The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 2

Kye

The pounding on the door starts just past midnight. Zyair is passed out cold on the couch, drunk, so it's only Neve and I who look up at each other from our card game. I stand up from my chair, letting my cards drop onto the table. Neve mutters a curse when she sees my winning hand. Walking from the living area to the foyer, I contemplate who could be at the door this late at night, and what they might want. Hopefully it's not a group of drunkards, like last time.

I swing open the door and stare at two people, both wrapped tightly in dark cloaks. One person is huge, taking up nearly the entire doorway, and he clutches the other person, who is significantly smaller, but still almost as tall as me. I can sense Neve behind me, peering over my shoulders.

The first stranger takes his hood off, and I draw in a sharp breath, recognition coursing through me. "Lake?" His brown-black hair is shorter, and he looks to be more toned, but I'd recognize him anywhere.

His mouth is set in a grim line, and he nods. "Kye."

We stand there for a minute, taking each other in. I know that Lake should be my enemy, but I can't think of my kind, courageous childhood friend as someone who would praise the Dark King. My gaze travels over to the person subtly leaning against him, a girl, maybe Lake's girlfriend because of their proximity to one another. White hair frames her shrouded face, nearly the same color as her skin, and she looks to be my age, though her eyes look much older. Haunted. From what I can see, one of her eyes is black, and the other is a pale blue. They both look hollow. Empty, except for a flash of pain. Two pronounced scars run across her face, and her features are very sharp.

She isn't just gorgeous. She's otherworldly and vaguely threatening.

She almost looks like a ghost.

I do a double-take when I realize how hollow her face is. The girl isn't just slim, she's emaciated. What happened to you? I wonder. She catches me staring and scowls. I quickly look away.

"There's a lot I need to explain," Lake says, "but right now, could we please come in? This is my... friend, Val. We need help."

I step back from the doorframe so they can enter. Then gesture to Neve and Zyair. "This is Neve, and that's Zyair. Sorry, he's asleep at the moment."

Lake and Val enter, Val pushing Lake ahead of her. She wraps her cloak tighter around herself and pulls her hood down with shaky fingers, revealing long, silky white hair. I glance at her hands again, noticing that they're black, while the rest of her skin is deathly pale. Before I can think too much about it, I realize that she's swaying back and forth. Her eyes are hazy, unfocused. There's no color to her face, and I begin to feel concerned.

"Hey, are you all right?" I ask brusquely. Lake turns to look at her, reaching an arm out, but she swats it away. The movement is a bit too slow though, too clumsy.

She turns to me, staring down at the floor. "I'm fine. Why?" Her words seem meant to sound harsh, but they come out breathily instead.

"Never mind," I respond with a shrug. I don't really care. "I—okay, I've got you." Val's knees buckle, and she pitches forward, suddenly unconscious. Instinctively, I lurch forward to catch her. The first thing I register is how light she is. Her cloak falls away, exposing a short, odd black dress that hangs much too loosely on her thin frame. She's covered in a strange, black substance.

"Lake?" I question. He starts forward, following me as I hurry to place Val on the couch, shoving Zyair out of the way. He rolls onto the floor and continues snoring.

"It's blood." Lake says, answering my unvoiced question. I blanch for a minute. Blood? What kind of blood is black?

When I grasp what he is saying, something not unlike worry wrenches through me, overtaking all other questioning thoughts. "That's a lot of blood." I say softly. I don't even know her, but I can't stand the thought of Val dying, especially if she's Lake's friend. On that matter, I can't stand the fact of anyone dying.