Dark Soul Silenced - Part One (5 page)

Chapter Eight

At the sound of Sarah stirring Daniel blinked, surfacing from his quiet meditation.  He realised with surprise that several hours had passed.  The sun stood high in the sky, yet he didn't worry.  He knew that had anything approached he would have known immediately.  Stretching he smiled, feeling strengthened by his rest – almost as if he'd had a full nights sleep.

Surprisingly the fire still burned, the pile of spare wood was significantly lower.  Daniel could vaguely remember having added more wood without ever emerging from his tranquil state.  He stretched his hands out to the fire, enjoying the warmth, and waited for Sarah to speak.  After stirring she had gone quiet but Daniel knew she was awake, he could sense the change in her breathing, the tense way in which she held herself.  She was clearly studying him, making her mind up about something.

“
You know I'm awake, don't you?”

He turned to face her, smiling gently.

“Yes, but you put me in my place.  I was waiting for you to speak, pleased that I could tell you were awake, and that you were studying me.  I thought you oblivious to my study of you.  It was arrogant, and I thank you for the lesson.”

She pushed herself up to a sitting position, studying him suspiciously.  She was clearly worried by something.

“What are you?  Really?  You appeared from nowhere, saved our lives, helped Mary save Jon and then suddenly we all fall asleep, trusting you – a stranger – to protect us.  I don't buy it.  You did something to us, didn't you?”

“
I did nothing to Jon and nothing to Mary, other than lend her my strength.  Jon's injuries were severe, he was dying.  Even with the healing his body was severely weakened.  His sleep was natural, a response to everything he had been through.  Mary exhausted herself.  You saw that, you knew she was pushing herself too far.  Without my help she would have burnt out her own life, and Jon would still have died.”

“
And me?  You did something to me then?”

“
Yes, I did.  You were exhausted, not surprisingly.  The outlaw attack would have been bad enough, especially with the fatal wound your husband took and the sight of your daughter risking her life to save his.  On top of that you had the terror of the night-time attack.”

Sarah went very still, staring intently at Daniel.

“How do you know about that?  I didn't tell you.  How could you possibly know unless you were there…” 

A look of horror swept over her face, followed by an iron-hard determination.  She produced a knife from the folds of her clothes, with a long and viciously sharp blade.  Daniel was impressed that her hand hardly shook as she pointed it at him.

“Stay away from my family!  Don't you dare try and hurt them.  I don't care what you are, how fast you are.  You come near us and I'll slice you apart!”

Daniel raised his hands slowly, otherwise sitting very still.  He could tell that Sarah's heart was racing, her breath was coming in short bursts.  She was clearly terrified yet she remained outwardly strong.

“Please, let me explain.  You have all been sleeping for several hours.  If I meant you harm don't you think it would have happened already?  For that matter, why would I have saved Mary and Jon if I meant you harm?”

“
I don't know, but don't think that means I'll trust you.  Mary was terrified last night, you were going to hurt her weren't you?  Kill her even?”

“
No, I wasn't going to hurt her.  Something else was, something that was trying to take me over.  It is hard for me to explain, I still don't fully understand what happened myself. 

I was attacked, by the same outlaws that attacked you, some time ago.  It may have been a week, it may have been longer.  I remember almost nothing before the attack, and only brief fragments since then.  They beat me badly then left me tied and hanging from a tree, left me there for the wolves to feed on.

I hung there in agony for hours until the sun set and the forest was lit by only the moon.  The wolves arrived.  They were judging whether it was safe to attack me when a darkness fell over the clearing.  Whatever it was terrified the wolves, they left the clearing as fast as they could.  Something freed me, cut me down, but I can’t remember what.  I have no other memories until I woke to sunlight.  I believe that was the next day but I have no way to tell.

From that point onwards I started to change.  First sunlight started to burn my skin, to cause me extreme pain.  Then I became better able to see at night.  I needed no food and water made me feel sick, yet there was a burning hunger inside driving me on.

A night dawned when I became aware of the forest life around me, aware of the animals, and was able to bend them to my will.  Freezing them in place so I could reach them.  The hunger drove me to capture them, kill them, devour them.  Somehow I resisted.

Then came the night when it wasn't the animals I sought.  The hunger drove me to seek something else, that something was you and your family.”

Sarah's hand was shaking now, whether from fear or anger Daniel wasn't sure.  Possibly from both.  Yet she kept silent, kept her eyes on him.

“
By the time I came upon you there was very little of me left.  My mind, my soul, were being swept away by a tide of hunger and darkness.  I was not even aware of what my body was doing.  Until I looked down at Mary's face.  At that moment a memory stirred deep within me, the memory of my sister.  Mary looked so like her that it shocked me, roused me from the slumber, allowed me to take control again.  I turned and ran.  Not from her, from you or your husband.  I ran from the darkness inside, from what it sought to do to me, sought to turn me into.

I ran and ran until suddenly I burst from the trees and found myself by a beach.  At that moment a plan formed in my mind.  I knew the darkness would win one day, that it would overwhelm me fully, and that it would happen soon.  The only way out I could see was for me to die.  I decided to face the sun, knowing that it would burn through me, destroy me, taking the darkness with it.  Finding more peace than I had known in days I sat on the beach, waiting to see my last sunrise.

When it came it was beautiful, I wasn't disappointed.  As soon as the sun cleared the horizon my body started to burn, the pain was incredible but I held firm.  I was determined that no one would ever be hurt by the darkness festering within me.  The burning spread and worsened, eventually washing over me in a blinding wave of light.  I lost consciousness then.  I was sure I was dying.

