Darkness Rising

CHAPTER [ 14 ] BOUNDLESS NIGHT

The darkness of night provided the perfect cover.

The faceless knights appeared like ghosts wandering the grounds of Lenore's childhood home. White faced and emotionless, they floated in and out of the barren trees that lined the drive that led to the main house. She watched from where she stood hidden just outside the gate, counting—one, three, five of them.

She turned to Camila and Emilio who were waiting for direction. Her heart was beating hard, hard enough that she was afraid it would give them away. "I see five but there are probably three or four more inside the house."

"Good, means that Patrick won't get the chance to kill more than me."  

"Is that really important right now?" Lenore whispered.

"Of course it is!" Camila replied, looking rather surprised that she had even asked.

Her gaze shifted to Emilio but all he gave her was a shrug of his wide shoulders. Lenore pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and breathed deep. It was taking everything in her to remain in control.

"Don't worry. Boss will handle the ones inside—"

"I wasn't worried about that," Lenore murmured.

"—And I'll try to save a couple on the outside for you guys but don't count on it."

Camila sliced open her wrist with a ring she was wearing—a tiny metal hook had popped out when she twisted the gem. Blood began to flow freely from the self-imposed wound, spilling onto the ground. Lenore watched with a bit of wonder as the blood coagulated and crystallized into a long, thin whip.

She approached the iron wrought gate, sizing it up for a moment before taking several large steps back. Then Camila was flicking her arm. The whip cut through the air, a stiff crack that reminded Lenore of lightning broke over the sound of night.

Lenore flinched, gaze sweeping over to the knight who stood vigilant a mere few hundred feet away. He had definitely heard it, as well. She meant to tell Camila but she was already flinging herself up and over the pointed spires, using her whip like a rope. 

Fuck! She should've known that trying to maintain control over this group of fiends was not possible. They didn't care about her plans as long as they achieved the ultimate goal. Lenore had wanted to keep things quiet, stealthy. She didn't want to give her family any opportunity to become aware of what was befalling them.

She scrambled to recover the situation, calling upon the darkness. The memory of Kaiser and the carnivorous butterfly flashed through her mind. Lenore latched onto it. Remembered the way it looked—felt.

Before her a tiny black butterfly gained form. It fluttered around her head for a moment before flying away, through the gate. More. She needed more of them. As the thought entered her mind, the darkness answered.

The air grew dense, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. A pressure was building behind her, out of sight. She was afraid to turn and see what beast was breathing down her neck. Something brushed against her arm, feather light—a ticklish feeling. 

A black spot tracked along her peripheral. Then there was another spot. And another. Within a few seconds there was nothing but pitch darkness along the edges of her vision. The sound of hundreds of wings fluttering in her ears.

A swarm of butterflies, black gossamer wings fluttering crashed over her like a breaking wave, rushing through the spaces between the iron bars. 

They flew past Camila without any wandering interest. Perhaps it was the fact they were conjured from the same cursed miasma. Whatever the reason, they surrounded the knight and began feasting on him. Lenore saw him flailing and swatting, scrambling to escape. She heard his muffled screaming before he was completely enveloped and silenced forever.