"How very dramatic," Pitch says, appearing out of a swirling shadow. "What is this? Are we learning things, Sparks?" The Baby Teeth in their hanging cages chirp weakly at me, but I tune them out. I have to tune them out.
"You might say that." I say, smirking and dismounting my blazing steed. She snorts and stamps, as if preparing to charge.
"Is that..." Pitch trails off, examining the horse I commandeered from his nightmare. He recognizes it instantly. "Oh, it is! We are learning! How marvelous! Truly, it is a wonder."
"She's got a name." I say shortly. This isn't what I'm here about. "Fyra."
"Ah, German for fire. Poetic. A linguist as well as a demolition expert. You are becoming more and more valuable by the minute, Sparks." Pitch smiles, pausing for a moment as he looks at me, as if noticing me for the first time. He puts a thoughtful finger to his lips. "And I must say, you look stunning." He brushes a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear and I have to fight not to flinch away. "The diamonds are a nice touch." Pitch smiles, sobering when he sees that I am not moved by his compliments. "But enough of that. I think we both know why you're here. Although I am rather surprised that the nightmare took you and not the child."
"Your business is with me." I reply curtly. "Some kid has nothing to do with my choice."
"Ah, but you sound so somber!" Pitch says, a little hurt. "I would have thought that this would be a momentous occasion for you. You and your brother are safe."
"Safe is a relative term, Boogeyman." I say and there is an edge in my voice.
"Fear not, Sparks, your brother is in no danger from me. The Guardians pose more of a threat than I do, now that you're here. But I must ask, what changed your mind? In the Warren you seemed so set against me."
"They tried to kill me." I say coolly, but my hair burns with anger. They tried to kill me so that they might eradicate one nightmare of millions. They just met me, I'm volatile and dangerous, but would it be worth killing me to rid the world of a single nightmare that would be replaced thousands of times over?
I guess it was.
"Oh." Pitch says softly. "I am sorry. I did try to warn you..."
"And you were right." I snap. "They would've killed me if Jack hadn't stopped them." They don't even know what we've done. And now they never will.
"I am sorry." Pitch says again, and he sounds...sincere, oddly enough. I glance up for a moment and find Pitch's eyes on me, void of a hard, superior edge, and instead open and honest. "But do you see now, that they cannot be trusted?"
"And you can?" I shoot at him, still on the offensive. Pitch laughs, high and keening.
"Of course! Fear doesn't lie, it just tells you what you may not want to know. I have always wanted us to work in tandem, but I have never lied to you to make you do it, nor threatened. I simply told you what you already knew." I think back, back to our very first conversation. He's right. Again. Something that's beginning to get on my nerves, but I don't think on now.
"Regardless." I say, waving a dismissive hand. I take a deep breath, steeling myself. "I'm here now. I fight with you."
"And I couldn't be more pleased." Pitch says. The Baby Teeth screech weakly in their cages. "Shall we be going then?"
"No." I say. Pitch stops, his jubilation cut short, replaced by concern and confusion.
"Oh?"
"I have conditions." The concern is replaced by a slightly-patronizing smile.
"I shouldn't have expected anything less. Shall I add 'shrewd businesswoman' to your list of qualifications?"
"Jack stays out of this." I say, ignoring him. "Whatever happens, he stays safe."
"Of course, of course." Pitch says, waving a nonchalant hand. "I told you, your brother has nothing to fear from me. He will never regain his memories, and he will be safe with us." There it is again. Us. Our. Words that make me seem like I'm part of a group. First Jack used it, now Pitch. I don't know why, but they make me nervous. I've been alone for so long...
"Understand this:" I say, channeling my confusion into anger, as per usual. "Jack comes first. You keep him safe, Pitch Black."
"I swear," Pitch says solemnly, no hint of the trademark condescending smirk on his lips. "Is that all, or are there more terms?" Now the smirk is back, but I have no other conditions. Jack is safe, he's apart from all of this craziness. He's with the Guardians, though, which isn't safe, but like I said earlier: Safe is a relative term. "No? Then come, Sparks. I have much to teach you."
"Teach me?" I repeat, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yes." Pitch says, nodding. "There is much for you to learn if you are to be a vessel of fear. There's more to what I do than you might think." With that, Pitch takes to the air and flies out of his underground lair. I blow out my cheeks in irritation, but follow him. I agreed to this, I've got to follow it through. Fyra has vanished into thin air somewhere, probably setting a forest on fire or something. I don't worry; I'm confident that she'll come back when I call her.
"I don't think you realize that I'm not much good." I say before Pitch can start. "My magic is purely physical. I can't manipulate dreams or create nightmares or anything like that." I fiddle with a diamond that's popped up in my hand and then show it to him. "See? This is about as much as I'm good for."
