After a moment, Rick heard a loud, impatient exhale nearby, and then the voice finally spoke again.
“Let me just tell you this. You and I, both, have no love for the kull, and they certainly have no love for either one of us. Isn't that enough? An enemy of my enemy is my ally, right?” the sultry voice argued.
“Not.. Not all the time. Tell me, why don't you like the kull?” Rick asked, trying to pry more information from her.
“Because they imprisoned me...”
“Behind this door?”
“Yes. Now, is that enough?”
“No.”
Again there was a silence, and Rick heard another impatient exhale in the void of the sewer around him.
“Why not, Rick? It should be enough that your enemy is my enemy. I have already chased them away from pursuing you down these tunnels. I have already done you a favor. Isn't that enough to show you my good intentions?” the voice shrewdly asked.
“So those were the kull? I am in a fucking city full of kull?!” breathed Rick, realizing this fact for only the first time.
“Correct. I can help you though.”
“Why would you do this? Why do the kull hate you?”
“They do not so much as hate me, as they... fear me. Have you ever been in one of their homes? There is not a room or corner without a light on,” she giggled deviously.
“You... live in the darkness? Always?” Rick asked, his eyes following her floating voice in the darkness around him but still not being able to see a thing.
“Like a fish in water, I am a creature that lives in darkness, yes. What does that matter, Rick? Let's get back to the deal,” Darkness pressed.
Though Darkness tried to steer the conversation back to this mysterious deal, Rick felt he had to know who and what he was dealing with before he made any promises about what he would or wouldn't do.
“What are you? Like a... a vampire or something?” Rick asked, having watched a ton of vampire movies and knowing they were creatures of the night and couldn't stand the light.
After a long, playful laugh, the voice finally replied,” Oh, how nice! A vampire! I suppose I could be one, yes, if you'd like. ”
“What do you mean, if I'd like?” Rick asked, really confused now.
“Rick Hancock, do you believe your actions have consequence across the universe, that like a pebble being thrown into a lake, the ripples extend out to all sides of the lake?” Darkness proposed.
“Yes, I suppose that's true.”
“And then, do you also believe that your very thoughts have that same power?” she shrewdly continued.
“You mean, like if I think of killing...”
“Something dies somewhere in the universe,” she concluded for him.
“God, I don't know?!” Rick breathed, wondering how or why their conversation had taken such a philosophical turn.
“Nicely put. But let us say, to answer your question, I was created in this way,” Darkness proposed.
“By a... a thought?” Rick asked in disbelief.
In response, the sultry voice only laughed again, clearly enjoying toying with him.
“What are you really?” Rick then asked, his eyes narrowing as he suddenly had an idea now of what exactly he might be really dealing with.
“I am one of the peerless rebels of the great rebel, and my pride was so great that I even broke from him. I am now... an independent operator, I guess you can say,” Darkness vaguely answered.
Rick had a good idea now what he was dealing with, and after a few silent moments, he finally offered his conclusion.
“You're a demon.”
“What does it matter, Rick? You set me free, and I will lead you to where they are holding Jizzy,” her voice bored, she once again steered him back to the bargain.
“You are a deceiver by nature,” Rick charged, as if he had suddenly discovered the answer to a riddle.
“I told you before, Rick. If I make an oath, I am bound to it. I will make you an oath as part of the deal, that way you know I am duty-bound to follow up on it. It shouldn't matter who I am. I will honor my word. That is all that matters between the two of us,” Darkness reasoned.
“Why... Why would I want to let loose a demon? What are you not telling me?” Rick warily asked.
“What does it matter, Rick? You've traveled across great distances of space and time to retrieve your stolen djinn. You are lost, have no idea where you are, or what you are going to do. I can help you with all this for a very small service in return,” Darkness cleverly argued.
“Why? Why did the kull lock you behind this door?”
The next sound he heard was a long, impatient exhale once again.
“Really, Rick? Must we...”
Fed up with Darkness' game playing and secretive nature, Rick finally had enough, and he decided to test her.
“Look. I don't want to deal with you. You know the full ramifications of this deal, and I don't know what I'm even agreeing to. I don't want any part of...”
“All right! All right! Hold on a moment. Listen closely, and I will tell you all. Sultan Kull made a deal with me and some of my kin to help his people against the djinn a long time ago. Then, just when he finally overthrew the djinn with our aid, he found a way out of honoring his bargain with us and instead betrayed his word to us...”
“By sealing you... and your kin behind this door you want me to unlock?”
“Yes, so you see, you will be just righting a wrong, an injustice. You can clearly see that, correct?” argued Darkness.
“I will be unleashing hell on this place!” Rick corrected, his eyes bulging at the realization.
