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

of life doesn't really exist?"

I smirked. "You're over-thinking things, Abigail. We can't affect the world by our thoughts, only perceive them in different ways because of them. The world is the same for everyone and a little bit of negativity does it no harm."

Abigail gave a wan smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Bethanie."

A few minutes later we reached our destination and as we passed under the archway scribing Skyward Mountain Cemetery in a woven metal design Abigail gave me an apprehensive look but said nothing.

We walked inside the grounds and panned the many hundreds of tombstones headlining the resting places of the loved deceased. And then, from deep within the graveyard, we saw a girl who sat alone in front of one tombstone that appeared no more than an ill-cut slab of rock pressed into the ground. It was smaller than its counterparts and seemed to be nestled in so tightly that it almost seemed inconceivable that a person could be buried beneath its dirt. And as I approached I made out the faint, shallow scrawl that declared that this person died a little under a year ago at the age of fifteen.

"Bethanie..." Abigail whispered in my ear as she tugged on my blouse in attempt from stopping me venture any further forward. "Are you sure about this?"

I patted the hand caught on my school's shirt's fabric. "It's fine, Abigail, it's not her we have to fear."

Pulling my friend's hand away I walked up to the girl and sat by her on the emerald grass. Abigail however lingered behind a few meters away.

"You've come." Ariel next to me observed. "I knew you would, after learning the potential of this place."

"I have learned a few things about potential but not so much about how to explore that yet. That's why I came here, to fully grasp on what it means to be a daeva."

The silver haired girl continued to stare ahead at the sloppy tombstone. "Is that all? You came to explore your power only? You don't desire to remove the crystal flower from your shoulder?"

"Who says that I can't kill two birds with one stone?"

Ariel smirked. "No one. Your abilities are limited by what your mind can create and what this world can accommodate. It's not enough in my eyes but that still leaves vast possibilities to be explored."

I was staring ahead also but chose just then to read aloud what my eyes had long lingered on. "Nathan Rhodes, that name rings a bell..."

Actually it rang more than a bell for it was the name of the boy that died last year who attended Skyward High.

Ariel lowered her gaze from the uneven rock to the healthy grass she was perched on. "Only girls can become daevas but that does not mean that the men in our lives cannot be harmed, in fact it makes them incredibly susceptible to it." Then she turned away and raised quizzical silver eyes towards me. "You're here to fight, aren't you? But it's not me you want to fight, no, I haven't given you enough of a reason to hate me enough yet. You're here for the shades. You want to kill them so that your body may be healed of those dense flowers."

"Do you have a problem with that? I know the shades are your puppets and all, but you seemed to hold no qualms with me killing the one you pinned against me last week."

"You're right, I don't care about them, they merely serve as a tool to achieve my desired outcome. But fortunately they desire the same outcome and thus they are loyal to the noxes. It's a shame for them that they are no more than tools for our cause." She stated as she gazed aside, far across the length of the cemetery where it appeared the shadow of a tomb took form and skulked across the grounds. "And when you have a toolbox filled with a hundred screwdrivers, then the loss of a few is hardly something to batter an eyelid over."

"A hundred, hey?" I asked as I reclaimed my feet. "Well allow me to attenuate that down to double figures."

Ariel's eyes watched me with silver intensity for a moment before turning back to the grave and a black bow formed in her hand. Positioning it in front of her she pulled her free hand back along its vertical axis where a narrow bolt formed, its sharp tip nestling against her fair white cheek. She pointed upwards and upon release shot not one but dozens of arrows into the sky. Then once they reached the height of a hundred meters into the air and lost their visibility they exploded in twinkling whites, blues, pinks, oranges, greens, reds and violets, and as they fell limply to the earth I was left with the heart-lifting gratitude that I had just witnessed a fireworks display.

"They're colourful..." I murmured appreciatively despite my enmity towards the performer.

"All white light is made up of colour, and a white aura is no different. Close range it cannot be viewed, but over a distance the interactions between the air's aura to the one I just shot out can be made more clear." Ariel explained as she disintegrated her bow. Turning to the bushland that bordered the cemetary she added, "Some of the answers you seek approach. Remember, so long as you protect your heart nothing can hurt you." And as she began to walk away she entered the shade of a small mausaleum where its darkness swollowed her completely.

"Where did she go!?" Abigail cried as she rushed to my side.

"I'm starting to get the impression that daeva-noxes and shades are more similar than we first thought."

