Nova: Daughters of Darkness (6 page)

Branna stood, shaking with fury, noticing that Rían still held Kyna's arm. "You were in on it with her, weren't you?" She knew even as she asked that she was grasping at straws; but she was desperate. "I don't know what you did, but whatever it was it caused my sister to be taken by that scum sucking demon. Now I have no idea where she is or how to get her back!"

Kyna reached her hand toward her sister. "Branna, I..."

"Shut up right now, you traitorous bitch. I don't care what you have to say." Branna spat hatefully.

Kyna felt as if she had just been punched in the gut, this was no more than she deserved, but not what she had expected. At the very least, she thought she would have the opportunity to explain.

"Like I said," Branna continued, "I don't know how you did what you did or why. Right now, I don't even care. I'm going to get my sister back, and I will kill anyone and everyone who stands in my way." She said, looking pointedly from Kyna, who dropped her head to her chest, to Rían. Turning, she went upstairs to figure out what to do next.

Walking to Kyna, Decklin lifted her chin, until their eyes met. "Kyna, lass, I know ye wouldna do anything to harm yer sisters. Tell me what happened."

Taking a deep breath, Kyna started at the beginning, from the first vision in their parents' house back home in Maine.

"Ahh! Let me go, you son of a bitch!" Nova screamed. Feeling Drakes arms loosen, she jumped away from him. She was getting ready to hit him with the full force of her power when he spoke.

"I would not do that if I were you." He said darkly.

Stopping, she held her magic in check. "Well, you're not me, and right now, I want to freeze your ass right off this ledge."

"Nova, I mean you no harm, however if you insist on defying me, then I will destroy that cabin and everyone within it that you love so dearly." Drake pointed to the cabin for emphasis.

For the first time, Nova noticed that she could see the cabin from where she stood. Walking to the edge, the wind and rain tore at her hair and clothing. He had played the right card. She would do nothing that put her sisters in jeopardy and he knew it. She turned away from the promise of family and love for what she assumed to be the last time. "What do you want me to do?"

Drake held out his hand, "just come with me."

Nova realized there was nothing else she could do. She placed her hand in his and felt the jolt of electricity run up her arm and then she was standing in the middle of a room similar to the one she had seen Drake in before. "So, what do you plan to do with me, keep me prisoner until you have successfully destroyed the world and everyone in it?"

Drake looked at her with a blank expression. "I have no plan, Nova, at least not one that includes you." With that, he turned and walked out of the room locking the door behind him.

Nova laughed.
Seriously? He thought a lock could hold her?
Walking up to the door, she intended to blast it down and get some answers, but when she touched it, she was thrown back from the force of an electric shock.
Clever son of a bitch isn't he?
She stood, looking around her, noticing the set up was the same as Drake's room. In the middle of the room sat a gigantic plush bed with a red silk comforter on it and black and red pillows lined the headboard. The stone walls had wrought iron sconces that held candles, which afforded the soft lighting in the room. The bathroom, she could see, was all done in an azure marble with pewter fixtures. She looked at all this dispassionately, unable to see the beauty in the room that was now her prison.

Kyna finished her tale, and both men sat there stunned with what she had just said. "That's na possible. Why would our great creator give Nova such a terrible fate?" Decklin asked.

"You see, it's not as terrible as you think. Nova is meant to destroy him but not in the way that you have assumed for so long."

Decklin contemplated that for a moment, then continued. "And ye can freeze your sisters powers, ye say?"

Casting her eyes down, uncomfortable with the new revelation, she shrugged. "Yeah...I guess. That was the first time. I saw it in my vision and I just had to think about stopping Branna's powers when I grabbed her and it happened."

Branna came down the stairs dressed in all black with her weapons strapped to her back and a pack slung over her shoulder. Rían jumped up from the sofa where he had been sitting with Kyna, not sure why he was embarrassed to have been caught there. Branna gave him one quick critical glance before heading for the front door.

"Where is it that you are going Branna?" Rían asked.

"Nowhere that you should concern yourself with, fairy boy, so back off."

"Branna! Ye need to stop with the smart mouth and come figure out a way to help yer sister. Being a vigilante will not help." Granda said sternly.

"Vigilante? What about the help I could have given her right here! But
she
somehow held my powers just out of my reach and let Nova be taken by that damn monster!" Branna raged.

"Enough!" Kyna countered just as heatedly. "I did what I had to do to keep us alive. If we had interfered he would have killed you right there. That was what he had come to do in the first place; he had come to kill us all, but then he saw Nova and he couldn't. He couldn't do the one thing he knew would destroy her completely, so we had to let her go. I told you, it was the only way." She rubbed her hands down her face, the heat having gone out of her, and slumped back onto the couch. "Look, I know you hate me, and I am sorry, sorrier than you will ever know, but I couldn't allow him to have both of my sisters. Bran," Kyna reverted to her childhood nick name, "I can't lose you both; I wouldn't survive it." At this point, Kyna was openly crying and Branna was standing there stunned.

"Why didn't you tell us? Warn us? If you knew all of this ahead of time?"

"You know how this works, I can only reveal what needs revealing and nothing more. I am not meant to mess with the balance. Even so, if I thought he intended on killing her, I wouldn't have allowed him to take her. We would have all died fighting here today. But I know what he doesn't, or at least what he isn't willing to admit. He cares about her, and I don't believe he is capable of hurting her."

"You better hope you're right, Kyna, because if not, you just sent Nova to her death."

Chapter 11

"Master," Clack said timidly as he came into the library where Drake was standing in front of the fireplace, a tumbler full of whiskey in hand. "I am sure the young lady will want

some breakfast, would you like me to have something sent up?"

