Page 41 of Lord of Eternal Night (Darkmourn Universe 1)

“And why are you so certain?”

I took a breath, gaze cutting holes through the already dead girl. “I am tired of being kept from the truth. Let me go so I can…”

“Can wake him? Impossible to do so during the day. Question him? If Marius has ignored your requests for answers he would have done so with a reason. Do not think your presence in his personal chambers is going to sway him to suddenly give up whatever he is keeping from you.”

I smiled, having obtained yet more information I needed. This was, as guessed, the way to wherever Marius kept himself hidden.

“Good,” I hissed, “because nothing you have said relates to what I am doing here. So… move.”

Throwing out the flame, I controlled its hurtling trajectory to land upon the girl. But instead it passed through her. Victorya did not flinch. Instead she zoomed forward until her haunting gaze was uncomfortably close to my own. “Beware how you act around me. For you will find that you go hungry before your stay comes to an end. You will be without fresh clothes. No bath will be drawn. I will… not… aid you.”

“Help me!” I laughed. “If you wanted to help you would let me proceed. If he will not wake during my visit then what is the harm of proceeding?”

“What do you hope to find?” she asked, bluntly. “If it is to kill him during his sleep, then you will be wasting your time.”

“I would not do tha—” The thought had not even occupied my mind. Killing Marius now, whilst he was at his most vulnerable. “That is not what I hope to achieve.”

“Good, because you would be a fool to think that Marius has not tried to end his life before. It never works.”

The flame in my palm died down to a simple glow. My connection to it severing as her words settled over me. “He has?”

“Not for a long time. It was terrible. Watching him being so broken. So tired. I will not explain his attempts further but know that you cannot do it.”

I spluttered out my response, “I do not wish to.”

What made the final night any different? I knew that my powers were linked to his demise, but why?

“As much as that relieves me… for now, we both know that we need you to do it. In the end.”

“I need a book,” I said, changing the course of the conversation as quickly as I could. I forced more energy into the flame so it burned brighter once more. “Marius has it. I know he is keeping it from me and I want to know why.”

“Stealing what you seek will do you no favours,” Victorya said. “Have you asked him for it?”

“Yes…” I stilled, shaking my head. “No. No I didn’t. The topic got heated and… there is no chance that Marius will give it to me. Not after the way he reacted when I asked a simple question.”

“You will ask him next time,” Victorya commanded in her small, but powerful voice. “If he does not comply then I will retrieve the book for you myself. But know that I do not like going behind his back.”

“You don’t?” I scoffed, ready to point out her double standard. “Because you certainly are encouraging me to kill him.”

“Trust me, Jak. He would encourage you to do the same if he believed it was a possibility. Now go. Leave him to rest. You do not understand how earned his moments of peace are. From the shadows beneath your eyes it seems that you too need to sleep. Try again with him when you wake.”

I looked to the waiting darkness ahead of her, imagining the space in which Marius kept to. Then I nodded, forcing my leaden body to turn back towards the direction of the dining hall. “For someone so young, you surely behave in the manner of an adult.”

“I am far older than you, Jak. Do not be fooled by my frozen appearance. Even in this form I have witnessed more of life and death than you could imagine.”

I shot a glance over my shoulder to say something in return, but she had vanished. Gone in a single moment. Yet her presence still lingered on the back of my neck until I finally closed the door to the chamber I now called my own.

Until next time, I guess.

* * *

Katharine returned the next evening.I heard her soft voice which floated up from the lower levels of the castle. Marius was with her, speaking in his usual low tone whilst she did not try and hide what she spoke of. I stayed out of view, hiding behind the splitting banister. On soft feet I had edged closer to try and see the scene as they conversed but the creak of the banister stopped me from leaning over any further for fear it would snap beneath my weight.

“How is your mother?” Marius asked.

“Not well. Every day her breathing shallows. I fear she does not have long left.” Katharine’s sadness was palpable.

“Let me give you something else to trade in for coin. I have other items you can…”

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