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Chapter 49: Marked
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Darkness Chapter 50: Dante
I woke in the afternoon around two 'o clock. My shoulder ached, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. My back actually felt fairly relaxed. I ate a blueberry muffin for breakfast then dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a tank top. After my daily run, I rinsed, dressed in my normal jeans and a t-shirt then hopped in my truck. It didn't take me long to get the normal herbs, but the home improvement store looked at me funny when I drove off with thirty small rose bushes.By six, I had the plants unloaded in the backyard. Various people, some naked, some robed, came in then disappeared with them back into the forest. I was starting to notice strange features about some of them. One robed figure had goat feet. Another woman had pointed ears. There was a naked man that was completely pink. I tried not to stare, but eyes probably lingered longer than was normal.I had some time to kill while I waited for the mystical herb shop to open, so ate some dinner. I cooked up a bit of inst
Darkness Chapter 51: Emporium
I pulled the truck into the small parking lot. The store looked like one of those hippy bong stores. I jumped out then stuffed my wallet in my back pocket. Remi walked with me to the door.As soon as we entered, the strong smell of herbs and other plants overwhelmed my nostrils. Remi split away from me as I browsed the numerous shelves. They were laden with glass apparatus, herbs, plants, crystals, gems, chicken feet, and a host of other items. It was the biggest magical supply emporium in the west. I was sure it had something to do with being so close to a major nexus point.I wandered through the cramped maze of shelves. One man stood staring at a shelf right next to the dragon's tongue. I moved in closer. The man looked up at me. He was short with purple skin and rounded mousey ears on top of his head. I tried not to stare, but I caught him looking at my left arm.I reached over to get the dragon's tongue. He stared hard at the red spiral on my arm. His mouth gaped. I realized he
Darkness Chapter 52: Fracture
I woke up back in my bed. I was fully clothed, but with no shoes. The covers were tucked up tight under my chin, which was sweet of Remi, but I was boiling hot beneath. The sudden thought that he was sweet wasn't helping that heat either.My limbs felt heavy when I tried to move them. It was similar to when I did a rigorous training session, but without all the soreness. My shoulder still ached though. I pushed the covers back and sat up slowly. It felt like the room was spinning. I don't think I had ever used up so much power at once. I knew it took a while to regenerate. A weight settled down next to me on the bed as the shadows grew into a shape. I flipped the nightstand lamp on then turned to see Remi looking rather serious."What's wrong?" I asked."I think your mother has something planned for you."I quirked an eyebrow. "That's nothing new. She always has plans for me.""No, I mean with this ritual. I think it's about you.""Really? She's never included me in anything like
Darkness Chapter 53: Solstice
I didn't see Remi for the rest of the evening nor for the next two days. The solstice was tomorrow and my birthday was today. I spent my time studying books upon books. I focused on anything that said fracture. I had a feeling I was on my own for this. After day one, I was still hopeful, but on day two, no matter how many times I called, Remi did not appear.I flipped open the book I took from my mother's library. It was getting harder to call her Mother. She never really treated me like a daughter. There was no love between us. I was more of a slave. And now my distrust in her was growing. I sat in my truck in front of the emporium as I poured over the pages. I really hoped I was getting this right. I had found a fracture spell to split a person into mind, body, and soul. It was close enough to the solstice spell, all I had to do was reverse it, at least that's what it looked like.I squeezed my eyes shut. My brain hurt from all of this. I wanted so much to be able to do this, but I
Darkness Chapter 54: Lost
I found myself in the dark. I felt strange. I tried to feel. I tried to tap my chest, but there was nothing there. I couldn't touch anything. My feet weren't on anything either. I was floating, like I was in water. But I as breathing. Or was I? I looked around. The more I strained my eyes, the less a saw. It was just dark.I tried to will myself to move. I couldn't tell if I was or wasn't, there was no sensation. I gave that up pretty quick. The last thing I remembered was seeing my soul leave my body. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was death. I reeled. I recounted all the events. When I finished, I did it again. When I finished with that, I had nothing to do. So, well... I did it from further back, until I was recounting my whole life. And then I did it again. It was all I had to do. I just contemplated my whole just barely fifteen years of life over and over again. With each iteration, feelings flared to life. With every repeat they grew stronger.At the end of each iteration, I was
Darkness Chapter 55: Abducted
KiraI packed the laptop and book in my bag. I needed to find Lanie and apologize. I wasn't trying to push her away. I was just afraid to make a decision. Of all the people I had talked to, she seemed to be the one to always tell it to me straight. She seemed like the best person to trust. She really had no vested interest to help me, yet she stuck around. Either I didn't see what she wanted from me, or she was being genuine.I hit the sidewalk trying to decide where to go. If she were me, which she sort of was, I would go to the library to research more. But... she had been researching so much, and if it were me, I would go to a park and find some nature. So, I headed west to the park where I had summoned her. It was either that one, or the small one with the playground, but there were too many people there for me to feel comfortable. I would try that one next if I couldn't find her. The park I was headed was big, and full of trees, but I hoped if I stuck around long enough, I would
Darkness Chapter 56: Tai Chi
LanieI stormed out of the apartment. Kira was so irritating. She was naïve, and dumb, and... so smart. I was jealous. I knew it. I hated that she could look at all those crazy things in that book and actually figure out what they meant.My fury pressed on. My mind continued to attack her. She was broke, had tiny apartment, and loads of debt. She was soft, although my body felt weak from lack of use, she was sensitive and trusting. She was all the worst parts. Well, except that brain. I could see why Isabell separated that. If I had her brain, I would have figured out her deal way before she tried to kill me.My mind sat on the word "separated" for a minute. It really was like the Pandora story. Kira was all the parts locked away from me. I stomped forward faster. Whatever. If I could figure out how to combined our power, then we might be able to fight this darkness. We might be able to put Isabell down for good.Who was I kidding? I wasn't going to be able to figure this out. All
Darkness Chapter 57: Demon
KiraI finished drawing the circle in blood. I added a delta for the power transference then placed the rune for connecting to the demon realm. I didn't have a specific demon in mind, but most of the demons had a square in their rune, so I just drew a square. The whole thing looked very empty, but I was getting a little woozy from lack of blood.I set some beers in the circle then stood at the circle's edge. "I, Kira Hatfield, summon a demon." I paused. It sounded so absurd, but that is exactly what I wanted. "Any demon. I can give you a bit of my energy and free rein on the Earth for..." I paused in thought. "Ten minutes. I offer up alcohol for your delight. Please, I beg you, grant me your presence. I will let you drink beer and wreak havoc on this bar."For a moment, nothing happened then the drying brown blood flared green. Yellow smoke billowed up from the floor. The smoke formed a figure then it popped into existence as a solid form. The demon was huge. His skin was orange wit
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