Chapter 37

Darvian landed the next day. He'd been flying all night and despite the fact that he was exhausted, the only evidence he showed of it was a pair of dark circles around his eyes. The pulsating, nauseating spider attached to his neck commanded his body. It was a merciless puppet master. It didn't care if Darvian was tired. It didn't care that he needed to rest. It didn't care that he needed to eat and drink (other than doing the absolute minimum to ensure the host body continued to survive).

The real Darvian was still in there but he was shrouded by a cloud of darkness that he couldn't get out of. He'd managed to do so once, to protect Fiona, but that hadn't lasted long and again when the other had been weakened for a very brief time. The darkness overwhelmed him again quickly and he'd been too weak to stop it.

"Report," a voice said as Darvian entered a tent.

Darvian saw the man the voice belonged to. He was slouched on an actual throne. There was bruising and lacerations to his burned and maimed face but he still exuded a sense of power and lethality.

"Report!" Blak screamed. There was an intense, powerful rage that exploded out of him.

The spider twitched on Darvian's neck and a wave of pain rippled through his body. He dropped to his knees and bent his head forward.

"King Rowan survives. A contingent of Rooks and Terraquois interrupted me. The Rooks unleashed nano-fire. They killed your croatoans and thirteen of your servants. I was forced to leave, Master," Darvian explained.

Blak rose slowly from his throne. He stared at Darvian with barely controlled anger.

"You're mission was to slaughter Rowan and his people. Care to explain why such a simple task was outside your reach?" Blak demanded. "I provided you with all the tools necessary for the Rook King's demise and yet still you failed."

"There were...circumstances outside my control, Master. King Rowan is formidable and the loyalty he still commands has proven to be a problem." Darvian kept his head down with his eyes glued to the floor.

"You know what I don't like?" Blak asked.

Darvian didn't respond.

"Don't worry. That question does not require an answer. I'll provide that for you. It is failure, Darvian. I can't stand it, in fact. It has been a constant thorn in my side." Blak walked closer to the boy. "Bring them in."

Lehan Javoy entered Blak's tent with two people, a woman and her daughter. They walked without needing prodded. They entered the tent on their own. Their eyes were curiously blank and neither one showed any emotion.

The woman was Zoie Tims and the girl was her daughter, Aeri. They were Darvian's mother and sister.

"Stand there and do not move," Blak instructed them.

Neither one so much as twitched.

"I hate failure but the one thing that makes it worse is excuses. You failed, plain and simple. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Master," Darvian replied with a flat voice.

"And failure needs to be punished, correct?" Blak went on.

"Yes, Master," Darvian replied, his voice still monotonous and uninflected.

"I'm glad that you agree," Blak said. He walked over to Zoie and Aeri. He stood in front of them as his mechpaks opened. His nanos flew out and swirled around his fist for a moment. Then they formed into the night black sword he'd used on the earth-talker king. "I had high hopes for you Darvian. Your mind has been one of the more malleable ones I've encountered thus far. I've been able to mold you into a killer. A fighter. A weapon. But you failed and I cannot let that go. What kind of a leader would that make me?"

"An inadequate one, Master," Darvian answered.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Lehan asked.

Blak whirled on the man.

"You question me?" Blak asked.

Lehan gulped noticeably. He knew instantly that he made a colossal error but he couldn't stand there and watch what was about to happen without saying something. This was complete madness. Utter insanity. The creature that took control of Wilhelm was evil beyond measure. He felt it every time he was near the man.

And it was only getting worse.

"I understood the need for a General with his mind intact. Do not make me regret my decision to make that person you." Blak turned back to Zoie and Aeri. He gripped his sword in his hand and lifted it. "Remember this moment, Darvian, and do not fail me again."

"Yes, Master. Whatever you command." Darvian was staring fixedly at the sword. There was a moment where a flash of emotion flickered in his eyes. It was tiny but still there.

Blak swung his sword down and across. A spray of blood filled the air.

Darvian watched as his mother was sliced open from neck to hip. She fell to the ground without a sound. Her eyes stared at nothing and she started seizing. Her massive wound was bleeding profusely but despite that, Zoie never screamed. She never said a word.

Blak bent down over the woman.

"The full effect seems somewhat lost here," Blak said. He held his hand out. There was a sickening sound as Blak's croatoan pulled itself out of Zoie and walked drunkenly across the ground to Blak's hand. A gaping hole appeared in his palm and the croatoan crawled inside.

As soon as the spider was out of Zoie, the woman screamed in pain. Her seizures got worse and there were choking, gargling sounds as blood bubbled out of her mouth. She turned her head and saw Darvian standing still. His body was shaking uncontrollably as he watched his mother be put down like an animal.

**

Darvian floated through the darkness. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He couldn't smell. He couldn't feel or taste either. It felt like he was dead. The absence of his senses was disorienting, and it helped cement the feelings of hopelessness and depression that were a cyclonic tempest inside him.

He would catch brief glimpses of the outside world. There were times when he saw himself flying through the air on his jet pack, heading to an unknown destination. He would try to fight back but his body didn't respond to his commands anymore. He was trapped inside himself with no way out. His only chance was when the evil "other" inside his mind had been momentarily weakened back when he was in the jungle and even then, he failed.

But it came rushing over him again shortly after. The darkness won again.

Suddenly, the darkness he had fought against for so long retreated and he could see into the world again. He was confused. He had no idea why there was a sudden reprieve, but he welcomed it.

He looked around and instantly wished the darkness would spread back over him.

On the ground was his mother. There was a horrible wound to most of her upper body. She was choking on blood as she gasped for air. Her eyes were wide and afraid. She was screaming in horrible agony.

Next to her mother was Aeri. His sister was standing completely still. Her eyes showed no emotion and her face was slack and blank.

"Mom!" Darvian yelled. He tried to run to her, to help her, but his legs wouldn't respond to his commands. It was like he was paralyzed.

"I-I lo-ve y-you b-both," Zoie managed to gasp out through her agony. "Don't st-op f-fighting, Darvian."

She stopped trying to talk and looked at her daughter. She cried miserably as she blew a kiss at her. Then, the next second, she was gone. She stopped struggling to breathe. Her chest quit rising and falling. Her head went limp and fell to the side. Her eyes stared straight at Darvian, unseeing.

Darvian could do nothing but watch it all happen, unable to stop it.

Unable to help.

Tears rolled down his cheeks and he couldn't even raise a hand to wipe them away.

He watched as they fell to floor of the tent.