A Toiling Darkness (28 page)

“I probably could,” I agreed with him “But I
won’t. Not for you.”

He screamed wordlessly and in that moment
they broke through, bursting out of my shadows in a fit of hunger
and excitement.

The creatures were long and sleek. Their
heads were black and as you looked down their body, it lighted up
to grey, to silver, then to white, and finally near the end of
their tail, lucent.

“Bloodhounds,” I whispered, in awe. Always
in awe with those majestic creatures. To think hell had something
so beautiful.

I knew they used shadows to move about, and
they have even used the ones in my immediate control quite a few
times. But still. Every time I saw them, I was awestruck. They are
one of the most beautiful creatures in existence. The creature was
a little over seven feet long and about three feet tall. The tail
itself was about three feet long with a fan at the end. There was a
fin along its back, the ends sharp enough to cut off a limb or two.
I’ve seen it happen.

The man screamed and tried to scramble away
but the bloodhound latched on and began dragging him back to the
same shadow it came out of.

“What—?” Kalen moved to help the human. I
moved just as fast to stop him. He had a clear path to the man and
then I was just there, in front of him. I wrapped my arms around
his waist and pushed. Kalen stopped trying to plow through me and
instead tried to get me off him.

“If you interfere, you’ll only be in the
same situation as him, probably worse,” I said.

“We can’t just let it take him.”

“Yes, we can. He made the deal himself,
knowing exactly what that meant. This is their payment.”

“This is murder.” He tried to get me off
him, but I held on tight.

“No, this is a deal in our world.”

“How could he know this would happen?” He
tried again to pry me off. I only crawled up and wrapped my legs
around his knees. We probably really did look like a child trying
to play with her father. It was definitely a ridiculous sight to
see. I was using his caring nature against him. He wouldn’t move if
he thought it would hurt me.

“It would have been written out for him, and
they even tell him. They don’t trick him. Besides summoning a demon
for a deal isn’t as easy as you think. He knew what he was getting
himself into. It isn’t like he just stumbled across some fucking
demon.”

The man was screaming now, barely louder
than the children who were crying again. The bloodhound dragged him
into the shadow. The man scratched at the floor, breaking his
nails, and calling for help. Kalen wanted to give him that help. I
felt the bloodhound as it moved through my shadow with the human. I
shivered and watched as the man disappeared into a black endless
pit. Then it was over.

Kalen glared at me until I let him go. He
stalked over to the kids. The closer he got, the more the tension
and anger became well masked. By the time he reached them and began
comforting them, he seemed more like an older cousin than a
seething man. He hid himself very well.

“I’ll call Kay and tell him to clean up this
mess. Calm them down and I’ll have a cab sent here.”

“Fine.” He ignored me.

“Fine,” I replied and slipped out of the room. They
wouldn’t calm down until I left the room anyways.

When Darkness left the room, somehow I felt
like she needed someone to hold onto. Someone to comfort her. I
wanted to offer it, but the kids needed me. They looked so sick.
They were all underfed, dirty, and scared shitless.

So I stayed behind.

My chest tightened again. It always
tightened when I was near her. Something about her called to me. I
just couldn’t decide if it was something good or bad. Sometimes I
got the urge to hurt her, and other times, I just want to keep her
safe. Away from all the horrors around us.

Then I remember she’s already seen two
hundred years worth of horror. She wasn’t a kid. She only looked
like one.

I turned to the four remaining kids and gave
them a solemn smile.

“It’s okay. We are going to get you out of
here.”

The kids looked at me with very little hope.
As if my words meant nothing to them…or they just didn’t want to
believe in them. Some of the children were only a shell, but
hopefully, with help, they could be children again.

Not likely. This was their initiation into
adulthood. And they were still so young. They didn’t need to be
adults.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. Darkness was an
adult. And yet she was a child.

