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

said that they were dark!"

Pearl exhaled. "No, they're not. Abigail, I'm sorry to tell you this but you were not told the truth of this melding of worlds before entering it. Still, despite that you could be safe so long as you don't call your erosreaver. Then you can live."

"You didn't just say that nastily so I don't believe you mean me harm," I stated cautiously as my hands remained clutched at her clothing. "But please explain that to me, it sounds...  scary."

"She means," The red-head who kept brushing an amber line interred loudly across the clearing, "that if you don't call your erosreaver then you won't fully awaken as a daeva. That means that darkness will never enter your core and ultimately your life will be spared. Perhaps at the risk of the world." She added light-heartedly, then nodded with conviction. "But you'll be safe, happy, healthy and free to live to the age of a bitter old woman."

"Don't mind Vanessa." Pearl sighed as she rolled her eyes. "That's just her way of working through... things."

Here Vanessa laughed before sobering into a smirk. "Pearl's right. The way I work through my hatred is not with silly little words, but with violence and bloodshed." She nodded matter-of-factly. "And I'll finally resolve my issues with the death of Ariel."

The black-haired girl had been standing silently all this time, facing towards the lush brown and green trees but responded here with a steady sideways glance. "Like I said, Vanessa, you can't kill her. Only I can."

Vanessa thumped a fist to the grass. "Like hell I can't! You're the one who can't! You let her live - you! And then, what happened?! Another daeva died because of it! That insignificant life you spared, you stole from the one that she took it from!"

"Vanessa, enough!" Pearl cried. "I know it still hurts you, but it hurts all of us and its finally time that you let it go otherwise you know you'll invite the darkness inside you to grow!"

Vanessa smirked here. "Sure, the darkness grows, but so long as I slaughter shades that keeps it at bay, right? I'm fine with that."

Rebecca shone her emerald eyes narrowly back at the redhead. "And you'll just die quicker in another way."

"Better dead, than nox." Vanessa refuted.

"Wait!" I yelled impassionedly. "What is going on here?!"

"What's going on?" Vanessa smirked darkly. "Is that you and your little friend here were tricked and fooled by none other than Ariel, manipulated to take that bastard's seed into you despite its god-awful sting, oh and by the way, I think that technically counts as you being deflowered, and then you lost your innocence forever as you walk the path of darkness. Welcome, friend, to the road to hell!"

I released Pearl and stumbled back a couple of steps but because the world was so weirdly spinning I somehow landed onto my side quickly with a hard thud.

"That was not tactful, Vanessa!" I heard a scowl to Pearl's voice.

"There's no tactful way to say it!" Vanessa argued. "Just check out Barbie over there, she's in some retarded trance ever since your gentle explanation hit home."

"There's a lot of shock involved, you understand this!" Pearl pressed.

Vanessa scoffed. "I knew something was dodgy from the get-go."

"Then why'd you join?"

"Why do you think?!" Vanessa roared. "For power of course!"

I gasped as I recoiled backwards on the ground.

"I knew it." Rebecca interred from her own distant position. "That's what you're really about. You don't care about who you dish it out to, you just want to create pain."

Vanessa rolled her eyes with a renewed smirk. "You know nothing about me, Rebecca. And I tell you what, I wouldn't be surprised if you went dark-side. And you know..." Here she put a hand to her face as if indicating she was about to share a one on one secret that we all ended up hearing with ease. "I know that's what you want, it's only a matter of time before you'll become a nox, but you know, I'm looking forward to it because that's when I finally get to kill you!"

"Pearl..." I whimpered.

The golden goddess shone sympathetic eyes towards me before turning to her counterparts booming, "That's enough! Okay, if you two are so adamant about fighting one-another wait until the other person surely goes to the dark-side since it's such a certainty!" Her tone suggested a very high degree of sarcasm. "But back the hell off until then! Your feud based in the past is only getting in the way of what's important in the present. And I'm sorry for how insensitive this sounds but get over it and move forward! There's a world of darkness out there, on our doorstep and your actions do nothing but allow its entry!" Pearl looked so amazing, so passionate, so vindicated, but that all suddenly dissipated as she suddenly fell to the grass and clutched at her right leg.

"What... what happened to you, Pearl?" I asked, crawling to her side.

As she grasped her thigh through her jeans, she only smiled in response. "I am fine, really, Abigail. Just getting tired."

Vanessa tsked but didn't follow up verbally.

"Pearl, please tell me. I'm scared, what's happening here?"

Then another voice cut through from beyond the trees and out of the brush a girl with deep brown hair emerged. "I can't sense them at all anymore, which doesn't say very much with all these trees around, but after my perimeter search I'm still convinced that they've fled completely. We should be safe here for the time being."

Pearl nodded. "If that is what you think then I believe you, you have the greatest sensing ability of us all."

The brunette looked aside as if angry with herself as she closed the clearing's distance. "That might be true in some circumstances but in areas like this one my ability is terribly limited. Straight lines don't do well with obstacles in their way. The more divergents I created the more difficult it is for me to sense with any accuracy."

