Amy Sumida - Out of the Darkness (The Godhunter Book 11) Read online

  Humans had breached the gap between fey and god magic. They had mated with the fey and their children had become witches, altering the fey magic into human. Then the witches had sacrificed to the gods and the gods had accepted human magic to sustain them, never knowing that it stemmed from the fey, that the human factor had allowed the transfer. Thousands of years later, I came along and took back the magic my ancestors had given the gods but then came the discovery that I was more than human. And so what did I do with that magic? I returned it to Faerie.

  “We travel around the circle,” I whispered and heard her faint answer.

  And come back to the beginning.

  The magic was harmonizing now, aligning itself as surely as the realms were aligning the flow of time. That's why Liam and Arach had been able to use god magic. If the magic hadn't been harmonizing, it wouldn't have been possible but I had completed the circle and opened the way. The person I had become, this triple trinity being, was necessary to the survival of Faerie and I was now able to see the intricate web Faerie had woven to form me into exactly what she needed. We had both been right in our harsh words to each other. I was a shell, a tool to be used, but she also needed me.

  You're not just a tool to me. You are my greatest accomplishment and my greatest shame. I'm sorry for the things you had to go through to make you who you are but I could see no other way.

  “There's nothing to forgive. You've given as much as you've taken and I wouldn't change my life even if I could.” I shook my head. It was funny how she sounded more like herself now that she was inside of me.

  Because you have the Darkness now. All but the seed of it that will remain with me.

  As if in emphasis to her words, pain crunched through my stomach and I groaned, doubling over. I breathed through it and set my mind to the task the magic of both my emerald and the Great Nine had showed me. Cleansing and Transmutation, a combination of god and faerie magic with me, the human, binding them together.

  I touched my hand to the emerald at my throat and felt the power condense before it spread out within me. I felt it quest through my cells, finding every trace of the Darkness Faerie had given into my keeping, until it was gathered into a dark mass just beneath my breast. The magic of the emerald pushed that mass out of me, using itself as an exit point, and I saw the Darkness coalesce in front of me.

  The magic of Transmutation slid in behind the fading power of the emerald and I pulled it into my heart, where the nine-pointed star was glowing bright. I conveyed to it my sincerest wish, whispering the hopes I had for this creation, and finally I directed it with the plans I had inside my head. I visualized the images clearly, down to the tiniest detail, and projected them into the Darkness.

  “Here's your chance,” I said to it. “You wanted life, you wanted solace and companionship. I offer it to you, offer to change you while keeping your essence the same.”

  I felt the Darkness respond, consider my offer, an offer that didn't have to be made. I could have changed the Darkness without permission but I wanted its approval. I wanted it to be happy and to know that I wished it happiness even though it would always hold the darker emotions. Hatred, Anger, Loneliness, Obsession. It had been the seed within the hearts of the Earth Royals, the Darkness showed me that clearly, how it had pushed them to violence and King Liam to vengeance. I offered it forgiveness and with it, the understanding that those emotions were needed, were necessary to the fey.

  “Become a part of us instead of just a manipulating force,” I reached out a hand and felt it open to me. The first act of trust ever made by the Darkness. I took hope from that and pushed the great magic of Transmutation into it.

  I felt the exact moment when the magic hit and I held the thread of it, to guide it into the forms I wanted. I could feel the rapt attention of the fey around me but I focused harder on my work and tuned them out. All there was was this, the Darkness and I. The Darkness and what I wanted it to be.

  I shaped it, used the great magic and the power of Faerie herself to give it a different kind of life. Bones and blood, breath and flesh, with spirit to bind them, everything it had longed for. We'd been so wrong when we'd faced it last but it had been wrong as well. The Darkness didn't need elements, the Darkness needed life. Emotions are nothing without a body to fill, and so I gave it what it wanted.

  I saw them perfectly, the new fey we were creating. Darkness made into flesh. Shining midnight hair and skin the color of ebony, soft and silver under the glow of the moon. They were pure black, from head to feet, all except for their eyes. The whites shone bright against the dark of their skin but it was the irises that held my attention. Deep blue, like loneliness had chosen to become a color. There was sadness there too but it was simply a part of what they were, it didn't control them, and when I was finished visualizing them into existence, those blue eyes filled with happiness.

  “Darkness cannot drive out darkness,” I whispered, “only light can do that.”

  How true, Faerie observed in a quiet tone. And poetic.

  “I wish I could lay claim to it,” I smiled and wondered if he would have approved of my use of his words. The dark fey weren't exactly the same as the black people he had fought for but they had suffered as well and faced a type of discrimination. There are many shades of black and many levels of suffering but I think that the desire to be free is the same among us all. “It was Martin Luther King who said that.”

  I let out a shivering breath and smiled at the beautiful fey that stood before me. There were twenty-one of them, shining darkly beneath the cold moon, smiling at me like I was the most wonderful thing they'd ever seen.

  Because you're the first thing they've ever seen, Faerie laughed at me. They've never had their own eyes to see before and I admit, you've given them lovely ones.

  “Gee thanks,” I mumbled to her.

  Say something to them, you idiot, she laughed harder.

