Dark Light

Chapter 12

You're gonna hate me. You have been warned.

I'll always love you and make you happy

If you'll only say the same.

But if you leave me to love another,

You'll regret it all one day

I cussed profusely, looked at the paper again, and continued bombing the air with profanities. Hopefully, no one was listening outside the hotel room. I continued the storm as I further realized that there was only one challenge left anywhere near Europe. The rest were in far Asia or The Americas. I wanted to save this one for last, but that meant a long flight back here. Besides, it would probably be best if I checked on her...

No. I would avoid her at all costs. I had to sneak into the lightsy realm and stay for a week and sneak out. As long as she did not see me or recognize me, it would be fine. Nothing would happen. She wouldn't turn me in. I wouldn't hurt her. I just had to plan this carefully.

I stayed in France for a month, growing out a beard and my hair. That put her in there without me for two months, which meant that she was with her father as long as she was with me. That should have at least balanced the scale and put her back the way she was. I hoped she was happy. I hoped she loved her father. I hoped she had gotten over me. Truthfully, what I did to her haunted my dreams.

I had heard a ton of things about King Amora. He was a jovial giant. Apparently, he was a few inches taller than my father, which put him around 6' 4". He smiled a ton and could remain content and happy in the most stressful situations. He led his people well, and like his father before him, incorporated human technology into his people's everyday life. That was the reason why my dad never broke the treaty terms. Because the Lightsies could stand light, the little glowing phones worked for them. Our scientists were still working on screens that emitted darkness, so we were stuck with landlines, even then, King Zinx didn't want to spend tax money on installing said lines.

That was only the communication advantage the lightsies had. I was glad that they weren't into war and bloodshed, for by my calculations, if they wanted to wipe us out, they could within a year. If the darkies had that type of advantage, there would be no more lightsies. I didn't want a war, but I knew that even the king only had so much power. If the people wanted a war, the king could do little to stop it.

All of that to say, King Amora was rumored to be a pretty good guy. If the king wanted to go to war, there was very little the people could do to stop him. He was the one that kept the peace treaty renewed, even though his father was the one that initiated it. That was why I assumed he would not kill Sunshine, and he would take her in.

Once I was satisfied that my beard was big enough to hide my jaw line and high cheekbones and my hair long enough to mostly cover the points in my ears, I set forth my plan for entering the land of eternal light without signaling that I was a darky. I left most of my things under a bush and kept my wings in. I hadn't had them out in weeks. Then, I took a metal bar and beat myself up within five miles of the lightsy land. I gave myself a concussion (that really hurt), at least two broken ribs, and a very badly broken nose. I spread evidence of another person and tore my clothes before lying on my back, pretending to be knocked out.

Eventually, I heard the flapping of wings and a worried voice. "Hey, who's this guy?"

"I don't know. Did you see him last lap?"

"No. That's why I asked you, dumbface."

A hand moved my head, and I remained relaxed, breathing shallowly with my eyes closed but not too tight. Hands searched my pockets and clothing. I heard a low whistle.