Things That Hunt in the Dark
Kael's POV
By the time we left the petrol station behind, night had completely swallowed the highway.
The last traces of sunset dissolved in the rearview mirror, replaced by an endless, suffocating stretch of black asphalt broken only by the yellow cutting edge of Aiden's headlights.
I could feel my core pulling toward the horizon. Every mile brought us closer. The connection between us had long ceased to feel like a faint thread; it was an ancient, rhythmic pulse echoing deep within my own chest. Faint, but persistent. Calling to me. If I closed my eyes, I could point directly to where it lay in the world.
Unfortunately, the dark magic buried around my heart was reacting to it.
Every beat of my distant core sent a sharp spike of agony through my ribs, as if invisible, venomous claws were digging deeper beneath my skin. Each breath required a little more focus than the last. I kept my face turned squarely toward the passenger window, watching the shadowy wall of trees blur past.
Aiden was already bearing the weight of my past. He didn't need to carry my present pain, too.
"You've gone quiet again," his soft voice cut through the hum of the engine.
"Just taking in the scenery."
"It's pitch black outside."
A faint smile touched my lips. "Then I am admiring the darkness."
He glanced at me briefly, his eyes full of that quiet, protective warmth before returning his focus to the dark road. "You don't have to lock yourself behind closed doors, Kael."
"Habit of a lifetime."
His hand reached across the center console, searching in the dim dashboard glow until his fingers slid into mine. Without taking his eyes off the road, he squeezed firmly.
"I'm here," he said quietly.
Two simple words. I couldn't fathom why they made my chest ache far more than the black magic coiling around my heart.
I squeezed his fingers back, holding tight. "I'm glad."
From the back seat, Arith watched us through half-lidded eyes, leaning her chin on her hand. "You two are becoming disgustingly adorable."
"We are merely sitting quietly," I replied.
"You are holding hands like star-crossed court nobles."
"If it bothers you, close your eyes."
She sighed, a dramatic, theatrical sound. "I miss when you were an emotionless wall."
"That wall was miserable."
Aiden let out a soft laugh. "And terribly boring."
Their brief laughter filled the small cabin of the car. For a few sweet, precious miles, the crushing pressure in my chest seemed to loosen its grip.
"There isn't another motel for almost ninety kilometres," Aiden said, frowning at the glowing navigation screen on the dash. He rubbed at his tired eyes. "I don't think I can keep my eyes open that long."
"You've been driving since dawn," Arith noted from the back. "You need sleep, human."
We pulled into a narrow, gravel turnout that led to a small clearing surrounded by towering pines. It was a secluded spot—just enough open ground for the car and the cold ash of a long-dead campfire left by previous travelers.
An hour later, we had fully settled in.
Aiden was leaned back against a broad pine tree, wrapped in a heavy fleece blanket, his eyes half-closed as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Beside him, Arith was happily munching on a bag of salty crisps she'd grabbed at the last stop, the steady crunch-crunch of her snacking blending with the quiet night. I sat on a flat stone nearby, sipping hot tea from a travel mug. It felt safe. Peaceful.
Then, the air shifted.
Arith froze mid-chew, the bag crinkling in her hand.
Aiden's eyes snapped open, the haze of sleep evaporating instantly as the ambient temperature plummeted.
The night didn't just grow cold—it turned sour.
Suddenly, the forest went deathly, unnaturally still. The rustle of pine needles stopped. The distant hum of night insects vanished in a fraction of a second, cut short as if smothered by a heavy blanket.
A sharp, metallic tang coated the back of my throat.
Rot.
Not the smell of decaying wood or animal death, but the unmistakable, sickening stench of dark magic. The curse buried in my chest throbbed violently in response, black veins spiking painfully against my jawline.
"Aiden, get up!" I commanded, tossing the cup aside.
He scrambled to his feet, kicking off the blanket. "What's wrong?!"
"Come over here, Stay right beside me."
Arith dropped her food, her hands igniting with shimmering silver light as she scanned the treeline. "The air... it's suffocating, something's wrong."