  “Oh, right,” I cleared my throat. “Welcome to bones and blood, to flesh and breath, and to spirit, dark fey. May this life bring you the happiness denied to you before.” Then I realized that they were all naked. “Shit, can someone bring them some clothes or something? And some shoes?” I called out, breaking the silence that had formed around us. “They're standing in the snow here.”

  There was a sudden commotion as some fey ran to do my bidding and the rest of them moved forward to see the new faeries.

  “Thank you,” one of them, a male, stepped forward and reached a hand out to me. His voice was a little raspy but he cleared his throat and then continued in a much smother tone. “For seeing what we could become, even when we couldn't see it, and for making that potential a reality.”

  “You're welcome,” I smiled and shook his hand, overcome with relief that it was finally over and excitement for what we'd begun.

  The rest of the group came forward, each of them shaking my hand in a rather stunted manner, a little awkward in their new bodies. Then the royals approached and introduced themselves, all of them looking a bit shell-shocked.

  Well there hasn't been a new element of fey created in... oh... ever.

  “You're having the time of your life, aren't you?”

  It's so nice not to be a bitch anymore, she sighed.

  “You're telling me,” I harrumphed as I watched Arach shake hands with all the new fey. He looked over at me and shook his head, like I never ceased to amaze. I admit, it felt good to shock him.

  Stop grinning at him like that, Faerie chided. We still have work to do.

  “What?” I frowned. “I thought I was done. You're safe now.”

  Well technically, I have work to do but I need your body to do it. Remember, you promised me the rest of the night.

  “Damn, you're really going to hold me to that?”

  A deal's a deal, I could feel her laughter tickling my insides and as much as it was a strange feeling, I welcomed it. It was so good to have the snarky but sweet Faerie back. Missed me, did you? She laughed more. I may have missed y
ou too. And those babies, I can't wait to see the babies without a veil of anger blinding me but first things first.

  “And what the hell is that anyway?”

  Funny that you should mention Hell.

  “No,” I gasped. “I'm not helping you make a Hell for them to live in.”

  You're such an infant, she sighed. Have you forgotten that Hell is just a territory? I was implying that we need to make the dark fey, as you so nicely labeled them without consulting me, their own kingdom.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed. “Well I'm all sorts of prepared for this then.”

  Yes, yes, I'll let you help, she sighed. But Faerie knows best. I'll be taking control, thank you.

  “Alright, fine,” I huffed. “Where are you going to put it anyway?”

  What nonsense are you spurting now? There's plenty of space beyond the boundaries I created.

  “Beyond the boundaries there's only darkness,” I stopped and realized that I was, in fact, an idiot. “Oh, I see.”

  Do you now, Dumbledork? She was smirking, I could feel it.

  “Hey now,” I grumbled. “No using Harry Potter against me.”

  Infant, another sigh. I believe it's my turn now.

  “Yeah, alright,” I huffed and gave the reins to her. “But you're going to have to change the apples now that there are six elements.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  I withdrew back into myself and let Faerie emerge but as she began to create the kingdom that would house the new fey, she listened to my suggestions and it became a collaboration.

  Although they were dark fey, we didn't want their kingdom to be dark. So instead it became an enchanting mountainous region with patches of flat ground interspersed. It was more narrow than the other kingdoms but since it encircled them all, it had just as much land. There would be shadowed areas but no true darkness until night fell and the sun stopped illuminating the brilliant colors scattered across it. Of course winter would soon catch up with this new land and blanket those colors in white but for now, the Kingdom of Darkness was bright and vibrant.

  We built a beautiful soaring castle for them out of black stone, our one concession to their element. It rose up on the highest peak, dominating the kingdom with its spires and arches reaching for the sky. It was magnificent and huge, much too big for twenty-one faeries but, as Faerie pointed out, they wouldn't be twenty-one forever. They would grow to fill their kingdom and build villages across the mountainsides and within the valleys.

  We didn't stop at the land either, or the water for that matter as there was a beautiful lake at the bottom of the mountain the castle perched upon. It reflected the black castle perfectly, looking like a mirror cast down by a giant hand. No, we went on to fill the land with new creatures, pulling on the seed of Darkness left within Faerie, the source that the dark fey would return to if they should ever die. We filled the lake with shimmering fish, the air with fantastical birds, and the land with creatures from both dreams and nightmares. Faerie must have both, especially in the Dark Kingdom.

  When we were finished, the night was fading to day, and I found myself standing on a new path upon the Mountains of Serenity, overlooking the Kingdom of Darkness with all of my faerie guests standing behind me. I had no memory of how I'd arrived there, or them for that matter, but they looked awestruck and, in the case of the dark fey, exceedingly happy.

  I smiled and Faerie spoke through me.

  “Behold the Kingdom of Darkness,” her voice vibrated through my throat and chest, the power of it resonating in the morning air. “All of the mountain borders between the first four kingdoms now have paths that lead to it, for the Dark Kingdom encircles its brethren, providing strength to our borders and balance to our realm. The dark has ever been beyond our lands but now we can venture into it,” I/she stopped and grinned at the now clothed dark fey, “if invited, that is.” A twitter of laughter ran through the crowd. “Welcome home, my children. I'm sorry I took so long to give you what you needed.”

