Page 38 of Darkness Consuming
Chapter Twenty
Embracing the Darkness
Linkin
It takes everything in me not to slit his throat before the King even fully injects her. The three of us stand at the door, peering past it just as he sinks the needle into her arm. My jaw clenches tightly when he pulls back from her.
What is the point in all this? Why is he putting his own daughter through this? What does the sedative really do?
Nollix holds his sword in his right hand, ready for the plan that is clicking into place. Cameron stands just behind me. The Warlock is powerful. I’ve seen it myself, but the walls of this place seem to oppress us. The quicker we can get this over with, the quicker this guy can be on his way and I can go back to the solitude of the Wild Hunt.
The walls start to quiver, shaking with a sound of metal scraping. Nollix glances at me from the corner of his eye. I feel it. I feel everything about her anger and power rolling through my chest with waves so intense it makes it hard to breathe.
From between her father and Jeriko, I see her back arch, her fingers tensing as they tremble uncontrollably. It’s the painful sound of her screams that seems to make Nollix snap. He rushes forward and I barely manage to grip his arm and haul him back into the shadows before he does something that’ll ruin the plan.
The little blonde woman, the one who shares similar features with Violence, she writes furiously. Her small hand jots down note after note with every wave of power that jars through the room.
“She’s almost doubled her power since yesterday. Ten times the power pulse as she had the first time. Is she almost ready, Daddy?” She tips her heart shaped face up to the King and he starts to nod.
He takes a step back from Violence’s trembling body. Her screams rip through the room but the King just speaks over her cries.
“I think she is. If we sent her into the underworld she could be powerful enough to retrieve the darkest souls lurking in the depths.”
“What if she’s not?” Jeriko looks to the King, flinching when Vi lunges toward him with a manic screech.
“Then we’ve wasted a very valuable asset.” He nods, stroking his long beard back into place. “The souls we have now are fresh and life sustaining. The souls there, those souls are resilient. They’ve taken the darkness, fed off of it, embraced it and have grown stronger because of it. The book of Severed Souls says it’s the key to true immortality.”
“And we could finally explore the possibilities of strengthening the souls into solid forms. Imagine the kingdoms that would fall at our mercy, Father.”
“I said no, Amandria.” The King’s sharp tone makes her shrink back. “Nothing good can come from bringing those dark souls into a solid form. They reside within the underworld for a reason.” He cuts her a look that I can’t see but he seems to have made a valid point.
For once in his life, the Mad King seems rational.
“Of course, Daddy.” She nods and keeps her gaze on the pad of paper in her hands.
He turns from them, his coat billowing with the sharp movement. It’s nearly a hundred degrees in this damn steam box he’s built and he’s wearing a heavy fur lined coat.
“I have some guests who are less than welcome in my home. Keep an eye on her progress. If she becomes too violent again, you know where the antidote serum is.”
And so do we.
He takes a few steps across the room, and in an instant, we’re face to face. Nollix wastes no time rushing him. His arm locks around the King’s thin frame. He puts so much strength into the blow that the two of them clatter to the floor. The shining tip of his blade sinks through the King’s abdomen. There’s a crazed look in Nollix’s eyes that I have to pull my gaze away from. He’s always balancing just on the edge of sanity. I’m almost afraid to watch if he falls too far down the rabbit hole.
Jeriko and Amandria rush to them at once and it’s then that Cameron and I move from our hiding spot. They’re busy tearing Nollix off of the King, unnoticing of what’s happening across the room.
With the Reveries offering held in my hand, I lean into her. I stand on one side of her while Cameron stands on the other. He puts effort into his actions. The Warlock’s jaw locks into place as his lips purse but he does manage. There’s a spark, the smallest of magic, and the dry herbs flare to life with thick, white smoke. My hand waves, drifting the scent into her gasping and screaming mouth.
“You’re okay, Vi.” My fingers settle against hers but the tension pulling her body off the chair never leaves. “You’ll be okay.” My head tilts closer until my lips brush against her temple.
Cameron fumbles through the drawer at her side, the one she told us about. He pulls a vial out and begin filling the syringe, preparing for the final step.
But first, something very dangerous will happen.
This plan is better than the Darkest Deed plan he had cooked up. We don’t know enough about this laboratory to poison the king.
I don’t know why Cameron is adamant that this will work, though. Last night, he repeated and repeated and repeated how strong Violence’s soul is. It’s been conditioned for the last month with dark essences straight from the underworld, strengthened into a thing of total power.
There’s still a part of me that’s terrified none of that will matter.
