Daeva: Black Diamond Chrysalis - Danielle Bolger (essential reading txt) 📗

would be attacking his own. He wanted daevas so he could steer them to the darkness and to achieve that he utilised the help of a very good manipulator. There were only three daeva-noxes at present and though they were sure to be strong, they were too few to herald the world's transformation. He needed more and given the right pushes they would dive towards the dark. And once there they could never again return to the light.

I slammed a fist on the ground. "It couldn't be any more clear, could it?" I exclaimed with a shaky voice. "I didn't want to see it, but it all makes sense, it's... the missing link to the puzzle. It was why we were created in the first place!" I gave an erratic short laugh. "We were made always to turn dark. We're connected to it, it grows. We have evil spouting inside us!"

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Pearl. "She's going loony."

"Bethanie!" Pearl was up on her feet, arm clutching her side as she narrowed the distance to me. "Don't blame yourself for the deceit; it's not your fault that you were taken in by it!"

"That's how you get strong, the darkness leads to strength." I nodded as I continued to make sense of things. "Ariel will not die here, because you cannot kill her. She is daeva-nox which means she is far too powerful."

Then bright white shone from back in the direction of the barrier and with a turn across a hundred or more white spots shone within the gold and was so closely compacted that it almost swallowed it all. Even though it didn't, it seemed like it was enough though for, after a delayed moment, the wall came crashing down and disintegrated before hitting the grassy floor. Beyond the shimmering a girl emerged with silver hair, smiling as if entertained.

"Well, now that those two are taken care of!" She exclaimed happily but after seeing all our shocked expressions she rolled her eyes and corrected herself as if it was a bother. "They're not dead! You know that would be of no use to us! They're just... near-dead." She amended with a pleased nod. "Nothing fatal, I'm sure their terrific daeva abilities gifted by the world of Noein will put them as good as new in no time!"

"Damn you." Rebecca's growl was so low it sounded almost like a lion's roar. "I'll kill you!"

Rebecca ran forwards brandishing two new swords now that the feather-dispersing field was eradicated and sliced both across from left and right just where Ariel was standing. Only that Ariel ceased to be standing there any longer. It was incredible, she was there, smiling, watching Rebecca's attack even, then she disappeared without a trace right when the two blades cut through.

"You coward." Rebecca snarled. "Using your phantom technique, that's so underhanded!"

I viewed beyond the interplay and though the light had grown so dim that it was barely more than a deep blue overhead, my daeva eyes showed soul energy with intricate perception. Further on I saw the two girls, brunette and red-head, slumbering on the floor with red coating almost every aspect of them.

I gasped and whispered to Pearl, "They're hurt, you're friends, there's so much blood!"

Pearl nodded sadly. "I know, but their wounds aren't fatal, not for one of our kind. They will heal and their bodies will be returned to perfect health but they will not be unable to avoid the scars that will result from this battle, I'm afraid."

"Can't you do something?" I pleaded of her. "Can't you stop this fighting!? That's your power, right!? To stop daevas using their weapons against each other!?"

Pearl smiled bitter sweetly. "Yeah, that's what my power can do." Then she rose to her feet and with a wince outstretched her arms. There brilliant golden wings appeared on her form and again broke away to fly towards the two girls fighting one-another. Only here Ariel noted the incoming feathers and, choosing a quick break in Rebecca's attacks, turned and fired.

It looked like Ariel only pulled back one arrow but amazingly no fewer than a hundred were released and like homing darts each one fell upon a golden feather, annihilating the whole lot in one blow.

Pearl dropped back down to her knees, grasping her arm.

Ariel smirked right before her attention was taken back to Rebecca who attempted another slice at her throat for which she evaded and countered with a quick arrow in her place. Rebecca avoided this and moved with a flash-step towards where Ariel had run off to.

"Pearl!" I cried to the fallen girl beside me. "What's wrong? What's happening to you?!"

The blonde shone me a frail, yet warm smile. "I am fine, don't worry about me."

"This..." I murmured my eyes darting between her kind blue ones and her held pained shoulder. "This is all because you used your power? Your power that I told you to use?"

Her smile widened fractionally but enough to be perceptible. "I was going to do it anyway, so don't you feel responsible, Bethanie."

I frowned as I viewed her and then turned my gaze to Ariel and Rebecca fighting and wondered what I was feeling there. Everything was so confused, I believed Pearl but I didn't disbelieve Ariel, she just couldn't be bad.

Then, all of a sudden Ariel was sitting atop Rebecca and despite the platinum blonde being smaller she had the older girl pinned down. An arrow was pointed straight towards Rebecca's chest, right where the heart was supposed to lie.

Ariel smirked. "So, can you play nice and give me a reason to let you live?"

"My reason to live," Rebecca spat, "is so that I can kill you."

"Hm..." Ariel responded thoughtfully. "Yes, it looks like that's the popular sentiment. Well, I suppose you leave me with no choice then."

"No!" I screamed just as I saw Ariel's hand begin to loosen but another cry sounded at the exact same time, drowning out my own plea.

