The Darkness in Me Read online

  “Yes, your store. Honestly child, how much did you have to drink last night?” My mother says to me with concern lacing her voice.

  I’m not sure what to say back to my mother, the more I talk, the more confusing this whole conversation gets. How could I still live at home, I live in the city, have my own office, which is one of the reasons I came home was because I need to get the Gem of Danté. Maybe I’m still sleeping, and this is another dream, or did I maybe just dream the last few years of my life. The more I think, the more I get a headache.

  “I think I need to go lay down for a bit, I will see you just now.” I say to my mother as I get up to leave the table. This is not a hangover, well not from alcohol. It’s a magical one, where I wasn’t affected by the magic, whatever has happened. I wasn’t a part of it.

  “Okay dear, I will let Faith know you are not feeling too good.”

  I stop when I hear Faiths name. That’s whose funeral we were supposed to attend, the one no one seems to remember. Have I really been asleep, had my whole life be some sort of dream? I just nod to my mother in response, I have no idea what to say or what is going on. I mean, I’m used to shit getting weird, life getting crazy, but this is just a nightmare.

  I make my way back upstairs to get changed out of my outfit, since clearly, I don’t need to wear it anymore. I make it to my bed a plop down onto it. I need to think, and I need to think clearly. What is a dream and what is the reality?

  I look out my windows in my room, and I remember the fog that was trying to climb its way up the wall. The shadows said change, is this what it meant, did the fog change everything, and everything I think happened actually happened and wasn’t just a dream. God I’m giving myself a bigger headache just trying to think about it.

  Now is not the time to sit about, I need to figure out what is going on here, and quick. I change into a pair of dark wash jeans and a yellow halter top, I need to go visit the town and see what has happened to it. If Faith is still alive, I wonder if that means Beth, and the twins are still alive.

  I make my way down the stairs back into the kitchen, my parents are still sitting at the breakfast nook, whispering to each other. Great, its most probably about me and this whole not sleeping, waking up in a parallel universe thing.

  I decide I will have to play this whole thing off like it never happened and hopefully they will believe me.

  “I feel a lot better now, its best I get to work now, I will see you later.”

  “Okay honey, drive safe, your keys are hanging up behind the door.”

  “Thanks mom, will see you later.”

  ~ ~ ~

  I arrive at my so-called shop. Faith isn’t here yet, so it gives me a couple of minutes to walk around and familiarize myself. I walk into the store and wow, it’s a really nice little store I have. I walk around to check what’s on the shelves, all handmade by the looks of things. I remember when I was younger, I was really good at making my own lotions and cosmetics, now it seems I used that talent and made a business out of it. My mother wasn’t joking.

  I walk around the store, which is filled with lotions, soaps, shampoos and conditioners, even jewelry. I smell fresh herbs coming from the back of the store, I make my way to the back, and I was right, a room filled with all sorts of herbs and plants. Wow I really out did myself.

  I walk back to the front of the store and check the books. I must at least pretend I know if there were any orders that were coming up or anything of importance. My browsing is cut short when a woman I don’t recognize comes through the door. I watch as she approaches the counter I’m behind, she looks kind of familiar to me, but I can’t place her face to a name. I really hope I don’t know her, so I don’t have to pretend that I do in fact know her.

  As she approaches the till, she is wearing a friendly smile, but other than that there is no indication that we know each other. So, before I go making a fool of myself, I speak to her first.

  “I’m sorry, we are not open yet.” I say to the woman. I need to familiarize myself a bit more with the books and products before I can do any selling.

  “That’s fine, that’s the reason I came early. I needed to speak to you alone.”

  “You needed to speak to me alone? Is this about an order?”

  She doesn’t answer me, but just smiles at me. I take the moment to take her in. She is an old school beauty; whose presence demands attention. And wearing a skin-tight maroon knee length dress with black heels, who wouldn’t notice.

  “You don’t remember me, do you?” She asks me. Her voice is familiar. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t place where I’ve heard it.

