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I promise.
Candy, perhaps? No, the airports would think it was a bomb.
Money? No, I have none of that.
A new chapter? Ooo…maybe.
A whole new book? Most definitely!
Chapter Thirty-Two
Darkness Falls
Caelan was not fortunate enough to get any sleep that night. She had seen, heard, even felt the signs...something was going to happen.
Something was happening.
And she knew it had something to do with her.
But what?
A million questions flooded her mind, all without answers.
In the past few months, the whispers in her dreams had increased in intensity. The voice which spoke to her was at first smooth and soothing, often luring her to sleep. Now it kept her awake...it had become more demanding. It coaxed her and pulled at her, trying to convince her...if only she would succumb...she would learn...soon.
Caelan knew she was different. She never felt as if she was entirely human. She didn't feel the same emotions and couldn't relate to the familiar archetypes embedded in everyone else's unconscious.
Never once had she cried at a funeral or been scared of the dark.
And now, as her graduation from Hogwarts grew near, she was finally afraid of something—being out on her own. Having no one to protect her...from whoever or whatever was after her.
She shivered and drew her sheets up to her chin. The shadows danced around her, in and out of the moonlight, over her bed and around her room. She had left her bed open to the room—fearful of what might approach the bed behind her drapes while she slept.
The shadows whispered to her, kissed her skin and played with her hair. Instead of brushing them away, she welcomed them.
Perhaps they really did have answers for her, as they stated. They comforted her and eased her loneliness.
The window, they whispered. Caelan looked across her room just as the window eased open, letting the cool night's air slip into the room and under her sheets. She flinched as the icy fingers crept over her soft skin and up to her lips, into her mouth and lungs. She sucked in the frigid air and rose from her pillow as she exhaled. Her roommates were sound asleep in their beds. They did not have the questions she had; their untroubled minds allowed them to rest.
The window, beckoned the shadows again. Caelan slipped out of the safety of her bed and over to the open pane. She did not flinch as a stronger breeze ruffled her nightshirt. Instead of embracing herself she opened her arms to the night and closed her eyes as the wind whirled around her body, whipping at her hair and clothes. As the funnel intensified, Caelan had the strange and amazing sensation of flying.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a clearing deep within the woods.
The girl stumbled back from the shock of her sudden change in surroundings. The space was crowded with trees around the outer edge of the ten-foot circle. She looked up to the sky and saw a starless night. The moon had long been hidden behind dark clouds, leaving her in total darkness.
Her head snapped down as she heard the familiar rustle of fabric. She squinted into the darkness as she attempted to grow accustomed to the blackness. A soft pale object caught her eye as a hand stretched out toward her from a few feet in front of her.
She gasped and fell back onto the hard ground as the dark shape floated into her view. It was a man clothed completely in black. His face was shielded under an immense hood and the cloak dragged ominously over the ground as he moved toward her. The deathlike hand stretched out once again, its paleness emitting its own light in the darkness surrounding the figures.
Caelan felt a rush of trust as the figure approached. Suddenly feeling very safe, she reached up and took hold of the hand, ignoring the icy shiver it spread through her body as it helped her off the ground.
The man in black did not let go of her when she was standing...and Caelan did not pull away. Her eyes tried to penetrate the hood to see the face of this strange being. She dared not move, or blink, or even breath.
"Welcome, Caelan." The girl shivered as the man spoke her name. Letting go of her hand, he lifted his to her cheek. Her heartbeat quickened as the arctic fingers caressed her skin. She let out a small sigh as it traced her lips.
The man smiled beneath his cloak.
"Do you know why I have brought you here?" he asked. She recognized his voice; it was the same voice that spoke to her in her dreams. But were they really dreams? She wasn't so sure anymore.
She shook her head; her voice had left her long ago—the moment she opened her eyes to find herself in his presence.
"Because it is time," he said simply.
"I don't understand," she managed to choke out. The figure smiled again, unbeknownst to Caelan.
"Of course not. You were not supposed to understand...until now." The man moved closer to her. Caelan could feel the power, the darkness, dripping off of him. It soaked her skin and seeped into her heart.
"Yes...you feel it, don't you? You have felt it for months now."
"What is it?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"The power with which I created you." Caelan raised her head with wide eyes. "You have often wondered why you seem so different from your peers..."
"Yes."
"And why you look so much like the elf..."
"Yes."
"And why you feel her joy, her pain..."
"Yes," she replied, softer.
"And why you look so similar to her..." He pushed his hand gently through her hair—the only thing that did not resemble Reign…the only thing that did not come out as he planned.
But that did not matter. He had her now; he could feel her shaking beneath his touch. Shaking because of the fear, the power, and the possibilities.
"I still don't-"
"Yes, you do," interrupted the man, "you just haven't admitted it to yourself. You know deep inside that you are different." He brushed back her hair to gaze at her ears. "It is so difficult to recreate an elf," he sighed, "but not so difficult to recreate their powers." Caelan had stopped shaking. Her stubborn and impatient nature broke through and she pulled back from the man.
"Stop playing games with me-" he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him.
"Ah, but games are so much fun to play," he whispered. "Especially when you win." Caelan felt light-headed as he held her tight to his body. Her legs began to feel weak as the man smirked. "Yes, that's it...yield to your creator, Caelan. Succumb to your master."
"Yes…master," she breathed as the world began to fall out from under her.
"It is time to begin your journey into darkness."
***
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Disclaimer: Just so I don't get sued, I think 'Darkness Falls' is a name of a movie. So yeah, there you have it.
