’ve been given such an opportunity.

  My former boss now delivers pizza every Wednesday to my mansion. My former insurance agent grovels at my feet begging for a moment of my attention.

  And Nestor? He’s shown me things I never dreamed of. My eyes are open for the first time. I see what his father wants from me. My soul is a small price to pay for the power he’s offered. One day soon my reign will begin - and I have two towels to thank.

  The Gem and The Hide

  Gerald approached the cave with his heart thrumming in his chest. Lady Ygraine needed the gems from deep within the cave at the wizard Shonar’s request in order for her kingdom to be free of the dark Lord Mormet. As her champion, Gerald’s honor lay in fulfilling his Lady’s demands. He was Lady Ygraine’s only hope. He’d not fail her now.

  Gerald wiped his brow, lit a torch, and stepped inside.

  He wound his way through endless tunnels, following Shonar’s map given to him by Lady Ygraine. He found the sparkling green and blue gems encrusted in the surrounding walls. A strikingly bright green gem in the cave’s wall caught his eye. When he reached out to remove it the room spun. The floor disappeared from under him and he fell a long time only to land safely on soft ground.

  Gerald found himself surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights. He shielded his eyes from the visual onslaught.

  “What pray tell are ye that flashes this infernal device! Yield. I yield!” he shouted to the lights. A strange series of clicking sounds enveloped him. With a flash, everything turned bright white then stopped.

  He felt solid ground underneath and stood. He couldn’t see a thing.

  “I must leave this cursed cave before more vile and hideous things befall me,” he said. He reached around with his hands in the blinding whiteness but found no walls nor gems which to hold.

  He walked straight ahead, arms outstretched, searching for a wall or any surface with which to guide him.

  Ferocious hot air fueled by enormous flames whooshed past him, singeing his beard.

  “By the gods, what hell am I in? It’s as though I’m inside the belly of an enormous beast,” he said.

  “You are in my home intruder. My sanctuary. Why have you come?”

  “Who’s there?” Gerald called out to the void. Thin tendrils of smoke rose from his mustache and

  eyebrows. He patted them extinguishing the small flame.

  “I do not answer to mortals of the fifth realm. You are in my realm, you answer to me.”

  The voice was harsh, raspy, and male.

  “I am Gerald of the Moors, champion of Lady Ygraine, the keeper of the Valley. I kneel to no one!” he replied.

  The voice cackled. “Then why did you yield so quickly—champion?” Gerald bent his head low.

  “I can sense your weakness Gerald of the Moors. You are nothing. You stand in my holy sanctuary. Why are you in the seventh realm? You don’t belong here.”

  “I’m on a quest to retrieve the jewels in this cave. My Lady needs them to save her kingdom. I followed Shonar’s instructions to this sacred cave and found myself here. Can you help me?”

  Another loud, long laugh from the voice. “I told you Gerald, you don’t belong here. You are much too far from home now. There is no cave of jewels, only my home. As an intruder, you owe me restitution. You are my champion now. You do what I want.”

  “Restitution?” Gerald’s spirits darkened. His beloved Ygraine, the only Lady he’d ever truly loved was lost to him
in a time and place that seemed so far away.

  The voice called out again. “If you do my bidding, I might be kind enough to send you back to your dimension. Fail me, and your soul is mine. Forever.”

  Gerald wrung his hands, thinking over the proposal.

  “Spirit, my life is yours to command. I give to you all I am, only so I may return to my Lady Ygraine.” A soft cackle answered him.

  “You will bring me the hide of a boar. It needs be white in color and red of eye. Bring it back within a fortnight and your realm I will send you. Now go!”

  Before Gerald could answer, the scene shifted again like a veil removed from his eyes. He stood in an old forest of large trees unfamiliar to him. The cave disappeared. Light twinkled from a knot in the nearest tree. He stepped towards it.

  “I said go! Come back when you have the hide or your soul is mine,” a voice said to him from the twinkling knot. Gerald marked the tree with his sword and took off in search of his quarry.

  After seven days of fruitless searching, Gerald lost hope. No boar appeared - a white one even harder to find.

  Late that afternoon as he sat under a tall tree enjoying the comforts of the shade, he spotted it.

  About fifty paces away stood the beast. It was larger than any man and whiter than snow. It

  snorted and rooted in the ground, covering its snout with dirt.

  Gerald’s eyes brightened. Hope burst through his veins. He crouched low and made his way towards the boar as silent as possible. When he was within ten paces, he drew his sword and lunged. The beast jerked its head at the sound but it was too late. Gerald thrust his blade in its heart, killing it. He skinned it and hurried back to the knot in the tree.

  A brilliant light shone from the knot and Gerald again found himself inside the white nothingness though this time holding the hide of the slain boar.