Magics: Escape (Book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Kai was standing in pitch darkness. His ears felt clogged, like the air pressure had dropped drastically. He felt alone in a world of night, reaching and finding no one. His body felt weighed down from the inside, like his bones had turned to steel. His heart was hammering in his chest, thudding against his ribs dully. He could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing. 

Then sound returned, rushing through his eardrums and startling him. The first thing Kai heard was an agonized scream from just in front of him, then the rush of air swirling about him like a whirlwind. 

Behind the screaming was a menacing laughter that chilled Kai to the bone. It started off as a dull cackle in the background of the screaming and the deafening wind, but it soon grew loud enough to where it sounded as if the owner of the voice was standing right behind Kai, leaning forward into his ear. 

Kai hadn't noticed that his whole body had been numb until pain nearly threw him to his knees. Standing blindly in the darkness, he wrapped his arms around his torso and opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. There was something inside him, burning him and ready to boil over. There was a darkness inside him that was angry, ready to attack anything it found. 

The laughter and screaming echoed around Kai's skull, paralyzing him. He felt shudders waiting to break loose under his flesh, but his body remained frozen. His lungs and eyes were the only functional body parts, but he couldn't use his eyes and could barely gasp in a breath. 

Abruptly, the screaming and laughter vanished. The void of darkness remained, eating away at Kai's vision and comfort. 

From everywhere around him, in his brain, beside him, behind him, in front of him, above him, below him, came a heavily accented voice. 

"Shintaro, my boy," it said, rumbling the ground under Kai's feet and sending terror coursing through his veins. The accent was unknown to Kai, with quick and sharp syllables and the soft "r" that trilled like a "d" and "l" at the same time. 

"It is good to finally see you again, Shintaro," the voice boomed from everywhere in the darkness, reverberating around Kai's skull and confusing him. "I must thank you for your cooperation in my release." 

No, Kai thought, refusing to accept it. No, he can't be free. This isn't real. This shouldn't be real. We can't have failed. We didn't fail. Did we? But the pain in his body told him that it was real, that The Dark Lord was free, that the world was in his hands. 

That they had failed. 

Then all at once, the darkness was gone, the voice wasn't coming from everywhere at the same time, Kai could breathe properly, he could see, and the pain dulled to a throb in his gut. He blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes to adjust to the shocking light of the sun and take in the scene before him.

He was still backed into the wall of Zeke's house, leaning against it more heavily than he thought he had been. Chase was standing beside him, his expression bewildered and shocked and in pain. His hand was clutching Kai's arm tightly, but Kai hardly felt it. Zeke was still on the ground, but he was sitting up completely with a wide eyed look that signified his terror. Falte was kneeling beside him, his face filled with the same terror. Abby was standing behind them, her hands clasped over her mouth and her eyes filled with anxious and mortified tears. Moon was still on the ground, but she was propped on her elbows and grinning madly. 

Kai's eyes locked on the scene directly in front of him, and he struggled once again to inhale. 

Shintaro was slumped forward on his knees, his shirt ripped in the center of his chest, but the gem nowhere to be seen. Standing before him was a tall, muscular man with pitch black hair that flowed past his shoulders to his hips, matching Shintaro's style. He was leaning forward with one hand behind his back, the other tucked under Shintaro's chin, forcing the Light to look up at him. 

Kai could only see the back of The Dark Lord, but he still was filled with indescribable terror. 

It was Shintaro's expression that made Kai breathe out a shaky, heartbroken breath. Shintaro's eyes were full of rare horror, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide in fear. Kai had never seen Shintaro tremble in panic until that moment. He was shaking so hard that The Dark Lord's hand was trembling as well. 

"Don't touch him," Chase suddenly said bravely, being the first to speak. His voice shook, but he let go of Kai's arm and stepped toward The Dark Lord dangerously. "Get your hands off my father." 

The Dark Lord straightened abruptly, turning toward Chase with an air of cheerful surprise. As his hand left Shintaro's face, he clasped it behind his back. Kai would have thought that Darkness himself wouldn't have a body or even a face, but The Dark Lord was frighteningly pale and handsome. His dark eyebrows were arched, and a wide grin was spread over his features. His eyes, slanted like Shintaro's and Chase's, were a blood red, reminding Kai of Thorn's horrid eyes. 

"Your father?" The Dark Lord chirruped, tipping his head at Chase wonderingly. "Shintaro is your father? Oh, Shin, why wasn't I informed of this? I would have loved to meet him before such a time as this." 

Moon struggled to her feet, catching her breath and lowering her gaze away from the tall man. She dipped her body forward at the waist, her hair falling in her face. "My lord, I welcome you to our world. I'm pleased to see you finally free." 

"Shush, woman," The Dark Lord said impatiently, waving his hand at her dismissively. "I wasn't talking to you." 

Moon raised her head with a look of disbelief and annoyance, but quickly erased it and nodded her head gravely, dropping her gaze once more. 

Kai couldn't look away from The Dark Lord as he struggled to inhale and exhale normally. His hands were clenched at his sides, his mind still refusing to accept the fact that they had lost. 

"Step away from my dad," Abby snapped, gaining enough confidence to step forward and cross her arms across her torso angrily. 

"You're his child too?" The Dark Lord asked, then laughed merrily. "Is that all, Shintaro? Or are there more grandchildren that I have yet to meet?" 

Chase and Abby realized what The Dark Lord had said before Kai did. Their eyes widening in shock and confusion and terror, they both stumbled back a step. Abby clapped her hands over her mouth again, and Chase turned his stare toward his father, silently pleading to know the answer. 

Kai realized a moment after and felt as if someone had thrown a billion ton weight of confusion and terror and shock and horror and confusion on his shoulders. 

Grandchildren? 

Grandchildren? 

The Dark Lord was Shintaro's father? 

~

I'm so sorry I left y'all hanging on the last chapter for a few days! I was trying so hard to get on and write, but with me being in high school now and other things going on, I couldn't find a good chance.

I literally was trying all day today, but I couldn't!!

So here it is, at 9:15 at night! (At least where I am.)

I'm so so sosososososo happy I'm almost finished with this!

And...

PLOT TWIST! 

Who expected that??? 

I mean, my sister did. She knew that this guy was Shintaro's daddy when we first made them both up (which was years ago, by the way.). I just had to put it in here. >:)

Thank you for reading!!!

Enjoy the rest of this book! 

THE DARK LORD IS SHINTARO'S FATHER AND CHASE'S AND ABBY'S GRANDFATHER AND OOOOOOO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT-

Welp, p3ac3!!!~~~~