Page 78 of In the Dark

CHAPTER 19

He couldn’t wait this time, knocking her out instantly and sending the puppet master as far away as he dared. Cradling her body before she fell and knocked her head, Morgan dove into the subconscious after her. He needed Karsia back. The real her, if only for an instant.

There had to be a better way. What had been his first mistake? There were too many. His ears rang and pressure stole his breath. Then the pressure was gone, and Morgan stood in the bright whiteness of his subliminal domain.

This time, he had to look deep to find her. Too deep. Time was of the essence and the longer it took to locate her, the less time they had to execute the spell and exorcise Darkness. Watching for her in the subconscious, Morgan shed his human skin and embraced his true form.

Long ebony horns sprouted from his head. At the same moment, great white wings burst through his back. He gave a sigh of relief and cricked his neck, home at last. Sparing a glance at the glowing feathers, he tested their heft in his natural environment. Muscles he’d forgotten about flexed and warmed.

It had been too long since he’d spent time in his own body. The body of a god. Half-god, he reminded himself.

He shrugged off any reservations and tuned in to his gift: dreams. His natural-born right and his fate, to bestow sweet dreams on the masses. Some called him a messenger of the gods, others a half-breed. No matter. Morgan knew his purpose.

Karsia no longer accepted what he offered. It was just one more casualty of her initial sacrifice. When she closed her eyes, it was his brother that visited her, to bestow nightmares, bloody and terrifying images. He knew she woke screaming after the few hours of sleep she received each night.

He thrashed forward through the dream plane. It paid to think positively. Tomorrow, once they successfully went through with their plan, Karsia would be able to dream again.

And Morgan would make sure they were the best he’d ever given.

He sought her deeper, through the rapidly shifting landscape of night, rolling hills and plains, bustling metropolises. His wings beat at the air, searching for her energy signature, knowing it should have been easy.

White spaces filled with color as he flew past, seeking out one mind amidst the billions sleeping around the world. It took much longer to catch her signature and longer still to seek her out where she hid in the dark. Trapped in endless night.

There was nothing pretty about where she’d disappeared to. The expanse of wasteland gleamed dull red and gray under a moonless sky where the stars did not shine. There was nothing except sand and rock, scruffy shrubs that would snap and slice skin if one got too close.

Morgan landed and found Karsia’s small figure hunched in a corner between two boulders, knees curled to chest and arms locked close.

“Karsia?” he called to her, keeping his voice soft.

She failed to respond, so used to the dark she’d forgotten the light.

Please, he thought, please don’t let it be too late.

“Karsia, my sweet love. Answer me.” Morgan approached cautiously. He folded his wings back. “Find your voice. Speak to me. You aren’t alone here. Do you hear me at all?”

With infinite slowness, she looked up, hair shadowing her face and eyes dull. “Who are you?”

Her voice echoed in his ears like the sound of spring rain, the breath of a sunrise. He couldn’t work up any anger at her confusion. Not when he saw how shattered she looked. “You don’t know me?” He forced his cheeks to rise in a smile. “After all we’ve been through together, you don’t recognize me?”

She answered hesitantly, pushing her hair aside with dirty fingers and revealing her face. “Morgan?”

He took time to morph into his human form. The one she’d known on earth. The human version of Morgan bent at the knee and drew her up into his embrace.

She shook as she wrapped her arms around his waist and drew in his familiar scent. “How did you know where to look?” Her hands hooked into his shirt.

He brought her closer, held her tighter until the breath threatened to leave their bodies. “I knew. I will always find you.”

Karsia drew back and stared at him, running a fingertip over the glossy rim of his glasses. Compelled, she touched his face, his skin, any part of him she could reach. “It isn’t you.”

“Of course it is.” He brought her palms to his lips and kissed each one.

“No. I mean the real you. Let me see you.”

He would not deny her anything. His professor façade faded away and was replaced by the winged horned half-god he now knew she cared for. Truly cared for.

“That’s more like it,” she said with a shy smile and reached for him.

He held her close. “We needed to talk one last time, Karsia. The woman I was dealing with earlier face to face…well, let’s just say she wasn’t amenable to a nice chat. I needed to be here to hold you, to feel you.”

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