Dark Destiny

by Thomas Grave

  Damn.

  Careening through the wall of dust, she gulped at the concrete rising up toward her. It was coming too fast. She ripped the ankh off her neck and held it in front of her toward the street. Her hands were shaking too much. The air blasting every part of her body did not help her concentration.

  She gripped the ankh tight enough to break the skin of her hands. Her blood poured out from the cut and coated the metal. The ankh seemed to accept her blood as it began to give off a purplish glow.

  She forced out the words she didn’t want to say, “Open. The. G—”

  Out of nowhere, Jared burst out of the wall of dust and caught her mid-air.

  Relief flooded throughout her insides.

  She had almost done the unthinkable.

  Lifting her gaze at him, she kissed him on the cheek.

  He shot her a surprised glance. “What the hell?”

  “I almost had to do something I didn’t want to do,” she answered.

  “What?”

  “It’s not important. Just . . .” She trailed off for a moment. “Thank you, my undead love mate.”

  “Whatever.” He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the little smile that had formed deep inside him.

  “Right here is good,” she said as he pulled up to an unnamed red brick building.

  She hopped down. Jared rocketed off, back in the direction of the Angel. Down below, something caught her attention. Obsidian had arrived on the street and grabbed a disheveled lesser Soul that had been digging in a dumpster. The Soul appeared to be a homeless zombie, dressed in heavy clothing. He’d most likely been homeless in the land of the living too. He’d probably frozen to death during one of Baltimore’s cold winters.

  Amber glanced sideways at Obsidian, wondering what he was up to. Then, Obsidian plunged his hand into the homeless zombie’s chest and ripped out his Soul. The limp body collapsed on to the city street. Without a glance at the corpse, Obsidian soared back up in the direction of the Angel and the Revenant, with the zombie Soul in his hand.

  She smiled at the ruthlessness of these Shades. Then, she felt a moment of sadness. Was that also Jared’s fate? Becoming ruthless and nasty. She shook her head. She didn’t need to think about this. There were more pressing matters. With a final push, she managed to get that annoying cherub presence out of her mind.

  A streetlight flickered, plunging her in smothering darkness. When the light returned a split second later, she was gone.

  Raphael knew the Shades weren’t a match for his speed. If he had to, he would drag out this chase for as long as necessary. Eventually, Michael would come and put an end to all of this, either with clearance to open the gate or by dealing with the Shades himself. Hopefully, the first option. The Shades had become hard and cruel because they lived in a hard and cruel world. Raphael knew deep inside that their Souls were precious. He would reserve violence as the very last resort.

  With the Revenant’s arms wrapped around his neck, he held her close as he flew within the concrete jungle, using the buildings as cover. He dipped down and zigged in and out of alleyways, then zagged around enormous edifices. Then he zipped up high, flying just below the edge of the tallest buildings.

  Good news: She’s out. Your blink is back, Amblin rejoiced.

  “Thank you, Amblin,” he said, relieved.

  He was about to blink when Obsidian flew up from behind an office building at great speed.

  We just got clearance! They are opening the Gate!

  Raphael felt a moment of relief fill him with renewed strength before his heart dropped into his stomach. The glow of something in Obsidian’s hand caught the Angel’s attention. A Soul.

  Obsidian tossed the Soul, as if it were a baseball, toward the younger Shade, who had also just arrived on the scene.

  “Here!” Obsidian shouted. “Use it!”

  In the distance, a white pillar of light shot down from the clouds. Heaven’s Gate. The younger Shade moved between Raphael and the pillar, his form eclipsed by the light. Jared hovered in midair, looking directly at the Angel as he caught the Soul. He extended his arm in Raphael’s direction and gripped the extended wrist with his opposite hand for support. Then the young Shade dug his fingers into the Soul, cracking it. White lightning danced around his hand, crackling in the wind.

  “No!” yelled Raphael.

  The destruction of another Soul was the ultimate sin. He couldn’t blame the younger Shade. He was just following Obsidian’s orders. But still, his heart raced when he realized what the younger Shade was doing. Raphael knew he couldn’t let his emotions cloud his judgment. To fight another day rang deep in his core.