And now these children were getting that
very same look that sometimes creeps into Darkness’s expression.
That look that told everyone that she has seen some nasty shit
throughout her life. It made me wonder what fazed her. What would
have to happen to get a real reaction out of Darkness? I shook my
head, trying to shift my thoughts from her to the children
instead.

I kept my eyes on them, trying to not draw
any attention to the dead bodies in the room. I grabbed a couple of
hands. They were so cold and small.

“How about we go into a different room?”

They looked up at me and slowly a couple of
them nodded. One of the little girls simply stared blankly,
completely lost within herself. I ushered them out of the room as
carefully as I could.

They were only children.

I stepped outside and took in a couple of
deep breaths. Kay was going to be pissed with what I was about to
do. It was only possible because we were so interlocked with each
other. We shared hundreds of years of experience together.

I closed my eyes and focused on the darkness
around me. When I connected to it the way I wanted, I used it to
find Kay. It took some prodding and pushing, but eventually my
darkness locked onto him. I used it to reach out to him, feel his
awareness of me. He knew what was about to happen and he was not a
happy camper. Ha-ha, camper. After technology grew, he would never
be caught camping. He stayed far away from nature now.

When I touched him, he tried to fight. I
ignored his wishes, pushed myself a little further, and took him.
Pain flashed through my body. The little trick only cost me a
little piece of myself. A piece that will heal back eventually.

In moments Kay was in front of me, his face
twisted with rage.

“Hell hounds, Darkness? Don’t you know how
to pick up a damn phone by now.”

“Hello to you too.” I rolled my eyes. He
knows technology and me don’t get a long.

“You promised you would never do that!”

“Yeah, but I added a stipulation of being
allowed to do it if it’s an emergency. Well, it’s an
emergency.”

He looked around, quickly getting his
bearings. “No one’s dying. You’re still standing and there aren’t
any dead bodies. What kind of emergency? It better not be something
stupid like the last time. I swear domestic chores are not
considered an emergency.”

“If only it was that simple,” I grumbled.
“I’ve got some dead bodies you should clean up.”

“I told you, I’m not into domestic chores.
It’s your mess, you clean it up.”

“It’s your fucking loc! Stop acting like an
asshat and take responsibility.”

Kay’s mouth snapped shut at my outburst. I
was tired and annoyed. Why was I annoyed? I shook my head and
glared at Kay. I can analyze my emotions later. Always later.

“Devon was sacrificing children to summon a
demon. He used a human to kidnap them,” I expanded. “He was your
lackey. Clean it up.”

Kay’s eyes fogged up a little as he worked
out what was going on.

“How did you get involved with Devon?”

“The slauve found him,” I shrugged. “I just
tagged along.”

His eyes narrowed on me, focusing on the
first part of my answer. “The slauve? Why are you with him?” he
seethed, in a low whisper. “He wants you dead.”

“You’re right, he doesn’t know it’s me.
Besides, I figured if I keep him close, then maybe I can find his
master.”

“You should just kill him.”

It was my turn to get furious. “No!”

“No?”

“No.”

“He’s going to kill you.”

“And I don’t care. I refuse to kill
him.”

“Why?”

“He’s the only one who knows the one who
wants me dead. I need him alive.”

“Don’t bullshit with me. That may have been
the original plan, but you wouldn’t be just tagging along if it
were. Why?”

I sighed and looked down.

“Darkness,” he warned.

“Because somehow, I care. Okay. I can’t kill
him.”

We fell into an awkward silence as Kay took
in my admission. Finally, some of his anger dissipated and he
started gathering magic around him.

“Fine, whatever. Just don’t get killed.”

“I’ll be fine as long as I stay in this
form.”

“One can only hope it'll be that easy,” he
muttered. We walked into the building and back into the room. The
children weren’t there, neither was Kalen. Probably for the
best.

Kay pulled out a light blue chalk from his
pocket and then quickly took in the scene. He didn’t linger long on
the dead children. He could care less about them. He did linger as
he stared at his lackey, his face unresponsive.

“What did you do to him?” he asked.

“Drowned him.”

