Chapter 41
Chapter Forty One
Iwas frozen, my blood chilling as I stared at the creature before me. So human and yet gnarled as the trees that graced this cursed wood, otherworldly. His head tilted as his eyes drank in the shock that must’ve been on my face.
Dedrio.
My voice shook, head shaking in disbelief. “That’s not possible—”
“And why is it not?” He crooned. “Prince of Treachery, the Ninth realm of Hell is my domain, where the darkness stretches eternal.” He circled, slow and intent, like a predator waiting to strike.
“But you know of darkness, don’t you little shadow-cursed?
Do you know how long one must suffer in the dark before it begins to speak back? ”
“What—”
“They told me of you,” he laughed, a manic thing that had me flinching back. “Yes, they whispered of the power given to you. When all the others were murdered for the gift, only you survived. Such a very odd thing, don’t you think?”
He moved closer, a gnarled hand reaching for my hair, for the black strands loose and flowing in the soft breeze from the little window.
“You hide in the darkness. Hidden from those who wish you harm, but can’t you see,” his voice grew softer, reverent, “what you believe to be a weakness is your power.”
My blade hissed through the air and he pulled back, quicker than I thought he could move with a maddening laugh. “Do not touch me.”
His smile turned to a sneer, an ugly thing that had a shiver racing up my spine. “So prickly, you are.”
My lips thinned. “Why did you call me here?”
“To speak,” he answered, as if it should be obvious. “Your little quest is for naught, can’t you see? You will fail, from the very start you were doomed.”
My head shook, hands trembling. “What do you mean?”
“Liars upon liars,” he crooned as his neck craned from side to side, eyes drifting to the pendant upon my neck.
“A little Prince of Flame and Sun who wishes to save his kingdom, what lengths do you think he would go to, shadow-cursed? The same as a girl striving to keep her very existence hidden and quiet?”
“I can taste the treachery that follows you all,” he hummed, pausing to sniff the air. “So delicious, so delectable. Every lie, every half-truth I hear and I know it. They come to me day and night, the sins of you mortals. The guilt you feel when you speak it, I revel in it. I grow drunk on it.”
“Why must everything be spoken in riddles? Speak plainly, demon.” I snapped, exhausted and tired. Fear pulsed through me, bright and tangible.
“I was once a God too,” he hissed, crawling closer as his face twisted with rage. “A God with powers your simple mortal mind could never dream of. Temples were erected in my honor, sacrifices given to appease my wrath. Be careful how you speak to me, mortal.”
“But a God you are not,” I declared as my head tilted, eyeing his mangled form. “For even you can fall from grace.”
“You run from the fate you are destined to meet and yet you scorn me,” he cursed, his lip curling. “Ask your prince what things he hides. Fate for fate, he speaks lies the same as you.”
“What do you know of Kairen?” I asked, my resolve crumbling bit by bit. His smile returned, haunting and terrible.
“What will you give in return if I tell you?”
“What do you want?” I asked. He scuttled closer, quicker than I anticipated. His breath reeked of death and rot.
“The prophecy he gave is not the full truth.” His red eyes bored into mine, manic and excited. “For there is a part he did not tell you. Let me say it now and I will take my prize after.”
I moved to protest, but he was already speaking, his voice lilting and quiet.
”But know that if you wish to succeed,
the ill fate of another you must breed,
a life for a life, little Princeling.
One of your five will die
an end you cannot defy.
The shadows lay in wait,
and they will never forget this fate.
So think carefully,
on those you wish to take.”
My breath caught, nails digging into the hilt of my dagger as I shook my head. “You’re lying. You’re trying to sow division in us.”
“I cannot lie, for that is my fate. A Prince of Treachery who can never again speak a word that doesn’t ring true. Now for my prize.”
His eyes danced with delight as he shot forward again, faster than I could defend against.
“I forged a pendant long ago, to conceal and contain.” His clawed hand held me tight, my blade useless at my side. “My brothers and I grow weary of the games you all play. Treachery is only fun when the lies come to light. It is time for you to stop running from fate, shadow-cursed.”
Before I could stop him, the chain of my necklace ripped from my neck, snapping, and with it something within me snapped.
All at once power, raw and unlike anything I had ever felt, came rushing forward.
Dark and cold I felt it release in a blast that shook the rubble around us.
Pain ripped through me as I was brought to my knees, my body seizing.
