The Light in the Dark ✓

Chapter 15.2 The First Crossing

Slowly, all the colours started to vanish, as if someone flooded everything with black paint. The shape began to twist and became sharper, more pronounced. The sky darkened, the air grew colder rapidly, the sudden wind got stronger, ruffling her hair and howling like a wild beast. Iris blinked several times, looking around. Colours were not coming back. All the hair on her body was standing on end, and a cold sweat covered her body. A sudden ominous feeling of impending doom flooded her mind, and she shivered.

After a few initial seconds of shock, she realised that while Jayden and Myrica disappeared, Marcus was sitting right next to her, still holding her hand in a firm grip. She turned to him, but he was looking around, his expression a mixture of shock, disbelief and awe.

'I'll be damn, but you did it!' he gasped. 'You did it, Iris!' He stood up, not letting go of her hand and pulling her up with him. 'This is unbelievable!' His head was snapping from one side to another, his mouth parted in awe, like a child that visited the harvest festival for the first time.

Iris grunted. 'Shouldn't we get back now?'

'Let's take a quick look around,' said Marcus walking toward nearby trees and dragging her behind him. He reached out his free hand to touch the whirling shadowy tree. It was constantly moving like it was dancing to some music they couldn't hear. 'There is a dense substance to it. It's not made of shadows. Curious,' the old man mused, stroking his chin in thought.

Iris looked around, her nerves tense as strings in armed hunter's snares. Everything on this side looked like Shadows and were constantly moving. She noticed that the light they accumulated was hanging in the air, a few steps behind them – a stain that was a little bit brighter than its surroundings. Something moved in the corner of her eye, and she snapped her head in that direction. But she could see nothing but flowing branches of trees and bushes.

Marcus was still mumbling to himself and touching everything around them, clearly mesmerised by the otherworldly landscape. But something foul was nearby. Iris could sense it. Her head was throbbing painfully, and her hands started to shake uncontrollably. She looked around, trying to spot any incoming threat.

'Marcus, we need to go back now,' she urged him, tugging on his hand. 'Something is coming.'

'Hm?' He looked back at her for the first time since they entered the Shadow Realm and his blue eyes snapped to attention. 'You can feel it? How? What do you feel?'

'I don't know!' she said, her voice trembling on the verge of panic. 'There's some... presence moving toward us. Strong. Malicious.'

'Let's go back then,' Marcus nodded. 'Take a deep breath and take us...' but before he managed to finish the sentence, a Shadow broke away from the nearby tree and crashed at him, knocking him to the ground.

The beast shrieked, its jaw opened far wider than it should be possible, showing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth, some black fluid dripping from its mouth. Marcus was thrashing around, his hands squeezed at the monster's neck, trying to keep the jaws away from his face. But the beast was strong enough to pin him down with all its weight, moving its head wildly and trying to sink its teeth into the flesh.

Iris screamed in shock. For a couple of seconds, she was just standing there, frozen in place, not able to move a muscle. Marcus grunted in pain, and she snapped out of her stupor. She reached her hand toward the pulsing light. Nothing happened. Panicked, she narrowed her eyes, trying to focus, but all her efforts were useless. It seemed the light remained on the other side of the Veil.

Marcus screamed as the creature finally managed to sink its teeth in his arm. Iris gasped when she saw the blood pouring out of it. Her body trembling, she fell on her knees and started to feel around on the ground, looking for anything substantial to grasp. After a few seconds, her fingers clasped on something long and thick. Fallen branch, probably. It seemed sturdy enough to be used as a mace. She jumped to her feet, and with a wild scream, she smashed her makeshift weapon at the monster. The beast hissed, and its jaws lost their grip on the old man's arm.