He stared at the body for another beat, and
then nodded.

“Well then, lets get to work.”

He had me move all the bodies into the
middle of the room as he cleaned up all the markings that made up
the summoning circle.

“Bastard really knew his shit,” he
grumbled.

“It would have worked, too.”

If I weren’t so focused on Kay, I wouldn’t
have notice the shiver that crawled along his body. This was
bothering him more than he was letting on.

“A real good chance it would have. There’s
only four bodies. I’m sure there should be more.”

“Kalen probably took them into another room
to help calm them. Four more are still alive.”

He nodded. “I’ll suppress their
memories.”

“Thanks.”

He snorted. “As if you really mean
that.”

I looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“No, I could care less. But Kalen will be thankful.”

“Then he can express it. You don’t need
to.”

I shrugged and watched as he started to draw
his own circle.

I stepped outside the circle and watched as
he gathered more magic, his lips moving soundlessly as he mouthed a
chant. The circle lit up, created a barrier between us and the
bodies. Slowly the bodies disintegrated.

First they lost all their fluids, turning
into wrinkled husks. Then they flattened as their bones became dust
and only skin was left. After a few more moments, their skin and
clothes turned to dust too. It all happened in minutes.

“Still have your touch, I see,” I
remarked.

Kay sighed and released his circle. All that
was left was a pile of dust, making the room look like it simply
hasn’t been cleaned in a very long time. It was going to match with
the rest of the house.

“Now to go check on the children,” he said
as he turned. I followed behind. We checked a couple of rooms until
we found them in what looked like a master bedroom. They were still
huddling together.

When we came in, Kalen was up on his feet,
ready to protect them against anything.

“You!” He was ready to charge at Kay,
probably recognizing him from when he attacked me at Kay’s
office.

“Kalen,” I said, stepping in front of Kay,
acting like a bodyguard.

“Darkness, do you know who he is?”

“I do. Everyone worth anything knows who he
is. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“He knows Akhlys!”

“He knows everyone,” I snapped back. “My
patience is at its max right now, so back off. If you’re going to
live in this world, then you need to realize that there are those
you simply cannot attack just for knowing someone. I’m sure there
are a lot of people who know Akhlys. Are you simply going to kill
them all for it?”

Kalen’s clenched jaw, unclenched. “Do you
know Akhlys?”

I stared at him for a moment, thinking of
the question. “I do. Everyone knows Akhlys.”

“And yet no one knows where she is.”

“Akhlys has been off the map for nearly two
hundred years,” Kay spoke up, not looking at me.

“And yet she was with you,” Kalen
growled.

“And now she isn’t.”

“Where is she?”

“Probably where she wants to be most. Why’s
it so important to you? Are you planning to kill her, slauve?”

“What I do with her is none of your
concern.”

“It became my concern when you attacked my
establishment, killed two of my guards and severely injured another
three of my employees.”

Kalen backed down at that. I could see it in
his expression. Regret. He felt bad for doing what he was created
for doing.

“I apologize.”

“I don’t want it. I’m simply here now
because Darkness called me and she asked me to help her. She never
does that, so I’m inclined to do it. That means I need you to move
so I can see the children.”

“No.” Kalen didn’t even think about it. So
damn protective.

“Kalen,” I warned.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do to them.
They are already scarred.”

“He’s simply going to suppress their
memories.”

He frowned. “He can do it.”

“He can and he will. He owes me. He’ll
suppress their memories and send them off to the police station.
They’ll help them from there.”

Kalen looked between Kay and me, then at the
children. He was so conflicted. Finally he nodded and stepped to
the side.

Kay approached the kids slowly, his
expression soft so as to not scare them anymore. I guess he could
be courteous when he wanted to be. When he was less than a foot
away, he knelt down with a solemn smile. Expressive in everything
he was doing, though I knew it all to be an act. Kay was the actor
I’ll never come close to being, and I thought myself to be pretty
decent; pretending to be a child and all that.