  As he was about to blink into Heaven’s Gate, a flickering of light from down below caught his attention. He glanced around to see that the Seal Witch was back, perched upon the twentieth floor of a building Raphael didn’t recognize. She threw her arm out toward him, fingers spread wide. The burning bright hue returned to her violet eyes.

  Blink locked out again! Amblin cried.

  His eyes opened wider and he saw a blast of searing white energy explode from the Soul, speeding rapidly toward them. The bright white light of the spirit crack was about to collide with him head on. At the speed of the blast, there was no way he could avoid it.

  In a flash, he whirled and darted to the right, trying to protect the Revenant and avoid the attack, but he was too late. The spirit crack was too close.

  Silence fell.

  It exploded upon collision. He felt the impact of the spirit crack and a deep pain rushed throughout his body. His vision blurred as he lost control of his arms. When his eyes came back into focus, the Revenant was falling. There was a distant ringing in his ears. Then silence and darkness.

  He was falling. His eyes closed, he could feel and hear the wind building to a shriek as he picked up speed. No, he couldn’t pass out. Willing his eyes open, he forced his arms to move slowly.

  A slight groan escaped his lips.

  He felt drained, his energy level at its lowest. His eyes closed again. No. He forced them open in time to see the young Shade catch the Revenant. His eyes closed again. He knew his body was phasing out of sync with this world.

  A thunderous sound boomed off the clouds. The young Shade flew off with the Revenant. A grunt escaped his lips.

  Raphael plowed through a water tower, the water soaking him and spraying everywhere before he finally landed hard on a rooftop with a bone-crunching thud. Pain came from every inch of his body. He gasped for air. His vision blurred.

  Darkness.

  He opened his eyes, unsure of how long he’d been unconscious when he noticed two figures standing above him. The big one, holding a staff. Obsidian. The other, thinner one as well. Kei.

  He tried calling out to Amblin, but knew his power level was too low. Their connection had been severed.

  The blurry Kei raised his blade, slowly. The blade glowed with the reflected light from the moon.

  This was it. His end.

  He closed his eyes and prepared for his death. A loud boom thundered in the air, shaking him. Underneath him, the roof buckled.

  He opened his eyes to Obsidian staring off in the distance. Then a bolt of lightning, the largest he’d ever seen, struck Obsidian and knocked him out of his field of vision. Kei was nowhere to be seen.

  Now Michael loomed above him.

  His brother picked Raphael up and energy flooded back into his body. His strength returned quickly, clearing his vision. He took in a deep breath.

  “Where is the Revenant?” Michael asked.

  Raphael swallowed. “The—They took her.”

  Michael grunted and turned away. “Let’s find your brother and finally put an end to this.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Michael flew off.

  He doesn’t sound happy, Amblin said.

  Her voice brought comfort. “No, he doesn’t. But he is right. It’s time that we put an end to this.”

  Wednesday, 8:14 am (Purgatorium)
<
br />   Sebastian perched on the roof of a three story Citibank in downtown Baltimore, dry heat and rotted stench of the Purgatorium winds assaulting his face and nose. Off in the distance, the view that should have been of the beautiful Baltimore harbor lit up with a myriad of ships and buoys, was replaced with some sort of ship graveyard filled with half sunken, rusted freighters and broken masts. A low white mist circled the entire area.

  He scanned the streets below on the off chance he might spot Jared. So far, no luck. He longed to explain everything to his friend, to apologize for leaving him in this godforsaken place for so long. Hopefully, when they were reunited, Jared would be able to forgive him.

  As he searched below, he still couldn’t shake the nervousness about leaving Sara with Mr. Thompson. She was vulnerable in her role as the Revenant, so different from the Sara he’d known when she was alive, the Sara who loved martial arts movies and comic books. Dying, coming back to life and then being hunted by the ravenous undead could certainly change someone.

  He jumped and whirled around at what sounded like a bomb going off. Dust flaked off the buildings nearby. He recognized that sound all too well. A building was coming down.