  “I’m sorry, it’s been a crazy morning.”

  “My name is Evelyn, we met awhile back, when you were younger.”

  I still don’t remember her, it’s odd, I have this nagging feeling like I do know her, her voice is the only thing that is familiar, and I can’t quite understand why.

  “Well maybe this will jog your memory.” I watched as her features blur and she changes into old woman, the witch in the woods, and then changes back once more.

  “You!” I gasp out at her. Not believing my eyes.

  “Yes me, I warned you to never return here, didn’t I?” She scolds me.

  “You did, but I had too. I had to get the Gem of Danté. I knew it wasn’t a dream, is this a dream? So many things don’t add up today!” I ask Evelyn.

  “No this is the new reality, I have just come to ask you something.” She asks me, looking over her shoulder as if there is someone behind her listening in.

  “And what will that be?” I ask her, taking a step back. I don’t really want to know the answer to that question.

  “Did it work?” She asks me.

  “Did what work?” I ask her confused.

  “The link, has it formed. When I warned you years ago never to return here, I warned you for a reason. But you returned anyways.” She says to me so fast I’m barely able to keep up with her talking.

  “I don’t know, I don’t think so, I feel nothing different other than my whole damn life has been turned upside down.” I say back to her, thinking if anything feels different, nope, nothing really.

  “If the link didn’t work and failed to form, then maybe I have a chance to help you still, the magic lingering was strong, but maybe it depleted after all these years.” She says to me again.

  “Nothing happened, nothing is different, and I don’t need saving, I’m pretty sure that’s why I came here is to save this damn world from going up in flames. Now if you could put my life back to how it was, that would be very useful.” I bargained with her. Hopefully she will help me this one last time.

  “Oh Natalie, don’t fight it, it won’t change. Its best just to accept this reality now, it’s not going to go back to how it was.”

  “How can I accept something like this. I have no idea what is going on, what has happened. It’s like my life happened and I didn’t even participate. I don’t know what has happened and what hasn’t. People are starting to think I’m crazy.”

  “You will just have to learn this new reality, nothing you do will change it. The fog has come, and it can only create, and once its complete, there is no going back. Now hold still child and let me listen.” Evelyn says to me, while grabbing my arms to hold me in place.

  “Listen to what?” I ask her.

  “Sssh and let me hear.”

  I stop and let her listen. I hear nothing, so I don’t know what she is listening for. But I stand by quietly and let her do her thing. She takes a step closer to me and puts her hand near my heart and goes quiet. After a few seconds, and this just being extremely awkward, I was about to ask her if she heard what she needed to hear.

  “No.” She whispers, she looks at me if all is lost for me. “I’m too late.”

  “Too late? Listen I told you nothing changed, nothing was formed.”

  “Listen.” Evelyn orders me.

  I close my eyes, trying hard to concentrate for something,
any sort of noise, any sort of indication of this link forming she warned me about. But I hear nothing, only my heart beat, which is again in overdrive. I think I need to take a break, or my heart might just give up on me.

  “I’m sorry, but I really don’t hear anything.” I grumble out to her. This is just getting silly now.

  She moves closer to me and put her hands over my ears. “Now listen child, tell me what you hear.”

  Again, I close my eyes to listen and again I hear nothing, I’m not sure what a link sounds like, or even what it feels like, so I’m not sure what I am supposed to be listening for.

  “I only hear my heart beating. And that’s normal, I don’t hear anything else.” I state.

  “And what does your heartbeat sound like?” Evelyn asks me.

  “Like a normal heartbeat, okay, it’s a bit fast lately, but that could just be the stress I’m under at the moment.” I admit to her.

  “No, it’s not fast, it’s because there are two heartbeats, listen again.” Evelyn tells me and I feel as if my world just came crashing down on me.

  This time I listen to my heartbeat, at first, they sound fast, but then I realize, there is one beat, and then a sperate, different beat. What. The. Fuck. How the hell do I have two separate heartbeats. I look to the witch again, and I’m about to argue my point at what bullshit is this now, but then I remember.

