Page 99 of A Bond with the Dark

I never knew they existed before my mom mentioned them, and the only reason I know anything about them now is that they transfer information into my head as I look at them.

I just know now.

Their skin glows as they traipse closer to me, and I feel afraid of them, but I bite down on the terror, knowing I have to do whatever possible to protect the woman I love.

The one closest to me is very tall and fair; long white hair cascades to the floor, and wrinkles as deep as canyons crease their face. Their eyes are milky white with age, and their fingers are long and bony. They all don white robes with sleeves large enough to fit a briefcase in each. Each one of them looks more ancient than the next, and my first thought is that they don't have the luxury of spelt mirrors; they obviously have looked into one and become the very age they all are.

"You can't kill her," I tell them as they hover closer to me, the eerie glow coming off their skin illuminating the dark basement.

We don't need your permission to do anything, youngling.

Their voices are everywhere and nowhere, directly in my mind and around me like whispers.

"WAIT!" I shout as they glide past me, feeling the desperation seep out of my skin and into the air. "Please, wait."

The tallest one stops and turns to face me, their pearlescent eyes drinking in every feature of my face. What will you have us do, child? Let her live, and everyone else dies because of the grims?

"But you don't know that killing her will stop these things. Some witch in Salem has an energy spirit that had a prophecy, but I don't believe killing her will make these things disappear. I believe it is a metaphor for her fire magick. I just need more time to get her to ignite it."

They ignore me and turn once again to continue toward the stairs.

I flash in front of them and lay my hand on the being's shoulder. "Please. If I can't get her to find her fire magick by the next full moon. I'll kill her myself."

The silence is deafening.

They are having a silent conversation in their minds.

"So?" I ask after what seems like an ungodly amount of time.

If nothing has been done to quell the grimspawn problem by the next full moon, and she isn't dead… we will eliminate her and your entire family for the trouble.

A knot forms in my throat.

I nod. "You have a deal."

The tall one nods their head, and they silently retreat to the window, where they evaporate like dust and float away on the wind.

Fuck.

Now, not only have I doomed Sayah if she doesn't find her fire magick.

But my entire family is now tied to the doom as well.

30

MARKED

SAYAH

Afew weeks later, as I’m driving to work down a farmland highway, the rising sun silhouettes the mountains but in a glorious burnt yellow color. Late in May now, all the green is starting to poke through the brown of the winter, and even though it’s starting to warm up, I still have the heat on because I hate being cold. The car smells of the heat, and my little Febreze air fresheners make the cacophony of smells swirl around me. At the same time, I listen to my morning radio show.

I love this drive to and from work as it’s my only time to myself when I do not have to cater to all of Gauge’s needs, and I can let my mind wander.

The radio hosts are my favorite, and I’m listening to their weekly episode of War of the Roses—a show where the cheated spouse is sneakily calling the cheater via the host with free roses to see whom they send the free flowers to—when they’re interrupted with a special news bulletin.

“We interrupt this regular programming to bring you breaking news,”comes a news anchor woman’s formal voice.“A dangerous and possibly armed criminal has escaped from Kit Carson Correctional Facility and is believed to be hiding in the Denver area.

“Chaco Dominguez was serving a life sentence in prison for violently murdering his four stepchildren. Mr. Dominguez has spent most of his life in and out of prison, serving time for violent acts against women and children. Before the murder of his stepchildren, Dominguez had been released after serving time for attempting to murder his sister after brutally raping her and her fifteen-year-old son. Dominguez is considered armed and dangerous, and we strongly caution all residents of the Denver area to stay alert. If anyone has any information on Dominguez's whereabouts, call the nine-news hotline or nine-one-one. We will post updates on our Facebook page as they come in.”

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