Dark tendrils, shadows, rippled from my body—leeching as though purging themselves from beneath my skin.
“My brothers and I did not create the plague that ravages you all,” he sang, smiling wide and devious. “But I think you already know that, don’t you?” He moved back and disappeared into the darkness he had come from.
Gasping, I tried to rise as another ripple of raw power shook through me.
At last we are released.
The shadows sang, louder than they had ever been. I curled in upon myself, my hands covering my ears. Horror filled my bones as silver hair spilled over my shoulders and brushed the dirty temple floor.
So long we have waited.
Chained to a girl too terrified to see,
that we are her and she is us.
Body shaking, I cried as pure agony rushed through me again. It was as if my skin was being shredded, my flesh torn apart by talons, my bones crushing and reshaping to make room for the magic that writhed beneath.
Now they shall see.
Now they shall know.
We are power.
We are destruction and you little shadow,
will bring us our vengeance.
“Shadow-blessed.”
The voice was a whisper, haunting, like a call from far, far away.
“Easy, child. Breathe.”
It was a melody, warm and soft. It enveloped me like the warmth of a hug as the shadows leeched from my body. It beckoned me closer, inviting and loving. “Open your eyes, little shadow.”
The temple was gone, and only darkness remained. A world with no end, no beginning, as my body hung in suspension. Stars, bright and flaming, floated all around as I turned and reached my hand out. I froze when my eyes met that of a woman.
Her hair was a halo of white curls around her face, floating and drifting through the air, her skin dark as the night sky though it too emanated an ethereal glow. A silver so light you could hardly see the shimmer upon her skin.
“We haven’t much time,” she murmured, drawing closer as her hand reached for my cheek. “How much pain you have had to endure, my child. I am so sorry.”
Sympathy coated those words and I wanted to sink within it, to burrow and never leave. “Where are we?”
“A place in between your realm and my kingdom, an expanse of everything and nothing all at once.”
That didn’t make any sense.
“Your magic has been contained for too long.” The woman whispered, “It’s ravenous and you have not yet learned control.”
I knew this was my Goddess, knew it to the marrow of my bones. Lua. Yet my mind, my body, had no reaction except the wish to fall into this warmth, to stay and never leave.
“I didn’t—”
“I know, sweet child,” she murmured, “you must stop it from consuming you whole. Only you can control it.”
“How do I—”
Her head shook. “You must go back.” Her eyes grew heavy, lidded with a grief I couldn’t understand. “Your pain is not yet over and for that I am sorry. If I had know what my blessing would have meant for you, I’m not sure I—”
Her voice caught, face turning away.
“Go, and remember,” her voice grew stronger, her hand reaching for mine, “you have the gift of blessed shadow. I chose you, Syra Lunatici. Never forget the power you wield.”
The warmth vanished. One moment it had been a sanctuary wrapping me in its embrace and the next torment flooded through my body once more, a scream of pain and terror lodging in my throat.
My body convulsed, agony lit through every nerve ending, every vein, as though the magic was attempting to purge itself from my blood.
I rolled, cold stone biting through my tunic as I retched, but it wasn’t the contents of my stomach that came out, no.
It was pure darkness, shadows spilling from between my lips, searching for any escape they could find.
Misery seized my body in violent convulsions, limbs jerking as though unseen hands were trying to rip me apart piece by piece. I rolled again, this time onto my side, but no matter how many times I wretched, no bile came.
Only darkness. The shadows poured from my mouth in thick, writhing ribbons. They spilled across the cracked stone like living ink, searching and desperate to be free.
It was too much.
Far too much. I couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop the magic as it took and took. The shadows clawed their way through my veins and hollowed me from the inside out.
I choked on a sob.
Gilded in gold plates,
hearts filled with hate,
they stalk through the forest.
Hurry, child
before it is too late.
Their voices screeched through my hazy mind, my head pounding.
I dragged myself toward the ruined entrance, nails splitting against stone as I clawed my way to the temple steps. Moonlight spilled through the broken archway, painting the bloodied smears of my fingertips in silver.
I needed help.
Needed—
A sharp burst of pain tore through me again, a scream ripping from my throat as my body collapsed against the threshold.
I pressed my forehead to the cold stone as I panted through the torture.
The shadows continued to spill—from my lips, from my fingertips, from the pores of my Goddess-cursed body.
Freeeeee.