“There won’t be anything any of us can do if we don’t get to the battle,” Storm said, her eyes glowing intensely as the wind picked up.
I followed them as they picked up their speed toward the glowing light deep in the woods. We were rather close when Darkness caught my arm and stopped me.
“If this is the end, I want you to know that I love you,” he said before pulling me in for a kiss. “I loved you always, even when I was fighting it and even before I knew what you were meant to be.”
“If only you would have acted like it,” I teased.
Darkness grinned. “Please, you were afraid of me.”
“I think you wanted me to be afraid,” I replied, pressing my head against his chest. A long sigh escaped my lips as I breathed him into my lungs. “I’m scared, Darkness. I’m really, really scared.”
“I wish I could promise you it would be okay,” Darkness said, kissing the top of my head.
I exhaled slowly. “I wish you could, too.”
“Let’s go!” Nightmare shouted as he waved his hand.
Darkness cupped my face and peered into my eyes for a long moment before softly placing his lips to mine. Time seemed to stand still, but only for a moment before he took my hand and pulled me along.
As we drew closer, the number of bodies on the ground increased. I could feel the deflated Light Beings squish under my shoes as I followed behind Darkness into the clearing.
The area was larger than several football fields, with all sorts of creatures fighting against one another. It was easy to tell which side was which as all the beings fighting for The Light were white with a faint glow. Some were tall and slender, others were short or had wings.
The demon creatures had long fingers and fangs. Some of them moved so fast that it was hard to keep track of where they were going. It was absolutely horrifying to watch them tear each other to shreds.
“Holy shit,” Nightmare said, his hands on his hips.
Storm ducked as a demon was tossed in our general direction. She pointed at a group across from us that was fighting against both.
“Our family is already here,” she said.
“How many of you are there?” I asked.
“Not enough,” Storm said before her eyes rolled back into her head.
A massive black cloud floated down from the sky, cloaking the area in absolute darkness. As if dropped into a blender, the ground shook, and we swirled around for a few seconds before the cloud dissipated.
“This is brutal,” I said, holding Darkness’s arm as I steadied myself.
“We are too late,” Darkness said as the ground shook.
“We must try to stop this,” Nightmare said before darting off into the middle of the fight.
He snatched up a small black creature and hurled it with force into the looming trees, like a quarterback throwing a football across the field. My jaw dropped as the creatures engaged in a savage battle, all for total dominion that none of them deserved.
I was supposed to bring balance to stop the war, but all I could do was to witness the total annihilation of the world. My fingertips traced over the contours of the intricate design on the medallion, and as my eyes shut, an intense surge of a vision consumed me. It was a fleeting moment, but I’d thrown something somewhere.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing to see the flash again, but I was forced to open my eyes at the spine-chilling sound that came from the earth. It sounded like it was about to break in two and swallow the entire battle.
“Good luck, my brothers and sisters,” Storm said as she stretched out her hands and summoned a tornado shield around herself. She stepped out into the battle, fighting at Nightmare’s side.
Darkness squeezed my hand and met my gaze. “Stay close.”
He plunged headlong into the chaos as the cacophony of the battle overwhelmed me. The artifacts burned my skin as the air filled with terrifying screams, bones cracking, and wailing in every direction.
We were all losing the war. And there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it, even though I knew that was what Darkness and the others had hoped I’d be able to do.
Darkness clenched his hand into a tight fist before grabbing the pristine white shirt of the nearest Light Being. He forced the man to turn as he blew a handful of glimmering black dust into his face.
The man spat and swung at Darkness, missing completely thanks to the dust covering his face. The Light Being brushed away the power and revealed that he wasn’t just any Light Being.
The man standing in front of Darkness was Noah.
Chapter
Thirty
“No!” I said as Darkness raised him off the ground.
He didn’t stop but turned to me, his narrowed eyes red with rage. I ran toward them, waving my hands, and Noah’s eyes widened.
“You shouldn’t be here, Remy,” Noah said, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. “You’re somehow different.”
“I’m the same as I’ve always been,” I said, my brow tensing more with each word. I tugged on Darkness’s arm as he glared at Noah. “Don’t hurt him.”
“When they stop this nonsense, I will release him,” Darkness growled.
Noah laughed, sputtering as Darkness tightened his grip. “What are we supposed to do? Should I just let them kill all my people? Let the evil win?” Noah looked down his nose at Darkness. “I suppose you would like that.”
