Darkness & Light: Book 1: Shatter Our Fates [COMPLETED]

17 - Tiber

Tiber and his friends have searched the city over and over again, looking for any signs of Hayley. But, no matter how much they search, there's no sign of her. It's as if she's just vanished.

He sits in a tavern on the other side of the city with Delta, Atlas, and Dax. He can't stop thinking about her, wondering if she's okay. He knows she's not dead, he just .... he'd feel it if she were.

He needs to find her. So, he stands up. Dax looks at him, but Tiber doesn't hear him ask where he's going. He just walks up the stairs and enters the room he's sharing with Dax. Atlas and Delta are in the adjoining room, but Delta's the only one in it right now, as he needed to sleep.

Atlas and Dax are still in the main room, where the other people are gathered, eating and drinking. Talking as if nothing has happened.  As if the royal palace didn't just explode.

Tiber stops in his room and digs in his satchel. Moments later, he pulls out his sister's scrying crystals. He's seen Hayley do this so many times before, but he's never done it himself before. So, as he sets them on the floor in a circle, he sits down. Then, he pulls free one of Hayley's protective amulet charms, and lays it in the middle of the crystals.

He closes his eyes, focusing on his sister. Hayley. Hayley's location. Whether or not she's safe. He thinks about her, his big sister, and all the horrors they've seen and survived. Even the ones at the hands of their surrogate mother.

But then, just as he's about to give up, thinking that the crystals won't work for him, images flash in his head. They are distorted, but he can see a man with black eyes holding her, carrying her away from the wreckage of the castle. He sees the man carry her all the way to some strange portal. Then, theres a flash of the man's black eyes, and then nothing.

Tiber opens his eyes, looking at the now glowing quartz crystals that are in a circle around Hayley's amulet. He sighs and rubs his forehead. He gathers his things, then shoves them back in his bag. Tiber then walks over to one of the two beds in here, and lays down. He's exhausted all of a sudden, and he just curls up, pulling the starchy blanket over his shoulder.

His eyes drift shut, and before long, Tiber's out of it.

"Tiber? Are you there?"

Tiber opens his eyes and looks around. He's in a black void, no signs of life around him. He can see himself, but everything else around him is black. Tiber walks forward, and calls out.

"Hayley? Is that you?"

"No, Tiber."

He turns around, and yelps as he comes face to face with a skeletal being, its bones glowing a faint blue color. He stumbles back, and the strange being grabs his arm with its own skeletal hand. He stares at the bony hand, its icy grip causing some slight pain.

"Where is Hayley?" Tiber demands.

"She's trapped," says the skeletal being. "She is safe. For now."

"But you just said she's trapped," he says. "That doesn't seem safe. But.... who are you? And what are you?"

The being chuckles and releases his arm. Tiber shivers hard, a surge of icy energy flowing up his arm. He looks at the creature before him. It is a skeleton wearing a black robe, and its eye sockets are full of glowing blue light. As the skeleton moves, he sees massive, bat-like wings unfolding from its back.

"I am an Emissary of Death," says the skeleton. "Call me Skelzar."

"Skelzar? What the fuck is happening to me and Hayley? And are we truly children of the gods?"

Skelzar nods. "I'm afraid so, Tiber Moon, child of Hykait and Death."

"Okay, so, uh.... how do I find Hayley? Where is she being kept? All I saw when I was scrying was a man who had black eyes carrying her to a portal."

"He is Prince Drecca."

"A Prince? Of what?"

"He is a half-demon, half-fae being of dark magick. And he and your sister are to be destined to be together."

"What does that mean?"

"I think you know what that means, Tiber Moon."

He shakes his head.  "No, my sister wouldn't be with a demon. She'd never do that."

"I think you forget that she herself is in fact, half demon now."

"Wait, what? How is she half demon? What the fuck are you talking about, Skelzar?"

"Hayley is half-demon now because she has been fused with Aldrea, your dead sister who became a demon when she died. Aldrea is your sister, and so is Hayley, and together, they have made a dangerous mix of angel and demon. A dark angel. Those are so rare, it is actually impossible to meet them unless you have a special way of summoning them."

"How .... how do I save her from this Prince Drecca?" Tiber asks.

"You don't," says Skelzar. "She is not in danger from him. No, but there are others after her. Luckily, Drecca and his people will protect her. But alas, Tiber Moon, you cannot find her. As you do not have demon blood in your veins."

"So only those of demon blood can go where she is? Then, I'll have to find a demon."

"Good luck, Tiber. This won't be easy for you, or your friends. But you must hurry, as demons are also being hunted, and so, they are hiding away."

"Thanks for the tip" he says. "I'd like to wake up now."

"I will tell you this, Tiber. If you indeed wish to seek out a demon, find a girl named Indari. She will help you."

"Where is she, though?"

"You shall find that out for yourself."

And then, Tiber wakes up.