The Allure of Darkness

20

Cree

Nothing has happened since I've been brought to this room. The white walls seem to be staring back at me, taunting me.

I've been sitting in this room for what feels like days and I'm afraid the days will keep expanding. There's a clock sitting against the wall in front of me, above the wooden door.

The clock is the only ongoing noise I hear. It never stops ticking and it's driving me crazy.

You've always been crazy, son.

My father has been relentless in trying to talk to me. I've learned by now not to engage with him. His story already ended and now he's trying to dig up his grave and I won't help him.

You will always help me and you already are.

He is always speaking of the future and I wonder if what he says is true.

I never knew what type of magic he had but maybe he was a foresight. But if he had foresight then he would have prevented his death.

There are three levels of the magic system. If someone would have stage 3 magic than you would also have stage 2 and 1 magic as well.

Mind readers and empaths are rare along with foresights so they are stage 2 magic. There are very few foresights that are still alive, there might only be one alive now. Everyone blessed person went in hiding when the war ended.

The big 5 magic powers are called stage 1. They are fire, wind, water, earth, healer. Almost every blessed person has a common one but if you get blessed with stage 2 then you get common magic as well. It's like a pyramid.

But the magic that no one has seen in hundreds of years are the shadows and lights gifts, stage 3 magic.

Some say they are only myths. Everyone heard stories of how they could evaporate into the light or shadows and how they could heal with it but no one has ever seen one and lived to tell about it.

There are four types of stage 3 magic. The light and sun. The darkness and moon. All four are very same but different in so many ways.

Some are more powerful than others, son.

The wooden door in front of me falls open. Showing me where I am. The famous golden hallway in the Kingdom of Arsher. The hallway where they keep important prisoners. They shower them in riches but offer them a task that will most likely kill them. Great, what do they want from me?

I'm met with the eyes of the king's son. The eyes that look like my moms. The icy blue eyes that look peer into my soul.

Instead of getting up I don't make a move off my bed.

"What day is it?" My voice is raspy.

"January 7th." His voice projected through out me room.

"So it's Azia's birthday. And you locked her up?" I let a heavy breath leave my lips.

Loki moves inside my room and shuts the door. Shuts the door so I'm locked in here with him. He moves towards the kitchen and jumps onto the counter like a kid. His hair falls over his face as he repositions himself. He looks so drained.

"We- I... this kingdom isn't always like this. Everyone used to celebrate holidays but." He looks away from my eyes and turns his face to the lights above him. "Everything was much better when I was younger." He isn't answering my question.

"This isn't talk time. You took me from my camp. Your dad brought us here. And you are going to tell me why." He looks at me baffled.

"I could kill you right now. Who would even care about you, Cree? No one would miss you."

It's true. No one would.

It's silent as I stand up from my bed and walk over to the kitchen. As I go to sit in a chair at the kitchen table, all I can hear is my chair getting pulled out.

"Why is the king keeping me here? Where is everyone else?" I have too many questions that need to be answered.

"Everyone has a room like this."

He's avoiding the real question. "But why?"

Loki doesn't respond, he just keeps directing his stare away from me.

"You don't know, do you? You have no idea what your own father is planning to do. Maybe bring Emrys down here I'm sure he would know."

"No one knows my fathers plan other than himself. It's hard to share plans with people who you don't know if you can fully trust."

"So your own father doesn't trust you. That's sad."

"What's sad is how Azia screams at night, for her family, for you. Even as she screams she always seems to say names. Who's Fayln?" Azia always has nightmares, she is always haunted by what happened years ago.

Fayln is her sister. Her sister that died in her arms. Her sister that still visits her in her dreams.

"What have you been doing to her?" My voice is laced with hatred, towards him, towards this kingdom

He doesn't flinch as I stand up and move quickly towards him. As I'm standing beside him with my fists in balls.

"We haven't been doing anything. We are just waiting to see what she gets blessed with."

So that's what this whole thing is about.

"Let me see her. Let me talk to her." I need to hear her voice. She's the only constant thing I have in my life.

"I can't. The king won't allow it but I can see her, I can talk to her. And-."

"Don't you dare touch her. You can-."

"As I was trying to say before you interrupted me so harshly, I can give her a message, from you."

A message. A message that can help her. A message from me.

"Tell her that the time will come, the curse will be rooted. The troubled will be saved. The curse will spread into all horrific homes, cursing them all into place."

Loki finally looks me in the eyes and he tilts his head.

"What kind of puzzle is that. Do tell me."

"It's a saying we would say as kids."

That was a lie but it's an important lie.

Loki jumps off the counter and walks towards the door. "Have a great day, Cree. Let me know if you can hear the screams at night. Maybe they are coming from you too."

"I could only hear your screams, Loki. What do they do to you?" I could hear his screams faintly earlier. The sounds of a man in pain.

Loki stops as he turns the door knob and looks back at me. "I don't know what you are talking about." He pulls the door open and shuts it. I hear the door locking a second later.

I hope Azia understands the message.