The first tear fell from the edge of his jaw. As that tear fell onto the orange sand of the desert, leaving a wet brown spot in the sand, he fell to his knees over her lifeless body. He slipped one hand under her head and pulled her body to his chest. Tears rolled down his face from under his black bangs as he looked down at her limp body. Clenching his teeth together, he closed her eyes and placed her back onto the desert sand. Tightening his jaw, he raised himself onto his feet and clutched his double-faced twin sword. He turned to his opponent and whispered a promise to his adversary.
“You killed her now it’s your turn.”
A dark shadow, that seemed to have no body and just be a mass of darkness that floated in the air, stood across from the man. A green orb glowed from within the masses chest, giving the only sign of its life. The shadow laughed a deep, spin chilling laugh.
“You, a pitiful half-demon, kill me? What nonsense are you spitting?”
Darkness glanced at the shadow from under his long, black bangs and grimaced. His silver eyes glistened with a sharp light as the setting sun hit them. The shadow straightened, ready to fight the half-demon. Darkness raised his sword as he took off running toward the black mass. Picking up speed, he gripped his sword tighter and raised it into the air, planting it into what seemed to be the mass’s shoulder. The mass stumbled backward, screaming with pain as it held its shoulder. Darkness stepped back, sword in hand ready to attack again, as he stared at the mass with an evil grimace spread across his face.
The shadow dropped its arm and straightened; flying toward Darkness, with a hissing sound rumbling from within. Darkness smiled as he watched the mass fly toward him at a high speed. Waiting until the mass was inches from him, Darkness embedded his blade into the green orb. The shadow shrieked with pain and tried to pull itself from the blade but failed horribly. Darkness smiled and pulled the shadow closer to him. Leaning in close, Darkness began whispering a chant.
“Hence this evil being back to the gates of hell. Take thins heart and smash it to pieces, thy shalt be no more. Thou shalt never see life or death again; thou shall remain lifeless and be what it deserves-NOTHING!”
The shadow screamed a spin chilling shriek as it pulled itself from the blade. Stumbling backward it looked at Darkness.
“You fool; do you have any idea what you have done?”
Darkness smiled evilly as he placed his sword into its sheath. “Yes, you were killed by a mere half-demon.”
The shadow screamed as white swirls spread around him and he vanished, leaving behind a pile of green, glowing dust. Darkness looked down at it in disgust before he kicked the pile of dust and watched it vanish in the air. Turning his back to the empty desert, he stood there looking at the dead body of his once lively love. Slowly he walked over to her body and knelt down beside it. Holding her close he cried silently in the twilight of the desert.
Chapter 1
Opening the door, Darkness stepped into his unlit apartment. After a long day of saving the innocents of humans from the viols of evil, all he wanted was a shower and sleep. Without turning the lights on, darkness threw his keys onto the side table beside the door and walked to his room. Turning his bedroom light on, he glanced at the clock next to his bed. Sighing when he read that it was four A.M. moaning with exhaustion, Darkness drug his feet to the bathroom, ready to wash away the demon blood that sat crusted on his olive colored skin.
Flinging himself onto the bed, Darkness stared at the ceiling. From the corners of his eyes, he could see the early morning sun rising over the horizon. The yellow and orange colors shone through his window; leaving a sun trail in the air and on the floor. Closing his eyes, Darkness moaned and rolled onto his side, turning his back to the window. He settled himself into the blankets and bed, ready to doze off into a long, deep sleep. Just as he drifted off a knock came from the door. Darkness’s eyes snapped open as he stared out into the living room at the front door. A knock sounded again, causing Darkness to groan and grunt as he climbed out of his bed and walked to the door. Without asking whom it was, he opened the door and frowned, seeing no one was there.
"Stupid kids." He mumbled under his breath as he shut the door.
