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Chapter 22: Family
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2022-06-23 14:03:51Related chapters
Darkness Chapter 23: Pyramid
The drive back was as boring as the drive down. I was feeling rather disheartened and was doing my best to ignore Mila's strange behavior. We unpacked the car. Anton and Mila bantered back and forth like normal siblings as I sank deeper into depression. I couldn't help it. I just need to accept the new Mila. There was nothing I could do. Not by myself.I drew the curtains closed on the morning sun then flopped in my bed. I had closed off the rest of the apartment behind my bedroom door. I couldn't stand the banter. The more I listened, the sadder I got. It wasn't her. And even if it was, I missed a chance to grow up with her because my mother lied to me. My heart ached. My brain didn't know what to think, so instead my emotions took over and filled me with a great sinking depth of pain at my center. Eventually, Anton and Mila left. The apartment rang with an eerie echo of silence. At first I found it peaceful, but that gave way to an incredibly loneliness. I wondered at the deep hol
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 24: Glass
As I followed Remi, the pyramid grew taller in front of us. The weird leaves seemed to part before us as we jogged towards the blocky entrance. Remi's dark figure slipped into the blackness of the rectangular opening. I slipped as my foot hit the first solid surface of brick and down I went on my hands and knees. My tote bag slapped my shoulder and slid down to the floor.Remi turned around and hauled me to my feet, righting me. My vertigo swam for a moment before my eyes adjusted to the new light.Remi laced my fingers with his and started us down the main hallways. There was no light source, but the surfaces seemed to reflect light just like the leaves and the bark in the forest outside. It was the oddest sensation. The walls were covered in pictographs, but they were outlined in multiple colors of light. It was beautiful. They weren't Egyptian style, but they were similar in how they told a story. It was almost as if it was a time line as we walked down the hall.I saw a sword. M
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 25: Mirrors
I crossed the blocky entrance and climbed the stone spiraling steps to the next level of the pyramid. Once we passed the threshold, we came to a dark room lit only by self-illuminated mirrors. There were thirteen six-foot tall mirrors arranged in a circle. I stepped into the center very carefully, looking around me to see if there were any darts or weird traps like in the movies. I breathed out a long breath when nothing came flying out to attack me."Are you sure that's a good idea?" Remi asked behind me.I waved my hand at him. "Hush. Let me figure this out."In the mirrors, I saw the next threshold. I looked around at the rest of the dark room. Remi was walking around the backs of the mirrors."Do you see anything else?" I asked.I couldn't see him in the darkness but his deep voice growled a negative response.So, it had to be the mirrors. I stepped forward to the first one to the right. I saw myself. As I looked around at the other mirrors, I saw a few that showed the correc
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 26: Lenses
We reached the top floor. I came to a halt as a giant pane of glass blocked most of my path. I stared at it for a minute. Remi let out a sigh and leaned against the hallway wall."I think I see it," I said."See what?" He asked.I squinted and leaned closer to the glass. "I think I see the sword. It's blurry and really small, but I think that's it." I peered at the dark pointed shape in the center of the glass. I inched around the pane to examine the rest of the room. Large spherical lenses sat on pedestals with wheels. On their sides were tally marks. In the floor coming straight away from the glass was a groove where it looked like the pedestals locked into place.I remembered this from optics class. I knew exactly what to do. I started to push the convex lens that had three tally marks on it."What are you doing?""Just stay there." I said. "Let me know how the images changes when I push this into place."I wish I could make out his expression, but I took his silence as accep
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 27: Escape
I followed Remi up the last spiral staircase to the top of the pyramid which was actually flat. With my new sense of eye sight, the teal leaves of the trees and night sky above was fantastically beautiful. My eyes locked on three dragon almost flying dinosaur type creatures. The screeched and circled around the top of the pyramid. Their talons extended towards me as they descended and dived at us.One came right for Remi and I realized he couldn't see it. "Duck!" I screamed.He dropped and rolled to the side. "I think you mean dino," he said with a huff as he flattened down on the ground."What ever gets you out of the way." I circled around holding the sword up in front of me. "I take it I have defeat these things?""I think that would be a good guess.""Any idea how I go about that?""Well, I don't know. Maybe trying swinging that huge sword at them?"I looked out at the sword in front of me. It had grown to at least three times my height. I blinked in surprise. How was I even
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 28: Dinner