"Enough!" It was Raziel's voice, cool and resolute as always, but one that seemed to be of great command to Ariel for her fingers all but disconnected from the arrow it pulled back along a faint bowstring.

Raziel continued as he walked through the clearing. "We've completed our task, we're done here. There's no more need for the pretence with..." His gaze turned to me with an awry grimace, "These susceptible teenagers. Fighting with them now will only disservice our cause." Frowning he added pointedly, "Leave them be, Ariel. You know they serve us best alive. Don't disappoint me like you did before."

Retracting her arrow Ariel responded obediently. "No, I won't, master. There is no need now that our purpose is completed." Then she rose to her feet leaving a panting Rebecca lying sprawled on the grass.

"What now, Raziel?" Ariel turned to the white-blond boy. "Any more recruits for me to gather?"

Raziel gazed over all of us and smirked indulgently as he appraised my wide-mouthed shock. "No, not now, potentials don't come too commonly that we can seek them all the time. For now, we'll just watch and make sure these girls fulfil their destinies."

Ariel gazed over us also, her own silver eyes twinkling. "Sure, waiting is boring but for an eternity of power, well I guess I can tolerate it for now." Then Ariel gave one last smile and one last wink directed straight at me before she and her counterpart quickly faded into nothing.

"What the hell!?" I exclaimed hurriedly. "Where'd they go!?"

Rebecca still laid on the ground some meters away but with the still night the distance provided no barrier to the sound. As she gazed up into the newly forming stars she responded, "They're phantoms, beings of darkness, so they have the ability to blend within the dark. When it comes to a game of hide and seek, they will always win, no matter how good you can sense aura, you can never see within the deepest dark."

I still had a hand thrust to the ground that at this point grasped the blades of the grass and squeezed them tightly. "It really is all true, we are all a part of their battle?"

Rebecca turned her gaze away but Pearl responded. "We are warriors, ones that, should we embrace the darkness growing inside, become valuable to them then."

Pearl winced as she grabbed her shoulder and there Rebecca followed on with the explanation for her.

"Because of what Ariel is, and the rest of her kind are, we are also fated to follow if our hearts prove weak. Should we survive through our ultimate darkness we change from a daeva-lux to a daeva-nox and awaken to great power but also to absolute emptiness." Rebecca stated as she crossed the grass and leaned over her companion. There she closed her eyes and placed a hand over the centre of her chest where a white glow ensued. After a few moments there was a murmur emitted from the brunette girl beneath.

"Hold on..." I struggled through erratic breaths. "What... what was Raziel talking about back there?" I gulped before giving way to a desperate gasp. "What did he mean that.... they completed their task!?"

Pearl shone sad blues on me. "Oh, Bethanie..."

"What? Tell me! What did he mean?!"

Rebecca bored her unforgiving emerald eyes on me. "You know already. Our own fate, one where we are destined to turn dark or die is not only yours but now, your friend's as well."

"No..." I whimpered. "No, it can't be true. It just... it just can't. It can't!" I screamed loudly as I rose to my feet. "No! No!" Then through my despair my claymore erected itself within my hands and with a sudden downward slash I pierced the earth.

"No." I panted. "No, no, no! Not Abigail! Not Abigail!"

Rebecca shed a knowing calm look to Pearl. "And just like before Ariel knows exactly what's she's doing. The way this one is worked up, she'll be lucky to last a week."

"No!" I screamed so loud that my throat stung and my voice turned mute. Collapsing onto the ground I ploughed my fists down and even though I did it forcibly I never felt the sting from the impact.

He had her, stole her away from the rest of us so he could complete his deal and with his return announced its closure. That meant only one thing - Abigail was transformed into a daeva, one destined to a fate of either darkness or death.

I crunched the grass and dirt within my grasp and tore frail foliage from its roots.

No... I thought. Not Abigail, not her. She's the one person that brings light, she can't venture into dark....

"No!" I screamed once more, searing my lungs and somehow emptying my being with my anguished cry. "No!" I continued after a breath but then suddenly I fell silent as a potent force took hold of me. Immobilised, my head stared up towards a black ceiling coloured by intermittent stars as some things unseen reached across around me and held on tightly. Then there was a thrust to my chest, like a person had stood right on top of it despite the vertical inclination I was in. Then a searing pain ensued in my right leg and when I became free of my hold I reached down and grasped at it fervently. Oddly, atop my upper thigh where the pain was the greatest was a strange black discolouration that even seemed rigid to the touch.

I shut my eyes forcibly before reopening but still my sight remained constant as that strange colour continued to pervade my vision as it overlaid my form.

Confused I turned to Pearl. "What's wrong with my eyes?"

Pearl's blue orbs glistened as she stared at my leg. "It's not your eyes, darling. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you so soon, but that is what Ariel has designed for you, great emotional pain to initiate the final form of your transformation."

"Transformation?" I repeated with a quiver.

Pearl gave a slow sad nod as she pulled a sleeve to