Ileus: The Dark Prince

The witch snapped her fingers and she burst into a plume of darkness that whooshed in the obscurity of the cave. Anastasia glanced at the dead Lila who stood as a guard. She wondered whether Lila could sense her movements or not. She felt like testing it out, but then she was too tired mentally and physically. She tipped her head back against the wall and rested, her heart uneasy. She closed her eyes to concentrate on her magic but it was so feeble that she barely felt it. Ileus had shackled her wings before she left Draoidh because he didn't want to expose her, but the way things turned up, she was unsure if she wanted them shackled anymore.

The relief that she had felt when the ring glowed signifying that Ileus' was still alive was now slowly getting replaced by vengeance. The whole scenario that she went through played in her mind repeatedly. When she saw the arrows jutting out of Ileus' body, she thought she would kill everyone in the vicinity. Gods, she wanted to take Lila down. Somehow, she regretted that she lost the opportunity to torture her. The woman died too easily. Why wasn't she feeling an iota of guilt about her actions? And why was her need for revenge so overwhelming? 

"Ileus…" she murmured through their bond. But there was silence. She could feel the bond, but it was empty. The feeling was painful, as if someone has stabbed a thousand glass shards in her heart and then taken them out one by one. Panic rose in her chest and then it ran like hot lava over her skin bringing her rage to the surface. Her temple throbbed when she looked back at Lila. "You all are going to be destroyed by me. I promise to the Lore that I will be the one who is going to wreck all of you… a wreckage befitting dead like you and dark ones like your Master." 

Lila lunged towards her and the next moment Anastasia was surrounded by unimaginable darkness. She fell unconscious.

When she woke up next, the manacles on her wrist were slightly loose. Her wrists and ankles must have burned when she had fallen down after Lila had struck her, tightening their hold by sensing her movement. But now that they were loose, it meant that the serpents sensed that she had stayed still for a long time. She moved her hand slowly and then pulled herself up. She gritted her teeth when she saw the pile of bones on her left and Lila standing in the right corner. 

Anastasia took a deep breath that was so foul that she felt like retching. Once again, she rested on her back against the wall, closed her eyes and tried to focus on how to get out. The witch had said that she would sacrifice her in the morning. Anxiety gripped her like a vise and her chest tightened. She needed to push the fear down and think of a way to get out of this prison before the witch would sacrifice her to her dark lords. "Dark lords…" she murmured. 

She recalled that even Ileus had said something about dark powers. She pushed herself to pinpoint the memories and when it surfaced, her skin lined with goose bumps. Her eyes jerked wide open. He had said that if he wanted, he could be the master of the dark powers. It's just that he never chose them. Though they are always there trying to lure him, call him to their side. He had also mentioned that it was a thin line to cross because the lure of darkness was too tempting. Anastasia turned her gaze to Lila and her thoughts went to the witch. "She has given herself to the dark," Anastasia muttered. "She has crossed the thin line…" 

All of a sudden Anastasia felt that there was a missing connection that needed to be pieced together. She was sure that the dark witch belonged to the wizard realm and it was possible that Adrianna knew her, even if Ileus didn't. That brought up the next question in her mind—how old was the witch? Was she thousands of years old or was she a young witchling? She had to get free in order to tell this tale to Adrianna. Excited, she stretched her arm towards the dagger that was lying nearby not within her vicinity. She knew that the chains would start slithering and the serpents would spew venom, so she slowly moved from her place. Inch by inch she moved her hand to grab her dagger. Once it was in her hand, she would plan her next move. But the moment she came next to the hilt of the dagger, the chain cut in her wrists. 

Gust of chilly wind passed through the bars and tousled her hair, stopping her efforts. Quickly she retreated and closed her hands in her lap even as the venom sizzled and burned her skin, staining her dress with blood. 

The plume of darkness gathered and whorled in front of her to materialize into the witch. 

"Ah, you have woken up," she said in her typical voice that sounded like nails screeching across a glassy surface. 

Anastasia's hands fisted at the sound of her voice. "You are someone from Draoidh!" Anastasia said as soon as she saw her. "That means that the queen knows who you are!" 

The witch, who was floating towards her, stilled in the air. Her eyes flickered a yellow as she seethed with rage. "You think too much Anastasia! And I am glad that Lila hit you."

"I don't care that Lila hit me," she snarled. "But tell me who are you? Did someone betray you? There is no one in the wizard kingdom other than my husband who the dark powers seek. Because I know that for the dark powers, you need to have a strong body—one that can hold them." 

The witch tilted her head and stared at her for a long moment. "For a young fae, you are intelligent," she said and then chuckled. 

"From what little I can gather, you have betrayed the wizard kingdom, you have betrayed Adrianna and you are now standing in betrayal of the crown princess!" 

The witch threw her head back and started laughing. Her laughter sounded as if coming from various souls. It was creepy and hair rose on Anastasia's nape as dread seeped in. "We are not concerned about what you think, Anastasia. Long time back when my people betrayed me, when they couldn't look after me, I embraced darkness. I waited for them to return to me, to save me, but they didn't. I was tortured to no end till my sanity broke. At first, I took vengeance from those who tortured me and then when they started fearing me, I granted them pardon." She floated to a place near Anastasia and sat a few feet away. "My powers increased with each passing day, as more and more dark souls joined me," her voice trailed off. "Now I don't know where my soul is. It is entangled with all of them." She looked at Anastasia with her obsidian eyes. "You are right in that I embraced the dark powers because that was what I could do… easily."