  Then a wall of dust hit him, rolling past. He brought his hand up in an attempt to shield his face and coughed the dust out of his lungs. He strained his eyes to try to see how close the building was, but everywhere was a wall of brown dust. His back was pelted with debris, but he felt no pain; his robes took all the damage. He had to be close to the source. Annoyed with not being able to see, he leapt up, robes rippling madly in the wind behind him.

  He soared upward, finally clearing the wall of dust. He moved across the street to a higher tower, kicking off its side and continuing his ascent. Once he cleared the rooftop, the collapsing building came into view. He landed gently on the corner of the nearest building and stared in awe at the destruction. Off in the distance, the tower plunged to the ground, the enormous cloud of smoke filling the city streets below like a mass of snakes slithering through a maze.

  “Geez,” he said in quiet astonishment.

  Reaper, I’ve run an analysis of the collapsed building.

  The Reaper nodded. “Okay, details.”

  It’s the Angels’ tower. The Elder’s voice was soft, almost reverent. The Angels’ Baltimore post.

  “Somebody brought down the Angel’s lookout?” the Reaper said in disbelief.

  Precisely. There is also a large amount of Seal activity in the area . . . and the Revenant.

  “She’s here? How? Never mind, I’ll figure it out later. Get me her location.”

  I’m trying, but something powerful keeps pushing me out.

  Then, in the distant sky, something flew at tremendous speed away from the debris, farther away from him. This had to be a Shade, the Souls of immense power that the Elder had educated him about.

  “Elder, can you enhance my vision?”

  On it.

  He strained his eyes. Held in the Shade’s arms was Sara. Panic surged in his chest. But he paused. Something about the Shade seemed familiar. Sebastian tilted his head. Focusing some of his energy into his eyes, the Shade’s face came into view. Sebastian’s eyes grew wide. His jaw dropped.

  Reaper, that’s Jared. It appears that he has achieved the rank of Shade.

  Sebastian felt his jaw tighten. He shook his head. Sebastian’s eyes fixed on his former friend flying off with his girlfriend. Focusing on the tiny figures of Jared and Sara, he said, “Get me close.”

  On it.

  The Reaper blinked.

  When Sebastian opened his eyes, he was midair. He felt himself falling and his arm shot out, his gloved hand digging into a brick wall. He hung, one armed, onto the wall for a moment. Wind battered at his robes, blowing back the layers of cloth. Lightning cracked behind him. Thunder boomed in the distance.

  Not far ahead, Jared slowly descended into an old cemetery. Half of the iron fence rods were torn off. The other half were still attached to the ground but bent into twisted and frightening shapes. Dead trees reached out with their gnarled arms and fingers. The mausoleums glowed from within, some a fiery orange, others an eerie blue. Stone angels, graceful as always, perched atop tombstones. Somehow alive, their faces turned to meet the Reaper, offering a knowing nod. A haunting sound rose up from the cold earth below, like a chorus of ghosts humming softly, invitingly, calling out to him.

  A chill slithered through his body. The tiny hairs on his left arm rose, calling for him to turn his gaze in that direction. A warning.

  He did so, but saw nothing at first. But then, to the top of a building at the edge of the cemetery, past the gnarled trees and broken tombstones, he saw a girl. She was dressed all in black, but it was her eyes that arrested Sebastian. Brilliant violet and glowing brightly in the darkness. And they were locked on something, or someone, below them in the cemetery. The Reaper followed her gaze to Jared.

  She must have sensed his presence for the instant he glanced her way. She froze and took a step back into the shadows. A light on the roof of her building flickered, and then she was gone.

  “Who was that?” he asked.

  Who was who? I detect no other presence.

  Sebastian didn’t reply. He knew what he’d seen. He turned his attention back toward the graveyard, toward Jared and Sara, just in time to see her take a shovel and whack Jared across the back. He didn’t even stumble, but Sara fell to the ground. Sebastian balled his fists and readied himself to blink to her, when the cemetery below him turned into a scene from a campy horror movie.

