The Shadow

Chapter 42

 Kai could kill him. No, he had to kill him. He had hurt Skade moments before, which meant that the Dark One was not invincible, and seemed to be especially susceptible to shadow magic.

Kai took a deep breath, taking a moment to study his surroundings, his friends, and his opponent—all of which were motionless. The tower room's floor was entirely covered in ice, and the frost had begun to make its way up the walls and along the curtains.

Harper still stood behind him, eyes filled with horror, sadness, and hate. Kai guessed that she had no weapons concealed within her dress—Adekin and Skade would have surely taken those from her long ago. She was defenseless, though Kai doubted that weapons of steel and iron would be of much use against a Dark One anyway.

Saif stood to his side, crouching with his arms squared—a fighting stance. If only Kai could stop time without affecting the elf, he thought. Saif was powerful, not that he had been given a chance to show his strength. His courage seemed to have dissipated upon seeing Skade—and Adekin, for that matter. Perhaps meeting the Dark One's had stirred up unwanted memories.

Lastly, Kai turned to Skade. The creature floated silently above the icy floor, shadowy hands held at his side, black eyes staring toward nothing and everything. His face was set in a frown, blond hair swept behind his pointed ears. The Dark One's face looked almost normal for a moment. Terrible, highlighted by long, curving scars and the ruins of a nose—but somewhat normal, somewhat humanoid.

The similarities to mankind stopped at his face, however. Everything below his neck was little more than shadows; darkness piled on darkness to form some semblance of a body. It was as if Skade had been burned from feet to sternum, then given a body constructed from his own blackened ashes.

Kai swallowed. He could do it—could kill the Dark One, no matter how intimidating the creature looked. Skade was defenseless, unmoving, he was—

Smiling. Skade was smiling.

Kai took a step back, unable to hold back the horror that launched its way through his body. The Dark One had been frowning a moment ago—he was certain of it. He had been motionless, trapped within Kai's time magic—

"As I said," that dark, deep, ancient voice said. "Your magic is impressive. It is not, however, nearly strong enough to kill me. I applaud you for the attempt, though I am a bit hurt." Skade pouted, an expression that looked unworldly on his horrible face. "Trying to kill me so soon, without even giving me a chance to prepare? I shall have to punish you for this. Perhaps I will have a bit of fun with your companions before I kill them. Or I may torture you instead—after all, I only need you to live. It matters not how many pieces of you I bring to the gate, as long as those pieces open it."

Kai's eyes widened as he searched his brain, thinking of something, anything. Skade would torture Harper, and Saif. He had to stop him. But how? The Dark One had countered his time magic—magic that Kai himself still did not understand—so quickly, so effortlessly. Kai let his magic fall away from the room, distantly aware of two dull thuds and gasps as his friends dropped to the floor.

Skade lifted a finger lazily, the darkness that made up his hand billowing softly like a cloud of smoke. Was he pointing at Kai? No, surely not. The gesture meant something else—something more.

Suddenly a shadow shot from Skade's finger, slicing across the room like an arrow of darkness.

A veil of shadows flew over Kai, coating him in a translucent shield of darkness. His power had moved to protect him in an instant, seemingly of its own will.

His shield was not strong enough.

Kai gasped, falling to his knees. His shadows fell apart, returning to the refuge that was his soul. He choked, looking downwards as shock took hold of his mind. A blade of darkness lay within his abdomen, as cold and evil as Skade himself. The magic lurked for a moment within Kai, then dispersed, returning to its master.