Bereft: Demise

27 | Of a White-Eyed Woman

As I ascended from the dungeons with the books under one arm and the blackboard under the other, I rolled the chalk between my fingers and thought about what Cage had told me. I had yet to create even a single viable construct, but I was already slated to walk a dark, dismal, and dangerous path in magic. 

In stories, the black magician was always the villain, the power-hungry fool with twisted whims and blind ambition. Was there a moral to those tales? A caution I should heed? Cage was a black magician, and while he was helpful and knowledgeable, he was also in a dungeon. He wasn't there without reason.

If I survived long enough, was I doomed to a similar fate? 

I shoved the thought from my mind as I came to the top of the stairs and the welcoming light of the foyer streamed through the narrow corridor. Here the manor was warmer and the air flowed more freely, stealing away the last vestiges of the dungeon's rank aroma. I breathed it in—and came to a stop.

The shadow flitting along the edges of my consciousness flared like a hound dog catching the scent of its favorite query. It unflared with physical weight and presence, drawing my body short. My hand was about to part the beaded curtain separating the foyer from the dungeon's passageway, but I withdrew it, allowing the threaded crystals to sway together. 

I peered into the foyer in time to see Darius cross the space. He walked with his usual measured gait, his arms held loosely at his sides as a customary chill permeated the room in his wake. The Sin was an intimidating figure, and if I hadn't known him, I would have been afraid of the creature passing through the foyer. 

As it was, I did know him and was just as afraid of him—afraid because of what I had stashed under my arm. 

The Sin paused, his head turning first toward the dining hall, then to one of the adjoining corridors. The swaying strands of the crystal curtain gently tapped one another and Darius turned to stare. I shrank into the shadows, certain he couldn't see me. After a moment, he continued walking and left through the dining room door.

I exhaled with relief and was about to escape upstairs, when the shadow in my thoughts flared again and the heat of someone's torso leaned into my back. 

"What are you doing?" 

To my credit, I didn't scream. The blackboard did slip out from under my arm when I jumped, but only a thin squeak of surprise left my lips. The board cracked in two when it hit the floor.

I stumbled into the foyer with Darius looming behind, his eyes narrowed in scrutiny as he tossed the crystal curtain aside. He cast a cursory glance over the broken bits of slate at his feet before stepping over them. "I didn't take you for someone who enjoys skulking about, girl." 

"Says the man who almost literally scared the holy hell out of me," I grumbled as I massaged my thundering heart. Darius frowned at my tone, crossing his arms while his jaw tightened and his upper lip threatened to curl in a sneer.

His frustration was evident in his stance and the impatient set of his eyes. As I'd told Cage, the Sin had most likely been looking for me to check what I was doing. I thanked whatever King or god or universal force that kept Darius from marching straight into the dungeons to find me discussing black magic with a criminal mage. 

Judging by the cold nipping my nose, the Sin was not in a patient mood.

"What are you doing?" I returned as I crossed my arms and mimicked his standoffish posture. "I thought you were off doing your research."