I woke to excited screeches from the front room. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and wondered if it was a parakeet being murdered or my possessed roommate. Mila burst into the room. She seemed almost back to her usual self. "Kira, come out. Come meet my dad! He's brought stuff for us!" She vanished with a flip of her blonde hair. I rubbed my temples. What the hell was going on? The last thing I remembered was falling into bed around noon after taking a really long shower. I reached under my pillow where I found a black knife. I wondered how that had gotten there. I stuffed it back under the pillow then dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I took a deep breath then prepared for my first encounter with my real father.I crept out of my room and leaned against the hallway wall with my arms crossed. Here he was, the man I should talk to just arrived in my apartment. A nagging feeling pulled at me deep in my gut. Was this somehow Remi's doing? Was he forcing me to follow this trail? I alre
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 29: Memory
I trudged out into the sunshine. The afternoon sun lit the street. People passed. Weird things passed. I was still seeing the crazy. Or the unknown. I wasn't sure which side of the fence I was on yet. I walked a long ways, trying to get away from it all. I wasn't going to jump off a bridge this time. Wait, I remembered that. My head stung with pain. Why were things so complicated? I just wanted a straightforward answer. I felt like so many things were being kept from me. I walked on. I could go back. Maybe Matei had some answers. Maybe we could work all this out. But, no. I was too angry. He knew. He knew the whole time. I didn't need a liar like that in my life right now. Maybe never. I wasn't ready to let him in. I kept seeing shadows under the trees. The little ember blinked in and out of my peripheral vision. I wasn't in the mood. I avoided the shade. I didn't want to talk to that liar either. I knew he'd just smile at me and I would forget all my anger.I took the path down to
Last Updated : 2022-06-23Darkness Chapter 30: Nexus Point
On my walk back to the apartment, I read through the paper. It had a list of ingredients, a drawing of a pentagram with mathematical looking symbols in it, and, as would be proper for any insane black magic spell, a chant to go along with it. However, to my surprise, it was in English. The first task was to find a nexus point. Scratch that. The first task was to figure out what the hell a nexus point was.It was still before sunset, so I took a detour to the local library. It was small, but still open. I nodded to the librarian at the desk as I walked past the entrance. There weren't many people around, or other "people" either. I did see one with pink skin, but she looked fairly normal. I hoped she didn't catch me staring.I sat at one of the computer desks. It had a flat screen monitor, one of those all-in-one PCs, a small mouse, and keyboard. Once upon a time, I too had a computer, but not recently. I had to pawn it to pay rent a few months ago. I logged in under my library userna
Last Updated : 2022-06-23
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Darkness Chapter 132: Olympus
I don't know how long I lay there crying and wailing and sniffling. I couldn't believe he was gone. I'd been played. I'd let the darkness use him and use me. I needed to be smarter. I needed to figure out what she was doing before it happened. How did one even learn those sort of skills? I was no hero. I was nothing.The deep pit of depression pulled at me throughout the hours as I lay on the cold hard ground. I couldn't pull myself up. I couldn't go on. I had killed Mila and now I had killed Remi. I let Kezia and Matei die. No matter what I did, I was never good enough to save the people I loved. I'd even killed my own mother. What was wrong with me? I was living ball of bad luck. Bad Karma.I raised my head. Had Karma done this to me? Was that the reason? I slowly pushed into a sitting position."Karma!" I screamed. I had nothing left; otherwise, I would have pushed so much power into her name; it would have knocked the rest of the castle over. "Karma! Did you do this to me!?" M
Darkness Chapter 131: Dragon
Yes, I was looking at a freaking Dragon in front of me. It must have been three stories tall. What is that, thirty feet? It was freaking huge. Its black scales glittered in the moonlight, and if I weren't shaking in my boots and worried about being eaten alive, I would have thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Atlas, it was terrifying. Complete and utter terror gripped my throat, even more than the ominous darkness that used to chase me home from work. This thing had fangs and claws and wings! It was the embodiment of a predator and it was assigned to kill me.The thing reeled back its head after in a great roar as if to bellowed out fire on me, the tiny figure standing in front of it. I instinctively rose the Aurora sword in front of me. Instead of normal flame, it blew out a steady stream of black and purple fire. The sword sliced it in half, protecting me. After the breath, it turned its head and gazed at me with one bright golden hazel eye. The fearsome intel
Darkness Chapter 130: Dungeon
I woke up bound and gagged in a very cold and dark place. I could hear water dripping somewhere far off. The smell of mold and dirt filled my nostrils while the wet, cold air penetrated my clothing made me shiver. I pulled at the power I had stored inside me, but it was gone. It felt as if I had been completely drained. I even felt drained of life.I wiggled in the grime until I was able to free my gag. "Hello?" My voice echoed off what sounded to be stone walls.I could be anywhere. For a moment, I thought I was dead, but I think I was too uncomfortable to be dead just yet. After much struggling, I was able to sit."Remi?" I whispered. "Angie? Sandriel? Natalia? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?""No one can," a familiar voice echoed.It surprised me at how close it was, maybe only a few feet in front of me. The deep smooth female voice was easy to place. The water dripping in the background grew silent. Even the air around me stopped."Karma," I said."Oh, aren't you just so smart
Darkness Chapter 129: Life