Turning back to his room, Darkness paused and narrowed his light eyes. Leaning against the doorframe of his room was a man. The man had long, black hair that swept behind him like a cloak. His eyes were dark, like the blackest hole in space. His skin was pale, causing his eyes and pink lips; that sat curved in a tormenting smile, to stand out. He wore a tight black shirt that hugged every inch of his thin, athletic torso. He wore light blue jeans that hung loosely over his long legs.
As Darkness looked the man over, he clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. “What do you want Onyx?”
Onyx pushed away from the doorframe, his taunting smile still spread across his face. He clicked his tongue in a tusking noise as he shook his head. “Why dear brother, why such a harsh welcoming?”
Darkness lowered his gaze to try and calm himself. “You know the answer to that. Now tell me why you are here.”
Onyx stepped closer to his brother as he tried to get a better look at him. His smiled grew wider as he took notice of his brother’s eyes.
“Your eyes have come in quiet nicely, for being a half demon anyway.” He said mockingly.
Onyx chuckled as he placed his long, slender index finger under his brother chin; lifting it up to see his face better.
“You’re eyes are just like father’s; you have the eyes of a true leader.” He said like a snake, stalking it’s pray.
Darkness turned his head and pulled away from him. “Don’t bring our father into this. You don’t have the right to speak his name.” He said glaring at the wall, whit knuckling his fists.
Onyx chuckled hollowly. “Little brother, I have every right to speak his name. After all, he was the one to give me the thrown.” He smirked evilly.
Darkens turned quickly back to his brother, glaring angrily. “Our father did not give you the thrown. If it hadn’t been for you, he’d still be alive and I’d be next in line for the throne.”
Onyx frowned and grabbed Darkness by his throat, pinning him to the wall behind him.
“Our father deserved to die. He ruined the good name of our family by sleeping with your pathetic, human mother.”
Darkness growled deeply as he grabbed his brother’s forearms and shoved him back, away from him. “Get out of my house!” he screamed angrily at Onyx.
Onyx slid to a stop and laughed amusingly. “Farewell little brother, I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” He said before he vanished out of sight.
Darkness closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and released his clenched fists. Sunlight spilled into the living room, casting a bright highlight of sun on half of Darkness’s body. He opened his eyes and looked out the window, the sunlight reflecting off his silver eyes. Sighing, Darkness stood in the silence of his empty apartment. He knew by the events that had already happened; it was going to be another long day without sleep.
Chapter 2
From within the darkness that surrounded him, Darkness heard a voice call out to him. He could hear their cried for help, but he could not see them.
“Darkness!” They cried again.
Darkness looked around but only found blackness His name echoed again, this time sending him into a sprint to find them. He ran for what seemed miles but found he was going nowhere. Darkness, emptiness, and nothingness surrounded him, engulfing him like a sea of blackness. Darkness stopped running and growled with aggregation as his name echoed in his ears once more.
“What?” He screamed into the abyss as he turned and found himself standing in the desert that took his life away.
Darkness spun around quickly, taking in the miles and miles of sand, that surrounded him. The complete black abyss that had just engulfed him was now gone. Now he stood in the haunting desert, in the twilight of the setting sun, puzzled by what was going on.
“Darkness.” Came a soft, gentle voice from behind.
Darkness spun around and felt him heart drop into his stomach. Standing before him was a woman. Her sandy-blonde hair blowing over her sweet, tan face, her jaded green eyes, surrounded by thick, long, black lashes.
“Zoey.” He whispered, letting her name roll off his tongue.
The girl smiled and held out her hand to him. “Come Darkness, walk with me.” She sang in her musical voice.
Darkness took her hand and allowed her to lead him further into the desert. Neither of them spoke as they walked hand in hand. Zoey kept her face tilted skyward, enjoying the setting sun. Darkness glanced at her every now and then, taking in her glowing skin under the sunlight, how her hair seemed like honey, and her eyes reflecting the sun light, making them seem brighter than they really were. Zoey dropped her gaze down to look at Darkness, her smile slowly fading and the live in her eyes dying. Darkness let go of her hand and stared at her puzzled, feeling a shift in the air.
