DARKLING: Book One

GLOW

Ciprian’s black irises spilled into the whites of his eyes as his teeth sank deep into the man’s neck. The blood hit his tongue. His entire body tightened. His kind didn’t need to suck or make a mess like humans often expected. The blood danced like a living fluid creature into his mouth, so he simply swallowed. Feeding was always erotic. Hot. Even though he had no use for a man’s body sexually, every part of him was hardened and aroused. This was Ciprian's first time feeding since waking. Now that his body was aware of his mate being near, everything was far more intense. Each muscle flexed, throbbed, and ached. Partly from the blood itself, partly the act of feeding. But now he had the strongest, clear sensations and emotions flooding him all at once. He was tasting, smelling, feeling and seeing all for the first time, it seemed. She gave him this.

Flashes of her face and hair kept flickering in his mind. The vision played on repeat until he began creating his own. What her lips, taste, touch must feel like. He felt almost giddy.

When he felt it was all the older man could handle, he pulled his mouth away from the man's neck. Ciprian looked into the glazed eyes of the fisherman, making certain he was still in a trance. Then, while holding the man with one hand at the nape of his neck, he opened his mouth, revealing long white teeth. His teeth were human enough that he never hid them when playing human. They were just a bit longer and though most were seemingly flat, they were sharp like blades. Though they had gotten a bit more blade-like as time had passed and Ciprian struggled to keep the monster at bay. On both the top and bottom, he had two sets of extended canines that came to a point. The first set in both rows, came up just past his other teeth. The second tooth, beside the canines, were actual fangs. The fangs were shaped identical to the pointed canines but slightly longer. While the fangs were visible all the time, they only extended to that length when feeding.

He used one of his bottom fangs to prick his finger and rubbed his own blood on the bite mark. It instantly faded away to a red hue. A Darkling's blood had the power to heal non-fatal wounds and leave no scars. Their saliva had healing properties as well, but was only used if a Darkling wanted to mark a victim or mate purposely. It would heal any marks with a pearlescant sheen in a permanent scar.

Ciprian grabbed the second fisherman, using his naked body to prop the short man up. He held onto the entranced pudgy grandfather. He had read the middle-aged man's thoughts from the sky. The three other men with him were also put in a trance-like state, so they would not recall the occurrence or become afraid. They were his two sons and an older brother. The aging man was trying not to show his reluctance at the young man getting his female companion pregnant when Ciprian landed on the boat as a seagull.

His hunger had been gnawing so strong, he almost didn’t wait to perform the entrancement. He needed to be careful. He could feel something dark deep within. Something evil overwhelmed him and threatened to take him over. It beckoned for him to give in. To feed past death. He knew he could not take blood from someone at the point of, or beyond, death. It would be foul and would cause the monstrous creature, a pure animal in behavior, to take over. Feeding while they were alert and frozen with fear, caused a high and immediate addiction. It was alluring, but either action would destroy him. Would destroy his mate.

Ciprian fought it, drank and dropped each one of them on the deck of the boat, the rain washing away any possible trace of his feeding. He was left panting and flush with warmth in his now living body. His organs and muscles had subsided from his death like sleep by the third man. He stood on that little red fishing boat as the waves thrashed against it. The rain pelted his naked rock-hard muscles. With regained ability to see with human sight, he took in his seemingly glowing pale form. He raised his dark eyes to the sky and let the fury of the storm wash away what grogginess was left in his mind. He began to sort out the memories of his last day before he had gone to rest. Then he began to get a better idea where he was. When he noticed the youngest male starting to wake from his hypnosis, Ciprian leapt into the ocean.

As if he were metal being pulled by a giant magnetic force, Ciprian swam in a particular direction. He shifted into a form resembling a Gillis. The Gillis race of Darklings, were what humans actually saw when they believed a fabricated mermaid was around. They were the ones that patrolled and protected the oceans. Beings that looked like humans on land, but the moment their skin was exposed to any saltwater source, they were transformed into humanoid fish like people. They still had two legs and two arms; only with larger webbed feet, webbed hands, gills, scales, and the most amazing opaque wings that come from under their arms. Perfect for stopping mid swim or dive, but mostly used for pushing the Gillises through the water at incredible speeds. He had seen the underwater wings used for pushing anyone away from them or their homes. Most humans would believe it to be a rip tide. His people and other Shifter clans had a treaty with the Gillis to not enter certain waters without permission. Especially the breeding waters where their eggs were. Ciprian and his brother had attempted to woo a few Gillis beauties in their day and were not much liked by most male Gillis. Ciprian smiled at the memory as he swam effortlessly.

He was almost to shore when he noticed something moving in the same direction. A shadowy being was just keeping out of sight, moving fast. Too fast for a human’s eyes to detect. But even a human would feel the thickness and unease that this creature was emanating. He decided not to shift again or climb out onto the rocks lining the beach. He sat still. Watching. Like the natural predator he was.