The dark forest started to clear as I flew forward on my delicate wings. The first thing to catch my eye in the firelight was Kezia strapped to a pole in the middle of the nexus circle surrounded by what looked to be human bones. The rose bushes that were planted six years ago were the size of people, bushy, and well cared for. Their blooms were just starting to fade as the fall equinox rose. A hundred or so crystals sparkled in the moonlight spread out over the complicated circles drawn in the dirt. Mila stood at the edge of the circle chanting in a language I couldn't make out.Kezia's eyes darted towards me as I appeared out of the trees. Mila immediately stopped her chant as she looked in my direction. A wicked, too big smile gaped open. Pointed teeth spilled across her face. She extended her fingers out and flicked them at me.Dark tendrils of shadows leaped from the trees. They wrapped around my ankles and wrists, pulling me down to the ground. I could feel the familiar fear gr
Darkness Chapter 128: Plea
I stood looking out at the stars in the night sky from the roof of the Ardor bar building. The power from the crystals thrummed beneath my skin as I swirled it inside me, converting it to my pink energy. I needed to do this. I had to go all out like I had done for the brothers in order to save Kezia. It wasn't fair that she was taken hostage because of me.I closed my eyes. I searched deep inside the well of power within me and whispered, "Remi." The word escaped my lips with a deep insistence with power behind it.The night pressed in thick around me like a cloud that descended and hung about in a fog. I realized it was Remi's shadow fighting his summoning."Remi," I bit out. The power behind the word was sharp.The shadows merged into his figure. He stumbled forward on to his hands and knees before me."Kira," he heaved a breath. "Where did you learn that trick?""I need you to take me to Kezia."He lifted his head. "Don't do that. Forget about Kezia. She's lost. Just let it b
Darkness Chapter 127: Spark
The evening died down. I was left sitting alone again, but this time my basket of crystals was full of energy. Their surfaces pulsed with pink light. The elves' energy was different, but it was intense. It wasn't as easy to mix with my own, but when I did, I felt powerful.I collected the basket and went downstairs. I bid good night to Cherry with a nod. I carried my basket through the back then started up the stairs."Beloved," Liam's deep voice drew my eyes up from the stair steps.I nodded. "Liam.""Where are you going with all those crystals?""I was taking them to my room to practice."His eyebrow ridges knit down. "Practice what?"I smiled innocently. "I'm just testing what I can do. Don't worry; I'll be careful."He eyed me suspiciously. I tried not to let my smile waiver. I felt like he could see right through me, but I held firm. I had to do this. I couldn't just let Kezia die, not like Mila."Alright, be careful. Good night, Beloved.""Good night." I inched around h
Darkness Chapter 126: Signature
I sat outside in the parking lot were a bar counter, numerous tables and chairs, and many lights decorated the area. The elves sat politely at the tables, drinking their fancy top-shelf drinks. The Ardor Brothers pretended to be having a good time, but the suspicious glances between the two factions put a damper on the party.Lord Quillion finally strode across the parking lot towards us. He took a seat in front of me with a pained look.I remained silent with a smile on my face. No more plastic smiles for me. This one was genuine."Lord Quillion," I said."Beloved," he responded. He said it as if it tasted bitter on his tongue.That made me smile wider.Cole spread the contract out on the table between us. "This claims The Kingdom will be allies to the Ardor Brothers for the next fifty years. They will aid us with whatever we require, including sharing materials and funds. The territories will remain separate, but the people of either territory will be allowed to move across the
Darkness Chapter 125: Duel
"I accept the terms," Lord Quillion said.I extended my hand to him. We shook, then I backed away. Both armies stepped back to give us space.Liam squeezed my shoulder. "Let me fight for you."I shook my head. "This is my fight."He gave me a worried glance but gave a slight nod. "Good luck, Beloved."Granite gave me a soft punch. "We're counting on you." They both turned and stood to block the entrance to the bar. They watched me with their iron-grey eyes. I couldn't help but smile. For such cold, hardened warriors, they had such warmth in their hearts.I turned my attention back to Lord Quillion. He stood at the center and lifted his long sword to the sky. Dark clouds appeared and swirled overhead. Blue lighting ripped from the sky on to the sword. He held pointed it toward me, then screamed a battle cry.I cringed. It sent a primal surge of fear through me. I stood my ground as he ran forward with the sword. For a moment, I felt frozen, but I calmed my thoughts and felt for
Darkness Chapter 124: Challenge
I didn't sleep. I paced the room. I tossed and turned in bed, but I never managed a wink of sleep. Hours ticked by. Painful minutes ticked by. There was nothing. No word. No text or message. I was just stuck in the dark and I didn't dare bother them because it could mean life and death. At seven o'clock in the morning, I stumbled down the stairs on tired legs. I wanted to sleep, needed it, but I couldn't. I made some cereal and sat looking out at the sun in the sky over the city. The harsh sun reminded me of my garden. I let my mind wander to that peaceful place. I thought about the blooms, the sun, and the pink glow. Before I knew it, I was standing in my garden.The plants were still there, but they looked wilted. The ones next to the stream were okay, but the rest looked a little frazzled. I added more of the glittering water next to them and they slowly perked up. I touched others and they blossomed again. The tiredness slowly drained from me as I walked through my creations.I
