Page 95 of Morning's Light

“I’ll explain it to you later. You think you can help me with a broken arm?” Aisanna felt her stomach roil uncomfortably.

“You’ll explain it to me now, young lady. Let me see that arm. And Karsia, get inside. You’re letting the warm air out. Come on.”

Aisanna sighed as Varvara began to administer healing magic to her throbbing arm. “Darkness took over my body and forced me to summon tainted magic. I didn’t mean to do anything to hurt anyone. It wasn’t me, you have to believe that. I tried to stop it, but instead I managed to get my building destroyed and make some powerful enemies. Then we got together and decided to try to summon Darkness and use a binding spell, but…it went wrong and we ended up in the middle of some metaphysical battle in a cave in Michigan.”

She could already see the skepticism in her mother’s gaze, the single eyebrow raised in a disbelieving arch.

“So you did attack the Claddium?”

Oh boy.

Astix stomped back into the foyer and took a swig from the bottle she held. “Don’t worry, Mother. We took care of the problem. It’s gone. For now. We, ah—” She broke off on a cough. “We bought ourselves some extra time with Karsia’s soul.”

“You… What…” Varvara twitched, trying to find the right words to say and coming up short. “Karsia, what happened?”

“I can’t be here,” Karsia said abruptly, glancing around at a prison made of glass and crystal, marble and wood. “This is a bad idea. I need to leave before I hurt someone.” She turned for the door.

“Stop right there and please explain to me what is going on!” Varvara spared a look at all three girls in turn. “Tell me the truth.”

“We confronted her,” Astix began. “On her own turf.”

“Her? What her are you referring to?”

“The evil you warned us about,” Astix stated. “The one who influenced the goon who set the death runes on you.”

“Tell me everything,” Varvara demanded.

Karsia glared in her direction and stalked back toward the door. “The One Who Walks in Darkness is here.”

“Here?”

“What do you think I’m saying, woman?” Karsia slapped her chest, fist clenching. “I am Darkness. She is me. There’s no going back. When the eclipse comes, I’ll take my place as the keeper. The veil will be restored, the Harbinger will bring balance, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.”

Varvara turned frantically toward Astix. “No. Please, it’s a lie. Tell me it’s a lie!”

“There was a…a fight, I guess you’d say. Darkness sent a bolt of magical power intended for me. Karsia jumped in front and took the blast,” Aisanna said softly. “She sacrificed herself. For me. And now— It’s a little difficult to explain.”

Karsia reached out to grab the doorknob in her hand. Her fingers curved claw-like around the knob. “Yeah, I can’t be here. Sorry. This,” she gestured around at the four of them, “is insane. I can feel the blood in your veins, the thoughts in your heads and desires you try to hide. I know exactly what it would take to send each of you over the edge and I want to. I want to so damn bad.” She pointed to her mother, and a slim tendril of black smoke wound from her index finger. “I know how you didn’t want us. How you nearly aborted Aisanna and sank into deep depression after she was born. You blame yourself for our faults.”

“Karsia!” Aisanna gasped, horrified at the words coming out of the girl’s mouth. “How can you say that?”

“Because it’s true! Don’t you see?” Karsia threw up her hands. “How could you possibly understand? This thing is inside of me. She’s not coming after us anymore. She can’t. She’s quieted because I’m her legacy now. I’ll be dead by the eclipse.”

“I can’t accept that.” Aisanna shook her head vehemently. “We need to stick together and find a way to expel whatever’s inside you. Trust us.”

“No. You need to let me go. That’s the only way you will be safe. I’d kill you happily.” Karsia drew her shoulders back, and when she shifted into the light, Aisanna saw that she wasn’t quite human anymore.

“You can’t leave,” Astix insisted.

Karsia’s hands shook. The gemstones in her chest gleamed dully. “Do you not understand how difficult it is for me to keep my hands off of you? What’s inside of me would love to rip you to shreds, to see your blood spilled and know it was all a game.”

The other three were silent. “We can help you,” Varvara finally said, smiling weakly. “What’s the point of having magic if you can’t fix what’s broken?”

Karsia let out a derisive chuckle. “No one can help me. This is what happens when you try to be a hero. The end is coming. Accept it.”

Astix took a step toward her, keeping her posture defensive. “We will find a way to reverse this, I promise. This wasn’t your choice.”

“Yes, it was. Make no mistake about that. I chose to leap. This is what happens when you help people and choose good over…over…”

---