The Darkness Within

Chapter 18

Dear Readers, Hope you enjoy this! I know I enjoyed writing it! If you want to see any specific Fae creature please let me know, and I'll put them in the next few chapters.

-M

Chapter 18

Caitirina~

I couldn't seem to find my voice, it was like I was in a trance. Nothing seemed real. Somewhere in the distance I heard my name being called.

"Caitirina!" I turned slowly towards the noise. "Caitirina! Snap out of it!" What a pretty voice.

"Flora!" That jolted me out of it. I gasped as I came back to reality. It was like coming out of slow motion.

Narishka whirled around. "What did you call her?" She looked between the two of us. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you socialize with one another, how much do you remember?"

"Not much." I replied.

"Good, though it won't matter much after this night." She turned back towards the door. "Bring the beast in!" The door opens once again, and a gorgeous man was brought in. A man that looked strangely like Lorcan. I heard a feral growl behind me, and turned to find Lorcan thrashing once more against his captures. I stepped towards him, ready to help. But stopped as a forceful pair of hand grabbed my hands and dragged me the few feet to the throne, a weird metal binded my wrists to the throne. Conveniently a metal loop was drilled into the side, I had a feeling I wasn't the first to be strapped to Narishkas throne.

"Let her go!" Lorcan yelled. Narishka payed no attention.

"Bring him forward!" She called. The men pulled the "beast" forward, dragging him by the large chains that were clamped on to his neck, arms, and legs. The man didn't even struggle. He went willingly as if all the spirit was gone from him. They pushed him to the same position Victor held Athers in.

"What are you doing!" Lorcan yelled. "We had a deal!"

"I said I would watch over your beast of a brother, I never said how long." Narishka replied calmly. "No hush, let me concentrate." Narishka closed her eyes and waved her hands a bit in the air. A weird vertex of colors appeared between them and suddenly burst over her whole body. She opened her eyes, the white was gone replaced with a pitch souless black,

"No! Roderick, what are you doing! Fight!" Lorcan roared behind. Roderick, his brother. Their similarities made sense now. Roderick made no move to fight. Just kneeled there weakly. I tried to pull on the binding handcuffs, but they didn't budge. And there was no sign of a key hole, to seam where the metal met. It was like they were a solid mass around my wrists.

Narishka began to speak. "Tonight, on the eve of the Fae, we gather. To take back what is rightfully ours." Her voice was not alone, it spoke with many others murmuring the same words with it.

The audience gasped a "Yes!" I suddenly realized that I had never saw any of these people before. They must be Narishkas minions, which meant I wasn't getting any help from them. I heard shuffling and turned to find Lorcan being dragged to the other side of the throne. A similar metal bound him the the throne. I looked across, meeting his eyes.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

"There isn't anything to do." He replied.

"We can't just sit there, they'll--they'll. Wait, what are they going to do to them?"

Narishka began murmuring "Fiinţe de lumină şi întuneric, să ia oferta noastră". Beings of light and darkness, take our offering.

"She's trying to open the door to Lumina. So that she may control all of the Fae. But she must open both at the same time for this to happen." Lorcan whispered.

"Deschide usile pentru mine, pentru poporul meu." Open your doors to me, to my people.

"But it doesn't make sense, it can't work. She needs the cheie. But--" He stopped talking as a bright light suddenly appeared in the middle of the floor a great noise shook the whole castle. The light disappated and in it's place a weird rippling effect wavered in the air.

"Dă-mi-cheie!" Narishka screamed at the a bright light burst from the strange ripple. A chest appeared out of no where. The crowd stepped back, but Narishka moved forward. She grasped the the chest and pulled it from the light. She gasped and a smile spread across her evil face as it came free. The ripple and the light with it started to reced, but not before two more appeared each in from of the great doors. These were far more menacing the one in front on Intuneric swirled black and red, and screams of pain and agony burst from it. But the one in front of Lumina showed only that of happiness.

Narishka strode back to her throne. Placing the chest carefully on her lap, she ran her hands over it carefully. Then her hands shot out, each directed towards Athers and Roderick. Her head rose slowly. And she and the chest rose out of the seat and forward. Her face was a mask of beauty and horror. It was like she had two faces. Her hands rose, and Athers and Roderick rose with them.

Athers suddenly shook his head, as if he were coming out of a trance of his own. He thrashed about in the air. He spotted Lorcan and I.

"Lorcan, Caitirina! What's happening! Help! Help!"

"I'm sorry lad, I'm so sorry." I turned to Lorcan he looked defeated.

I turned back to the scene before me. Roderick and Athers were slowly being moved to opposite sides. I realized she was going to throw them into the swirling masses. I jumped up pulling at the metal binding my wrist. It didn't budge. I almost gave up right there. The only thing I could think of doing was screaming my head off, and that didn't seem like it would solve anything. Suddenly I felt a brushing in my mind.

"I see you just forgot to come visit me."

"Rane?"

"Who else?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Helping."

"What do you--" suddenly the metal started to come apart at my wrists. But stayed closed enough to make it look like it was still attached. I looked over to Lorcan, the look on his face said the same had happened for him.

"Your welcome." The connection dropped after that, I really needed to thank that guy.

Suddenly Narishka turned back towards us, she glided up to me, placing the chest in front of me.

"Open it." The dark voices rumbled.

I looked between the two lives hanging over the two Fae realms, and back towards the chest. After a moment past and nothing happened. She glanced down at me.

"Open it you twit, you must know how." I continued to stare at her, not knowing what to do.

"Caitirina..." Athers cried softly. I glanced at him, seeing the pain flash across his face. I couldn't stand this anymore.

"Screw this." Narishka was momentarily distracted by Athers, that she didn't notice me slip the metal brace from my wrists and pick on the small, but heavy chest. I felt a sense of power run through, but didn't stop to dwell. In what felt like slow motion I raised the chest up high, and just as Narishka turned back towards me, bashed it into her head. With every ounce of strength I had. She stumbled back, for a moment her power dwindled, but she regained it. And with it came shire anger.

"You will pay for that!" She flicked her wrists out and Roderick and Athers flew into the swirling rings of the Fae realms. I screamed and bashed her in the head again. I didn't stop to see what she would do. I grabbed Lorcan and ran towards the Lumina portal. Jumping through right before it closed on the both of us. The last thing I remembered was a wonderful feeling of rightness, then blackness consumed me.