MALCOLM
I stand just outside the abyss, staring at the rippling blackness. I don’t move. Can’t move.
“Come,” a voice slithers through the rocky valley, echoing off the walls. It’s not inside my mind anymore.
That’s a good thing, right? It should be, but all I feel is anxiety.
I want it back. That strength. That power. I need it.
Except, I don’t want it. I shake my head rapidly, trying to get a grip on my mind. I don’t want it at all because it scares the hell out of me.
“You made a vow,” the voice tells me. “If you walk away now, you’ll let them win. They’ll forever have control over you. They’ll take Julie from you. They’re plotting that now.”
I close my eyes, my chest heaving now.
“If you don’t take it, they will.” The hushed voice curls around me, cocooning me in the warmth. The rancid smell of decay lingers even as the pleasant warmth recedes. I shiver, feeling colder than before.
“The world is falling, child. I’ve seen inside your mind. I know that you do not desire to be just another victim. You desire power. So, take it. Join me. Take my power and use it.”
My feet are planted on the gravel, stuck in place. I can’t move forward or away. My mind leaps to all the things I could do if I had that power. The strength to strangle Andrew, the magic to literally throw two large men away from me.
“There is so much more,” the monster tells me. The pebbles on the cavern floor rattle, the entire ground trembling with anticipation.
The image of my father’s lifeless eyes, his broken body lying alone on the cold ground, flashes through my mind. I could make them all pay.
I want it. I want it so badly.
“Yeeees.”
Footsteps stomp down the stones behind me. A dozen men stumble as they descend towards me, guns in hand. Finally, my feet move. I back up, toward the reaching black power.
Just another step.
I stop, and so do my pursuers, only feet away.
Andrew’s father, James, stands at the front, his son and his friends behind him. In the crowd, I notice long, shiny brown hair, and my stomach sinks. One of the soldiers has her in his grip.
They’ll take her from you. They’re plotting it now.
He knew. My stomach sinks.
“Let her go,” I say firmly, but my heart is throbbing, panic rising in my chest.
Mayor James narrows his eyes, disgust clear in his expression. He turns just enough to nod to the soldier holding Julie who immediately shoves her forward.
The mayor grabs her by the hair. A knife glints in the sunlight as he presses it tightly to her throat.
My lip trembles as terror fills me. Behind me, angry power simmers in the cave.
This is your choice, child, the voice whispers. Fear or anger. Helplessness or power.
“Let her go,” I say louder now.
“Only if you walk away from the cave.”
“Why?” I spit. “I thought you wanted power to defend the town?” What a stupid thought. This power will destroy it. I know it. I can feel it. And they should have known it too.
Blood drips down Julie’s neck, and she whimpers. Anger stirs in my gut, thick and heavy. The only difference between me and them is that I’m ready to accept it. I will enjoy watching them fall. I will relish the buildings crumbling. The men who tore my father apart groaning and crying like he did.
“Don’t do it, Malcolm,” Julie says, barely about to get the words out. “It’s… it’s evil.”
I know.
“If he doesn’t use me. They will.” The crowd of soldiers and leaders all gasp at the booming voice that rumbles the very earth beneath their feet.
Julie whimpers. Tears well in her eyes.
“Move away from the cave, Malcolm!” the mayor yells now. His eyes are wide in panic.
Can you save her? I ask the monster, hoping he can hear me. He’s been able to hear other thoughts, why not these?
Yes.
Even with a blade to her throat?
Yes.
What do I need to do?
Accept a bargain.
A rush of panic runs over my body. I know this is a mistake. I can feel it. Revulsion floods me. My mind twists and pulls in two different directions. My muscles clench, panic fills me—my body begging me to make a different choice.
And yet, there’s another part that wants this too deeply. I don’t want to see Julie die, and that’s part of it. But it’s not the whole part. I crave the power he’s offering. I desperately want to see their faces as they fall beneath my power.
“What bargain?” I ask aloud, no longer paying attention to the men watching me.
“Malcolm, no!” Julie cries, tears dripping down her cheeks.
Give me your body.
I wince. What? No!
The voice chuckles in my mind, slithering like a snake inside of me. I can feel his talon of magic gently stroking my soul. Prodding. Preparing to strike.
We will share it, child. You will take my magic into your body, and together, we can leave this place. I will earn freedom. You will earn the power you crave. It is a fair bargain.
My teeth chatter. It’s not just magic he’s asking me to accept. It’s his soul.
Yeesss.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
And yet, I don’t think I can refuse him. I need it. I crave it. I press my eyes closed.
“Malcolm!” the mayor shouts. “Move away from the cave!”
“No,” I say, eyes flinging wide open.
He pushes the blade harder against Julie’s throat, splitting the soft skin. “I will kill her. I will. I’m going to count to three, and if you do not submit, I will kill her.”
I will never submit.
“One,” the mayor shouts.
Save her. You will not hurt her, I beg him.
“Agreed,” the monster’s voice again shakes the ground. He’s eager.
“Two,” James says, his voice high pitched in fear. His fingers tremble.
“I accept!” I shout.
A rush of black power surges from the cave, crashing, carving, claiming my body. An instant later, the inky black magic blasts from my palms—straight at the mayor and Julie.
The rush of pain and power overwhelms my mind, my vision flickering. I hear the screams. I feel my limbs moving. But then, my consciousness slips, and I remember no more.