Chapter 6
With a flash of light Damien hit the ground. The air in his lungs quickly fled. Slowly he stood, making sure nothing was broken. The sounds of the forest and the rolling creek nearby hit him before he saw where he was. He was back in the woods again.
The sun found small slivers through the canopy of trees to sparkle down on the dense vegetation. The humid air rushed about, carrying with it the moisture that seemed ever present during the warmer months. Insectes scurried about as they hid from their predators. Damien saw the irony in that. He too had felt very much like an insect, small and scared, running every chance he got.
It was as if something had been chasing him for as long as he can remember. Twisting his dreams. His mothers face became one with his nightmares. The darkness having claimed her. In the dreams her face would distort, change into something else. It was still his mothers face, but also something else. There was a deep sense of dread when he looked at her as if there was something hiding there he shouldn't be seeing. A viciousness. Once long ago he dreamed of a school morning. He had ridden his bicycle up to the bus stop, his mother laughing all the way behind him, a gentle warm breeze in the air. When they got to the top of the hill his mother laughed, "Boy have you gotten fast!"
Damien, smiling at his mother, suddenly realized that he had left something at home, but he couldn't quite place what it was. So he quickly laid down his bike informing his mother that he would be right back. She watched him as he ran down the hill.
As he ran he felt his mothers eyes in the distance, but also something else. It felt as if something ran with him along the edge of the forest. A dog? He wasn't sure, but on to the house he continued. When he reached the house he began to climb the stairs. Upon reaching the door he noticed a shine coming from off to the side. It was his bike. How had his bike gotten there? He knew he had left it with his mother.
"Damien!," he heard his mother yell from the bus stop and he quickly went inside without another thought about the bike. When he got inside he stopped in the living room, trying to remember what it was he had come for. Scanning the room he noticed a large lump laying under blankets that were strewn across the couch. Why were the blankets on the couch? Mother always put them away every night and as far as he knew didn't get them out this morning.
He knew mother wouldn't be happy about the blankets being out so he thought he would put them away real quick before heading back to the bus stop. Reaching out he tentatively touched the blankets, which immediately shifted, a soft pain filled moan coming from within. "Damien," a voice whispered, "is that you? It's so cold Damien."
"Mom," Damien asked, "is that you? How did you get down here so fast?"
Again in the same pain filled voice, back turned to him, his mother said, "Its so cold and dark. I don't feel well. Help me."
Damien, a bit confused but being a dream wasn't aware that his mother had not once turned toward him. "Let me turn on the light to help with the darkness."
With a forceful almost guttural sound his mother yelled, "No! No lIght, the darkness is helping me feel better. Wait a moment you will see."
He once again reached out for the blanket, pulling it to the floor this time. His mother, still on the couch facing away from him, began to mumble, "A force for us, a force for us, a force for us."
"A force for who? Mom? Are you okay? A force for who?" Suddenly she stopped mumbling, reaching her arm out behind her. As she grabbed hold of his arm Damien noticed the long pointed sickly black nails that adorned the end of her fingers. He tried to pull away, a sudden sense of extreme dread overcoming him, but her grip was too strong. He couldn't pull away. Slowly her body turned over, revealing her face. Instead of the kind face he had grown to know he saw a broken face. Black eyes that held a depth to them of a never ending pool of suffering, porcelain colored skin cracked and broken along the edges of her face. Her raven black hair now grey and disheveled. Slowly she smiled, revealing the broken sharp teeth that lay beneath the smile. After a short menacing chuckle she said, "A force for the shadow!" She reached her other clawed hand out, grabbing the back of his head, pulling him close to her face. As she did so her mouth widened far beyond what should have been capable. "You will belong to us!" Without warning she lunged forward knocking the lamp on the table at the end of the couch to the floor.
Damien started as he heard a loud thump. Snapping back to the present he looked over, a large rotten branch hitting the ground as its hold on the tree finally gave way. He shook his head, clearing it of the memory he kept hidden, and looked across the creek toward the house. Since that night he had been unable to look at his mother the same. She had always been there, but his heart had always kept a distance. The reminder of the evil he saw always lurking as if it were a stain on his heart. Now though, with his mothers willingness to give him to the shadow, he wondered how much of that dream was true.
Watching the creek once again he noticed the log that he and his grandfather had sat on just this morning, and on the bench sat a bag, a small note folded on top. Sloshing through the creek he reached the note and picked it up.
"My wonderful child. There is so much you dont know. I felt the light surge earlier and I prayed that it had meant you fixed the sword. That sword is precious. It once belonged to someone very close to me in another life. Someone I would have protected at all costs. That cost came faster than I ever hoped. Yet I would pay it gladly if the choice came my way once again, which I fear it must. I know this doesn't make sense. I'm sorry. But you must trust the light Damien. Feel these words, as they are the truth. You must leave now, for the time has come that I fear for your life once again. In the bag you will find some clothes and money. Run Damien, run. Go where the light takes you, but run. Always remember, I love you, my child of light. Mom"
Damien stared at the words on the page, confusion taking hold. What was happening? First she wants to kill him, now she's trying to save him? He looked down, the sword never having left his hand. She knew about the sword? What was the deal with it anyway? He understood it was special, as were most things he was experiencing right now, but why was everyone so focused on this one?