He watched as the dark shape hovered over the water, blending with the rolling waves. Then it stretched, like a blob of empty space, and slinked forward. Pausing and going again, rather quickly. Ciprian, like all Shifter males, had been trained to be a predator. Constantly his mind was endlessly surveying the area for a threat or a detection of other darklings. It was engraved in his subconscious from youth. While in the form of a Gillis, he had kept his own sight ability. He quickly shifted his eyes to fit that of the Gillis body. Their sight was infrared. He had hoped he would get a better idea of this figure. But when Ciprian looked at the entity, he saw no energy, no heat, just blackness.

Cold, he thought to himself. He decided to follow the figure as far as he could, while acknowledging the pull of his mate. She had to come first. To Ciprian's dismay, as he closed in on the shore, he realized that this being was appearing to be headed the same direction. He paused and allowed the entity to continue ahead, then pursued it at a far-off distance, so not to be noticed. As he reached the small pebbled beach against a rocky cliff, he watched the formless black being creep along the cliffs, leaping into the shadows. The creature didn’t waver from the path that Ciprian was already on.

Fear gnawed at his heart. What if this thing was headed to my mate? The idea brought a hollow feeling that slammed into his chest. It took him a moment to realize he had been holding his breath. He forced the thought from his mind. He had to believe that she was okay. That she was safe. . She was his. Nothing would come between him and the red angel. Nothing. He would kill everything and everyone that tried to come between them. She belonged to him. He couldn't wait and stalk this thing. He had to get to her. Now.

Time was precious. If, for some reason, this thing had sensed her, so could other Darklings. There were many reasons different races of Darklings would seek out his, or anyone's fated mate. For one, there were many races that had struggled for some time to find mates. There were a few, like Demons that did not have souls, and therefore, could not have fated mates. There were Vampires and Fallen Angels that could take multiple partners. There were evil humans that had been born with weak supernatural abilities and lived in cults. They took Darkling women for their wives and forced them to breed power into their bloodlines. It was how the first human witches were created. Then there were other Shifters and Wers that had gotten desperate and took whomever they could, not waiting for a fated symbol; such as restoration of lost senses, or soul sparks to make them feel alive again. If one could convince a girl to choose them for a mate by the end of her first bloom, (a three-day bleeding cycle when she first comes in heat; usually at 17 years or older), then they will get their senses back fully and no longer risk becoming an animal. This did not mean that they couldn't eventually find their fated mate. It simply meant they would have more than one mate. Though that usually left some poor Shifter doomed to roam the world as a Fear Eater or to ultimately seek death. The more demented creatures would surely take her and not think twice about breeding her like an animal.

The idea of another touching his mate enraged him. Seeing red, he shifted, making himself invisible, and he left the water. He moved as fast as he could through the cliffs and into the village. He had to be careful not to stir what was left of the snow on the ground, or cause changes in the rain when passing people huddled outside a pub smoking under an awning.

When he got to a quaint little pub down a cobblestone street, he saw strange carriages with no horses, and bright blue lights flashing harshly in the night. Ciprian thought maybe it was magic at first. He quickly realized it was not. It was something created by science. He scanned the human minds and was able to gather that the uniformed people were being called Guards, Garda Siochana, and Peace Officers. These were the humans he would try to build a connection to in the future. Their information and resources could help him hunt and protect the people of the area. He knew he had a lot to learn about this strange new time.

Ciprian continued to follow the pull on his soul being created by his mate's soul. Just as he passed the last strange carriage he heard the thoughts of the young man sitting on the curb. His female companion, and another were found drained of blood. Murdered. Ciprian turned the corner, floating still invisible to others, and went up the alley to avoid the crowd of humans.

Suddenly, he was hit with a sickening sensation. Stronger than he had felt in his entire life as a hunter. As a killer. His soul was dragging on to his mate, but every atom of his body wanted to hunt down this wretched being. This was pure evil. The feeling stole his breath for a moment. He pushed on. He would surely have to come back to the area and investigate. But for now, he had to get to his other half.

The pull became overwhelmingly strong. Ciprian stopped for nothing and kept on his mission until he came to a medicinal facility. There was a light in the third story window, in the far right corner. That was where she was. He just knew it, looking up at the glowing room. He floated, still invisible, to the window. He peered in. There she was. Sleeping. Her back faced him. Her red hair spilled over the pillow. The bright golden glow surrounded her silhouette.

While looking at her through the window, he inhaled the same stench of evil. He scanned the area making sure no one was near. There was no one there, he could tell, though they had been and recently. It was so much stronger this time. Before getting his human emotions back, he would have been able to do nothing more than hunt down the source and destroy it. Humans and their protection was his task, his purpose. But not then. At that moment, he needed to see her face. Touch her hair. Kiss her mouth. Take her. Claim her as his mate.

