Darkness & Light: Book 1: Shatter Our Fates [COMPLETED]

6 - Hayley

The three of us step out into the rain, which is bitter cold as it falls from the darkening sky. It will be night soon enough, and as I turn to Tiber and Dax, I sense Aldrea perk up. I turn away from my brother, my mind going back to him saying, The thing that possessed you. Its name was Aldrea, right?

How did he know her name is Aldrea? Did she ever go to him? Did she first wish to inhabit him?

But all those thoughts fade as we step onto the paved road that winds up into Tempyria. The Tempyrians have always been ones to ignore those of us from Noxyk. It's sickening to me that they just let us starve, they let us be prey to the monsters of the Weald.

All those thoughts fade as soon as we see the armed men atop their stallions, marching up the road, toward the massive walls that surround Tempyria. I swallow down some dread that tied itself into a knot in my throat. A bird flies past us overhead, its cries filling the twilight air.

The three of us walk on, not knowing whether or not these men are allies or foes. But as we draw closer, Aldrea twists herself in my heart, like she is scared of these men. But why? Aldrea, are you okay?

"I am alright, yes, Hayley. These men are not as they seem. They are monsters in the flesh prisons of humans, and they are far .... far from humans. They are all demons."

I stop, my cane sliding in the gravel. Dax and Tiber both turn, Tiber having been helped along by a staff he'd drawn from his satchel. Now, he walks over to me, his staff taller than I am as he plants it in the gravel beside me. He inspects me closely.

"You okay?" Tiber whispers.

I lock my gaze on the army of demons. "Those aren't men."

"What are they, Hayley?"

"Demons."

He widens his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Aldrea told me," I whisper.

Tiber sighs and nods. "Okay. Let's go, then. "

"Go where? We can't go that way, they're demons!"

"I know a secret way in," Dax says.

We both turn to him. "And you, why are you helping us, Dax?"

He rubs the back of his neck and sighs, then looks at me with a look of anxiety. "Can we talk about this later, Hayley? We need to sneak in through the tunnels under the city. I know a way that'll take us straight to the barracks, which is where we will find some help."

"Why do you suppose there's so many demons walking into the city now, though? Is it because something, or is it just... I don't know, a typical day?" Tiber asks.

I laugh. "Yeah, typical Tuesday, I suppose."

Dax chuckles. "You two are odd, you know that?"

We travel up the path and to the side, and toward a big grate in the wall of the city. Dax rips it open, and the three of us just face the dark tunnel. A small amount of water trickles out from the darkness, and I turn to Dax then.

"Uh, what kind of secret tunnel is this?"

He shrugs.  "I'm pretty sure it's rainwater, like a drainage pipe or something."

"Fun." Tiber steps up into the pipe, and turns to me. "Let's go and wander in this thing, sis."

I take his outstretched hand, and Dax and Tiber help me climb into the pipe. We walk along in silence, Tiber pulls out a torch, and Dax lights it. The flickering light of the small orange flame casts long shadows on the stone walls and floor. We walk along the pipe, our footsteps and staffs and canes all clacking against the stone and water.

We reach the inside of a strange chamber, its vaulted ceiling held up in place by thick rafters. I look at the boys as they step out of the pipe, and Tiber looks around, humming low.

Aldrea senses something. I turn, my gaze going to the darkness that had just been behind me. Somethings in there. I step forward, and the next thing I know, there's something sharp and cold pressed to my throat.

"Drop it!" Tiber yells.

I look at the person who's holding a small shiv to my throat, their burning eyes fixed on my own purple ones. The girl's green eyes blaze with fury, and she stands up on shaking legs. I try to back away, trying to get out of her reach.  She just laughs.

"Hello, little wrong one," she says. "Who might you be?"

"Lower your weapon," Dax demands, drawing a pair of daggers from his belt. He steps closer to us, and the girl's green gaze darts to him.

"No, don't take another step. I'll slit this girl's throat!"

"We aren't here to hurt you," says Tiber.  "Please, let her go."

"Why would I believe you?"

"If we wanted you dead, you'd be dead," I snap.

She laughs dryly. "Oh, reassuring. Yes, very reassuring. Not."

Her tan skin's covered in dirt and dried blood, her cheeks are torn up and cut, almost like she's fallen on her face. Or been tortured. The girl's auburn hair is all messy and greasy, and I realize then that she's trapped here, in a cell. We entered a cell, and she is chained to the wall.

The girl looks at me, her angry expression darkening. She glances at the boys, and suddenly, my body moves. I leap backwards, and twirl, my cloak flowing about me, and I unfurl my wings. The girl cries out, falling back on her butt. She looks up at me with horror.

"We are not going to hurt you, but we could if we wanted to," says Aldrea with my voice.

The girl looks at us. "Can you help me? My brother, he ... he's trapped, but in his own body.  They're using him."

"Using him how?" I ask.

She sighs and rubs her face.  "He ... he is possessed. They took him ... tortured him. Turned him into a monster. Please, we have to save him."

I turn to Tiber and Dax. "What do you think?"

"We should go," says Dax.

"No, we should help her," says Tiber.  "We need as many allies as we can get."

"Allies? For what?" asks the girl.

"It's a... long story," says Tiber.  He won't look at me. "Come on, let's cut her chains. We need to get out of here. Where is your brother?"

"He's in the castle, on the hill," she says.

Tiber moves over to her, and begins to cut the chains around her ankles and wrists. She stands up and turns to me and nods slowly. "Thanks, I'm Atlas."

"Atlas. Nice to meet you," I say.  "I'm Hayley, this is Dax and Tiber, and Tiber's my brother."

"Cool," she says. "Okay, follow me, I'll lead you to the castle. But we need to be careful. The city is crawling with demons now."

"Of course it is," says Dax. "Well, let's do this. Let's go."