  The dark fey surrounded us and I felt the Darkness within them reach out through their skin, through their brand new hearts. The Darkness, now clothed in flesh and split into male and female parts, was finally controlled, peaceful, and content. It's joy washed over us and we in turn rejoiced that it could feel emotion beyond its element. But then, that's what it had needed all along, the flesh to give it access to more than what it was. Isn't that all that any living thing wants? To be able to touch something not of itself? To connect with emotions and experience them? Every emotion, even if it doesn't originate in our own hearts. Especially if it doesn't.

  I felt Faerie's pain for not understanding sooner, for not discovering what the Darkness needed before simply trying to destroy it. She should have understood the balance that was needed and that the Darkness needed to be a part of it. The dark fey felt her guilt too and they eased it with the kindness and innocence of the newly born. They forgave her.

  She/I kissed them all in blessing and sent them forth, to discover their new kingdom and all the adventures it held for them. Before they left though, each ruler came to bid them farewell and offer them assistance if they should need it. Faerie reassured them that there were mirrors in the castle already and she'd be there with them to teach them how to use them for communication.

  “Mirrors or not,” King Cian was the last to wish the dark fey farewell. “You are welcome at the Castle of Eight whenever you wish.”

  “Thank you, High King,” it was the same man who first approached us. I guess leadership is a trait that some are simply born with. “First I think we shall settle ourselves, give names to each other and the creatures of our kingdom. The naming of things is very important.”

  “Yes and be sure to name your castle,” I added as I felt Faerie depart with the rising of the sun. She always kept her bargains. “Do you have any ideas yet?”

  “For the castle?” He grinned. “No, not yet. I think we should start with the most important names, our own. I shall be called Rowan. I like the idea of having a name straight from nature,” he winked at me. “Though I think a tree is better suited for me than an herb.”

  “A tree from the Human Realm?” King Cian lifted a brow.

  “Well, I've spent a lot of time there, High King,” he grinned lopsidedly and I liked him immediately. He kind of reminded me of Trevor. “It kind of grew on me, if you'll excuse the pun.”

  “Please come for a visit as soon as you can, Rowan,” I held my hand out to him.

  “We will,” he shook my hand. “I'm looking forward to it.”

  Arach started growling as the dark fey departed and I smacked him in the chest.

  “The man was just born today,” I shook my head. “Why don't you give him a break with the jealousy bit?”

  “His body may be only a day old but it sure doesn't look like it,” he grumbled. “And his mind is older than mine.”

  “Much too old for me then. I draw the line at sixteen thousand years.” I kissed my husband's cheek and then immediately collapsed into his arms. Creating a whole race and a new kingdom can take a lot out of a girl.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The Winter Solstice came and went, verified on the day after it's arrival. We sent Roarke to the God Realm and he returned grinning ear to ear, bearing the news that the realms had fallen into sync. Of course keeping time was still going to be difficult, what with my traveling back and forth within it, but it was going to be ten times easier.

  The apples had stopped rotting, becoming a bright spot of color in the otherwise neutral winter background. Arach was so relieved that the rot had disappeared, he went and gathered a bunch of apples himself. They were in a basket on our bedroom table. I was very pleased as well that they were back to being immortal but what pleased me even more was the six pointed star I found when I cut one open.

  Salem went back to his job before the solstice arrived, the cold was just getting to be too much for him. I had Roarke check on him when he went back to verify the time and he found S
alem happy in a newly created cave right beside the entrance to Hell. It was a multi-room cave, very homey, with the pallet Salem had taken back with him in the main bedroom.

  The synchronized time came well... just in time for us to move on to a new year. The fey were onto a new calender and with it, a different New Year's day, along with a different New Year's celebration. We were having another party and in the morning, I'd be putting on my bed sheet toga and returning to the one I'd left in Hell. What a life, huh?

  Our New Years celebration was smaller than the last party had been. Just those of us who lived in the castle and a few of the villagers who lived nearby. Oh, and the dark fey.

  I looked up from where I was sitting at my dresser, putting on my jewelry. Arach had insisted I give the emerald a rest and limit its wear to the God Realm instead. He'd given me so much jewelry and I guess wearing something from my dead husband instead of my living one was kind of annoying to a dragon. To any man probably. I didn't wear my wedding rings in the God Realm, as he so judiciously pointed out. So the emerald was safely ensconced in a box and an elaborate citrine necklace was in its place. It went better with my Fire crown anyway.

  “Why do you look so nervous?” I put my lipstick down and turned in my chair to face Arach.

  “The Darkness will be in our castle,” he frowned.

  “Arach, they're not the Darkness anymore,” I sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “But it's their element,” he reasoned. “They're prone to its ways, they can't help that.”

  “Do you burst into flames constantly just because your element is Fire?” I asked him with a little smile. “I think that you'll find the dark fey to be more mischievous than mean. Give them a chance, I helped make them after all.”

  “Yes, I know,” he sighed and helped me to my feet. Dexter jumped from his perch on my dressing table to my shoulder “That's part of what worries me.”