“Zoey, what’s going on?” He asked nervously.
Zoey did not say anything to him as she slowly started to step forward. Darkness felt his heart stop as he reached for her and found he was glued to the spot he stood in.
“Zoey, what’s going on?” he asked worriedly now.
Zoey did not respond and slowly began to disappear before his eyes. Tears burned in his eyes as he watched her vanish. He had her once more and let her go again. He stared blankly at the spot she had been standing, everything going blurry as the tears swelled over his eyes. After a moment of self-pitting, Darkness looked down at his feet and tried to pull them out. With each tug he pulled, he seemed to sink deeper into the sand. Moaning with aggravation, he tilted his head skyward and paused. The once beautifully painted sky of orange, yellow and purple, was now turning back into the abyss that would soon engulf him once more. Alarm rising inside his mind, Darkness fought the best he could against the sand to free his feet.
As he struggled to free himself, the dark clouds above gave away and rain poured down onto the desert sand. Each droplet that landed on Darkness’s skin burned, as if acid had been poured onto his skin. As he struggled to free his feet, he flinched against the burning sensation of the water droplets. After a while, Darkness threw his hands up in the air with aggravation and gave up on freeing himself. He sat down in the desert sand and placed his arms over his knees, looking down at the now drenched sand. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew, causing Darkness’s long black hair to flow over his face like a wave. Darkness looked up toward the sky just in time to see them open and release a figure in a robe.
“What the hell is going on?” Darkness questioned.
The hooded figure floated down and stood before Darkness. Darkness stood and looked at the figure, puzzled by its appearance. He tried to view the persons face but the hood casted to dark of a shadow to see.
“Are you the reason behind all this?” Darkness asked angrily.
The hooded figure nodded its head and pointed at the nothingness that now surrounded them. Darkness turned his head to look and seen nothing but blackness. He turned to look back at the figure just as it shoved its hands into his chest. Darkness gasped, pain washing over him. He looked down at his chest and the hands that were elbow deep. Slowly he raised his head to look at the figure.
“What are you doing?” He gasped painfully.
The hooded figure did not say anything to Darkness. It moved its hands around in his chest until it pulled them out, holding his heart in its hand. Darkness looked at the figure in awe, feeling his body slowly die. Suddenly exhausted, Darkness fall onto his butt and closed his eyes. He leaned back and opened them to see the figure hovering over him.
“Why?” He muttered quietly.
“Because she’s coming.” It said before vanishing.
Darkness laid there, feeling his body sink slowly. He went to sit up but the sand had already begun to engulf him. Frightened, Darkness struggled to fight against the power of the sucking sand below him. Finally, he gave up and allowed the sand to devour him.
Darkness jolted awake, finding himself lying in his living room floor, covered in sweat. His head spun, swimming with thoughts about the dream he just had. Sighing he staggered to stand on his feet, glancing at the clock above the stove in the kitchen. It read six-thirty P.M. Thirteen hours he had slept, but what struck him as odd was he didn’t remember falling asleep. Raking a hand through his long hair he made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from over the sink and filled it with water. Slowly his mind began to wonder back to the dream.
A knock came to the door, causing Darkness to drop the glass in the sink and breaking it. He turned the water off and groaned as he raked a hand through his hair. Another knock sounded from the door before he reached for the knob.
“Who is it?” He asked.
“My name is Jinx, I’m looking for a man named Darkness.” Replied a tiny voice.
Darkness opened the door and found a woman in the door way. Her hair was waist length, smooth, and the color of the prettiest burgundy, her eyes the color of the clearest lake. She was thin and curvy like a beautiful goddess, her skin a light tan color. She kept her eyes fixed on her feet, paying no attention to Darkness.
“Are you Jinx?” Darkness asked the woman.
She shook her head and pulled her hair away from her shoulder. Sitting there was a tiny green female. Her hair was red, her skin a pale green color. She wore a dress made of leaves and her ears came to a point. Darkness looked at her a moment, trying to figure out what she was.
