Chapter 34: The Past Darkness
Melissa’s POV
I could feel the weight of the lair itself bearing down on me as if it were alive. The entity’s voice echoed with a strange blend of my child’s supplication and Damon’s brutality, and its luminous eyes stared directly into mine.
It repeated, “Mommy, help me,” and it tugged at my heart like jagged claws.
I shook my head to focus. “You’re not authentic. You aren’t my kid! I tried to sound firm even if my voice trembled.
The beast refrained from attacking. Rather, it took a step back, its shape fluttering like a shattered shadow. Images of Damon’s history started to swirl about us, leaking into the atmosphere like a burst dam.
As a woman, shrouded in light, turned away from Damon, I saw him as a boy, standing in a wilderness, tears running down his cheeks.
“You left me behind!” Even though Damon’s voice was shouting, it wasn’t at me. It was directed at the luminous form. “You gave me nothing!”
The image changed, revealing a man with a contorted visage of despair and rage grasping the artefact. “I’ll take power myself if you won’t give it to me!”
“What is this?” My voice was almost heard as I whispered.
The voice broke as the thing shuddered. “He… Anger binds him.” Consumed by loss.
A knot formed in my throat. Power was only one aspect of Damon’s hatred; other factors were rejection, suffering, and the perverse decisions he had made to fill the gap.
As if struggling with itself, the beast roared once again as the visions subsided.
“Elissa!” The commotion was broken by Kane’s voice. When I looked back, I saw him and the pack battling Damon’s army. The lair was filled with the growls and cries of wolves engaged in violent conflict with Damon’s loyalists.
Even from a distance, I could see the dread on Kane’s face as our eyes locked.
“You must move quickly!” he said, slicing through one of Damon’s supporters with his sword.
“I’m making an effort!” With emotion trembling in my voice, I screamed back.
With its claws cutting through the air, the creature abruptly sprang at me. I rolled to the side and called up a shield of light, narrowly avoiding it in time.
Despite my legs trembling, I stood erect and declared, “You can’t have me.” “And you’re not going to take anybody else!”
Once more, the thing paused, its shape wavering as though it were torn between two realities.
The young voice whispered, almost mournfully, “Melissa…” “Preserve me.”
My eyes filled with tears. “I’m not sure how!” With everything pressing down on me, I let out a cry.
Its energy spiralled outward, harming everything it touched, and the item above Damon shone brighter. Beneath it, Damon stood chanting in a language I couldn’t comprehend with his hands up.
The monster let out a bone-chilling scream as the artefact’s power rushed into it. Its presence became more oppressive, its claws sharper, and I could feel its strength increasing.
The thing repeated, “Melissa,” but this time Damon’s voice was mixed in with its own. “You’re never going to prevail. You cannot control this strength.
I clenched my teeth and said, “No,” using all my last strength. “I’ll keep you safe. I’ll also quit Damon.
I threw another energy blast, but it was absorbed by the thing, and the stolen power lit up its body.
With his voice resonating throughout the room, Damon taunted, “You can’t fight me forever.”
Kane and the pack were still fighting behind me. With their jaws snapping and claws slashing, wolves charged at Damon’s supporters. However, I could see them faltering because they were outnumbered.
“Kane!” Desperation began to seep into my voice as I yelled.
He shouted back, “We’ve got this!” but his voice was strained, which betrayed him. “Pay attention to Damon!”
My thoughts were racing as I turned back to the entity. Something had to be done to break Damon’s hold and weaken it. However, how?
Then I noticed it: a small crack that ran along the artifact’s surface. Though tiny and nearly undetectable, it existed.
“That’s it,” I said, feeling a glimmer of optimism flare inside of me.
The crack was slightly wider and the artifact pulsed once more. The energy it released was wild and chaotic, and I realized that Damon’s ritual wasn’t as stable as he wanted us to believe.
“If I can break it,” I thought aloud, “maybe I can stop all of this.”
The entity roared again, drawing my attention back to it. It charged, and I braced myself, generating another shield of light. The contact sent shockwaves through my body, but I held my ground.
“Let her go!” I shouted, my voice reverberating through the lair.
The thing hesitated, its form wavering once again. The young voice broke through Damon’s influence and said, “Help… me…”
I reached out, my hand trembling. “I will,” I promised, tears flowing down my cheeks. “I’ll save you.”
Damon’s laughter pierced through the moment like a knife. “You’re wasting your time, Melissa. That thing is mine now. Just like everything else.”
“No,” I responded, my voice firm. “Not this time.”
I ignored Damon’s jests and returned my attention to the artefact. Perhaps if I broke it, I could release the entity and permanently thwart Damon’s scheme.
The crack widened and the artifact pulsed once more. Wild and uncontrollable energy erupted, casting an eerie glow over the lair.
“Elissa!” With a voice full of urgency, Kane shouted out.
“I see it!” With determination pulsing through me, I yelled back.
I summoned all my remaining strength and held my ground as the monster lunged at me one last time. Around me, the glow grew stronger, and I let it out in a dazzling burst of light.
With a scream, the creature’s shape vanished into darkness as the light engulfed it. However, its voice reverberated one final time as it disappeared.
“Mom…”
Even though my heart hurt, I didn’t have time to think about it. I looked at the artefact, which was now trembling wildly.
An angry mask twisted Damon’s face. He said, “What are you doing?!” in a terrified tone.
I stepped forward and said, “Stopping you.”
The item started to fracture as the crack grew wider, releasing sudden spurts of unrestrained energy.
The energy within the artefact threatened to burst, and the lair shook as it produced a loud pulse. Damon’s voice reverberated about me as I paused, staring at the blazing fractures. “Melissa, you have doomed us all!”