The Darkness

Everyone took turns presenting her to the world of the Gods and telling her how it was before she was on earth. One thing they wouldn’t tell her was why she was on earth in the first place.

Thankfully, that place had cell service- she couldn’t tell you how if she wanted to-so she was able to contact Kai so he wouldn’t worry about her.

“Thanatos, what day would it be on earth?” She asked as she polished the weapons, something she did to get away from her thoughts- even back in Hel and earth.

“October 31st, why?” She stopped polishing and looked up from the tessen blades. No way it was October, no way that day came that fast.

“Can you do me a favour? And you have to promise to keep it from Niana and Talo?” She spun around to face him.

“What do you need?” He threw the towel down and leaned up against the counter.

“Take me to earth. Just for today. There’s something I need to do,” She told him, looking down at her shoes.

He nodded, “Okay.”

He took her hand and led her to a pool surrounded by bricks in the middle of the Gods palace. She thought of the place she went on that day every year for the last 10 years- the graveyard.

They appeared within a tomb that Fae often uses as portals. She opened the gates and picked the flowers that was left for mourners to put on the graves. Serafina could feel Thanatos’s wonder but he said nothing and just followed her to the plot a few feet ahead of them.

‘Here lies Serafina Micha’ The tombstone read.

She squatted and placed one flower on her grave.

Serafina Micha is dead and she will never be reborn. She was weak and naive- she thought blood couldn’t betray blood. She will remain 6 feet under. Serafina thought as she looked at her grave with nothing but anger.

She then turned to the grave next to her and put the remaining two white flowers on the ground.

’Here lies Zara and Zak Micha, October 31st 2008- November 1st 2008.’

Serafina let her fingertips graze the top of the tombstone, gazing at it with empty watering eyes. “I only got to hold them once before they died. You know I watched them do it, it was the same day I died. My father and mother held me back as my cousin drove the daggers into their tiny hearts. He was my first kill; I sang a death song so loud that he combusts. Then Hali took a sword off the mantel and ran it through my heart.” She whipped the tears from her face.

“Where was their father in all this?” Thanatos asked not being able to refrain himself.

She shook her head, “I don’t even know who their father was but whoever he is he deserves to rot in Tartarus for what he did to me.” She couldn’t know anything about him but she knew if she ever found out and she saw him again she would flay him alive and then throw him to the Cheenos- very aggressive flesh-eating Fae who would do anything for fresh meat, even if it was their own flesh.

She stood up and brushed her dress off, walking away from the three graves, “Let’s get back before anyone notices we are gone.”

She stopped in front of the tomb gate and held her arm out in front of Thanatos, turning her head and giving him a glare, “You can’t tell anyone about this, Thanatos. No one can know I was...” She stopped, choking up before continuing, “No one can know I was ever pregnant- understood?”

He nodded at her, “I understand.”

She put her arm down and straightened the dress Niana gave her, “Good.” She took a deep breath before lifting her head up high composing herself and making it look as if the last few minutes didn’t happen. She opened the gate and stepped through the portal, coming out of the water.

Just as Thanatos and her were about to leave the portal room, the sound of someone else coming through the portal filled the room.

They both grabbed their weapons, ready for an attack only to find the intruder not to be an enemy.

“What the hell,” The boy whispered, looking at his arms which were dry.

“He’s human.” Thanatos observed.

Serafina put her knife back in its sheath and yanked her dress down with a huff before glaring at the human, “And a dumb human at that.”

She grabbed the boy by his ear and dragged him over to her. “Ow!” The human cried.

“Why the hell are you here, Aviry?” She growled into his ear.

“You know him?” Thanatos asked, putting his gun down.

“I grew up with him. But that is beside the point; what? Are. You. Doing. Here?” She gripped his ear tighter.

“I went to put flowers on the twins’ graves when I saw you two go through the portal. I haven’t seen you in over ten years so I followed you. Can you let go of my ear please?” He squeaked.

She looked him over before letting his ear go and the smacking the back of his head, “Dumb bitch, why would you randomly follow someone into a portal, that is how you end up in limbo.”