"She scares me, Bethanie. She acts so different to how she used to."

"It's her true self." I ascertained as I continued to stare into the tomb's shade. "Without all the embellishment and facades there's very little of the girl left. Underneath it all she's hollow."

"That's not true," Abigail argued, "there's sadness there too and I now it's real, I can feel it!"

"In any case," I responded as I noticed the foliage beyond darken. "She is not our concern now. All we need to do is fight this other world and then we'll protect ourselves."

"Bethanie, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Abigail whimpered as shades emerged from the trees and started walking through the rows of gravestones. "Those things are dangerous!"

Clutching the crystal beneath my school blouse I stated, "Yes, I have to. It's the only way to tear these things away." Then I allowed my hand to slip and turning side on I called to the energy of the cemetery and felt the weight of my giant blade materialise within my hands.

"Come on, you bastards." I called to the four shades as they began to rush forwards, never at once taking a step with their two black legs. "Heal me and die!"

Chapter 20

 

Abigail

 

She was more powerful with her sword than ever. She ran straight towards the four shades, blade held out behind her, its long tip just scouring over tombstones. And on top of one of these she jumped, leapt high into the air before swinging her steel down in a vertical arc, the speed and savagery akin to the blow of an executioner's axe.

Leaning forwards dark blonde curls covered her face admist the hail of falling black stones. Then she straightened, throwing back her hair and turning towards another she revealed a hungry smile.

She swung again, arcing laterally but this time her adversary was ready for her viscious blow and rose up into the air above it, distorting its body into somewhat of a blob shape to achieve the move. Then past the arc the shade dropped back down, appearing to land heavy yet causing little disurbance to the ground underfoot.

Then another silhouette rounded the back of her and before Bethanie had time to shift back around the thing struck out with a sharp blow that pierced my friend's shoulder. Bethanie however had not registered this and when she whirled around delivered yet another killing swipe as she split through its torso laterally.

Bethanie locked her eyes back onto the shade that avoided her and in a vertical motion swung her blade from behind to over the top of her head to land right down on top of it. But the being seemed to be faster than the others and just like the last attack made on it evaded this one too.

The fourth shade came from behind with two long black limbs swiping left and right, but this move had already became stale, and reacting with ample time, Bethanie skidded down low and missed the black spears as they soared overhead. There she sliced with her own weapon only centimetres from the ground and as she pulled across her ebony weapon cut cleanly first through two tombstones that laid in its wake, then the creature's ankles. The shade fell to the ground aside and as it appeared to concentrate on morphing new feet, marble and concrete collided to soft earth, quaking the scene with low pitched thuds.

Bethanie refixed her sword above her head and for a moment seemed to linger there, as if relishing on the strike to come that would end the shade's existence. But that seemed to be a crucial error for when it did come to execute that blow the second shade loomed behind her.

"Bethanie, behind you!" I cried out, but either she didn't hear me or I was too late for a split second after the fallen adversary had transformed into black hail Bethanie was sliced in her leg with a bladed hand, then her waist and then, shade spinning off a pivoted foot, pointed air-borne toes slashed across Bethanie's left hand.

Despite wobbly limbs Bethanie turned, tensed the grasp of her sword but then halted. Looking down she seemed only dismally aware of the deep gash in her left arm and yet still oblivious to all the other spots spilling profusely red.

Somehow this did not deter my friend for as the shade spun around to finish with a final piercing strike into Bethanie's heart the girl, roaring, flew her sword across with just her right hand.

The shade again evaded the black and red woven steel as it jumped backwards. It held there, watching Bethanie's panting before quickly turning around and fleeing the graveyard.

"Coward!" Bethanie's voice thundered towards the forest the dark being quickly escaped into. "Come back and finish this! I'll..." She gasped for air. "I'll kill you!"

She took a step forwards but this was onto her left crimson-oozing leg and putting her weight down began to fall, but I as appeared at her waist I did not allow that to happen.

"Abigail?" Bethanie breathed with confusion, as if not even remembering that I was there.

"Bethanie, stop!" I cried.

"I can't stop!" Bethanie yelled determinedly. "He's on the run, I need to finish him off..."

"But, Bethanie!" I interrupted. "Just look at you, you're bleeding really badly!"

Bethanie turned her gaze down first to inspect her arm, then to her leg and torso. As blood was gushing freely Bethanie widened her eyes and allowed her sword to drop limply and within a glowing white dust it disappeared.

"I... I didn't even feel