  Bodies pushed themselves out of their graves and made their way toward the center of the cemetery to where his ex-best friend and his girlfriend stood. Other dead bodies—zombies—seemed to appear out of the foggy air. All of them hobbled their way towards Sara.

  Sebastian gritted his teeth. Jared. It felt like ages since they’d last spoken. Sebastian blew out a huff of irritation.

  A Shade.

  Jared was a Shade.

  And he was helping the Seals take Sara’s soul.

  Sebastian had been looking forward to being reunited with Jared, but this wasn’t the way he’d pictured it happening. Well, it was finally time that he and Jared had a talk, and he was fairly sure Jared wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

  Once they touched down, Jared tossed Makayla on to the cold, wet ground and stood back, crossing his arms over his chest. He rolled his eyes as she made a pathetic attempt to crawl away from him.

  He ignored her for a moment and surveyed the cemetery. This was the agreed upon meeting place, but there was no sign of anyone yet. He wondered if Obsidian and Kei had taken care of that annoying Angel, when the end of the shovel made contact with his head.

  The shovel handle shattered upon impact and she fell to the ground.

  Jared felt nothing. He turned to her with a pleasantly surprised smile. “You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

  She pulled herself to her feet and balled up her fists. Ready to fight, she saw his expression shift as he gazed past her. She turned around to see what had caught his attention.

  Making its way toward Jared and Makayla, partially illuminated beneath the gothic lampposts, was every type of Soul Jared had been introduced to since his unfortunate descent into Purgatorium. Withered twigs of the trees waved like skeletal fingers at the Souls advancing toward them. Stalkers took the form of shadows and whipped past on the dimly lit cobblestone paths. Mist slithered between the gravestones and deadened trees. Just beyond the horde of Souls, a tall dark figure emerged from one of the mausoleums. The horde parted to allow the Master through.

  Trailing behind the Master were two guardians, dressed in rags, and two more Souls in untied strait-jackets. They crawled forward, moving like drunken monkeys, the sleeves of the strait-jackets dragging on the dirt ground. The horde followed behind at a distance, curiosity and awe on their zombie-like faces.

  The Master came to a stop beside a broken tombstone just a few feet from Jare
d and Makayla, who positioned herself behind the Shade, though she knew he would offer her no protection. The Master looked her over, eyes gleaming. “You did well, young one.” The Master waved Jared away. “Now leave us.”

  The expression on the Master’s face sent shivers down to Jared’s very core. The Master’s eyes bulged, his smile small and twisted. He licked his lips and swallowed. “It is time,” he declared, “that I claimed my prize.”

  Two ragged, Lesser Souls grabbed the Revenant, each one taking an arm. She tried to break free but it was no use.

  Like a coward, Jared dropped his gaze, not wanting to see what came next.

  Before he could take a step, a haze rippled through the cemetery and the Reaper blinked out of thin air, his layers of robes billowing in all directions. His gloved fist shot out, smashing into Jared’s face. A thunderclap from the impact rang out as a shockwave sent all the Souls standing around flying in every direction.

  Except the Master, who had not moved even a millimeter. He watched with a malevolently gleeful grin.

  The impact sent Jared hurtling back along the ground into a gravestone, creating a small ditch in the process. The Revenant, freed by the Lesser Souls from the thunderclap, managed to scramble to her feet and tucked herself behind a stone cross. She peeked from her shelter, eyes darting between the crazed expression of the Master and Sebastian.

  Shakily, Jared climbed to his feet, his glare burning holes into the Reaper. The Reaper blinked forward, ramming his shoulder into Jared’s chest, sending him hurling through the air, crashing into a mausoleum wall. It gave way and crumbled like stale bread.

  Jared grunted and spat out black liquid. Taking hold of the bottom piece of the broken wall, he dragged himself to his feet. The pulsating waves of his anger superheated the air. “It’s about time you came.”

  Somehow, the Reaper felt the heat of his anger through the robes. Good, he thought.

  “Look at you!” the Reaper spat. “A Shade, Jared? Kidnapping Sara, bringing her here to have her Soul ripped out? How much farther can you fall?”