STRANGULATE | Markicest

36 | CLANDESTINE

Dark sat at the edge of the windowsill in the highest tower, the breeze rustling through his hair. 

    He worried at his bottom lip, fidgeting with a pocket watch like it was a pendulum. It clicked under each flick of his fingers but did nothing to ail his racing thoughts.

    Being here, in this tower-room, reminded him of the night before Mark had first attacked the manor. He remembered standing before this very window, gazing out just like he was now, his mind at unease.

    His red eyes lazily trailed towards the neighborhood of houses in Centauri Park, watching a few Evolveds walk to and fro. A few children played in the park, displaying their powers.

    How could I have done this? he thought.

    The stopwatch thudded against his palm, and he squeezed it, his jaw tensing.

    A series of knocks clipped through the door. Dark shook himself out of his thoughts, gazing out the corner of his eye when the door creaked open.

    "Xilef told me to check up on you," said Equinox, gently shutting the door behind her. Dark huffed and gazed back out the window, eyeing the forest this time. "He told me you shouted at him."

    Dark scoffed. "He was getting on my nerves."

    Equinox smiled, gaze going soft. She walked forward, heels gently clicking on the stone floor. Another cold breeze blew in from the open window, chilling the room.

    "You really love Mark..." said Equinox. "Don't you?"

    A muscle in Dark's jaw twitched, and his fingers flexed over the pocket watch in his grip. Equinox took a few more steps forward.

    "I sent him off to Antinstine," said Dark quietly, "knowing that he was unprepared."

    Equinox stayed silent, letting the Tear Stealer speak.

    "No matter how much we've planned, he may as well be... he—"

    Dark cursed and shook his head, unable to finish the sentence. After a while of silence, he gave a pained laugh.

    "Look at me..." he breathed, eyes downcast. "All worked up over a human."

    "Not just any human," said Equinox. She slid off her shoes and set them aside, stepping onto the windowsill and sitting next to Dark. "Mark... he's the key to a different world." She glanced over at Dark. "A better one."

    Dark managed a smile at that. "Every second, I think about Cibil's visions," he said softly. "So far, everything's come true, but... not exactly the same."

    Dark trailed off, turning his head away from Equinox. "She showed me... a future. With Mark." His voice wavered then, his emotions getting the best of him. Equinox rested a hand on his shoulder.

    "That's good, though, isn't it?"

    Dark scoffed out a laugh, though his lips quivered. He hastily rubbed at his nose, trying to suppress the quiver in his voice.

"In one of the visions," he said, "Mark and I are standing on the very top of Antinstine's mansion." He swallowed thickly, clenching the pocket watch in his hand. "We're gazing out over the city... and the lights are the most beautiful I've ever seen."

He shakily exhaled, closing his eyes. "It's nighttime, so it's hard to see... but when I glance over at Mark, he..." He swallowed, breath catching. "He has blood all over him."

Equinox shuddered when he said that. "But... he's alive, though. That's what matters, right?"

Dark breathed hard, shaking his head. "Me, knowing these segments of the future... it changes things. Like I said, the visions Cibil had given me didn't happen exactly as I'd seen them the first time."