Cassidy was breathing in ragged gasps, each one coming with the convulsions that wracked her frame. The beast was gone now, yet the dark whispers seemed to hang in the air, echoing within her mind. She could feel that dark power tugging at her, some seductive voice begging her to let go, give in to it.
Kneeling beside her, his presence was a balm to the turmoil in her head; his hand laid on her shoulder firmly yet gently. "You're stronger than you think," he said in a low, even voice. "Yet this power-it wants to control you. You have to learn to control it, or it will consume you."
Cassidy nodded, fighting slowly against the aftershocks of the dark energy. "I could feel it trying to pull me in… it was so strong, like it knew exactly how to break me down."
His hand firmed on her shoulder, yanking her to her feet, his eyes boring into hers. "That's the way it works. The darkness feeds on your vulnerabilities-fear, anger, desire. Whatever it is that makes you vulnerable, it uses that to lure you in."
Cassidy swallowed hard, brushing the dust and leaves from her clothes. "But that voice, just before. it stopped me. It wasn't my own. Who was it?"
His brow furrowed. "I don't know. Maybe someone-or something-was watching over you. There are forces out there against the darkness, just like those with it. But you can't depend on those always. You have to learn to stand on your own.
Cassidy nodded but a thread of unease still tugged at her. She'd come too close, inched her way toward giving in to the darkness. She had not expected it to feel like that-seductive, overwhelming. Part of her was scared that if it ever happened again, she would be unable to resist.
"We have to go," he said, his eyes cast leeward at the shadows that seemed to close in once more. "It's not a safe place, and the more time you spend here, it works at twisting your mind."
Cassidy drew a deep breath and followed him, yet with every step, it felt heavier. The surrounding forest now had more darkness; its shadows struck as more oppressing, as if the trees too watched every taken step. A shiver ran down her skin with the feeling of being watched, yet there was no sign of the beast.
"You don't think it ever comes back?" she was speaking into the silence.
He cast a keen-eyed glance at her over his shoulder then: "It will not stop till it has what it wants, and that target is now you.
Cassidy could only shiver at the thought, "Why me? What did I do?
"You have something it wants. Power. Potential." He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were just so obvious. "The darkness is drawn to them with the ability to harness it. It wants to corrupt that power, make it their own."
They pushed through scrub that was nearly impassable, while above them the way in front was growing greyer with every pace. Far behind them, the tumble of buildings did not give up its air of menace.
As they went up in a steep climb, suddenly, that wave of energy which had almost overwhelmed her at the ruins suddenly flared up again in her body. She stood still, breathing as the now-recognized sensation crept up her spine.
Not again.
The man whirled, his eyes slitting as he watched her. "Cassidy, focus, girl. Don't let it get a hold of you."
"I-I can't stop it," she whispered, shaking, as the darkness surfed through her veins. It was harder this time, more insistent, wrapping around her like chains, pulling her deep into itself.
Without thinking, she leaned forward and took his arm, reaching for an anchor in the storm. The instant they touched, the energy crackled between them-sharp, electric. His eyes went wide in surprise, yet he didn't let go.
Instead, he clasped her arm fast, tucking the other hand around the side of her face, making her look at him. "Cassidy, listen to me. You can fight this. You are not alone."
The strength of his gaze burned into her, riveting her in place in a way that she would never have believed. Suffocating, his touch sparked off in her something that had nothing to do with the dark. Raw, electric, the terror of that intensity froze.
"I don't know how," she whispered inaudibly, her voice torn as if the darkness scratched her brain.
"Yes, you do." His voice was unyielding, hard as stone. "You've fought it before. You're stronger than it. You have to believe that."
Cassidy's heart ran away; her gaze burrowed into his, his clench a lifeline yet spate of his emotion crushing. For reasons unclear, everything else faded to insignificance. The trees, the darkness, the fear-it all melted away, and there they stood, only them, in the dying light.
The energy crackled between them; his skin hot against hers sent a shiver down her spine. In that one partial moment, the pull of the darkness was overpowered by something infinitely stronger.
Desire.
Reality then set in, and her breath had caught in her throat, but before she could get her head to process it, he closed the space between them, his lips crashing onto hers in a fierce and hungry kiss. There was no hesitation, no doubt, just raw, uninhibited passion that shook a quake through her body.
The darkness inside her began to recede, replaced by another sort of fire - hotter and brighter than she'd known existed. She kissed him back with equal desperate need, her hands fisting in the fabric of his shirt to drag him closer for more.
His hands slid down her back, pressing her flush against him. Cassidy's heart pounded with the beat of her pulse. She'd never felt this, this wild overwhelming feeling, gnawing and devouring every cell in her body.
This time, he wasn't afraid of the dark; it was him.
It was only until they finally separated, having gasped for air, that their foreheads came into contact as if in desperate attempts to garner some bearings. The intensity was such that Cassidy's mind could only reel from the fathoming of what exactly had just taken place.
The first word came from him; it was hoarse and laced with emotion. "We can't allow ourselves to be diverted by this.
Cassidy nodded, still trying to gain her bearings. "I know. But.
He drew back an inch, hands still circling her waist. "But?
She swallowed hard, fumbling to find her words. "But what if this is what keeps me fighting it? What if you are what stops me from losing control?
He stared at her through the silence, his face inscrutable. Then his head nodded very slowly. "Perhaps, but we must be careful: the line between power and temptation is not that thick."
Cassidy nodded, her heart still racing in her chest. She didn't know what would happen next, but the one thing that was crystal clear was that this fight was so far from over.
And so was what was developing between them.