I didn't die though.  I woke on the same beach, but I wasn't the same person.  The darkness was gone, completely burnt out of me without leaving a single scar or mark.  Yet I was changed, not the same as I had been before.  I still had the strength and the speed I had gained while the darkness grew within, and the world around me felt… more real.  I felt connected to the sand and the sea, to the earth and the trees, to the animals and the birds.

Before I could explore the changes further I became aware of something being very wrong.  I ran down the beach far faster than anyone I have ever heard of, finding your family and the outlaws.  You know what happened then.  That is my story.”

“
And I'm supposed to just trust you, just trust that whatever caused you to attack us is gone?”

“
I hope so.  I understand how difficult that is, but you need my help.  Those outlaws are not the only dangerous people out here, and there are animals and other dangers too.  Whatever attacked me, whatever planted the darkness within me, is still out there somewhere.  And, as I said before, if I truly wished you harm what could have stopped me hurting you while you slept?”

“
And that is meant to make me feel better?  Do I have any choice though?  I saw you fight the outlaws.  I wouldn't stand a chance of hurting you.  What choice do I have?”

“
You could ask me to go, to leave you alone.”

“
And would you?”

“
I would leave, yes.  Would I truly be able to leave you alone?  I don't know.  I feel I am in your debt, all of you.  I owe you for the terror I caused, even though it was outside of my control.  Could I walk away, leave you to face danger without my protection?  I truly don't know.”

With a deep sigh she lowered the knife, seeming to shrink within herself.  Her eyes were bright with tears that she refused to let fall.

“I have no choice it seems, but mark me well.  If you harm my daughter then no matter what powers you have I
will
carve out your heart and trample it in the dust.”

“
And if I was to harm her I would hand you the knife.  I give you my word, worthless as that may be, that the darkness is gone and I mean your family no harm.”

Whilst clearly far from convinced Sarah turned to more practical matters.  Checking on the other two as they slept she then opened her pack and pulled out several pieces of dried meat and some vegetables, together with a small cooking pot.  She stood and looked around.

“I don't suppose there's a freshwater stream around here.  Sea water will have to do.  Would you mind…?”

“
No, of course not.”

Daniel took the pot from her and walked towards the waves, thinking about Sarah's hostility.  It was understandable, in fact it would be amazing if she didn't have doubts about him, but he could think of nothing to say, nothing to do, that would convince her.

Filling the pot turned out to be harder than he'd first thought.  The water where the waves pounded the shore was heavy with sand.  After several failed attempts to get cleaner water he shrugged and took off his boots, rolled up his trousers and waded into the water.  It was numbingly cold, within seconds he lost feeling in his toes.  Instinctively he reached out to his surroundings, pulling energy into his body.  He was surprised to find that the sea itself was a deep well of energy, easily tapped.  Almost immediately his legs felt warmer.  A few seconds later he realised he had overdone it, as the water by his legs started to steam and boil.  Daniel reduced the level of energy he was pulling in then waded out till the water reached his knees.  He filled the pot with water, checked and found that it was much clearer than before then turned and waded back to the beach.

Grabbing his boots he walked barefoot across the sand, still drawing energy from his surroundings to keep his legs and feet warm.  By the time he reached the fire he was completely dry.  He passed the pot to Sarah who added the meat and vegetables then set it in the side of the fire to start boiling.  Then she stared at Daniel without speaking.  As the silence stretched he felt more and more uncomfortable, but could think of nothing to say that wouldn't make things worse.  Finally she spoke.

“I'm sorry.  You did save Jon's life.  Mary's too.  She would have given too much of herself, I could see that.  Since you arrived this morning you have done nothing but good for us.  As you said, if you meant us harm you had every chance while we all slept.  From everything you have said and done, I have to believe you mean us no harm.  Yet.”

“
Yet?” Daniel asked, confused.

“
Yes, yet.  For a start I only have your word that the… darkness that possessed you last night is gone.  As far as I can tell you honestly believe it was destroyed, but how can you be sure?  Maybe it's lurking inside you still, waiting for darkness to fall or some other trigger before it returns.

It's strange but that's actually the least worrying possibility, or the one I need to worry about least anyway.  If it is the case, then when the darkness returns we will stand no chance against you.  Even if we leave you behind you will track us down when the hunger overtakes you.  If that happens our only hope is to have reached a town with strong walls and stronger guards.  Right now the best chance we have of reaching such a place quickly is to travel with you.

What really worries me though, what absolutely terrifies me, is that you may mean Mary harm.  Not immediate harm, but that you may have need of her and her powers.  As a sacrifice maybe, or to subvert to your will, or that of some dark demon.  If that is the case then us travelling with you may be a terrible idea.  It will give you the chance to be near Mary, to study her, to tempt her maybe.  Once again though, our best defence is to reach a town.  And travelling with you is the quickest way to do that.”

“
And what of the other option?  That everything is as I say?  That I simply wish to see you safely to your destination?”

She smiled at him, a smile heavy with pain.

“Then I will suspect the worst of you from now until the day we part, and for many weeks and months after.  If we do not see you, hear from you, for many years, and if Mary grows to be a strong young woman free of the influence of anything dark, then – and only then – will I accept I was wrong.”

Daniel studied her face, the set of her body.  Despite the tiredness still evident, the worry and the pain, he could see that she was almost burning with concern for her daughter and the desire to keep Mary safe.  He smiled slightly.

“Then it seems I must help you to reach your destination as quickly as possible.  That was my intention anyway, but I understand your concerns.  I promise I will try not to speak to Mary out of your earshot, or Jon's, to help ease your mind.”