He watched as the pulsing light in the blade slowly dimmed, snuffing out completely. The clear crystal now taking its prior hue. He knew that he had to put the sword away because he couldn’t just walk around with it in public. That would surely bring attention to him and he was supposed to be hiding. As if responding to his thoughts the black of the handle began to shift, crawling up his hand, securing itself around his wrist. The black metal shifted and converged on itself until it formed a band around his wrist, the blade protruding outward toward the ground. He reached out and touched the crystal with his unburdened hand and the crystal began to do the same, separating from the dark metal. Now, instead of a long glowing crystal sword he had two bracelets, one on each arm.
“What the hell?,’ he said aloud as he stared at the two bracelets in astonishment. Had the sword just reacted to his thoughts? Was it sentient in a way or was it just this light magick he keeps hearing about? These were questions he would have to find answers to eventually. His focus shifted back to the bag, “I need to go, but where?”
He thought about the few places he had been in his life. Most had been very public places, day trips he had taken with his parents. None of those would work because he knew there were cameras in all those places, and he had no doubt that somehow he would be able to be tracked. He had to go somewhere where they wouldn’t consider. Somewhere secluded and out of the way. He turned to face away from the house. He stared deep into the woods. The shadow deep and uninviting. “Somewhere they wouldn’t expect me to go.” He considered his grandfather's words about not going deeper into the forest. What were they hiding? Having no alternatives he picked up the bag and headed into the woods.
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The soft crunch of leaves under his feet was the only sound he heard as he got deeper into the forest, the sounds of birds and insects far behind him. Over hill after hill he climbed, deeper and farther away from the house with every passing minute. Quiet became an ever present companion as he pressed on. The gentle, now damp, wind whispering past him shaking the trees overhead. The soft sunlight that had been present only moments before faded, leaving him in a shadow that clawed upon every surface. It crawled along the ground and up every tree as if it were a living thing barely clinging onto what little life it had, desperate to reach the one thing that would end its suffering.
With each step he took he felt a sense of oppression settling over him. Could he actually do this? Could he really just run, leaving everything and everyone he knew behind? Why had this fate been forced upon him? He wasn’t even still exactly sure what that fate was. Was he going to have to just run the rest of his life with no end to the monotony of loneliness? He slumped against a tree. Fear and doubt creeping in. Why was this who he was supposed to be? Maybe he should just give up and go back to the house. Let them do with him as they wish. It may be better. Tears fell from his cheeks dripping onto his hand. The sensation started him, snapping him back from despair. Looking at his hand he noticed a spot of red where the tear had fallen.
What was that? What was he doing? When had he stopped? Why had he stopped? These questions ran through his mind as he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a thick, dark area of the woods now. The light having no hold over this domain of shadow. Here the shadow ruled and he saw its effects. A lot of the shrubs and bushes that grew here were brown and rotting. Decayed past the point of where they should still be standing. As if the plants were long since dead but kept alive by the shadow. The shadow writhed and twisted in the darkness, lashing out at anything that dared crossed its path. As he was the only living thing that he could see or hear Damien knew that the shadow must be waiting for him, if it hadn’t already gotten him. Slowly he looked down, having seen the shadow climbing the trees earlier. All around him sat the writhing shadow. Dancing around him, almost gleeful at its new catch. New life to feed upon.
Startled at what he was seeing beneath him, Damien jumped, or tried to. As soon as he moved the shadow whipped up, wrapping him tighter and slammed him back to the ground. The more he struggled to get free the tighter the hold became. The shadow, Damien now sure that it was sentient, reached into his mind, calling out to him. “You will fail,” he heard coursing through his mind, “Our hold upon you can’t be broken. You will be claimed by the shadow. Your light will never be free.” Panic settled into Damien’s heart. How had he been trapped? Why does this keep happening to him?
Being unable to move or free himself he watched as the shadow slowly crept up his body. Screams of torment filling his mind. Flashes of a red sun came to him, creatures crawling and biting everything in sight. With each passing second the creatures came closer. Blood sprayed as each one climbed over and through each other trying to get to the new life. Through the gnashing and horrific screams he heard something in the distance. It sounded like a howl. One you hear in movies on a dark night when the moon is full. The howl of a wolf. Damien looked to the hill in the distance past the creatures that were coming to devour his life. On the hill he saw a lone wolf standing, staring at him. The creature's mouth dripped with blood as it reared its head back, sending its desperate call to the blood red sun. With that call all the creatures stopped their frenzied rush toward Damien, bowing their heads almost in fear. The air around the wolf pulsed. The darkness pouring out from the beast as if its very fur was what created the shadow. The embodiment of the darkness that consumed this realm. In the stillness of the moment Damien noticed another small flicker of movement on a hill far to the right of the menacing beast, another wolf. This one was different though, almost familiar. He watched as it crested the hill, white light spilling from its fur. Seeming to assess the situation taking place far below, the wolf surveyed the area, its golden eyes cutting though the darkness and alighting on Damien. WIth gentle eyes it held his gaze. Seeing his plight the wolf broke from its slow gait running down the hill at an almost unfathomable speed, ripping through the creatures as it went.
