Page 48 of Shattered Darkness

As soon as I step through the door, any amusement I had at the potential of Asher losing his eyebrows disappears immediately.

The Darkness in me stirs in warning, “Do you feel that?”

“What are you feeling, Sage?” Cain asks, curiosity sparking in his eyes.

“The library is panicking,” I reply, unsure how the hell I know that, but I do.

Cain frowns slightly, and then I feel his magic grow in the air around us. “I don’t feel it but I believe you. We need to proceed with caution if an entity like this is panicked.”

“Got it,” Levi replies, “everyone stick close together. We’ll head toward the artifact area as planned.”

Silence falls over us all as we move further into the library. I glance at the desk where the person who normally takes care of the library should be even though it’s after hours; the fact that they aren’t there is even more concerning considering that they are supposed to live in a small apartment just behind the desk, and if they’re not there during the day then it can be explained way pretty quickly but at night when the library is supposed to be shut and they’re definitely supposed to be here the fact that she isn’t here makes me suspicious. Extremely suspicious, and I make a note to check on when they were seen last.

I think the librarians continued absence and the fact that the object is actually in here is concerning, because I doubt the object was placed here when there was a chance that students or other teachers could witness someone messing with the artefacts, which means that the most logical time for them to do it, would be when the only possible witness would be the librarian and that’s it, it’s easier to take care of one witness than it is taking care of multiple witnesses. Of course, I’m assuming that the librarian is innocent, and there is a chance that they aren’t and either placed the object themselves or allowed the Order in to do it.

Since the Order would then have to get through the library that’s known for throwing magic at intruders, then it would actually make more sense if it was the librarian who brought the object in. Either way, whether they are innocent or not we need to check in on them.

My inner ramblings, are pretty inconsequential as I manage to still stay focused on my surroundings to make sure that whatever is making the library uneasy isn’t about to jump out at us and cause a problem. Everything seems pretty normal, or at least it does at first, but the closer we get to the vast space where all of the artifacts are kept, a heavy feeling starts to thread through the air, and I have absolutely no doubt that something evil is happening or has happened, there’s a leftover dark, sour and almost moldy magical signature that can’t be anything but evil.

Fortunately, this time, I’m not the only one who feels it and everyone either calls on their magic, getting it ready for whatever we’re about to face or pulls out a weapon.

When we get to the bookshelves that lead to the artifacts, that horrible feeling intensifies, and the Darkness inside my magic stirs, becoming agitated. It's clear to me that it wants out, it wants to protect, and I have to admit that it is pretty reassuring to know that it wants to protect me, it’s also worrying that this dark and unknown magic that’s inside me, that’s vast in its own right, wants out to protect me, that can’t be good.

I can’t let it out, I don’t know what it is, what it will do, or how to control it, and now is not the time to be experimenting with it.

As soon as we round the corner into the open space where all of the artefacts are kept, the reason for the sour magic becomes apparent, and I have to quickly swallow down the bile rising up my throat as several of the others curse loudly.

Pinned to the wall high above all of the artifacts, with stakes through each eye and a spear through the stomach, is a person. I don’t recognise them. Scratched in blood next to the body are the words Kronos won’t lose. You’re next. They make a shiver go down my spine, and the bile tries to rise in my throat again.

“It’s only just happened,” Kai says, his voice low, “the blood is still dripping.”

“Fuck,” Levi replies.

“They’re gone,” Cain adds, staring at the body in horror and sorrow, “there’s no magical trace in here except for us.”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“One hundred percent,” he replies, “that’s the teacher that I was speaking to, the one that was slowly beginning to realise that something more was going on here.”

“Oh fuck,” Hunter exclaims, and then adds, “I’m really sorry man.”

“I didn’t know him that well. No one should die like that though. I should have looked for him harder when he went missing; he’s never missed a meeting with me,” Cain’s voice is full of regret, and it's clearly affecting him more than he thought it would.

“Dude, it’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing, and you did look for him. You said that you looked for him in all of the usual places that he’d be.” Maverick tries to reassure him.

“Don’t forget if the Order did have him; then you had no chance of finding him in time even if we did know that he was missing. They’re working with resources and magic that are beyond what we have.” Asher points out.

Cain sighs, scrubbing his hand through his hair and suddenly looking a lot older than he did when we first walked in here. “Yeah, you’re right.” he pulls his shoulders back and changes the subject, “You lot should probably get out of here before I inform the teachers; explaining how I got in here as a teacher is going to be difficult but not impossible, explaining how you all got in here as well will throw up all sorts of red flags and considering that they’re looking for any excuse to get you in trouble and your magic stripped, so that you’re no longer a threat to them, this is the last place that you need to be.”

My eyes widen, “I hadn’t even thought about that, but now that it's been mentioned I feel the urgency to leave, right now.”

Cain studies me closely, “Then you need to trust your instincts, Sage, always trust your instincts. You need to get out of here as quickly as possible before you get caught. I have a feeling that I’m not going to need to contact the teachers.”

“Got it,” Cole states, for all of us.

“Are you going to be okay?” I ask Cain, the worry evident in my tone.

His eyes soften slightly, losing the hard edge, “Yes, I’ll be fine. Unfortunately, I have been through much worse in my long life.” I open my mouth to question him and point out that even for a supe, he doesn’t seem as old as he made out, but he interrupts me and looks at Erin, “Don’t do it yet, but be ready throw up a shield as quickly as you possibly can, just like I’ve had you practicing in our sessions, okay?”

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