"No one is to go near her room, Clack. You and you alone may bring her meals and see to her needs. The others cannot be trusted, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Master," Clack said as he bowed his way backwards, out of the room.

Nova heard a knock at the bedroom door but ignored it, assuming it would be Drake. The knock came again, and she decided Drake wouldn't knock to begin with, so she called for whoever it was to enter. In came the homeliest little creature she had ever seen. It stood about three feet tall and had stunted little ears that were all torn up; its wrinkled face bore a piggish nose with only a few teeth within its twisted mouth, and all of this was covered in a rust colored skin. Its human like eyes kept it from looking terrifying, actually making it almost cute. "What are you?" she asked curiously before she could stop herself.

"I am an imp my lady. My name is Clack." he said in a surprisingly deep voice, bowing before her.

Nova held in a giggle, suspecting that Clack would not appreciate being laughed at. Although her thoughts were rife with laughter at his contrasting image. His appearance not at all in line with the proper and obviously male voice. "Hello, Clack"

"Master has entrusted me with your care, is there anything I can get you? Something to eat or drink perhaps?"

Even though her throat felt drier than the Sahara and her hunger was at cannibalistic levels, she refused to eat or drink anything the traitorous demon had to offer. "No, thank you, but if you could tell your master that he can kiss my ass if it so pleases him, that would be wonderful." Nova responded as haughtily as she could.

Clack stood there in stunned silence. No one talked to Master like that. Suddenly, he smiled a full hundred watt smile, revealing that he did indeed only have a few teeth. "Yes, my lady, I believe I shall relay your message in kind." Bowing again, he left the room.

Nova wondered how long Drake would hold her here and what his intentions were. He seemed so cold and distant one minute, violent and deadly the next. Drake was definitely a dangerous man and very unpredictable. She couldn't help but reflect on what made him who he was. Was he born a demon or did he decide to go dark? Is that a choice one can make? Who knew, but she sure didn't care enough to find out.

Later that night, deciding he couldn't put it off any longer, Drake walked out to the court yard and looked around at all the demons waiting to do his bidding. These were the worst of the worst, the deviant outcasts even in the Underworld. Some looked as human as he, while others were beast like or just plain hideous. He had a moment's hesitation, wondering how Nova would react to what he was about to unleash on the world, then he shook it off. This was his destiny, his evil cross to bear, and bear it he would. "Demons, I stand before you as your leader." This caused grumbling from the crowd, they preferred to think of themselves as loners, answering to no one. One particular demon grumbled louder than the rest. Drake recognized Felken as one of the mid-level demons from the Underworld. He was the type of being that thought he was above all others. Drake would have to keep an eye on him. Continuing he said, "I want you to go forth into this tainted, miserable world and cause as much chaos and disruption as possible. Tear down their towers, crush their weapons, kill their corrupt and their evil and any others who would stand in your way." A cheer went up, their excitement growing with each word. "Humans have been weak and complacent for too long, they have destroyed and exploited that which was given freely. The time has come for us to be the ones in power. We will take this world for our own!" The demons were in a frenzy now, barely containing their need to go out and spread the darkness. "Go now, and leave no stone unturned, no place unmarked. Make them understand what it is like to be in hell!"

A resounding "yeah!" went up, and all the demons rushed to do as he said. The sky was black with the beating of wings as those that could fly rose into the night. Others disappeared in puffs of smoke as they teleported themselves to locations far and wide to wreak their havoc. At that moment, he looked up and saw Nova in the window of her room. Even from where he stood, the venomous look on her face was unmistakable.

Nova could hear the raucous gathering from where she had sat staring at the cold, dark fireplace. She had been thinking about how she could escape or at least get in contact with her sisters, but she kept coming up with nothing. Even her magic was useless in this situation, being that all the doorways and windows were spelled with some sort of electrical charge and the castle had a shield to make the stone immune to her earth magic. Walking to the window, careful to keep back so as not to get zapped again, she looked down in horror at the mass of demons gathered. Nova wished desperately for a miracle as she heard the words Drake spoke. Then she watched as the demons left to carry out his commands. In that moment, she would have killed him had he been within arm's reach.

Branna sat at the dinner table with Kyna, their Granda and Rían. Their discussion being about all the possible ways of rescuing Nova. Not everyone was agreeing on their best course of action.

"I think I should go ta Tir Na Nog and speak with the king and his council. He is wise and will know how to get around whatever forces Drake has up, preventing us from getting to Nova." said Granda.

"No, I think we should all stick together right now. Honestly, being apart has done nothing to help us up to this point." Branna argued.

"Branna, your Granda is right. He can do nothing more here and would benefit us more if he were to go meet with my father. That way they can unite their powers and lend us strength once we encounter the dark forces." Rían countered.

"Look, I know you think you are somehow helping, but your input is unwanted. So zip it, twinkle toes." She saw a muscle twitch in his jaw, and a hard look shone in his eyes.

"Branna, Rían, and Granda are both right. We need all the help we can get, and what better ally to have then the ultimate light force itself? Tir Na Nog holds power beyond our imaginations, and we need them on our side." Kyna said, reasoning with Branna.

"I get it Kyna, I do, but do we really need to be without one more family member right now?"

"No, but this is a serious situation, and what we need is a good game plan."

"Whatever, fine, go."

Their Granda got up from his chair and went to sit beside Branna. "Branna, yer old Granda will be fine. What ye need is ta take care of yerself and yer sisters. We all need ta focus on what's important and do our parts to sort this mess out."

Branna looked at him tearfully, showing a rarely seen vulnerability. "I'm sorry, you're right. I am just so scared that we won't get her back. What if we can't find her in time Granda?"