He shrugged and she rolled her eyes, turning away from him.

“He can’t stay here, Serafina.”

“Hey I can stay wherever the hell I want to.”

“Shut up,” They told him in unison.

“What do you mean he can’t stay here?” She stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

“Humans can’t stay here without a formal invite or someone who claims him as their pet.” He spat the word pet at Aviry.

“Then I claim him,” She said without faltering.

“You can’t claim him yet, Serafina, you haven’t been here long enough to know how or the dangers that come with it.” He explained.

She stared him down, “I grew up with him, Thanatos. I am not going to leave him on earth after finally meeting him again.”

He looked into her eyes for the longest while before holding his hand out, “Give me your dagger.”

Serafina lifted her skirts and unsheathed her dagger, handing it to him hilt first. He grabbed Aviry’s arm and yanked it out, holding his palm upwards, “Are you squeamish at the sight of blood?”

Aviry shook his head and, without warning, Thanatos took the dagger and made an incision on Aviry’s palm. Thanatos did the same thing to his hand then clasped their bloody palms together.

“I, Thanatos God of Death and son of Nyx, hereby claim this human as my pet and shall be held accountable for his actions.”

For a split-second Aviry’s eyes turned dark red like Thanatos but they went back to his normal green when Thanatos let go of their hands.

“You owe me,” Thanatos told Serafina before leaving the room.

“Wow, he’s hot.” Aviry said once Thanatos was out of earshot.

“You should see him in training.” She muttered, “Come on, we have lots to talk about.” She linked her arm with Aviry’s and led him to the room she was staying in.

They didn’t really get to talk about what was going on because Aviry passed out as soon as he landed in her room. Aviry was a narcoleptic. He fell asleep at random places at the most random times. His narcolepsy was actually how Serafina and him met. They were walking home from primary school and he passed out in the middle of the street. Serafina had seen him before around the castle because he was the adopted son of one of Lamia’s ladies maids.

She then ran across the street and dragged him to the sidewalk where she could safely make sure he was okay. When she found that he was just sleeping she carried him all the way back to her house. After he woke up and explained that he had narcolepsy she swore to him that she would never let something like that happen again.

He got into more trouble but Serafina was always there to help him. He was her brother in the same sense that Kai was. All three may not be blood but that didn’t matter to her because her blood had never cared for her the way those boys did. When she lived with the Dark Family, before she met Kai, he was the one she would turn to when she felt like the world was against her. When she woke up in her bedroom naked and violated without memory of what had happened to her Aviry was the first person she told, the one who comforted her when the pregnancy test showed positive. It was always him. Not Hati, nor Lamia, nor Maekus- Aviry.

She tucked him in and left the room, making sure to leave a note for him. As soon as she left the room, she felt her arm searing as if she had stuck it in a vat of lava. She clenched her teeth together and let out a muffled scream. Her breathing became erratic and she felt dizzy.

“Serafina?” She could barely hear Thanatos calling out to her.

Thanatos turned around the corner and ran over to her, catching her as she fell.

Her body started to flail around and a blood-stained foam poured from her mouth, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Her vision started to blur and her hearing went in and out. She started to feel as if her body was no longer hers, like she was just a passenger in it, watching from the inside as someone else controlled her. She felt a slight tug in her head and she realised just what was happening.

Someone was trying to take control of her body and kick her out. She fought as hard as she could against them- pulling her soul back from them like a game of tug of war. With a final tug she pulled whoever it was out of her body and gained control once more. A black mist poured out from her mouth and crawled into the nearest air vent.

When her seizure stopped, she choked on the foam that blocked her airway. Thanatos, who was keeping her from injuring herself, snapped out of his initial shock and sat her up straight, hitting her back as she coughed it onto the floor.

“What the hell was that?” Thanatos asked her. She looked up at him, her eyes red and tear-filled from the coughing which seemed as though it would never stop.

“That, dear Thanatos, was someone trying to hijack my body.” She breathed and held up her arm, showing him the mark, “And I think this just warned me.”