Night Witch

Chapter 13

The darkness enveloped Karina like a mother's hug, soft and caring. She felt her body relax as it fell upon the world. This was the darkness--it was where she was home, where she felt comfortable. This was what was familiar to her. This was what would save her.

"Karina," a voice whispered, soft as velvet. It was smooth and ethereal--otherworldly, as only things in the darkness can be. Karina twisted her body in an attempt to locate the sound of the voice, but it echoed and bounced all around her strange surroundings.

"I am the night," it whispered, the words throwing Karina back to the night Hans had run away. Before she had seen him running, there had been a voice that was summoned by the feather Hans had given her earlier that day--a voice that had said those exact words.

"Who are you?" Karina asked softly. "What do you want from me?"

A low laugh, dark and deep. "Come with me."

"Where?" Karina asked.

Another laugh. Karina rubbed the cloth of her skirts between two fingers nervously. "Home," the voice said.

"I don't have a home." Her voice was bolder than she would have dared in other circumstances. "I don't have a family or a house or a village. The only place I've ever felt at home--"

"Is in the nighttime," the voice finished, "where you talk to Lilith and weave your own, special pictures by candlelight." There was a pause, and Karina felt goosebumps dimple her skin. How had he known?

He is the night.

"I have been watching you your entire life. How can I not know a yaga? They are creatures of darkness."

"Are you an all-seeing presence? Do those exist?"

There was a pause, then an abrupt "no". The voice's tone was clipped, almost bitter. "I am not. But I know you better than any other. Come with me to the Tenebrae."

"What?" She shook her head. "I don't know you."

"You know me better than any other, and I, you. You live in the night, and I am its messenger. Come to the place of darkness."

"What about Hans?" she asked carefully. A part of her begged her not to ask such a thing, to follow the shadows and the darkness, but she forced the words out of her mouth.

"The SunStriker..." The voice let out a low hiss. "He cannot go to the land of darkness. Only you. Come with me."

"Why?"

"You'll see." The voice's laugh was the sound of wind rustling through dead autumn leaves. "It is part of being a yaga."

"My--my mother did this?"

"No." Pause. "This is to understand your power."

Something within her called out at that word: power. Karina stretched out her hand and murmured her assent. "Take me away, Night," she said, her words soft and slurred.

Something sharp brushed over her open hand and a swooping sensation entered her belly. She closed her eyes and felt utter nothingness surround her. She was alone.

"Night?"

"Open your eyes, Karina."

She did so, her brown eyes adjusting to the lack of light. Every thing was surprisingly sharp and visible.

She was in a small hut made of wood with cracks in the walls filled in with mud. When she kicked the floor, her boot was met with stone. Her eyes widened as she took in her unfortunate surroundings--surroundings she knew far too well.

"Olga's house," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. She wasn't particularly cold, but there was something about this place that made her feel both like crying and killing. Something that made her want to burn down the entire village and something that made her wish someone would hold her as she sobbed.

"Yes."

"Why?" she asked. Her voice was a knot that was nearly undone. "Why are we here?"

"We are not actually in Olga's house," the voice said pleasantly. "Indeed, we are not actually anywhere. We are neither here nor there nor someplace in between. We are in a state of time and a state of mind. We are in the essence of the night. This is the Tenebrae."

"Why are we surrounded by Olga's house if we're in the Tenebrae?" The familiar walls seemed oddly claustrophobic. Karina rather wished that they were in some unfamiliar, otherworldly environment rather than with these memories of toil and abuse. "Why do we have to be here?"

"Why is the appearance of this Olga's house? Because this is where you learned to hide from the light and run from the darkness. This is where you finally trusted in us, when you began to embrace your role as a yaga. This place is where you are strongest connected to this art of magick. The night is the time of the yaga. The day is the time of the warlock."

"Us?" She shut her eyes. "There is more than one type of night?"

"Of course there is, though the type of night humans have is often up to humans themselves." Something sharp scraped her palm yet again. She shivered. "And yes, there are many messengers of the night. I am only one."

"Messengers." She watched her fingers twitch. "What do you really do?"

"Perhaps it would be better if we had this conversation with you able to see me." The voice--Night--sounded bitter. "Ah, this is such a painful process!"

"Of course it is," Karina muttered sarcastically, not truly understanding what the voice meant. She carefully chose the words of her next question. "Who--what--are you?"

"I'm not what you expect me to be." There was an odd tremor in the tone of Night's response. "I am nothing. And I am everything." She saw a flurry of feathers fly before her face, strands of dark hair brushing past her face.

"I am Nyx, a messenger of the night."

And she could finally see the face behind the voice.

It was an unbelievable sight.

Hiya! I'm pretty tired right now so this is going to be a short author's note (sorta like this chapter). Sorry about that. A lot happened here, though, so I hope this works. :) Now that we're in Part 3 things are going to get really crazy! ;) Please tell me what you thought of the first installment of part 3 in a comment! If you enjoyed it, please vote! If you didn't, please tell me what could be improved upon. Thanks!

Note: I didn't really get a chance to proofread this chapter, by the way, so it you could point out any mistakes that would be super helpful. :) I am so thankful for all of your support and friendship. I love you all! Have a good night!

Edited 4/4/16--Correcting a typo.