"Even so," Pearl consoled gently, "our own abilities are limited by a range that would normally be unaffected by such things as distant trees so you are still the best scout and the best warrior that we have."

"Psst!" Vanessa sounded sullenly. "Speak for yourself, I'm easily as strong, if not stronger than Lara!"

"Shut the hell up, Vanessa" Rebecca called. "Lara is stronger than me and I kick your arse each time."

"I backed down last time because Pearl asked me!" Vanessa explained.

"Yeah?" Rebecca challenged, even voiced with a cocked brow. "And it wasn't for the fact that my blade was at your throat?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Lara stated with emphasis. "Your squabbles need to take a back-stage now that we have two much more important tasks to deal with." Sighing this girl lowered herself before me. "Abigail, you have been through a lot very quickly so I'll start slow. Firstly, are you following what I'm saying?"

"Ah?" I raised my eyes to the brunette before affirming. "Uh-huh." Then when all the red splotches filling my vision began to make sense I cried, "Blood? You're bleeding!"

Lara turned side on to hide the majority of those crimson spots but a couple still stood out on her arm and leg proudly. "It's fine, my body has healed, what I am concerned about is you."

"She didn't..." My voice trembled. "She couldn't have done that to you!"

"What you are thinking is correct, every single one of these blood soaked spots was created by an arrow, Ariel's arrows. But all of these attacks hit non-vital areas, places targeted away from my heart's core. You see she wasn't trying to kill me, but to keep Vanessa and myself occupied."

"Vanessa..."I murmured as I gazed at the red-head. I didn't notice it before because of the distance but found this time as I looked small red spots defiled her clothing also.

"Whereas Bethanie kept Pearl and Rebecca distracted."

My eyes next gazed at my friend and finding a crimson line on her neck I frowned.

"This was part of their plan," Rebecca sighed. "The daeva-noxes were merely keeping us busy so that Raziel could complete his contract with you uninterrupted and now that he has they have no need for the pretence with you two."

"Abigail," Lara followed up.  "Ariel, is not your friend, but evil incarnate. If you don't like darkness, don't like bad things, well then Ariel is your girl to hate and when the full blow of her deceit hits you I don't doubt that you won't share at least a part of Rebecca's and Vanessa's hatred towards the daeva-nox."

My eyes widened so much I almost thought I was about to lose them. "No, that can't be true. She's so nice!"

Then I heard another voice from across the clearing, a familiar one that I trusted beyond just about every other, Pearl's. "It's true, Abigail. She played us, she played us good."

"Bethanie..." I husked as my friend rose from her distant spot and walked towards me. "There's just no way that she's evil. She's just a girl, just like us."

"I don't know what she is, but I do know one thing and that's that Ariel is no longer my friend." As Bethanie came closer I saw the sapphire in her eyes twinkle coolly. Then she broke our locked gaze and turned towards the dirt trail. "Let's go, Abigail. I can't take anymore of them."

"Hey, Bethanie, wait up!" I called as I fumbled to my feet and just started to run after her when I stopped and looked around with concern.

"Bethanie is right, Abigail." Pearl said gently. "You have been through a lot this evening. Go home and get some rest, we'll talk some more later."

With a hesitant nod I did as the golden girl directed and scuttled by Bethanie's side. Reaching the narrow walkway I asked, "Do you really think that's all true? Do you think Ariel was just acting the whole time?"

"I do." Bethanie responded stiffly.

"But how do we know they're not just pretending now? How can we tell who really are the dark daevas? I mean those girls themselves said they want Ariel dead but that Ariel wouldn't kill them."

"Rebecca and Vanessa seem a bit dicier, but there's no way Pearl's not the real deal."

"You're right." I admitted. "With these eyes I can see things and people differently now and I think that reflects their souls. There's this aura about Pearl that just seems so passionate, I think she cares about others a lot."

"Hm..." Bethanie murmured. "Yeah it does shine brighter, sort of like yours does."

We walked along that path in silence for a couple of minutes before my musings caused me to break it. "Bethanie, we did do the right thing, didn't we?" When she didn't respond I pressed, "We are going to stay good, we're not going to turn evil like those nox girls, right!?"

Then Bethanie stopped. "We were played but we are still good. There is darkness in this world, a consuming sort that, had a daeva not stepped in a few days back, would have killed both of us. The monsters aren't going to sort themselves out so there are always going to need to be people to fight them and protect the world we care about. What we did wasn't the right thing for ourselves, but it was for the world." Here she turned a wan smile to me. "I don't know what my fate will be but I know that it'll remain in the light by my best friend's side."

I smiled myself. "I'm scared, Bethanie. What happens from here?"

Bethanie took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "We survive."

I laughed meekly. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

As we exited the dirt trail we found a familiar road at the top of the bluff and walking along it I turned my head across. The playground was there, shining brightly in the night despite the lack of streetlamps in the area. I imagined, however, that I saw more than just the structure and colour