Page 28 of The Dark Rising
“You know we wouldn’t let you go on your own,” Hudson growls, and Colten nods next to him.
“Never,” Seb agrees while Josh stays silent.
I nod, my throat tightening, and then we make our way to the bridge with Anna and Belldame.
As soon as my feet hit the wood of the first bridge we crossed to get into Witches Rest, I can’t help but feel that maybe this is the last time I will be walking over it. A sense of foreboding washes through me, and I shiver. Walking through the mist to head in Darius’s direction, I rub my arms, looking over at Josh who stands the furthest away from me. I wish he would say something.
I look toward Ann, whose hair is a nest on top of her head, as is mine, and she has dark circles under her eyes as she walks next to me, Seb at her side. Colten grumbles whilst Hudson chastises him, and Taylor on my right scans the mist, like he can see everything, when we can barely see our hand in front of us. Belldame walks on the other side of me, her stick in her grip, moving with every step I take as her bones rattle around her neck.
The mist begins to clear, and I rub the back of my neck, my hands shaking when I see figures just out of reach of the mist. They’re not moving, just watching as we approach, the moon lighting our path and once we are in clear view, we stand, waiting.
We eye each other across the small distance, Darius and his men, against me with Belldame and mine. They’re dressed casually this time, no armor in sight. Just t-shirts and combat pants, and I wonder why they chose not to have their armor on. It’s Belldame who speaks first.
“Hello, Alpha Darius.”
“Belldame,” he says, and there is no menace in his tone toward her. “Bring Rhea over here, or I will have to use force.” Okay, maybe a little.
“Would you do such a thing, child of Cazier?”
“I can assure you, I would,” Darius growls, and dark tendrils of power come from his palms, waiting, ready to strike. I watch the black as it floats around. It calls to me, this yearning to feel it again, yet I don’t want to be called. I want to be left alone to bleed the monsters dry.
I step in front of everyone, not wanting to cause Belldame any trouble after all the help she has given to me. I’m not sure if he could do it, but Belldame said he could and I don’t want to test it. He’s an Heir, after all, who knows what he can do now, I don’t even know what I’m fully capable of. I’m running blind in all of this, whereas he seems to have it all figured out.
“How did you find me?” I ask Darius, my eyes still on those black, misty tendrils, before my eyes move to his.
“Lucky guess.” His power trails up his forearms as he looks me over in the loose shirt I have on, his eyes dropping slightly to my chest. His nostrils flare before his eyes flash black. I scoff. “Come with us and we will leave the blood witches alone.”
“I’m not going to the Highers.” I fold my arm over my chests, he’s not taking me to them, no fucking way. Why would he think I would be willing to go anyway?
He tilts his head. “I’m not taking you to the Highers, but to Vokheim.”
My lips part. “The Elite’s keep? Why?” Why does he want me to go there?
Darius looks at his other men and I watch them, wary of what they are going to do. Darius steps toward me, just a few steps but I hold my ground, refusing to back away. There is a decent amount of space between us, but I still have to be alert.
“What you said, about you being a child.” His jaw ticks like it hurts him to say the words. “That it would have been impossible for you to have caused it.”
So he actually listened to me. It’s a little too late now though, and I get over my shock at his words, and anger comes swiftly. If he had just listened to me when I needed him to, if he let his anger go for a second and used his head, he could have helped me. He could have helped my pack, Kade, Josie, Danny…
“Of course it fucking impossible, you asshole,” I fume, my anger rising to the surface fast, and so fierce it feels like it will spill out of me at any moment. “And if you all, the fucking Elites, protector of the lands,” I spit in disgust. “Took a step back and thought for one second, using your brains, it would have been clear to you straight away, and you would know I was innocent,” I snarl, my hands fist at my sides, shaking with rage and admittedly a lot of hurt.
Darius flexes his hands. “It’s impossible for you to have caused it then, but what about when you were an adult?”
“An adult.” I laugh hysterically, my emotions riding me hard, so many at once. I laugh and laugh, but it’s full of wrath,fury.“You have got to be kidding me?!” He just stares at me, waiting for my answer. “I didn’t perform any ritual, I didn’t do anything but try andsurvivethe lands that wanted to break me.“ He looks at his Elites and they watch me warily, brows furrowed, and I’ve had enough of them. Of him. Of every fucking cruel test the Gods throw at me, because this must be a punishment of sorts?
I must have done something so bad to have the life I have lived, and all the blood that has been spilled out of me. Of the pain that I’malwaysfeeling. When will I be free of it?
“I did not bring the rogures upon us.” I shake my head.
“Then who did?” Leo asks, hands on his hips.
“How am I supposed to know that?” I shout.
“You lied about a lot of things, you lied about many fucking things,” Darius says. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
“I was a child!” I practically scream, rage pouring off me in waves. “I have never done a ritual to bring rogures into the lands, I don’t know anyone who has done a ritual to bring rogures into the lands, and I don’t know how to bring the rogures into the lands!”
My chest is heaving, my vision narrowing down on Darius as the pain he has caused flows through me, making me believe for one second that I could have something I never thought I could ever have. For making me fucking hope, when hope is nothing but a lie at the bottom of the darkest depths of a pit.