One by one the creatures fell, their blood staining the ground as the wolf passed them by. None were able to fight the wolf as he was too quick. It was a slaughter. Within seconds the wolf stood before him, as clean as he had appeared on the hill, not a drop of blood staining it’s light filled coat. Tilting his head the wolf once again regarded Damien. Lowering his head the wolf came face to face with him. His glowing golden eyes looked directly at him, past the doubt that had encroached on his mind, filling him with a sense of peace. Damien heard a voice whisper to him as the wind picked up, “Don’t worry my child. You are safe now. You are filled with my light and in this realm I will not allow harm to come to any of my children. You must trust the light.” With that the wolf shifted, placing the tip of its nose against the crystal band that now surrounded his wrist. The light from the wolf flowed into the crystal, causing it to flare to life. “Take up my blade, and fight the darkness that now threatens to consume you.”
Damien, awed at the sight before him, reached out toward the black band on his wrist, the two bands touching one another. He felt the light pulse once again as the blade reformed. The two bands almost melting from his wrist, coalescing into the brilliant blade once more. The soft whisper came once more, “Good child, now fight!”
Damien reached out to the blade, feeling a warmth within his chest flare to life. He struck at the ground as the shadow lashed out, slicing through the darkness. The shadow recoiled, releasing him from its grip. A searing pain shot across his back as the shadow connected from behind, leaving him winded. Gathering what little strength he could find he turned, throwing himself at the tendril. Swinging the blade with no regard Damien connected once more with the shadow, a black ooze dripping from the edge of his blade. Blood? How could the shadow bleed? Lash after lash came in a frenzied attack from all around him. The shadow converging from every rock and tree surrounding him. The shadow ripped and tore at him as he fought. Pulse after pulse of light emitted from the blade sending the shadow reeling each time. Yet with every hit the shadow found a new sense of vigor, pressing forward.
Damien weak now from swinging the sword with such abandon dropped to his knees. The shadow slowed as well, sensing his weakness. Knowing that it could take its time the shadow inched forward, hoping to instill more fear within this life, as it would make a better meal. Up his body it crawled, encasing him with every passing second. He was free no longer. He would be consumed.
The wolf watched, seemingly unconcerned. Did it know something Damien did not? As he felt the shadow crawl along his neck Damien closed his eyes. He fell deep within himself, the cold void of his mind overtaking him. Further and further he fell, growing weaker by the moment. “Trust the light,” the whisper came again. As he fell he looked out. A small spark of light floating along with him. He reached out and grabbed hold of the precious spark and pulled it to his chest. Trust the light, something he kept hearing. How could he put his faith in something that right now seemed so small, so powerless? He had watched the burning light from the wolf rip through the shadow that opposed it. He wanted that power. He needed that power.
All his life he had sat in the background, weak, following anyone he could. Now was he going to let this darkness overtake him right when he was finding something special in his life? No. This life was his. He was going to take it and make it what he wanted. The small spark in his hands grew warm with his resolve. He was going to become what he was meant to be. The spark flared brightly, sending waves of energy through Damien. With each pulse the light of the spark became brighter, growing with his resolve and determination. The light was his and he belonged to the light, not to this shadow that now threatened to consume him. Harder he pressed the spark to his chest and slowly it melded with his skin. As the light entered him he felt waves of energy pulse through him. The light flashed along his skin, causing a white glow to emit from it. Seeping up through him the light reached his eyes, causing the once brilliant blue eyes to change. The light built up until he could hold it no longer and exploded out from within him. The shadow encasing him cracked, blinding light escaping through the darkness. With one final push from the light the shadow exploded. Damien, on his knees, looked up at the wolf.
The wolf stared at the boy in front of him. Only moments ago the boy had been weak. His brown hair disheveled from the frightening run he had endured, his blue eyes lost. A smile crept across the wolf’s face as he saw the man now in front of him. The eyes that stared back at him was a reflection of his own, the light of a golden sun now staring back at him. The boy’s once disheveled hair now white with the radiance of the midnight moon. The wolf nodded at the boy, the whisper passing through the air, “There you are my child.” The wolf turned and began to walk away.
Damien stood calling after the wolf, but as he tried no words escaped his lips. Instead the world began to fade, returning to the sight of the woods once more. He looked around, sunlight now filling the area around him. As he looked up he saw a hole in the canopy that had once been so thick that no light would penetrate it. Dizziness came over him and he felt nauseous all of the sudden. He stumbled forward, darkness playing at the edge of his vision. His body couldn’t handle the ordeal it had been through. He stepped forward, catching his foot on a stray root and tumbled. As he connected with the ground his consciousness gave way.
Soft crunches became the only sound that could be heard through the forest as a tall man, cloaked in dark cloth approached Damien, the hood obscuring his face. He bent down placing his hand on the stark white hair of the boy, “Oh child, you endured well, let's get you somewhere safe.” Gently he picked up the boy in his broad arms, and stepped further into the growing brightness of the forest.