  My dream comes back to me all at once. There was the same man again, but this time he spoke to me. The steady fucking beating of our hearts. You would look good covered in blood little one. My dirty little secret. God his voice, his smell, I remember he smelled so good, but I can’t remember him. I then realize I’m linked to the man that invades my thoughts, the man who haunts my dreams, the man that made me run.

  I look to the witch, she is watching me work it out in my head, that the man I ran from all those years ago has linked himself to me. He can find me. But he hasn’t come yet. Why the hell hasn’t he come yet?

  “Why hasn’t he come yet, if the link is there, I can’t hide from him anymore.” I shriek out. This can’t be happening.

  “I don’t know, I thought he would have already. But the fog came instead, something is not right here I don’t know what is going on.” Evelyn says to me, confusion clear in her voice.

  “Can’t you remove the link, somehow stop it or sever it?” I beg her.

  “Once its complete, only he can remove it. Do not be afraid Natalie. Just don’t give into it. Don’t allow him to win.”

  “I don’t even know who I am hiding from, it could be anyone.” I shriek again.

  “You will know, that you can be sure of. I must go, your friend is coming.”

  “The friend that is supposed to be dead?”

  “Don’t fight this reality Natalie, it won’t change.”

  And with that she is gone, she just disappeared into thin air. What. The. Fuck. No normal witch can do that. My thoughts are disturbed when I hear another familiar voice. I haven’t heard her voice in such a long time. I heard it every day for so many years I could never forget it. Faith. Even though Beth and the twins are my close friends, me and Faith, were the best of friends, we did everything together. And then I left, she would hate me now. Well that’s if I had actually left.

  “Why are you thinking so hard in the morning. You know that’s my job, and you take over at midday.” Faith says to me jokingly. I have missed her so much.

  Before I can stop myself, I walk over to Faith and just hug her. It’s been so long, way too long. She still even wears the same perfume I used to make her. Well I most probably still make her the perfume. Shit I need to remember this stuff.

  “Awh, hugs in the morning, did you miss me that much? I’ve only been gone a couple of hours.” Faith says to me.

  I wipe away a tear I know is threatening to drop. This is all too much for my emotions to process. “More than you know.” I say back to her.

  “I missed you too bestie. Did you happen to get an outfit yet?” She asks me. Crap, two minutes in and I’m going to get caught out already.

  “Just refresh my memory again, what did I need an outfit for again?” I say to her and scratch my head, hopefully my dumbfounded expression won’t get me caught out.

  She gives me a look to show how unimpressed she is about my question. “I know you don’t want to go, but you have to. The Covens orders, and we have to follow them if we like it or not.”

  “That still doesn’t tell me what I need an outfit for.” I say sarcastically back.

  “Yes well, you need to get an outfit soon, the birthday ball is tomorrow, and I know you don’t have anything fancy enough for you just to throw something on. You need to go shopping. Better yet, I will take you shopping, I need to pick up my dress anyways.”

  Ball, what birthday ball? Whose birthday? Since when does the Coven do balls. I can’t ask that question, I will definitely need to do some undercover work. I need to figure out what the fuck is going on, and fast.

  “We can go after work, there are not too many orders for today, we are all up to date.”

  “Great.” This time my sarcasm was real.

  ~ ~ ~

  My one pet peeve would be me going shopping. If anyone else wants to go shopping, that’s fine, just leave me at home. I don’t mind. I mostly do all my shopping online, in my happy place, with sweats on and ice-cream in hand.

  As we were driving through the town, I noticed differences from yesterday, but it was dark yesterday so maybe this was all here and was just too dark to see them. The change in the buildings are fine, nothing major. It’s the few people that I noticed. They look out of place in this town. The men look like they have jumped out of a GQ Magazine. Like seriously, this is not normal.

  I watch as we drive passed and the women in the street stop to stare at them. Hell, who wouldn’t. Some of the men don’t seem too bothered about the women. Others seem a little entertained. I’ve got to wonder if this doesn’t have anything to do with this ball the coven is hosting.