Before she could even finish her sentence, the ground beneath our feet groaned. A sharp, brittle CRACK echoed through the clearing as the protective boundary spell Arith had drawn around our camp crumbled into useless ash.
The dark magic in my chest wasn't just burning—it was acting like a beacon in the night, calling out to every foul thing in the woods.
Thick, oily black fogsq bled out from the shadows between the trees, rising from the dirt like smoke from an invisible fire. It pooled around our ankles, freezing cold and reeking of decay.
Shapes began to form within the darkness.
They stepped out from behind the pines—tall and unnaturally lanky, their frames little more than smoke draped over visible, black-veined skeletons. Their faces were hollowed-out skulls, and inside their eye sockets, dull violet fires burned with an insatiable, mindless hunger. Long, obsidian claws scraped against the gravel as they moved.
Night-Stalkers. Dark spirits drawn to corrupted magic.
"What are they doing here? This is not random," Arith whispered, her back pressing against the hood of the car. Then as if rememberingsomething" oh shit!" She exclaimed. "They followed the dark magic in your chest!"
Aiden backed up slowly, his breathing turning fast and shallow as he pulled a heavy iron tire iron from the boot. "What the hell are those things?!"
"They feed on tainted mana," I said. "And right now... my core is bleeding enough corrupt magic to light up the dark for miles"
I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, reaching deep into my spirit. I thrust my right hand forward, and a brilliant explosion of golden light burst from my palm. The light condensed, hardening instantly into a long, gleaming sword of pure, solid mana—its edge humming with radiant power.
The nearest spirit screeched—a sound like tearing metal—and lunged.
I stepped into its path, sweeping my mana blade upward in a sharp, blinding arc. Golden energy flared, severing the creature from shoulder to hip. It dissolved into a cloud of shrieking ash, but two more leaped over the carcass to take its place.
They fought with no self-preservation. No fear. Only an agonizing, starving frenzy to feast on the dark magic buried in my ribs.
"Aiden, watch out!" I roared, parrying a pair of razor-sharp claws. The force of the blow rattled up my arm, sending a violent shockwave down my spine.
To my left, Arith lashed out. Her human glamour flickered wildly as she thrust both hands toward the earth. " Aethel-Vael! "
Spears of pressurized, glowing sea-blue ice shot upward from the soil like ancient siege weapons, impaling three spirits through their ribcages and pinning them to the trees above. They let out agonizing, shrill screams before exploding into black mist.
But the dark fog only grew thicker, pouring over the campsite and blinding us.
"Kael!" Aiden's voice screamed out from the fog, frantic and raw.
I turned just in time to see a massive spirit burst out from the black fog right behind him, its towering frame looming over his shoulder. Its long claws were already swinging downward, aimed straight for Aiden's neck.
He didn't have time to dodge.
Golden light erupted from beneath my skin in a blinding burst and without thinking, I threw my body into the space between them, slamming my shoulder into Aiden and shoving him hard toward the car.
The spirit's claws met my back instead.
SCHLICK.
Pain—hot, jagged, and absolute—ripped through my spine. The creature's claws tore through my coat and flesh, pouring dark, icy venom straight into my blood.
The curse near my heart violently flared. Black veins raced up my neck like living ink. My vision whited out, and my knees buckled.
"Kael!"
Aiden caught me before my face hit the sharp gravel, dragging my weight against his chest. His hands were instantly slick with my blood. His face was entirely drained of color.
"You idiot!" Aiden sobbed out, his voice cracking violently as he tried to hold me up. "Why did you do that?!"
"Its better me than you, I told you to stay behind me" I choked out, blood tasting hot and metallic on my tongue.
Three more spirits surged forward simultaneously, sensing the black magic spilling from my wound.
"Enough!" a voice roared—a sound that vibrated the very air in our lungs.
"Enough!" a voice roared—a sound that vibrated the very air in our lungs.
A blinding, silver-blue light detonated from the center of the clearing.
I looked up through blurred vision. Arith's human form had completely shattered. Her human skin was gone, replaced by shimmering, iridescent sea-scales that caught the moonlight. Her long hair floated around her head as if submerged deep underwater, and her eyes burned like twin, merciless moons.
