Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (17 page)

A domed ceiling bowed overhead, like
she was inside a snow globe with the glass painted
black.

“
What is this?” she asked,
her gaze panning the length of the strange room.

“
You’ll see—have a seat,”
Kane replied warmly.

His hooves made a trotting sound as he
walked quickly towards the booth. A few clicking sounds later, the
entire room came to life.

As Fate gaped at the ceiling, she
stifled a sob.

“
It’s—a planetarium,” she
whispered, feeling Kane ease into the seat next to her.

Breathless, her new sight experienced
the awe she’d only known with human eyes. The Milky Way hung
overhead, its multitude of stars twinkling and sparkling only for
her. A suspended galaxy for an audience of one.

“
Do you…like it?” Kane
asked, his voice uncertain.

She couldn’t speak. It was beauty
unlike anything she’d seen with these eyes. Newborn
eyes.

The dome shifted slowly, mimicking the
movements of the celestial procession, only faster than it would be
on the Surface. Stars winked, planets spun, and comets soared. Even
the turquoise swags of Northern Lights draped themselves over a
distant horizon.

It was breathtaking.
Overwhelming.

“
How?” she whispered,
fearful the splendor would vanish if she spoke aloud.

“
The—previous owners—built
it,” he stated quietly.

Fate could almost feel him smiling at
her in the dark. A thrill moved quickly up her spine. He was so
close. So warm. It was almost like a date at the movies.

The movies. A
date.

An icy trickle moved through her veins.
A dark memory tried to interrupt her bliss, but she forced it away
with an annoyed scowl. She didn’t want anything to ruin this
moment. Not the universe spread out before her like a shimmering
blanket nor the excitement she felt being so close to
Kane.

She stole a glance at him through the
darkness, his cerulean eyes glowing bright. Again she wondered how
he felt about her. Was he just entertaining a guest? Was this
something he showed everyone new to the palace? Or was
she—special?

He cleared his voice nervously, as
though he sensed her eyes on him.

“
It…doesn’t show the
sunrise, unfortunately,” he said, sounding genuinely disappointed.
“What’s it like?”

“
The sunrise?” Fate searched
the depths of her memories, probing for the correct image. “I can’t
remember everything, but what I do remember is…beautiful. All
colors of the rainbow suspended in one corner of the sky, though
mostly shades of amber and pink. It changes constantly, but ever so
subtly. And just when you think that nothing could be more
breathtaking, a golden sphere rises, overtaking all the colors and
turning the entire sky baby blue.”

She prided herself on recalling so
much, then realized Kane was staring at her. Turning to him, she
couldn’t name the expression on his face. Awe?

The air seemed to stop around them.
Only inches away from one another, she felt her head start
spinning. His hand was so close to hers.

Their eyes locked on one another, her
next breath stuck in her chest. She wondered if there was no mask
imprisoning her lips, would he be kissing her by now?

He suddenly looked away, almost shaken
as he refocused on the make-shift galaxy above. Disappointed, she
followed suit, allowing the discomfited silence to distance them
once again.

Fate settled into her seat and looked
up, forcing herself to take in every inch of the wonder overhead
before it was turned off and she’d have to return to the world
without a sky.

Her eyes darted to and fro as they
struggled to absorb every constellation and every galactic
wonder.

Then she saw it.

The Phoenix.

A dam broke inside. A flood of memories
came rushing back all at once. Fragments of her soul gravitated to
one another, mending her fractured mind.

Her undead heart skipped a beat and
tears burned in the corners of her eyes.

She remembered.

I am Scarlet.

Fire

Fate had been exceptionally quiet since
the star room. Frankly, he wasn’t sure if she’d enjoyed it or not.
One moment, she seemed completely entranced by it, and the next,
withdrawn.

“
Are you all right?” he
asked as they walked down the hall.

Her arms were wrapped around her like
she was cold. Though she nodded in reply, she didn’t offer anything
further.

Paranoia crept in uninvited and he
wondered if she was offended by the awkward moment they’d endured.
What was he thinking? Didn’t he have more control than that? He
felt like slapping himself to awaken from whatever enchantment she
had over him. Was what he was feeling real? Or just some kind of
illusion? A bewitchment?

His brows pulled together. Frustration
building within, he decided to leave her to her thoughts. It was
obvious something was upsetting her, though he couldn’t imagine
what.

A new fear rose quickly into his
throat.

What if she’s getting hungry
again? What if she’s unable to control it?

It was then he decided Ever shouldn’t
be alone with the shade anymore. It just wasn’t safe. He couldn’t
lose another family member to a shade—especially his only
daughter.

He suddenly felt very foolish. How could
he have so recklessly allowed this known predator into their hidden
lair? While he was certain she wasn’t an agent of the Queen,
attempting to gain access to their secrets and report back, he
wasn’t convinced she was trustworthy yet either.

No matter what he’d seen with her
recent behavior, she was still a killer. She was still more monster
than human. He couldn’t let himself forget that—no matter how he
felt about her.

Upon reaching her door, he turned to
wish her good night. Her eyes still locked on the floor, she simply
turned, entered her room and closed the door.

Kane stood in stunned silence for a
moment, uncertain what to do next. He noticed two demon guards
standing down the hall and motioned for them to come.

“
Stay here, see that Ever
does not enter,” he ordered, turning to leave, then added, “And—if
the shade leaves, one of you follow her and the other inform me at
once.”

They nodded, parked their staffs at
their side and thrust their chests out like proud
peacocks.

As he entered into the main hall, Kane
decided he should call an emergency meeting with the Council of
Elders.

