A Breeding Darkness (Complete)

(31)

Lucy nodded. "Joon, you said you remembered the darkness building on a mountain. We need to figure out where it was," she said. "Do you think you can create another compass?"

Joon nodded, and closed his eyes. A moment later, a compass appeared in his hands, covered in emerald stones and glossy black. Now it made sense, why he could summon what he wanted while in Zerkalo. If the creature was correct, it was his land. Created for him. Of course he'd be able to control it. 

He handed the compass to Lucy, as if even its minuscule weight was too much for him. She took it while searching his face, hoping she could find out someway to help him. But he avoided her eyes, hunching his shoulders and picking up the lantern.

"The mountain is many miles from here," the creature said. "I suggest that you take a faster course."

"You mean how you and I came here?" Lucy asked. The creature shook its head.

"No, our master cannot travel that way. I was talking about flight."

Joon's face blanched even more, if that was possible. "I don't want to do that."

The creature smiled that slightly unhinged smile yet again. And for the first time, Lucy wondered if it was really on their side at all. The black veins that filled its body were dangerously close to its heart. And the other Denizens had attacked them without a second thought.

"I'm sorry, master. But it is the fastest way to the mountain, and it is imperative that you reach the source within the next few hours. Your life is already straining away."

Joon held his breath, staring up at the black sky. "Will I be able to turn back when we reach the source?"

The creature nodded. "Of course. You have the girl now. She is strong enough to remind you of your humanity."

Lucy's eyes widened. "You're going to become the bird again?"

Joon nodded, his face grim.

"You don't have to do that," Lucy whispered, gripping his arm and pulling him close to her side so that the creature couldn't hear them. "We can walk. It's fine."

Joon looked her in the eyes, a sort of deadly calm on his face that Lucy didn't like. It was if he was resigned to his fate, and going through the motions. "You heard what it said. Walking will take too long, especially with the trees trying to confuse us."

Lucy opened her mouth to protest more, but found nothing to say. There really was no way to reach the mountain in a short amount of time. True, she could travel with the creature and reach the mountain in a matter of seconds, but Joon could not follow them and she wasn't sure if she alone could destroy a darkness that was in his realm. He was the one who could summon up compasses and lanterns from his mind. Surely he would be needed to get rid of the darkness that had taken root..

So Lucy was forced to let Joon pull from her grasp and walk into the middle of the clearing. He assured her there were no close tree tops here, and so he'd have a clear shot to the sky, though Lucy wasn't sure how he knew this. Perhaps it was another feeling, like the ones he'd had before. The more she saw, the more Lucy realize he probably really was connected to this place in a way that even she, one of the few who could walk through it, was not.

The creature stepped out of the circle of lantern light as Joon handed it to Lucy. It hung in the darkness, just a pair of white glowing eyes, watching them. "Just remember, master, your humanity."

Joon's mouth was a slash on his face as he glanced at the ground. "If it was that easy, how did I end up stuck last time?" he muttered to himself. It wasn't meant for the creature to overhear, but it still did. It smiled.

"Because last time you wanted to forget you were human."

Before they could ask it any more questions, the creature's eyes blinked out of existence as easily as blowing out a candle flame. Within the space of a second, it had disappeared and left them alone in the clearing.

"We should hurry up," Joon said, taking a deep breath and rolling his shoulders. "I'll give you my clothes so I have something to change into when we land."

Lucy spun on her heel quickly, staring away from him as she heard his clothes rustle and then felt him press them against her arm. They were warm from his body, and somehow, even though they were her own clothes, they felt so different and strange. There was something that made her heart speed up and heat flood her cheeks about holding his clothes and feeling the warmth of his body trapped in their folds, pressing up against her arms. She cleared her throat, trying to shake the image of his chest taking the place of the clothes against her own, and turned around with her eyes closed.

"Tell me when you're about to change," she said.

There was a slight pause, and then Joon's voice. "All right. Wish me luck."

As he said these words, something jerked inside of Lucy. Almost as if it was an instinct, she took a step forward. "Wait!" With eyes still closed, she shuffled forward so she could find him. His hand rested on her elbow, and that same something from before broke apart in Lucy like a fizzing sundrop. Before she even realized what she was doing, she tipped forward and her lips found the corner of his. It was such a short thing, not even a full second before she pulled away and spun around. But it was as if the sun had returned to Zerkalo and was warming everything. At least, it was for Lucy.

"Okay, go ahead now," she said, her voice high and strained. "Be safe." She clenched the pile of his clothes close to her chest, and buried her face in them as she hid the smile that crept onto her face no matter what she did.

But then she heard Joon's sharp intake of breath, and she fully realized what he was about to do. He was about to lose himself, and return to the creature that had tried to kill her before. She had no guarantees that he wouldn't eat her as soon as he turned back, and there was no guarantee that he'd remember what it was to be human. Or, like the creature said, that he'd want to be human. In fact, there were no guarantees at all, and Lucy realized just how foolish they'd been to jump into his plan without thinking about it at all.

But as she cracked open her eyes and saw her bare foot, traced with black veins, she realized that they didn't have the choice to be careful and safe. They had to be reckless and insane if they wanted to live. And if they wanted to save Zerkalo and Strana from eternal darkness.

Somewhere behind her, she heard Joon's voice, strangled and muffled, as he grunted against whatever pain he was feeling. The sound of bones cracking soon followed, and something tore. She wasn't sure what it was, but she had a sinking thought that it was his skin. He screamed then, his voice filled with such pain that Lucy had to fight not to spin around right there and run to him. They shouldn't have done it. Nothing was worth this kind of pain.

As his scream bounced against the trees, it slowly turned to the caw of a raven, sharp and animal. Somehow, this seemed worse, and Lucy's heart stuttered in her chest. She spun, the lantern on her belt spinning with her, to see the massive bird standing behind her, its head cocked.

For a moment, she just stared. She had no idea if this bird still was Joon, and whether he knew not to attack or eat her. He had attacked her before, and despite him not moving now, she wasn't sure if she should trust him or not. But after a length of time where he only tilted his head side to side and stared at her with shining black eyes, Lucy finally decided that she had to trust him.

"Joon? It's me. Lucy," she said.

The bird gave her no clues beyond breaking eye contact and ruffling its feathers. Feathers the length of Lucy's arm. She swallowed and flinched as she stepped forward hesitantly. She bundled up the clothes he had given her, and tied them to her belt with the sleeves of the coat. With her hands free, she held up the compass and pointed to it. "Remember? We're going to follow this to the mountain."

When the bird-Joon didn't peck her to death, she took another step. And another. And another, until she was by his side, her hand resting on the glossy black feathers. It was nothing like holding his hand, but it still felt... like Joon, somehow. She drew courage from that, and hauled herself up onto his back.