He looked for a way in. Just around the corner on the side of the building he found a single window cracked open. He shifted, becoming like fog, and seeped into the tight opening. He shifted into his natural form while simultaneously becoming invisible once more. He drifted through the hall, never touching the floor, down to the room where he could see her soul glowing with glorious light. She was calling to him, beckoning his soul. It was a warm golden glow. Like the dawn of morning.

His heart was beating so fast he could hear nothing else. He floated just above the floor in the doorway. It was open. He could hear some of the healers' minds. Nurses. Even a female doctor! They were scurrying to a woman giving birth in the next corridor. He sensed two other couples in a nursery with infants. This was a hospital. His heart somehow beat even faster at the thought of his red angel being injured or sick.

He made certain no one was coming their way, then he allowed himself to touch the ground, but he kept from sight. He could smell the putrid scent of evil getting stronger in the building. He stepped into the room ready to see the face of this woman he waited a thousand lifetimes for. He walked around the bathroom into the opening of the room where the head of the bed was hidden by a privacy curtain.

He stood behind the curtain. His heartbeat filled his ears. His whole world was going to change. As was hers. He wasn’t even worried about her not choosing him. Once he took her, she would want him. Need him. He would make certain of it.

He inhaled. Her scent was strange. It wasn't very strong at all. He kept getting the faint smell of the woodbine flowers in his mother's garden. He loved that smell. Even as a boy. On hot summer nights, the air would be thick with the overflow of the honeysuckle flowers, making the long humid nights so sweet.

A putrid scent overcame Ciprian's senses and destroyed the memory. His mind kept drifting to that disgusting feeling of evil. It was getting closer. He would have to clear that threat soon. He tried to stay in the moment. He looked at the cloth hanging before him. The old curtain was beige with traces of old blood stains and other marks all over. Ciprian could see her glow, now isolated behind the curtain. He wanted to savor the moment, knowing he would only see this glow on her once. It was only intended to ensure the finding of one's mate. The only thing that even comes close, is when a female is marked by their fated mate. That mark will glow dimly in the eyes of all males. Allowing them to see who she belongs to. Each mark is different. Like a signature.

He grabbed the curtain. Instead of moving it with his mind, he wanted to slowly reveal his reward. He had waited so long. He had endured longer than most of his kind. He suffered. For her. She was the sole reason he fought against the urge to submit to death so many times. Holding onto the curtain, he looked at her feet. They seemed young. Long and slender. Her toenails were painted red. Like her hair in the vision. Her pale, almost translucent skin was flushed with life just enough that her feet and ankles didn’t blend into the white sheets completely. She was perfect.

Ciprian looked down at himself. He realized he was almost grey compared to her. He had always thought of himself as supernaturally pale white. He had been told his skin was angelic. Beautiful. Rare. And maybe at one time it was. But the years and the foul blood seeping into his system, when he killed evil ones with bites to the throat, hell, the killings at all could had an effect. Turning him into more predator, more animal, than man. Would she even want him? What if she screamed at the sight of him? He stared down at his bare body. He was still invisible to others. He stayed that way most of the time before he went to the earth for endless slumber. He had stopped having a need for clothing. On the rare occasion he intermingled with humans or family besides his brother, he would conjure pants and a tunic from his mind. Even in that moment, he had not considered dressing his body.

He looked at the scars. He looked at the nails on his feet and hands. They were not completely black like the Fear Eaters. But the blackness was creeping from the nail bed and spreading over the flesh on each toe and finger tip. Every nail had a black crescent moon shape threatening to take over. It was a telling sign that he hadn’t much time left. His nails were not very long like the Fear Eaters, but they were longer than was natural for his kind, and sharp. It was another part of an animal laying claim to his form. Taking over what and who he was.

He dropped the curtain. Relizing he was already a monster, he took a single step back. That is when the flashback from the Castling in Aksi Dava hit him. It felt like a punch to his soul.

"SHE WILL SUFFER. SHE WILL BE TAKEN. SHE WILL KNOW PAIN. SHE WILL CHOOSE DEATH. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!" It was as if the Castling had been there in that room with him.

He couldn’t leave the pale angel lying before him to that fate. He couldn’t. Not when she belonged to him. She was HIS responsibility after all. He would be the one to keep her safe. He would be the one to show her the world. He would keep real monsters away. Sometimes it takes a monster to kill a monster. She was his, he was and had always been, hers.

He quickly pulled the curtain back to see the most beautiful human woman he had seen, sleeping soundly. Her luscious, full lips, flushed pink cheeks, and thick black lashes were glowing. Her face was illuminated by a beautiful warm glow making the woman look like an angel.

Then Ciprian realized. The reason her face was glowing, was because lying beside her in a clear acrylic crib, was a baby wrapped in pink swaddling blankets. Glowing with the brightness of daybreak. Glowing with the light of a fated soul mate.

xoxo