Dark Light (The Dark Light Series)(42)

Align with the Dark or Die

Oh. My. God. I look frantically around me. This can’t be happening. Someone is out there watching me! They know who I am! I shakily lock my doors and check behind my seat. All clear. Though the Defrost has begun to work and the words are dissipating, I hurriedly wipe it with my sleeve to erase it from my sight.



It wipes away clean.

Fear knots my stomach and I feel as if the wind has been knocked right out of me. If someone had marked this on the outside of my car, it would not have simply disappeared. This was written on the inside of my windshield. Someone was in my car. The Dark was here, waiting for me. I can’t breathe; I can’t move. My head is shouting for me to go, get the hell out of there, but it’s as if I’ve been placed in cement. Snap out of it, Gabs! This is not the time to break! the voice inside me screams, shaking me from my trance. I’ve got to get home, where I’m safe from whatever evil awaits me tonight. With a renewed tenacity, I put the car in Drive and race home to safety.

“Morgan, I don’t know if I can make it tonight,” I say over the phone, once in the shelter of my bedroom.

“Oh hell no, you are not backing out now! This could really be my big break! I need you, Gabs!” she whispers into the receiver. She is still at work.

“But…I…uh,” I stammer. Crap, I should’ve come up with a story before I called. My nerves are still too shot.

“Seriously, you can’t back out. I’ll owe you big, I promise,” she pleads.

I sigh heavily. “Ok, I’ll go,” I reply exasperated. There’s no other way to get around it. It’s not like I can tell her the truth.

“Great!” she squeals. “Remember, dress to impress!” And again, she hangs up.

I still have a couple hours to burn before I have to get ready so I pull out Natalia’s journal and flip towards the end, realizing I only have a few more pages to read. I’m just not motivated enough to deal with whatever new tidbits about my enchanted life she has yet to share. I place it back on my nightstand.

“Hey sweetie,” my mom greets me, as I step into the family room. My parents are watching television, looking every bit as normal as they did before my twentieth birthday. You would think they didn’t even know they were harboring a half Dark, half Light immortal.

“Hey guys, what’s up,” I say flopping down on the soft carpet, folding my legs.

“Just hanging out. Haven’t seen much of you, Kiddo,” my dad remarks. It’s his way of checking up on me.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy. Work, school, you know,” I respond. I want to get to the point. “Can I ask you guys a question?”

“Sure, sweetie. Anything,” Donna says. Chris turns down the volume and awaits my query.

“I know we said that someone is...looking for me. But would the Dark want me to become one of them, maybe? Like, would they want me to, um, ascend into the Dark?” It sounds ridiculous as I’m saying it but I’ve got to get some insight into the horrifying message left on my windshield.

Donna nods her head gravely. “I suppose they would. It makes more sense than killing you. You’d be a great asset to them.”

“But you understand how dangerous that is, right?” Chris chimes in. He’s hoping, praying I’m not considering it. “They will just use you and your power to gain more influence.”

“Is that any different from what the Light wants to do with me?” I ask incredulously. “I mean, I don’t want to be a part of either one. It seems like each side has their own agenda. I’m just a weapon to be obtained for their own selfish reasons.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Chris says thoughtfully. “I guess I just see the Light as the lesser of two evils. But you will have to choose for yourself.”

“Do I?” I ask, looking at them both intently. “Why do I have to choose? What happens if I don’t?” Chris and Donna look at each other, confused and speechless.

Finally Donna shrugs. “I can’t say. It’s not something that’s ever been done before. Natalia just assumed that you would choose the Light. You know how I feel about that.” Chris looks at her questioningly. She must have not shared all her reservations about my ascension with him, which would be a first. They always seem so in sync.

I nod, understanding what she’s trying to convey. It’s just as I suspected; I am of more use to the Dark alive than dead. They want me just as much as the Light does, and that message was them officially throwing their hat into the ring, though their scare tactics prove to be more disturbing than inspiring.