The creature giggled. “I’m Jinx and if you’re wondering I’m a pixie.”
“Would you like to come in?” Darkness asked stepping aside to allow them to enter.
The girl walked in, carrying Jinx on her shoulder. Darkness closed the door behind them and followed them to his chair.
“Please take a seat.” He offered as he took his.
Jinx fluttered off of the girl’s shoulder and landed on the arm of the couch as the other girl took her seat and crossed her legs. Darkness looked at the two, studying them closely. The human one seemed to be shy as for the pixie that constantly had a smile on her face.
“So how may I help you?” Darkness asked watching the human girl.
“Well, we have bit of a problem.” Jinx began.
Darkness glanced at her from underneath his bangs. “What kind of problem?”
Jinx sighed and fluttered onto the other girl’s knee. “Just recently we encountered a woman who called herself Amon. She was rather strange; when she spoke her lips did not move. She attacked us and tried to kidnap Aya.”
Amon; the name ringed in Darkness’s ears. He looked down at his hands at his mind retrogressed back to the haunting memory of the day he first met Amon. Smoke swirled around him like a thick blanket. His lung filled with black smoke, making it hard to breathe. He crawled out from the burning building into the panicking streets of his kingdom. Fire rose to the sky, screams echoing I his ears. He looked around, people running past him in a hurry. A woman stood in the middle of the yard, laughing with amusement. He air blew in the wind around her, her eyes a burning red. Looking about this woman gave Darkness a sickening feeling. Those red eyes laid upon Darkness, and her smile grew wider. The woman moved toward Darkness, her feet levitating above the ground. She stopped a few feet from Darkness, a necklace hanging out of her closed hand.
This one woman was all the cause of the chaos in the kingdom. Darkness stood before her, feeling like a mouse looking up at a giant. Looking upon this woman, he could feel the evil pour from her body. She looked down at Darkness, her smile spread ear to ear.
“Darkness, join me and you can have everything you’ve ever wanted.” She said to him without moving her lips.
She threw the necklace at his feet, this silver pendent shining in the light of the fires. He bent down and picked it up, opening the locket. A picture of a beautiful woman and a young child sat in the right side of the locket. Darkness looked up to the woman that floated before him.
“Darkness, Darkness are you listening to me?” Jinx asked snapping him out of his trance.
Darkness stood from his chair and walked into his kitchen. “I’m sorry that you encountered such a person but I’m sorry, your problems do not involve me. Now will you please show yourselves out.”
Jinx flew into the kitchen and landed on the counter, he hands placed on her tiny hips.
“You have to help us. Aya isn’t much help, after what she witness when she was younger she hasn’t spoken a word since. As for me, I’m a pixie and I cannot do much good either. You’re our last hope Darkness. Aren’t you the great demon slayer?”
Darkness shook his head and cleaned the glass out of the sink. “I’m sorry Jinx, but I cannot help you and your friend. I cannot dedicate my life to two strangers when others need my help just as much.”
Jinx rolled her eyes. “Listen, many people have referenced us to you in our search for help. We are not capable of destroying such a demon. Aya is in great danger and needs help.”
Darkness slammed his hands onto the counter. “I told you I cannot help you. I made that mistake once and I refuse to do so again. Now please show yourself out or I will do so myself.”
Jinx looked at Darkness for a log moment before scoffing and flying back into the living room.
“Come on Aya, we’re on our own again. Like usual we have to depend on each other.”
Darkness stood in the kitchen glaring at the counter. How could two strangers come into his house and demand help even after he has turned them down. Closing his eyes he straightened up and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Alright, I’ll help you two but once we’re done you must leave me alone.” He spoke stopping them from leaving.
Jinx turned with a smile spread across her face, flying over to give him a tiny hug. Darkness moaned and swatted her away.
“Just sit in the living room and wait until I come to speak with you.” He said walking toward his bedroom.