“
Dex,” he called to a young
demon courier. “Please relay a message to each member of the
council. I wish to call a meeting for tomorrow morning.”

The demon boy nodded and trotted off to
deliver the communication.

He needed advice. He needed to know what
to do with the shade, but even more pressing was what to do about
the missing page of the Devil’s Bible.

“
If Malus finds the other
three,” he muttered under his breath, “she’ll not only own Dark
World—but the Surface as well.”

Scarlet.

Flashes of her former existence
flickered like a broken television screen. Memories were thrown at
her with no rhyme or reason. A cracked Kaleidoscope of colors,
images and dreams.

I know my name. At least,
what it was, anyways.

Huddled at the head of the bed, Ick
snuggling beside her, she tried to remember the girl she was. A
rogue tear fell from between her lashes. Warm as it slid over the
apple of her cheek, she raised her hand and wiped it away. As she
caught the teardrop upon her finger, she watched how it glistened
like a liquid diamond. It existed there for a brief moment then
slid down her index finger and over her palm.

The line of wetness remained, leaving a
near invisible mark. It was in that moment that she noticed
something odd.

As she held both palms open, she
exclaimed, “I have no lines!”

Smooth as marble and completely devoid
of any marks, she gaped at the anomaly. No finger prints. No
lifeline. Nothing.

Ick climbed gently into her lap and
licked her fingers. A concerned look on his little face, he nudged
her hand with the top of his head. Tiny little horns had begun to
sprout in between his pointed ears.

She dropped her hands with a
sniff.

Fate. What a stupid thing to
name me considering I don’t even have one.

Fate ran her hand over Ick’s downy,
white back, instantly sending him into a state of purring
bliss.

“
Well, buddy, I don’t know
about you, but I’m exhausted.”

As she pulled the silken covers over
herself, she tried to sort the recollections bombarding her. A face
she knew as her mother. A man who called himself her father. A
brother. A friend. These were people who knew her. Cared for her.
People on the Surface.

Though the memories were jumbled and
disjointed, she knew one thing for certain—she wanted to go home.
To the Surface.

With his palms resting on the large
obsidian table, Kane stood before the counsel and collected his
thoughts. This was the moment he’d been dreading. The moment where
he had to decide the fate of his people…and his world.

Would his father agree with his
decisions? Was he strong enough to rule more than Legion, but Dark
World itself? He wasn’t certain he believed he was their rightful
leader, but he knew he had to try.

“
I called this meeting of
Elders to discuss the future of not only our city…but of Dark
World,” Kane stated, panning the room and locking eyes with every
one of the twelve ancient demons seated before him.

Several nodded, including Elder Ozen,
but many others sat with concern gathering behind their wise eyes.
Elder Syphon glared at Kane from across the room. A deep scar ran
over his right eye, the pupil permanently dilated in a wide
snake-like stare. His talons clacked as he tapped his fingers atop
the circular table, lips twisted into a bemused curl.

“
As you well know, our
scroll has been stolen,” Kane continued, ignoring Syphon’s
patronizing gaze. “You should know that on my recent journey, I
discovered that the wraiths’ scroll is also missing…as well as the
banshees’.”

Several gasps emanated throughout the
room, some faces bewildered, some angry.

“
What are we going to do?”
Elder Midas’s brow lowered and he stroked his long blue beard
anxiously. “If Malus finds all of the scrolls…”

Kane nodded, but politely interjected. “I
know, but there’s more.” He paused before his peers, wary of their
reaction to his next statement. “I’ve spoken to the Oracle. She
believes that someone else seeks the scrolls.”

The room turned to chaos. Everyone
bombarded him with questions all at once.

Everyone—except Syphon.

“
I know you must be
starving,” Ever prodded Fate, extending what appeared to be a
covered cage. “The guards only gave me a few minutes to visit with
you, so please, take this.”

“
Guards?” Fate replied,
confused as to why she suddenly, and unknowingly, had demons
outside her door. Was it to keep others from hurting her? Or her
from hurting others?

Warily, she accepted the cage from
Ever. “What is it?” she asked, though she was certain she wouldn’t
like the answer.

Ever’s blue eyes shifted away.
“It’s…just a bird.”

While Ever was correct, she was indeed
starving, Fate wasn’t sure she could tolerate the idea of devouring
another soul. What happened with the sphinx was so spontaneous,
sudden and unintended. She didn’t think she could intentionally
yank the essence out of another being and feel right about
it.

“
Where did you get it?” Fate
wondered, knowing Ever had never been outside the underground
palace.

The princess folded her arms over her
chest, her indigo eyes flaring. “Does it matter? I mean, you need
nourishment, don’t you? I don’t want you losing control and
accidentally eating me or one of my family members.”

She’d said it with a teasing smile, but
it never quite reached her eyes. Fate understood. She was a danger
to the demon city. A burden.

She sighed as she pulled the white
cover free from the cage. Gilded bars imprisoned the most beautiful
little bird she’d ever seen. A burst of copper and orange feathers
tipped with gold covered his little body. His head was adorned with
a spray of bronze feathers that branched out like a crown. Only a
few inches high, the tiny bird tilted its head to the side,
inspecting its new surroundings. His beady black eyes watched Fate
closely, then his little beak opened and he began to sing a
haunting melody—and that’s when he started on fire.

Myths

“
What do you propose we do?”
Syphon began, leaning back onto his chair and folding his hands
behind his horned head. His skin was black like Kane’s, but dull,
as if he were forged from lackluster coal rather than shining
obsidian.