The basement floor was damp, it was poorly lit, but my eyes quickly adjusted to the dimly lit place where there were a few dark spots where the light didn't reach. The place was divided with transparent curtain-esque things that you'd usually find in a slaughterhouse.
Great.
I slowly moved around, vigilant and aware of my surroundings. At this stage, my gun was unholstered again. My heart rate accelerated a bit.
Adrenaline was kicking in, heightening my senses.
I found April bound to a chair with cable ties; I quickly looked around searching for the Warlock. When I was certain we were alone. I bent down, took out my knife; which momentarily brought back haunting memories, and cut her loose.
It was only two hours after I last saw her, but she looked horrible; there were small razor cuts all over her body including her face, she looked paler than usual.
"Geez this guy gets straight to business doesn't he?" I whispered helping April out of the chair.
"Alex? Where are the Freya's?" She asked, looking disorientated. Cries filled my head, but I pushed through the pain, time to leave.
"Yeah about that, they didn't come."
Her eyes widened in fear. "He'll kill us."
I felt my throat starting to close down like I was suffocating or rather like all the air was being sucked from my body.
I stumbled backward. April rushed to my side.
"No! Alex!"
A figure appeared in my peripheral vision, surrounded by darkness.
"Just because you can't see someone doesn't mean they're not there."
"I'll stop killing her, just give me your power? It's a simple request." He said smiling down at April
April looked at him with disgust.
How did I not sense him before? Did the magic cloak cloak his aura as well? Was my danger GPS not as reliable as I thought?
"And then after you have my power, you're going to kill us anyway." She replied.
He gave out a sharp laugh.
"Well yes, but I promise it's going to be a hell of a lot less painful. It'll be quick."
"Looks like you're running out of time, tick tock."
I was slowly starting to fade. My heart rate which was pumping with adrenaline was now beating at a slow tempo. My vision grew hazy.
April looked down at me. "Plan B." She whispered, then stood up and faced her tormentor.
"Fine, here you can have it." I could see her channeling all her power and directing it towards him.
He looked like a kid in a candy store getting his golden ticket to go see the Chocolate factory.
The ground began to shake, and a wind began to blow, although we were in a closed off building. Black clouds sprawled across the ceiling.
He released me. I took a deep breath and air came coursing back into my lungs, I couldn't help but cough. It took a moment for my vision to adjust back to normal.
All this power was creating some kind of freak storm. I could feel the power surge through the sky, it was magnificent. Beautiful. Deadly.
I could see him smiling as he received the powers hands in the air like he was becoming a god, and an unstoppable god with a profusion of power.
April grabbed me and dragged me to a secure place where we could still see him.
"What the hell April?" I asked, confused.
She smiled at me. "Shhh just watch."
I stared at the crazy man and nothing happened.
After a few seconds of basking in his own glory, he realized we were gone.
"You really think you can hide from. . ." He didn't finish that totally cliché evil guy thing to say.
I peeked around the big concrete column that was sheltering us to get a better look.
He fell to the ground clutching his head, screaming in agony. A bright light started beaming out from his eyes, mouth, and ears.
He tore open his shirt like a scene out of Alien.
I could see light in his chest cavity coruscating through his skin. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before.
Then he exploded into a million small pieces; spontaneous combustion.
Luckily April and I were shielded from flying pieces of flesh by ducking behind a concrete column.
"What the hell was that?!" I exclaimed looking around the basement.
"That was plan B while I was waiting for you; I thought what would happen to a normal witch or warlock if they got too much power? So, I decided if all else fails I should try out my theory and see if it works. See it's like an overload and he wasn't built to contain that much power. I've heard the Freya's arguing about me and my powers enough to know, no Witch should be able to carry this amount of power."
I embraced her.
"You crazy witch! That could have gone." I paused thinking about what could have happened if he'd received all her power and survived.
She smiled at me "But it didn't." She simply replied
"Wow. Seriously Wow! I'm impressed. It was completely reckless and crazy, I for one am thankful that it worked."
She looked at me surprised. "Are you actually admitting that this was a good plan?"
I started fake laughing, "Uhm no I wouldn't go as far as admitting anything to that degree." I replied
"Well I know you'll never admit it but this was a good plan." She replied slyly. She looked around and her mood changed from joking to serious.
"Where are the Freya's? You did call them, right?" She used a tone that reminded me of a mother scolding a child.
"Yes, here look, I left them messages and everything," I said, handing her my phone. She looked down at the phone then shook her head.
"No, something must have gone wrong, they wouldn't abandon me."
Denial was a strong emotion.
"Oh, really wouldn't they? Because they've never turned their backs on you before, oh wait they did multiple times actually. They were using you to get rid of a problem. I don't think they were ever planning on coming."
I didn't understand her loyalty to these people.
"No, they wouldn't let me die." I could see tears glistening on her cheeks.
"April." I tried to comfort her.
"Don't! You wanted this, you're happy they didn't show up!" She shouted.
The building started shaking but almost instantly stopped.
She was exhausted; channeling all that magic almost completely burned her out.
