Chapter Fifty-one: Meskyroth

I stared at the shadow spirit that swooped in from the dark clouds rumbling with thunder. Violet lightning struck the earth, filling the air with thick miasma. The enormous figure landed before me, his leathery wings clawing at anyone in his vicinity. He roared as he slashed with his muscular arms, raking the earth, spewing bits of hot rock and ash. My mother screamed as she was blinded by the attack. The other forest nymphs tried to drag her to safety, but the shadow creature was much faster. His claws pierced through their vine-like bodies, setting them ablaze. The forest nymphs shrieked in pain as they burned with the shadow creature's blue flames.

I was heartless as I watched them suffer and die. They had wanted to kill me. My own mother wanted me dead. Was I some sort of pawn to them? I growled at the shadow creature when his abyssal eyes settled on me.

"It was you that tried to eat Tark!" I accused. "You'll pay for hurting my friend!"

The shadow creature hissed as he spread his wings and readied his claws. My vines speared his leathery wings as he tried to send a gale, and his claws caught air as I leapt to his neck. Elioh's energy surged through me as I sent a barrage of lightning bolts through his neck. He was riddled with smoking holes from the force, and the shadowy form warbled. His neck glowed with golden light, revealing something else was inside. I furrowed my brows as I knew someone was trapped.

The shadow creature stared at me with a forlorn gaze, his roars silenced by the holes in his neck. His fathomless eyes were the same as mine, but I wasn't sure if he was still in there. The charred bodies of the forest nymphs lay around him like petrified logs.

"I thought you were gone, and I had lost everything," I admitted as I approached him. "I became a demon because I felt there was nothing left in me. My friends showed me that there's always something to look forward to. It might not be what you expect, but it's better than nothing at all."

The shadow creature lowered his head, and once my fingers settled in his fur, the shadows disappeared, revealing my father, Meskyroth.

He kneeled on the ground, his brilliant silver armor nearly blinding in the rising sun. "Forgive me, Aeklith," he offered, his deep voice bringing calm. "I couldn't protect you. I've failed you as a father."

"You only fail if you quit," I told him.

He glanced up at me and smiled. "Then I will strive to be better, just as you have."

He glanced at my mother's unconscious figure and sighed. "She tried her best to save your brother from the darkness, but he succumbed to it after you were taken from us. I tried searching for him in the shadow realm, but I couldn't find him. He has soul-searing blue eyes, and takes the form of a white cat. I've traced his scent here, but he's as elusive as they come. With you here, it might draw him closer."

I had seen the white cat numerous times, but I had never given it much thought. He had visited the treehouse in Mayzel Fort, and had ran along the beach while Mil and I had strolled there. He had climbed a scraggly tree and watched as Mil and I had kissed each other. I had been annoyed at first, but had forgotten he was there while Mil had felt soft and yearning beneath me.

"What does he look like when he's not a cat?" I queried.

"He's a shadow demon," he replied. "Unsatiable for power. He can acquire it by eating his victims. He won't care if they're still living or dead."

I gulped as I realized what this meant. My brother had nearly killed Tark by eating him. What made him stop? Did he stop?

I had a feeling he wouldn't. The thought of losing Tark made me sick, and the fact that it was my brother that harmed him made me furious. If he had been watching us this whole time, he knew how important Tark was. He knew how much I cared about my friends, and he decided to go through with it anyway. He was twisted and reckless, just as I had been. "He hurt my best friend," I growled. "He was watching us this entire time and ate most of my friend alive. If you want him to live, you had better find him before I do."

Meskyroth frowned at my determination and sighed. "He's your brother, Aeklith. You were able to find yourself, and he hasn't."

"I don't care if he can't find his own fuddlecock!" I shouted. "He's better off dead!"

"You don't mean that," he uttered.

I glared at him with a snarl. "You don't know me, yet, Father. You haven't seen the other side of this facade."