"Oh, you underestimate yourself." Pitch says, shaking his head. "You changed one of my nightmares, didn't you? And those are purely dream magic."
"Yes but – "
"No buts." Pitch cuts me off. "You can do so much, if you'd just stop being afraid."
"I'm not afraid," I snap, before I realize who I'm talking to. "Shit." I grumble. Pitch laughs, loud and genuine, without any kind of mocking edge, which I find surprising. I expected more cruelty from the Nightmare King.
"You don't want the power because you're afraid of it. Why is that?" I know that he won't leave me alone until I answer, especially now that he's caught me in a lie.
"I've seen what it does to people. I was happier with less power and more anonymity."
"That's not quite true, I think," Pitch says and I look at him, confused. Why would I lie now? I don't want this power. "Your new-found abilities have lead you to your brother. That, at the very least, makes you happy." I have to admit that he's right about that. "See, you know I speak the truth. Come now, I want to show you something." Pitch dives towards the ground and I have no choice but to follow him as he ghosts through the walls of a house below, into a small boy's bedroom. The air above the boy's head is clear, no nightmares, but no dreams either. He doesn't mutter or toss and turn in his sleep and his eyelids under his sandy-colored hair don't twitch. Pitch soon rectifies that, forming a nightmare in his hand and setting it free over the boy's head. It nickers and gallops to and fro and the boy whimpers in his sleep, shivering suddenly.
"Change it," Pitch suggests gently, gesturing to the nightmare. "Like you did with Fyra. Go on."
"I can't." I say.
"You can." Pitch insists. "There's more to fear than just the dark, Sparks. People also fear what they cannot control. Fire, lightning...any of those sound familiar to you?" Fire and lightning are my weapons of choice, its true, but...
Pitch gives me a look and I turn away from him and face the nightmare. Biting my lip, I reach for the nightmare, my hand accidentally brushing the boy's cheek as I do so. I gasp and step back as images explode in my mind's eye: a sandy-haired boy playing soccer, scoring the winning goal; the same boy, a little older, walking hand-in-hand with a girl with raven hair and both are smiling; two adults, a shaggy, sandy-haired man and a dark-haired woman dancing in wedding attire; the two of them having children, growing old together; two graves side-by-side in a cemetery. I pull back violently, taking my hand off of the boy's face. That was him. His future that just unfolded before my eyes.
"Sparks?" Pitch says. I vaguely remember hearing him say my name several times, but I was too engrossed in what I'd been seeing. "Sparks, are you okay?"
"Fine, fine," I say, shaking off his concern. I reach for the nightmare, careful not to touch the boy again. Instinct orders me to keep what I've seen a secret. I'm fine, I tell myself as I release my own power into the nightmare, only a little this time. I don't want to make it mine, I want to just change it a little. Fire ripples across the nightmare's black body, almost seeming to be absorbed into its skin. It takes off again, galloping with new energy – my energy – and when it moves, I can see flashes of read beneath its skin, the fire shining through.
"It's beautiful." I murmur, unable to help myself. Pitch nods his agreement, running a pale finger over the nightmare's mane.
"It's horrifying," he says. Probably a compliment. "Oh, Sparks, look at it!" The nightmare nickers, not sounding like its mocking me for once, and flies closer, nuzzling against my cheek. "How sweet. He recognizes his mother."
"I'm not his mother." I say quickly.
"I'm sorry." Pitch amends just as swiftly. "Did that make you uncomfortable? Forgive me." I blink at him, startled to say the least. I don't know what to say, so I keep quiet. I don't know how to react to a Pitch that isn't mocking or cold. I don't know how to act in this uneasy alliance that he's been hoping for this whole time.
But.
But I trust him. Inexplicably. And only to do one thing: Keep Jack's memories hidden. I know that if the Guardians win, Tooth will give Jack back his memories and then they'll kill him. This, now, I know for certain. I can't take that risk – the Guardians can not be allowed to defeat Pitch.
So I will do anything and everything in my power to stop them. I will break every rule, I will cross every line, I will do whatever it takes.
Even if it kills me.
So, may I apologize, firstly, for the lateness of this update. I have been so busy with pre-Christmas hullabaloo and I've contracted some kind of viral infection of late. But, regardless, thank you all so much for sticking with Sparks, Jack, and I. And so, the question I pose to my brilliant readers is this: What do you think of Spark's choice, and what do you think her motivation is (besides the obvious, of course). I'd love to hear what you all think! Oh, and if I don't post again before the holiday: Merry Christmas to you all!