"April, let's just go home, you're exhausted and you've lost a lot of blood." I said, grabbing her gently by her arm.
"No!" She forcefully pulled her arm away.
"I have to hear it from them, they have to admit it."
I would probably never understand why she craved acceptance from them so desperately.
"Okay, I'll go with you." I looked around the room filled with pieces of flesh and bodily fluids. If I leave this it'll start to smell.
"I just have to call the cleaners before we leave," I announced.
"I don't want you to come." She replied coldly.
Why was she treating me like I was the bad guy?
"Fine I'll stay but are you sure you can drive?" I asked.
She shot me a dangerous look then turned around and walked out. When it came to the Freya's her judgement was always clouded but I knew by now not to take it personally.
I gave a quick call to the cleaners and left. Even though I was exhausted and needed to sleep for at least a week, all my problems aren't solved yet.
Whyte had left and I had feared that he was going after the Siren alone.
I dialled his number and felt a mountain of relief when he answered.
"Whyte, I was getting worried. Where are you?"
"You worry too much. I'm just visiting some family trying to make amends for being gone all these years. Alex you don't have to baby me, I won't go after the Siren alone I know better than that now." He replied. After a ten minute catch up session I felt assured that Whyte was at least safe.
I was happy that Whyte got the closure he needed in order to move on with his life.
When I finally got home, April was still out.
I really hope that the Freya's tell her the truth and that she finally sees them for what they are.
There was a loud knock on the door. Hesitantly I walked over to the front door. I glanced through the peephole.
It was Darren looking rather guilty. I slowly opened the door. Before I could say anything, he started apologizing.
"I know; I'm so sorry you needed me and I flaked. Where's April?" He asked.
"She's fine; she's sorting out some things with the Freya's," I said dryly.
He half smiled.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure." I simply replied.
He stepped inside. This would never change, he had a life outside all this hunting something I would never understand, it wasn't fair for me to ask him to sacrifice his seemingly normal life.
"Look, Darren, tonight I needed you and you weren't there. . ." He interrupted.
"It'll never happen again Al, I promise." I folded my arms across my chest.
"You can't promise that, the problem is before you started helping me, I didn't rely on anyone's help and you know what it was better that way. I've gotten sloppy and lazy. I appreciated all the help, but I've got to do this on my own."
He stepped back looking at the floor, my words clearly had an impact.
"You still don't trust me, do you?"
"What? No! I trust you. Even though it's hard for me to admit, I do. This is my life; hunting is my life and I can't get used to relying on other people." I replied.
I wasn't shocked that he'd think that, I'd never actually told him that I forgave him or that I trusted him.
"But you haven't forgiven me for the role I had to play in getting your grandfather killed?"
Hearing him admit that he was partly to blame for Jay's death stung. But with Whyte forgiving me for the role I had to play in his brother's death I needed to do the same.
"Look I was partly to blame for Whyte's brother getting killed."
"Why are you talking about him?" He asked, slightly annoyed. I could hear a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"I'm just trying to make a point. He forgave me. So, I forgive you Darren."
He looked up at me, our eyes locked.
"I just need to know, are you in love with me?" He asked upfront.
Where was this coming from?
"No, absolutely not." I lied; I was in love with him but I sure as hell wasn't going to admit it anytime soon.
My hope was that if I ignored it long enough these unwanted feelings would fade away.
He looked disappointed
"I honestly thought all the feelings I ever had for you were gone until..."
He paused.
"Until?" I asked intrigued
"Until I heard you talk about Whyte, I got so jealous, I haven't been this jealous of another man since High School."
"There's nothing to be jealous about Darren." I replied softly.
"I know that Al, but I'm jealous that he spent a year with you when you left. I'm jealous that he got to see a side of you I never had the privilege to see. I'm jealous that you were vulnerable with someone, that you opened up, something you've never done with me."
I smiled, he was ranting; there was something very sweet and cute about him ranting.
No, there's nothing sweet about him Damn Alex pull yourself together.
"Well, it's a good thing we won't be working together anymore," I stated.
He looked up surprised.
"So, you were serious about that? But what about Nikolai?"
"What about him? You've given me all the information you have; you can go back to your normal life and leave the hunting to me." I said standing up walking to the door.
"But if you need anything?"
I interjected "I'll call, now go," I said pushing him out the door.
He turned around and hugged me; it was a complete surprise so I didn't hug back. He let go and smiled down at me.
"I'm going to miss seeing you, Woodward." He said, making my heart flutter. I sighed.
"Goodbye, Darren." I couldn't risk falling into old habits. I could see Darren was confused about my sudden change towards him, but it was for the best.
I closed the door and headed straight to bed. I would've tried to stay up and wait for April, but sleep was just too compelling.
But instead of blissful sleep I was haunted by memories of the man I killed.
All the blood gushing from the wound; he was practically drowning in his own blood. Who was he and why did I kill him? Before I got rid of his things, I took a quick glance at his driver's license.
Eddie Welling was born in 1972. Makes him about 43, first thing tomorrow morning I have to sort out this mess and try and figure out what went wrong.
