Argent Eye IV

51

I stared at the space where Haydn had been standing, before wondering where Stella and Phil had gone. I then realised the back door was open, and went out to see them sitting on a bench with Ronan.

I ran over to them, and hugged both Stella and Phil, glad they were okay.

"Did he do anything to you?" I asked, looking between the both of them.

"No, nothing." Stella said. "He didn't get chance."

"Thanks to you." Phil added.

I smiled, but was far from happy about the situation. "How did he find you? He could have killed you."

Stella shrugged. "He knew it had been a vicar who helped you." She said. "It's not difficult to find a vicarage in a village as small as this."

I looked at Ronan, worried. "He was looking for my parents."

"He doesn't know where your house is." Stella assured me.

I sighed. "He's getting weaker." I said. "He's gonna be more determined than ever to find the darkness."

"And I think you scared him off." Ronan said. "If he's in a hurry to find the darkness, then he will probably forget about your parents for now. He'll wait until he doesn't have to worry about dying."

"But we can't be certain." I said. "I'm supposed to be going back to London tomorrow. How can I protect them there?"

"Hey, don't worry." Ronan said, and placed his hands on my shoulders, using his thumbs to massage the area there. "We can explain what happened to the SED. They can get people to protect your parents without them even knowing they're being protected."

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't really thought about doing anything like that.

"Yeah, they do stuff like that all the time." He said.

I sighed again. "Okay." I said, and tried to pull myself together again. What just happened was not okay, and I definitely didn't want it happening to my parents. At least Stella had some kind of experience with this kind of thing- she'd get over it pretty quick, and I was sure Phil was the same. But if it happened to my parents? I'm not quite sure how they'd take it, and it would mean me having to tell them everything. Everything.

It would be too much. Wouldn't it?

"Are you okay?" Stella asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "I'm fine." I said.

"I didn't even see you- how did you know Haydn was in our house?" She asked.

"We just came to see you." I said. "But then I got halfway down your drive and I felt the darkness there. I could tell something was wrong, so Ronan took us to the upstairs bedroom. Then we heard Haydn talking, and I had to do something."

"So, what, you turned invisible?" Phil asked, perhaps slightly amused.

I smiled. "Not exactly."

"You fused with the air, didn't you?" Stella asked. "I knew you'd be able to do it again!"

I laughed. "I had to. I didn't see any other way of getting downstairs without being seen."

"Well, it saved us, so thank you." Stella said. "Now, let's go back inside, have a nice cup of tea, and you can tell me all about whatever you came here to tell me in the first place."

I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

__________

Stella and Phil both sat silently, engrossed in the story I was telling. I told them all about why Haydn didn't look like Haydn anymore, and why he looked so ill. About the Realm and the darkness and what the SED had done so far. About what I'd done so far, including almost getting everyone killed.

"Have you tried summoning the light?" Stella asked.

I shook my head. "I haven't tried it yet." I said.

"How come?" She asked.

Truth was, I hadn't tried it because I was worried about what it might do with the darkness inside me. Last time I tried to access my connection to Haydn through the darkness, it had ended up causing mayhem and several near-deaths. What if Haydn had already thought about the light? What if it was well within my reach, but there was a trap behind it?

I shrugged. "I don't know." I said quietly.

Stella gave me a look. "You're afraid?"

I looked at her and Ronan. "Maybe." I said quietly.

Stella smiled. "It's okay to be scared, Millie." She said. "It's what makes us human. I would be terrified if I were in your shoes- I simply can't imagine what you're going through, and what you've been through. But I don't think the light is something to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid of the light." I said. "I'm afraid of what might happen if I somehow manage to summon it. What if Haydn has already set up a trap, knowing that I'd try to summon it?"

Stella pursed her lips.

"You heard what happened when I tapped into our connection." I continued. "It was a trap. It nearly got my friends killed. My boss."

"Millie, I don't think you need to be afraid this time." Ronan said next to me.

I turned to look at him, and frowned.

"Haydn is interested in one thing, and one thing alone, and that's power." Ronan said. "He can get that power from the darkness, but his voluntary ties with it mean that there's no way he could get the light to turn against you. Besides, he likes the power of the darkness too much. It was the light that had destroyed him before, and I think that it's Haydn who should be scared. Is scared. The light brought his downfall before, and it can do it again."

I mean, his words made sense. What if the only way to defeat him was to get to the light? It would be the only entity powerful enough to go up against the darkness. I know the saying is to fight fire with fire, but in this case, fighting darkness with darkness isn't going to get anyone anywhere.

"So say if I get the light." I began. "What happens if Haydn gets the light, too?"

Ronan shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea." He said. "Haydn mentioned that there's a way to separate the darkness and the light- what if the light expels your darkness?"

"That would be a bonus." Stella said.

"But what if it doesn't?"

Again, Ronan shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."

I stared at him for a moment, and then turned and saw Stella and Phil looking at me. I scratched the back of my head in thought, feeling anxious all of a sudden. I didn't wanna do it, but at the same time, I did.

It could be the only way to defeat Haydn.

Shit, I thought, and then sighed. "Fine." I said. "But I wouldn't know where to start."

Stella smiled. "We'll just have to try different things." She said. "See what works."

I nodded.

"I'll leave you guys to it." Phil said, knowing that this was the part where he couldn't help. Besides, things could potentially get messy if the darkness decided to make an appearance. He got up, kissed his wife on the cheek, and then went upstairs.

"Okay, then." Stella said. "We can do it in the garden."

And so we went outside.

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