Darkest Nights: a RWBY Story

Chapter 34: Shadows Of Fate

The weak light of early morning filtered through the trees, making splotches of sunlight on the forest floor.
Jason walked quietly, taking in the world around him.
"I forgot how peaceful this place was."
Talia said, glancing at her brother.
Jason nodded.
After leaving the White Fang, Jason and Talia had often come to the small forest behind the castle when they seeded time alone. It had been their sanctuary in an ever changing world.
Jason's cat ears twitched as he heard the sounds of the ocean in the distance, waves lapping against the shore.
The two continued to walk, just enjoying the quiet around them.
Then something caught on the leg of Jason's jeans, almost tripping him.
Talia quickly flung out an arm to catch her brother, helping him stay upright.
"Thanks."
He said. Then he looked down.
Across the path in front of them, and stretching off into the trees on either side, was a row of white, jagged objects, sticking out of the ground.
"These look like ursa bones."
He said, detaching his jeans from where they had gotten stuck. Something about the formation was oddly familiar, although he knew he had never been in this part of the forest before.
Crouching down, Talia ran her hand along one of the pointed, curved bones, tapping it with her finger. Then her brow furrowed and she shook her head.
"Not bone. Concrete. Someone built these here."
She stood up again as they stepped over the formation and kept walking.
As they made their way further down the path, Jason became increasingly uneasy.
Noticing this, Talia put a hand on his shoulder.
"Everything alright?"
Jason nodded slowly.
"Yeah. I've just got the feeling that I know this place– or maybe, that I should know it."
The path widened ahead of them as the trees thinned out to the left of them, revealing a long stretch of beach.
Then Jason stopped dead.
On the ground in front of them was a small patch of flowers, dark purple with yellow centers.
Suddenly, the memory that had been stirred by the bone formation rose to the surface, sending a chill of fear down Jason's spine.
He's only ever seen those flowers in one place before.
He turned to Talia.
"Something's not right."
Talia followed his gaze into the distance. There, silhouetted against the early morning sky, was a cliff face, capped off with a small plateau and, behind it, the opening to a cave.
Talia inhaled sharply.
"This is- this is the place you told me about isn't it? Salem's island."
Looking around him, Jason felt the presence of something dark and evil in the air.
Jason shook his head.
"No. That was an island. But someone has gone to great lengths to make it look like it."
Once again, Jason looked up at the cave in the distance.
He started forward at a brisk pace across the beach, headed for the base of the cliff.
Talia followed.
"Jason wait! You're not actually thinking of going up there are you?"
Jason glanced at his sister.
"What choice do I have? I need to understand what's going on here."
The base of the cliff was only three hundred feet away now as the two stopped, looking up at the plateau above.
"Then I'm going with you."
Talia said, a hint of defiance in her voice.
"No you're not. I can't risk-"
"Come on, you know I'll be fine."
Jason shook his head.
"Talia please. I don't know what's up there. Knowing Salem, it's probably something bad. I need you to stay here Incase things go wrong."
Talia understood what he meant, and she didn't like it.
But she also saw the truth in what he said.
"If I'm not back in 20 minutes,"
Jason said,
"go get the others."
Talia nodded and gave her brother a hug.
"Just be careful."
She said, her cat ears folded down in worry.
"I will."
Jason replied, before heading off towards the base of the cliff.

The climb was slow going. Even though it had been less than a month since he and Blake had made it off Salem's island, he had forgotten how long the climb was without his spear.
Eventually though, he managed to hoist himself up onto the plateau. He stood there for a moment, looking down at the beach, catching his breath as a gust of wind blew along the cliff face.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺?
He heard Talia's voice in his head. He let light a sigh of relief. Unlike on Salem's island, his mental bond with his sister was still working.
𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭.
He glanced at the cave entrance. There was no massive boulder blocking it this time.
𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳,
He thought to her,
𝘐𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 20 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰.
And with that, he stepped into the cave.

Jason didn't know what to expect.
As he entered, he looked around.
The cave was the same size as the one on the island, but several things were different.
There were no ursa pelts on the floor. Where there should have been a fire pit in the center of the room, there was only an outline, sketched into the rock.
The floor or the cave was littered with dust and small rocks.
Still, Jason could feel the dark aura surrounding the place.
He turned on his Scroll's flashlight, letting the beam sweep across the cave walls.
As he did so, something caught his eye, a glint of gold buried under a pile of rocks in the corner.
Walking over to it, Jason reached into the pile and felt his hands close around a long object. Slowly, he pulled it free.
The sheath glinted in the light from his Scroll, the brown leather contrasting against the gold. This was it. This was the final missing piece.
As he strapped the sheath across his back, the air in the cave turned hot as a dark laugh filled the room. Turning to face the entrance, Jason felt his heart stop.
In front of him stood a tall woman. Her white hair was arranged around her face, as her pure black eyes gazed at him.
"Salem."
He breathed.
He tried to summon his sword to his hand, but nothing happened.
The figure only laughed, a dark, humourless laugh that seems to shake the cave.
"Foolish hero."
She said, her voice metallic and harsh.
"You think you could escape."
Her black eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the cave.
"You can not win!"
Jason was unable to move, frozen in place.
"But,"
The figure said, stepping towards him.
"I am willing to make you a deal."
She was close to him, only a few feet away now.
Jason could feel the dark aura emanating from her.
"Bring me the secret that lies in the castle. If you do, I will make sure you and your loved ones are spared."
She took a step closer.
"But oppose me and you will meet a fate worse than death!"
Then, in a cloud of smoke and fire, the figure vanished.
Jason sank to his knees, shaking.
The secret in the castle. What did that even mean?
After a moment, he rose to his feet and exited the cave. He descended the cliff face as Talia rushed to meet him on the sand below.
"What was in there."
She asked as Jason reached her.
"Answers."
He said, holding up the sheath.
"To what question, I'm not quite sure. I'll discuss it when we're all together."
Talia nodded and, together, the two set off back towards the castle.