The Dominant Demon (Finished)

12. The Shadow City

The next place that Colvin transports me to is a little area surrounded by nothing but trees and open field. Crumbled remains of old buildings and shacks line the area.

"Where is this?" I ask, glancing around as we walk through the place.

He wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to his side as we explore. "It's your village from your life as Thara. It's a little older now."

As he says this, an odd feeling settles in my chest, and when my eyes sweep over the land again, I see it. Silhouettes of people appear, foggy and gray. It's like they're made of shadows, but I watch as small children chase each other around, playing games and shouting. Shepherds lead a flock of animals off in the distance in the open field, adults carry baskets of fruits and walk to their houses, and the whole city is brought to life by shadows.

"I see it," I mumble to Colvin.

"You see it? You're seeing projections of memories, too?" He asks, perplexed.

I nod. "I've only done it once before with Rory, remembering when we were children, but it was different. It looked real, kind of like one of those old flickering picture films. The memory now is off. There's not a lot of detail to these people, and they kind of resemble foggy shadows."

"Oh," he replies, understandingly. "You're seeing that because you didn't know them well and they're all dead now."

I give him a confused look. "Oh, OK. I guess that kind of makes sense."

"Come on. I'll show you where you lived. I feel like that will trigger a memory," he says, beginning to walk faster as he turns right.

We walk a little further, and then, as we step up to a doorway, I blink and the building is restored. It's built out of some type of clay brick material. I feel my hands coming up to knock on the door, and I notice that Colvin is no longer by my side.

A few moments pass, and I feel Thara grow nervous. Finally, the door swings open, and I am staring into a pair of soft, brown eyes, much like mine. The woman looks tired and weary, and as she sees me, she drops to her knees, letting out a strangled sob. "Thara, I thought you were dead!"

I feel myself drop to my knees with her and pull her into a hug. "I'm here, Mother. I'm alive."

She pulls away after a moment, staring at me wide eyed. "Where have you been?"

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I stare at her. Thara must not have thought this through. "W-where's Dad?" I finally manage to utter. 

"Honey, he died a year after you went missing," my mother replies, her voice wavering.

I freeze as Thara's emotions begin to overtake me. A sense of overwhelming loss washes over us, and she hunches over, sobbing. It feels like I'm ten years old, again, losing my parents all over.

"No," I say, violently shaking my head. "No, it's not right."

My mother pulls me to her chest, rubbing my back. "Shh, Honey. Shh, it's OK. He knew you loved him."

"I wasn't there!" I shout, sobbing. "Why wasn't I there? Why wasn't I there?"

My mother pulls me into the little house, taking me to a bedroom to help me lay down as i sob, hysterically. She tries to calm me with her words, but I am completely broken, and can't understand a word she is saying.

Just as my sobs begin to cease, the window behind is shatterd as a tall, lanky, red haired man smashes through. Moskil stands, brushing the glass of of him, and he smiles, gleaming, razor teeth on display.

"NO!" I feel myself scream, backing up on the bed.

My mother steps in front of me, protectively. "Who are you?" She asks, her voice coming out in a low, firm tone.

I hear Moskil chuckle as he steps closer. Midnight wings begin to work their way through his black jacket, spreading out fully after a moment, and my mother, who was authoritative and confident just a second ago now falls back, stunned. "Get out of my house now!" She shouts, fear dripping from her tone.

"Well," Moskil says, finally speaking. "I can't do that until I retrieve my prized possession, now can I?"

"You don't own me!" I hear myself snap as anger bubbles up into my stomach.

'Damn, Thara. Tell 'em,' I think to myself as Salem.

Before Moskil can reply, another demon dives through the window. Do these guys even know what a door is?

Something inside of me clicks, and I automatically recognize him to be one of Colvin's men. He must have been watching from the forest.

My mother falls back onto the bed and screams as she sees him. Colvin's guard lunges for Moskil, but as he does, Moskil dashes forward, tackling my mother. Everything happens in an instant. It takes no more than a second's time for Moskil to raise his hand high in the air and then plunge his long, sharp, fingernails deep into my mother's throat.

A sickening gargle falls from her mouth as the hole in her neck gushes blood. I watch it bubble from her lips as Moskil is ripped away from her body by the hair of his head. The two men continue to fight, but I can do nothing but stare down at my dying mother. Her eyes meet mine, and I watch as life drains from them. I can feel it. Thara's body has went into shock. Is this where she dies?

My mother lets out a weak cough, choking on the red liquid oozing from her mouth, and just before she heaves her last breath, her cold eyes stare deep into mine, and she manages to utter two broken words. "Be brave."

At those words, an angry howl rips from Thara's lungs. I feel my body leap from the bed, tackling Moskil, causing him to fall off of Colvin's guard. I am blinded by a burning, hot, rage that consumes me as I fall on top of Moskil's body.

"I'm going to fucking murder you!" I scream, raring my fist back. It comes down quickly, but just as I am about to make contact with his face, the world around me goes black, and again, I am transported back to my body as Salem.

***

I don't wake slowly this time. I jolt upright from laying in Colvin's arms. "I'm going to fucking kill him!" I shout, still feeling the loss and rage of Thara. This is not OK. Thara is a part of me. Thara is me.

"What did you remember?" Colvin asks, startled.

"He murdered my mother!" I snap. "Where is the bastard now?"

Colvin shifts, uncomfortably and wraps his arms back around me. "After your murder, I captured him, but he escaped. I feel like your soul sensed his soul enter your realm, and that's what triggered the night terror that you kept having. You were trying to remember before hand. It's like Thara was trying to warn you. Moskil is as crazy as ever, if not more after so many centuries of being imprisoned, and he wants revenge on me for capturing him. He knows that I have never stopped  looking for you, and I feel like he escaped so that he could come find you again. I shouldn't have told you that until after you remembered your death, because I wanted you to remember the whole situation first, but it's important that you know."

I stare intensely into Colvin's dark brown eyes, my rage never fading as I process his words. "This needs to end," I say through gritted teeth. "Moskil must die."