  “What’s with all the new people in town?” I ask Faith. Curiosity killed the cat and I just had to ask.

  “You know Margret is trying to show off for the new blood in town, she is hoping to make this Coven stronger with them in it. I personally think she has gone all looney tunes on us.”

  Margret, the last time I heard she was trying to claw her way up the Covens ladder, or in her case, into whoever’s bed that would push her position up, she must have gotten there by the sounds of it and allowing strangers in.

  “Why do you think she has gone mad?” Shit why couldn’t this damn fog come with an instruction manual, maybe then I wouldn’t look like I’m the one that’s gone crazy.

  “You heard how she was preaching the other day, saying the darkness is upon us, we have been warned. She is trying to make us all stronger. She is hoping to be stronger as a coven if this darkness does arrive, with Jacin’s coven in ours.” Faith says.

  “Who is Jacin again?” I ask Faith.

  The look she gives me is clear as day, she is starting to think I’m losing my mind. “How could you not remember, he is the most gorgeous piece of a human being and is throwing the ball for us.”

  “Maybe I just haven’t noticed him.” I say to her dryly, but before she can reply, I try change the subject. “So, Margret has finally lost it. I didn’t think the day would ever come. What darkness is she on about anyways?”

  “No clue, insanity finally got to her, but at least she did us one favor, and brought it the yummiest coven possible, like really, what are the chances every single one of these men is drop dead gorgeous!” Faith yammers on while grins back at me. Hey, I’m not so innocent but that doesn’t mean I spread my legs for the first guy I meet. Faith on the other hand, used to like to slip and fall on dicks and looks as if things haven’t changed either. So, she will have the time of her life.

  I came home for one reason, and that is to get the Gem of Danté. I’m not sure where to look for it now, it wasn’t in that hou
se. But they knew I was coming home, so it must be here. Even though they said I would find it in that house, which I didn’t. Unless it was spelled so that no one could find it. I will have to chance and go back. I first need to figure out what is going on here since this fog appeared. And let’s not forget, he is coming for me. He said so himself in that dream, and then the witch pops up out of nowhere again and says the same thing.

  This time I just can’t hide from him. He can feel me. He can find me. Yet he hasn’t tried. Or maybe he has, I don’t know what he looks like. I wonder if I would be able to feel him; or sense him. I wonder if he can do the same to me.

  I ran all those years ago, and this time I’m not running. I will fight him and whatever it is that he wants from me. The Coven can bring in all the new dicks they want, but I don’t need them. I learnt early in my childhood to hide my true self. Only my parents know what I can do, and even then, I learnt to hide from them too.

  We arrive at the mall, and my first thoughts are let’s just get this over with. Hell, I’m happy to rock up in jeans and a pretty flowing top. Not that my parents will approve, but hey, they aren’t the ones that are been whored out.

  We make our way through the mall, to a dress boutique in the last corner of the mall. I hate going shopping, and Faith knows it. She is just pretending this is some fun little girls outing for us. It’s not.

  We walk in and the lady behind the counter greets us with a big smile. Faith walks over to her and starts gossiping some crap about the town. I on the other hand, skim through the racks to hopefully cut this outing short.

  An emerald green A-line dress catches my eye. Its beautifully embroidered, with delicate little flowers from the bottom of the dress that wind their way up to the bodice of the dress. The front of the skirt is almost sheer, but the beautiful embroidery hides the most important parts, and blends into the back of the skirt. It’s beautiful and perfect for me. And at least I have matching accessories at home for it.

  I check the price tag, shit, it’s going to have to go onto credit. So ridiculous for one night, but I better play nice. I wish I knew if I still had access to my business account, I wouldn’t be worrying about this if I had. But the fog, it messed everything up, I’m not even sure if I had that life or, did I dream it all up. The simple thing to do would just be to call my office, and see, but what if it was a dream, what if I have lost it. What if all that I worked hard for is gone?