Mote of Darkness

Prologue

Fading footsteps echo down the hallway, leaving only the sound of the light buzzing overhead and the steady thump from my chest.

White. Everything is too white. My eyes sting from the harshness of the light and fill to the brim with unshed tears, making the room appear blurry around me. I focus on keeping my breathing steady, and slowly the room materializes into view. I'm sitting in front of a mahogany desk with ornate patterns depicting some of Earth's earliest life forms: prokaryotes, cyanobacteria, and other microorganisms. The desk offers the only source of darkness in the room, beside myself, and I yearn to sink into it, to hide underneath it, or to curl up in a drawer. The walls, the carpet, the ceiling, the chairs white. Too white. I stare at the desk, and I wait.

I put pressure on my heels, digging them into the wooden floor. I want to push this chair back from the desk, so I can go hide in the corner with the shadows. Not as good as under the desk, but still better than sitting in this chair with the spotlight on me.

"Good morning, Lord Kiros." A man, seemingly in his late forties, appears in the doorway. He's clothed in a dapper navy blue suit tailored to perfection. The two lapels of his jacket are crisp, accentuating his toned athletic figure, but it's his golden hair and eyes that truly demand attention. Their luminescent gold is the most striking signature of his regality.

I try to collect myself and resist the urge to return to the shadows. Pathetic. This is pathetic.

"Good morning." The words defy me and have a noticeable slur to them. My burning skin causes my entire body to tremble. Sitting in the chair, my right leg bounces, urging me to run into the shadows into the darkness. I scratch at the skin on my wrist trying to focus on a sensation other than the burning. But nothing can relieve the pain of the light.

The man flips through the papers in his hand, "I suppose this agreement will do." He continues, not waiting for me to speak, "I do apologize for the discomfort, but there had to be some side effect to ensure your end of the deal is upheld." He walks around the desk and sits in the chair in front of me, setting the already signed papers down before him.

"I understand your precaution, Lord Terra." My eyes beg me to blink, to cover them with my hands, to do anything to block out the piercing light. I can't. This will be my existence on Earth now, at least for the time being. My nails dig deeper into my wrist, drawing streaks of obsidian colored blood. Not even allowed to bleed in color here. Interesting, I muse.

"Do call me Artie. I see no need for titles in our future."

I force a smooth calm into my voice, despite the pain. "Of course, Artie. My first name would be fine as well."

"Do you have any questions on the details of our arrangement?"

I shake my head no, instead of wasting my energy speaking again. In the process, I shoot a quick mental message over to Aerig, The terms of the deal have been agreed upon. Go guard the girl.

His response is quick, I'd rather not.

I push away my irritance at his answer and let myself blink a couple of times, savoring the brief darkness my eyelids bring. The light tries to break through the membranes of my eyelids, but my long eyelashes block its attempt. My eyes rebel against me, as I open them and focus back on the desk between Artie and I.

Underneath the contract, each one of the creatures etched into the desk was carved with meticulous detail. Usually these microorganisms would be too small to see with the naked eye, but all are enlarged to show their unique curves and forms.

The man sitting in front of me has a similar look of originality on his face. Artie Terra is a man not created in others' image, and yet he does not share the same simplicity as the microorganisms depicted on the desk.

Artie gives a flamboyant snap of his fingers, and the harsh light in the room fades to a merciful ninety-five lux, about as bright as an overcast day without a single break in the clouds. "I will be sure to keep the lights in my palace dim for the next time you visit, Zorin. I should think monthly meetings will be sufficient to check in."

First, I'm condemned to darkness, and now I'm to be chaperoned? I run a hand through my short silky black hair and try to push back my irritation. Just have to focus on why I'm doing this and why I made a deal with Artie in the first place.

Spending some time on the darker side of Earth is a small price to pay for saving my own home. I'd much rather lurk in the darkness and shadows than follow Natalie's exact advice. Natalie was right when she said there's a simple way to take care of my problem. Taking power from someone who already has it is the far easiest solution.