She slammed both palms onto the muddy earth.
A massive, unnatural torrent of water exploded out of the dry soil, twisting into a roaring, circular tidal wave that circled the campsite.
I grabbed Aiden by his jacket, pulling him flush against my chest with the last remaining thread of my strength. "Cover your eyes!" I shouted, raising my free hand to project a shimmering, hemispherical shield of golden mana around us.
The tidal wave crashed down.
The sound was deafening. The pressurized current smashed through the treeline, pulverizing the dark spirits into nothingness, washing away the fog, the decay, and the monstrous shadows in a single, devastating sweep.
When the water finally receded, an eerie, dead silence returned to the forest. My golden shield flickered and vanished. My mana sword dissolved into fading sparks.
Arith collapsed to her knees, panting heavily, her scale-covered skin pale and gasping as her human disguise slowly knitted itself back over her body.
I fell forward onto my hands and knees, clutching at my chest as the black veins on my neck slowly receded, leaving behind a burning fire in my back. Blood soaked completely through the back of my shirt.
Aiden dropped his weapon. He fell to his knees beside me, his chest heaving, his hands trembling violently.
"I'm... fine," I forced out, trying to push myself up.
"No you're not!" Aiden screamed, his voice breaking completely.
Before I could react, Aiden grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me violently into his arms. He wrapped his arms around my neck, burying his face into the crook of my shoulder, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. His whole body was shaking with violent, terrified sobs.
"Stop lying to me!" he choked out into my shoulder, his tears hot against my collarbone. "Stop saying you're fine when you're obviosly not! I am so tired of watching you act like you can't feel pain!"
I froze, stunned by the sheer force of his embrace. The burning agony in my back seemed to dull, replaced by the crushing warmth of his body pressed against mine.
Slowly, carefully, I raised my arms and wrapped them around his waist, burying my face into his hair.
"I'm sorry," I whispered softly into his neck. "I just... I don't want you to be afraid."
"I'm already terrified!" Aiden sobbed, squeezing me even harder, his fingers digging into my coat as if afraid I'd dissolve into smoke. "I'm terrified of losing you! So stop trying to play the hero and let me worry about you!"
Looking at his furious, terrified, beautiful face... I couldn't help it. A faint, genuine smile broke through the pain on my lips.
"You fuss," I murmured weakly.
Aiden blinked, a tear slipping down his cheek. "Of course I fuss! You nearly just got ripped in half!"
"I like it," I whispered, leaning my head resting on his.
He sat there, frozen, his chest heaving. "...You what?"
"I said..." I winced as a sharp spike of agony shot up my spine, forcing a low gasp from my throat. "...I like when you fuss over me."
The furious tension in Aiden's shoulders shattered. His expression softened into something so painful, so fiercely affectionate, it took my breath away. He stepped in close, cupping the back of my neck with a trembling, blood-stained hand, and pressed his forehead firmly against mine.
"You're an idiot," he whispered, his warm breath fanning across my lips. "A complete, stubborn idiot. Next time..." Aiden breathed out, his voice shaking against my skin. "...you let me protect you. Don't scare me like that ever again."
I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch, letting his warmth ground me against the agony burning in my veins. "I will try."
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his face blotchy, tears streaking through the dirt on his cheeks. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Arith dragged herself over to the car, leaning against the doorframe with a tired groan. "As heartwarming as this meltdown is, we need to leave. They can smell the dark magic oozing from you q. More will come."
Aiden wiped his eyes with the back of his bloody sleeve, helping me stand up. He kept one arm firmly around my waist, supporting my weight as we limped toward the passenger side.
"We're getting out of here," Aiden said, his voice laced with a new, fierce determination.
We climbed into the car, slamming the doors shut against the cold, silent woods. Aiden jammed the key into the ignition, the engine roaring to life, and slammed his foot on the accelerator, spraying gravel as we rocketed back onto the empty highway.
Neither of us looked back at the clearing.
As the dark trees blurred past us in the night, a heavy, suffocating silence settled over us.