Damn witches and their unpredictable magic, I should have never trusted the Freya's in the first place.
I was asleep for two hours. What else could I have done in that time? What if I killed someone else? I can't live with myself. I'd have to turn myself in. Words that some writer once wrote played in my mind on replay 'you either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.'
I'd hardly consider myself a hero but was I now becoming that thing which people feared? What if all this wasn't the potion? What if it was the Darkness inside me taking hold of my body? Panic seized my body; what if I tried and hurt April? I could never live with myself if I hurt her. My mind was reeling with endless possibilities.
"Al?" April's voice dragged me out of my panicked state.
"April? Come in." I said while switching on the light. Her eyes were puffy and red tell-tale signs that she'd been crying a lot.
"Can I just lie next to you and not talk?" she asked her voice shakily.
I smiled
"Of course."
April got into the bed, I comforted her until she eventually fell asleep, neither of us saying a word. This was one of our old things. April was in many ways like a sister to me and I would protect her like I would my family.
I didn't sleep much that night seeing that every time I closed my eyes, I was haunted by the man I murdered.
Should I tell April? After hours of flighting sleep, I slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you cook anything," April said walking into the kitchen taking a seat at the table.
"What? I cook all the time." I said placing the scrambled egg on her plate.
"There's bacon, egg, pancakes that I got from Earl's diner and donuts. This is the, I'm sorry for being a shitty friend breakfast." I said smiling. She smiled up at me.
"But wait there's more, let's not forget the 'I'm sorry for being a shitty friend double foam vanilla cappuccino. Try saying that five times fast." I said catching my breath.
She sat down at the table.
"You're the shitty friend? I'm the one who should be making you. I'm sorry for acting like a bitch breakfast. You were right, the Freya's are never going to accept me and instead of listening to you I acted like a spoiled child." She said looking down.
"Hey, there's still lunch and dinner. Let's not fight ever again." I said sitting down opposite her.
I must say the breakfast was divine. And even though there was silence between us, everything was better, okay.
"I can't believe you actually made bacon and eggs. That's impressive." She said smiling. Happy again like the past three days never happened. That's all I ever wanted for my friend to be happy.
"Oh, I gotta get going." She said suddenly standing up.
I looked at her shocked; I previously didn't notice she was fully dressed and ready for work.
"You're not seriously going to work after what you went through are you?" She simply smiled at me.
"Of course, I am. No one knows what happened."
"That's so not the point; maybe you should take a sick day," I said worried, she'd been through so much. All that power drained her and here she is going to work like nothing ever happened.
"A sick day? I'm up for promotion so unless I'm dying or already dead, I'm not taking a day off." She was determined to get that promotion.
"So, what's new with you?" She asked, changing the subject. I thought about it for a second.
"Yeah so Darren came by last night; we decided it'll be in our best interest if I work alone from now on." She looked surprised.
"Why did you guys make such a good team?"
"Yeah and that's the problem, he's one more person that can get hurt by being in my life," I replied eating my pancakes
"You're allowed to love, Alex." April replied.
"Back up there, no one said anything about love," I said defensively.
"Okay don't get your panties in a twist, I haven't seen you so worked up over a boy since high school." She replied smiling. Before I could reply she interjected.
"Shoot, I've got to get going. See you after work." She said heading out the door.
I really wish she would take the day off. This must be what she feels like when I refuse to take it easy after almost dying.
Today was my day off – and normally I would take this time to catch up on Nikolai business but I was genuinely exhausted and walked over to the couch.
My body wanted to relax but my mind was too trained to always be alert and on the lookout for danger, everywhere I looked I saw his face, the man I killed.
Every time I close my eyes all I see is blood, blood on my hands.
You killed him, you murdered him.
The voices said, usually they only came when I was in duress or angry. Always reminding me of something I'd rather forget. Why was this happening to me? What was I becoming?
I did some research on the man I killed; I needed to know who he was. Eddie Welling was a well-known sexual offender; he served a few years in state and recently got released on probation.
Although he was trialed and convicted for the rape of Angela Young a sixteen-year-old girl, it's believed she wasn't his only victim. Angela committed suicide three months ago.
As I read through his file, my blood boiled.
He deserved what he got. Filled with rage I stood up and paced around. He was probably going to do it again, as far as I was concerned he murdered that girl.
Yes, he was; we did it for you. We killed him for you.
It wasn't me? It was whatever's inside me. The rage was gone, replaced with regret and fear. My heart sank.
I still killed a man, he was mundane and I killed him. Sure he wasn't innocent but it wasn't my job to play judge and executioner.
I'm supposed to serve and protect, how can I do that when I can't fully trust myself? What if next time it isn't some criminal? What if next time it's innocent?
I need to get rid of this Darkness once and for all. But how? How can I get rid of this thing? I can't tell April, she'd never trust me or look at me the same ever again. I certainly can't tell Darren.
Who can I tell? Who can I trust with my biggest secret? All I know is that I need to tell someone before the Darkness inside me grows and spreads. I need to stop it and get rid of it by any means necessary even if it results in my death.