horology | the darkling

white lies, half truths and a bit of magic

dancing with the devil - demi lovato

playing with the enemy
gambling with my soul
it's so hard to say no
when you're dancing with the devil

/

'you are a risk, a mystery and the most certain thing I'd even known.' - beau taplin

-

seraphina

Ivan reluctantly and cautiously opened the door to after hearing a cheerful knock. It was the new Grisha, wearing an innocent grin but there was a spark in her eyes that did not suggest innocence. She looked like a girl who knew and saw too much.

Her hands crossed in front of her in a gesture of mock courtesy. Between her fingers, the tips of a white feather dived in and out of her closed palms.

The look in her eyes was dangerous, playful and morbid; nobody was going to stand in the way of what she wanted. In a twisted way, her sparkling eyes radiated a mania beauty. She had always been beautiful, radiant even, but it brought out something wynorrific.

'I need to see the General. Now.'

Ivan, cemented with the promise to his master not to let her enter the room, slammed the door shut behind him while stepping out into the flickering light of the corridor.

'I'm afraid that your speech won't be any persuasion to me.'

She said nothing but the corners of her mouth rose into a fake smile. Ivan muttered angrily, irritated at the interruption and at the disturbance.

'The General does not wish to be disrupted.'

Her tone was icy and uninterested, as if she were regarding nothing but a common peasant.

'Yes, I understand that. Now I don't give a rat's ass about what he wants so step aside.'

The Grisha started to take a step towards the walnut doors. Ivan mimicked her steps, effectively blocking her path.

'Now, Ivan, don't be rash. I don't want to hurt you. I merely want to talk to him. I have some rather urgent business I need to discuss with him.'

Ivan felt an uneasy twinge of panic, a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face despite the cold. Without his knowledge, the Grisha's magic was twisting his mind, seizing control of reality and manipulating his body. He concentrated on his own power as an anxious wave of nausea swept rose from the depths of his stomach. There was something wrong; there was an electricity in the air that was cruel. Ivan had to eliminate the unknown threat.

'I remember telling you he cannot be disturbed.'

Ivan attacked her, trying to gain the element of surprise. Her sharp features twisted in a look of pain and shock as her pulse accelerated rapidly, pushing the limits of a human heart. But, as quickly as it came, it was gone. She let her powers take over. As the crimson light was cast from her body, she was free. For that short period of time, the monsters in her mind disappeared and the only thing drifting in her head was peace. The gradual expansion exploded into a medley of reds.

Instantly, time froze.

The alabaster feather hovered centimetres off the ground, enveloped in a cloud of dust. She glanced down at it, satisfied that time was fully frozen. Coming to a stop in front of Ivan, straightened her kefta and looked around disapprovingly. There was not a person in sight, despite the normal busy atmosphere at this late hour. An air of ambition and recklessness electrified the still air.