The Tale of Gaven Morren: The First Night--Into the Dark (Part 9)

Damn it, I wanted to avoid the wizard! But I have no choice. He's the one who wanted the girl in the first place.

No time to waste. "Naros! Naros of Miir! Show yourself!" I wait, and then hear the faint clink of sliver and the tread of boots.

He stands in the shadow of the closest watchtower. The shadows cling to him. "Here you are. I'm disappointed in you, Gaven. Dawn arrives."

"So what? I have your girlfriend here, just like you asked. Do you want her or not? I'm through playing your games, Naros."

He sighs. "And yet the game has rules. Rules which you have ignored. I warned you to bring her to me before dawn, Gaven. Repeatedly."

"What, you don't want her now that she's a stiff? You get her now, it's easier to keep the spirit inside her from getting away." He seems taken aback by that.

"Yeah, I know all about that deal you made with the fallen thoughts. That's what you meant when you said there must always be a darkness."

"If the fallen thoughts leave your little spirit prison, whatever has kept you alive all these centuries starts to fade. am I right?"

"You are impressively perceptive, Gaven." He's smirking now. "Perhaps if you had been this perceptive before, you wouldn't have been Exiled."

"You are indeed correct. Without The Shadows, I would not exist. And yet you are so dangerously wrong about a great many particulars."

Condescending and insulting. How familiar. "Look, I don't care what sort of mystic mumbo jumbo you work with. Do you want her or not?"

"You must understand this, Gaven. Miir is not just a sanctuary for these dark and fallen spirits. It is a prison, keeping them contained."

"You cannot comprehend the horrors that would be inflicted on the world if they were allowed to roam as they pleased." Ha. Like he cares.

"Look. Do you want her or not? The guards are going to start patrolling here, and I have no intention of being found here with a dead body."

"I do. But I warned you there would be consequences if you did not return her to me by sunrise. Consequences that cannot be ignored."

"Are you threatening me?" I growl. I've had enough of these games. I ready the dagger, but I have no idea what magics he is capable of.

"The time for threats is past, Gaven. But we are all bound by rules here...even you. I have done more than you will ever know to keep you safe-"

I look over the wall again. It's a quarter mile through the Cobwebs to the desert. I can make it if I run. "Make a better offer."

He seems to be losing his composure.

"Listen to me! She has named you her guardian for now, but she is a fiend. A monster in an innocent guise. Surely you realize this!"

"Eventually, she will turn on you. It's her nature. Don't be fooled! Relinquish your protection, hand her over to me!"

"You want her?" I say, hauling the corpse to her feet. "Then go get her." I release her. She slips over the wall, into the shadows.

Naros screams in rage as she tumbles. I hear a sick crunch as she lands. With any luck, the guards will think she jumped to her death.

"I'm not your errand boy, Naros, and I'll be damned if I'll act as your slave. You want to play games? Play them with someone else."

There is a sound from down below. I look, forgetting Naros for the moment. The corpse is standing, broken bones grinding. She looks up.

I see her glare at me with hollow eyes, then her face softens. She whispers something...I think she said "Thank you." Then she shambles away.

The sun must have been what was keeping her from moving. "During the night, the thoughts are free to wander." I mutter. I turn to Naros. "It's over, wizard. Go back to your tower."

"This is not over, Gaven." he says. "You will come to regret this. Even I cannot protect you from all the enemies you have made." "Tell them to get in line."

And with that, he's gone. I sit against the battlements. I realize I won't get out of Miir today. I hear the clank of guard boots already.

But, for what its worth, at least Jessamine can, and whatever spirit is animating her will leave with her. I've hurt you, Miir. Badly.

You want to play games with these people? Feed on their misery, expose them to demons and monsters? Teach them to fear the dark? Alright.

But remember, Miir. I still face six more nights of Exile. I've hurt you once already. Imagine what I can do with just a little more time.

The guards arrive. "What took you so long?" I ask. The head guard looks a me. "Gaven Morren. You are to be taken back into custody."

"Your wounds will be tended to, but when midnight rings you will be returned to the mercy of The Shadows." I figured as much, thank you.

Well, one night done. The guards haul me to my feet and relieve me of the dagger. Then I am hauled through the streets, back the way I came.

((And thus ends the story...for now))

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