“Sultan Kull and his people have made their bed, let them lie in it. It is a long time in coming, and it is their just desserts considering their treachery. They could have never overcome the djinn without our help. What does it matter to you anyway? This isn't your home. The kull want to only capture and torture you for what your holding in your pocket. You think they'd bat an eye twice listening to you scream for an eternity?”
“I don't know about that? But I'm just thinking about that ripple going to the edge of the lake,” Rick countered, thinking of Earth and the consequences of his actions here, reaching there.
There was a long pause then as Rick quickly riffled through his thoughts. Did he even want to make a deal with this demon? If so, how could he be certain, she'd even follow through with the deal? Like walking on slippery ice, Rick felt like any deal with Darkness was a disaster waiting to happen.
“You are more clever than I initially surmised, Rick Hancock. Yes, if you set me free, you will be unleashing my brethren loose once again. In fact, you will also return this place to its natural order, which the Sultan disrupted with his betrayal. So you see, you will be setting things right once again... as they were originally intended by the creator,” Darkness explained.
“What do you mean?” Rick asked with a dubious tone.
“The Sultan not only sealed us away behind this door, but he also sealed away night itself. Tell me, have you seen it nighttime here since you've arrived? I think not. Evening here always turns to morning, and the kull keep all areas of their homes lighted at all hours,” Darkness explained.
“Out of fear of retribution?”
“Oh, yes! Retribution will come, but I will assure you and your friends safety... at least for a while,” purred Darkness, and Rick thought he could hear the excitement in the tone of her voice.
Rick wasn't stupid, and he had to assume Darkness, or whatever her real name was, wasn't either. Once he had Jizzy, he could have her just wish whatever outcome he wanted, and if that meant returning Darkness and her demons back behind that door, he could very well do just that. But, knowing that he was now dealing with a demon, Rick knew that demons were natural deceivers. After he set her and her kin free, there was nothing binding her from this oath, regardless of what she said to the contrary. She could very well kill he and Kitty and go and retrieve Jizzy for herself. No, Rick needed more certainty if he was going to strike this hard bargain.
At the investment company he worked, Rick had learned the subtle art of deal making, and, as such, he was one of the better closers in his office. He now had to put those skills to the test in a real life-or-death situation and against a diabolical force. After a moment of thought, Rick then made his play.
“I am not so sure about this deal, Darkness. I would perhaps be more inclined to it, if you lead me to Jizzy first,” Rick proposed.
“No. First you free me, and then I help you,” she immediately rebutted.
“Why?”
“Because I need to be free to lead you there. I don't have the power otherwise,” she quickly answered.
“I thought you said that you are present wherever darkness is?” Rick countered, using her own words against her.
“I can be present, but that doesn't mean I can be present in this capacity. You are close to the door right now. Your proximity to me allows me to be... more present. The further away you get from the door, the less present, and therefore the less helpful, I can be,” Darkness logically explained.
In all honesty, Rick had no idea if he was being told the truth at all by her, and he realized she could just be creating a story that sounded very logical to him but wasn't in fact the truth at all. Rick's ace in the hole though was he knew that she needed him more than he needed her, and he knew that gave him a strong bargaining position at the table. It was now time to go for the jugular.
“You know, I don't know, Darkness? I think you're just going to have to find someone else to open this door for you. Thanks for the offer but...” Rick began before being cutoff.
“You think to defy me?!”
“No! No, not at all. I have not insulted you or personally attacked you. You offered me a deal, a fair deal, but I am going to walk away from it. You drive a hard bargain, but I honestly feel like I can figure this out on my own. My guess is, Jizzy is somewhere near, based on the proximity argument you made only a second ago, so that means I must be close to her. I think I can find my way on my own. I have done well so far, I think.”
“You don't understand. I must be set free first to be able to help you in the capacity needed,” Darkness quickly countered.
“Oh, I believe you! You'll forgive me, but being a mortal and everything, I think it is just a wee bit risky to unleash hell unless you absolutely have to, right? I cannot believe I am even saying these words, but letting hell loose anywhere is a dangerous thing, right? I would prefer to try on my own first...”
“I have ensured both you and your friend's safety, Rick Hancock,” Darkness countered again.
“Right! But, you'll forgive me again, I am dealing with a... a demon here,” Rick meekly replied, cringing as he was walking the tightrope with the diabolical voice in the dark.
“I told you that I would make you an oath. That is binding...!” Darkness charged.
“I need better assurances...”
“My oath is the best assurance...!”
“I need your true name,” Rick then cut her off for once, and after he spoke, there was a long silence.
For a moment, Rick thought perhaps Darkness had left him, and he held his breath and his eyes searched the empty void around him but still was unable to see anything at all. Finally, after a long minute that seemed to stretch for ten, he was given an answer.
“Never!” hissed Darkness.
“Those are my terms, Darkness. If not, then I ask that you leave us,” Rick carefully replied.