Tainted Light

NINE

      Me and Karson head into the forest staying alert and ready for anything. His mom could have just abandoned him or gotten lost so why am I getting such a bad feeling? Me and Karson walk in silence for a bit when Karson sighs and turns to face me.

       " It's been 20 minutes Aurora and we haven't found anything or anyone at all. " Karson states the obvious but it doesn't make it less annoying.

     " He's only a child, Karson, he can't lose his mom. " I snapped at him, turning away. I take a deep breath and calm down.

           " Sorry for getting mad, I just don't- "

      " It's okay Aurora, I understand. " Karson interrupts me before I can go on. I sigh in relief and turn back to looking around for Kain's mom. I'm about to give up when I hear a noise come from behind a tree. A hand comes around it and a lady peeks at us looking completely terrified.

     " You have to help me, " The lady pleads, " Please! " She begins to run towards us with open arms. Karson steps in front of me as she gets close and she doesn't come any closer.

       " Are you Kain's mother? What's wrong? " Questions spill out of my mouth as I observe her, she looks like a mess.

    " Yes! " She exclaims, " Where is he? Is he safe? " Before I can answer her questions she goes completely still. She looks down at her chest where a hand has just made a hole where her heart used to be. She coughs and blood spurts out of her mouth, my mouth opens and I scream at the horrific sight. Karson and I back away from Kain's mom and watch as the person behind her removes their hand and she collapses to the ground, her eyes and mouth wide open staring up at us. A girl stands behind her, hand bloody and a wide hysterical smile on her face. Her pitch black eyes staring directly into my grey ones.

       " My God. " Karson muttered covering his mouth in shock.

             " Well that was fun! " The girl cackles, " She didn't survive the game very long though. "

     " You're sick! " I spit at her disgusted, this woman was just spending time with her son and the Shadow murdered her in cold blood. The girl shrugs, " It was just some fun, chill out. " I stare at her with a cold and disgusted look.

     " Who are you and this little Dreamlight toy anyway? " The Shadow wondered, " I can see his hero complex in his eyes " Karson throws up a shield in front of us and she laughs in amusement.

     " What's it to you? " Karson growls out, the Shadow begins to pace back and forth flipping her hair nonchalantly.

     " I'm asking because you look similar to somebody I know. " The Shadow examines her nails then turns to study my face, " Is that you? Aurora. " Karson stands straighter, lifting a hand and hurling her a few yards away. She lands on her feet smirking at us and dusting herself off, "Ahh, so it is!" She approaches us again and comes as close as she can to the shield staring at Karson.

     " Who are you? " I hiss standing in front of her, not breaking eye contact.

              " My name is Felicity Vile. "

     " Are we supposed to know who that is? " Karson snaps, pulling me away from her. I don't back down though and continue staring into her eyes, " She's from one of the four shadow families Kar. " His eyes widen in recognition and he tenses up even more.

  " Chill out little guy, " Felicity rolls her eyes, " You wouldn't be able to defeat me when little miss Princess here doesn't even have powers. " I scoffed and began walking towards her, through the shield.

     " Wanna test that theory? " She laughs at me but doesn't argue. We face each other both ready to take each other down, she lunges towards me only to get thrown away. I turn and glare at Karson, " Stay out of this. "

       " It wasn't me! " Karson holds two hands up to prove it. Felicity coughs and begins to stand but dodges the fireball that comes her way. I turn to see where it came from and my friends stand there, Mason looking furious.

        " You guys didn't come back and we got nervous. " Luna explains, Eren stands next to her carrying a sleeping Kain in his arms. My heart wrenches at the thought of his mother who's was killed for such a stupid reason.

     Felicity stands up and stares at us, probably calculating if she can win against the five of us. She tilts her head to the side and her eyes return to me before smirking once again.

     " Well then Aurora, looks like our fight will have to wait another day. " She concluded.

     " I'm looking forward to it. " I sneered, walking over to Kain and taking him from Eren.

       She raises an eyebrow in amusement at the sight of us, " You're a lot prettier than her. " I furrow my eyebrows in confusion but before I can ask she disappears into the shadows. I groan in annoyance and Kain shifts in his sleep, lifting his head to look at me in confusion. Crap, damn you and your loud mouth Aurora. You couldn't just hold in the stupid groan. Kain turns to look at his surroundings, his eyes landing on his mom lying on the ground. He pushes away from me and run towards her, Eren rushing to cover her bloodied body with his coat. Kain stumbles to the ground next to her and shakes her gently.

      "Mommy?" He whimpers, the others turn and look away not wanting to see the heartbreaking sight. I walk over to the sobbing boy and cradle him in my lap, rocking back and forth slowly.

     " Why isn't she waking up Rory? " I stare into Kain's teary eyes and it takes everything in me not to cry. I hug him tighter and try to find a way to explain to him that his mother will never wake again. My mouth opens but nothing comes out of it, how can I say the words that will destroy him?

     " Your mommy has fell into a deep sleep Kain, " Luna speaks softly to him, " You won't be able to see her for a while. " Kain's bottom lip begins to quiver and he cries into me, the sound destroying me softly.

       " Is there anyone you can stay with? " I ask Kain, wiping his tears.

     " It's just me and mommy, my dad left a long time ago. " He mumbled, I nod and an idea comes to my mind. I hand him to Eren and walk over to the others and I explain my idea.

    "Are you sure Aurora? " Luna whispered into the small huddle we created. I nod and turn to Mason and Karson, Karson nods in agreement but Mason has a conflicted look on his face. I wait for him to word his thoughts but he doesn't say anything.

        " Mason? "

     " We're on a dangerous journey Aurora, do you really want to expose him to this kind of danger? " He cautioned. I think over what he says, he has a good point. Do I really want to risk him getting hurt? I can't just leave him all alone though.

    " What do you suggest we do ? " I retorted, " We can't just leave him to fend for himself. " We talk it over for a while until we finally came to an agreement, we would bring him back to his home and then decide what would be best. We leave the forest, Kain gripping my hand tightly, a faraway look on his face. He's still shaken and he won't leave my side for any reason. He rides with me on my horse and leads us to where he lives a mile away. It's not a town but a small cluster of houses near a river. As we arrive the place has already been deserted and destroyed, that girl truly lives up to her name. Truly cold and vile.

    I face Mason with an outraged look on my face and he sighs relenting. I face Kain with a gentle smile on his face and tell him the idea I came up with back at the forest.

      " Want to join us instead? " He doesn't say a word but clutches my hand in his, telling me all I need to know.

Authors Note : I hope you guys are liking the story so far, please vote and enjoy!