No. 3: "no-one there except the moon" | Solitary Confinement

Nikolai sat in the tower cell, back against the cold damp wall and head angled up to look through the high window. The waxing gibbous moon hung directly above him, his only visitor during his imprisonment. He was so far up that not even the sounds in the fortress below could reach him up here. He was utterly alone, never even catching glimpses of his guards when they slipped stale food through the grate under the door.

He didn't know why Kirigan had chosen to let him live. As leverage perhaps. Insurance.

A trophy.

Nikolai stared up at the moon, the heavenly body untouched and unbothered by the chaos and war ravaging the country below it. It gave no clue as to the state of things, except that there was yet one thing that remained beyond Kirigan's power.

It was little comfort, though, for the moon wasn't one of Nikolai's subjects. How many had died since Kirigan had usurped the throne? How many now lived under the Darkling's tyranny? … Did any of Nikolai's friends still live? And how long would he himself waste away in this tower?

The moon kept her silence in the night sky, and Nikolai kept his.

It was still late when he heard the reverberation of approaching boots, and he straightened in apprehension at the unusual hour of a visitor. When he heard the key turn in the lock, he tensed, anticipation and dread both zinging through him.

The door opened and Kirigan stepped into the cell, his black cape hanging around him like the shadows he summoned.

"Moi tsarevich," the Darkling said, mocking Nikolai with the form of address. In the past it had been used with gloating, but now there was a hard, dangerous look in Kirigan's eyes, and the midnight visit did not bode well.

"General Kirigan," Nikolai replied, also opting to use the old title with insouciant impertinence. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Kirigan scoffed derisively. "I see that irritating optimism hasn't been tempered. Perhaps I've been too kind in my accommodations."

Nikolai lifted his arms just enough to let the chains manacled around his wrists clink. "The jewelry is a nice touch."

Kirigan's eyes narrowed. "I did not come here to exchange witless words. I want information on the resistance leaders. You're quite familiar with them."

Nikolai shrugged. "Alas, they have not stayed in contact with me since my retirement."

"Where would they be hiding?" Kirigan pressed. "I want a list of potential bases, names of those sympathetic to their cause."

"They're giving you trouble, are they?" Nikolai deduced, a small smile tugging up his mouth at the information.

Kirigan sneered. "Not for much longer."

"Well, I can't help you," Nikolai said. "I've been locked up here for the past few months and we don't get much news."

Kirigan thrust out a gloved hand, fingers crooked, and shadows billowed up from the floor. The brume rushed Nikolai, plunging into his nose and mouth and down his throat. He bowed over with a shocked gasp, his body convulsing as he choked on the cloying shadow. And then it retreated, leaving him gasping and dry heaving on the floor.

"Tell me what I want to know," Kirigan demanded.

"Even- if- I knew," Nikolai gasped out, then managed to lift his eyes in defiance. "I wouldn't- tell you."

The Darkling's nostrils flared, and he sent his shadows at Nikolai again. They coursed down his throat more forcefully this time, nearly flinging him backward from the surge. He couldn't make a sound, couldn't scream as his lungs burned and stomach bucked, and Nikolai waited for death but it didn't come. The shadows once again retreated, and he collapsed on his side, shaking and breathing raggedly.

"I will not make death so easy for you," Kirigan said darkly.

With that, he raised his arms, and the shadows around him changed shape. They became thicker, more weblike than amorphous smoke. They slithered through the air toward Nikolai and whooshed into his mouth. But instead of filling his lungs with fumes, Nikolai felt them pierce his insides like barbs. He gasped from the shock as the shadows burrowed into him. And then they exploded, and Nikolai threw his head back with an agonized scream that resounded against the tower walls. Something inside him was shifting, splitting, and he watched in horror as black talons erupted from his fingers.

Kirigan smirked as he stood there and watched. Nikolai screamed again as his back ruptured. Black veins shot down his arms, bulging beneath his skin. And then there was something else, something clawing its way into his mind. The next sound that tore from his throat was an animalistic screech as wings of shadow snapped taut behind him. When the thrashing finally ceased, Nikolai's ravaged body collapsed in a ragged heap on the floor.

"Now," Kirigan's voice spoke calmly in the ensuing silence. "You will serve me."

The demon lifted its head toward its master.

High above, the moon hid her face behind the clouds.

A/N: To be continued in No. 6