Paths of the Hunter, chapter 21
Title:Paths of the Hunter, chapter 21
Genre: Dark is Rising fanfiction
Rating: PG (suspense, mild violence)
Chapter 21
Amy grimaced as she and Candace pulled up outside of a warehouse on the west side of town. “Is this my prison for the night?” she asked her friend, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.
“We’ve been told to keep you here, away from Stanton. The master is going to destroy him tonight. He let me take you out of the way because you are still innocent in this fight, Amy. You have no idea the kind of peace that Stanton stands in the way of.”
“It’s rule by fear. Everyone will be too afraid of what the Dark will do to them.”
“The Dark,” Candace scoffed. “Is that what your Englishman calls it? It is the Power, Amy, the only power with enough force to let us all start over again. Why won’t you join us? Have you been so brainwashed by him that you won’t see the winning side right in front of your face? Do you like losing, Amy? Is that what it is?”
Amy snorted at her, not wanting to dignify the question with any sort of answer. She turned to look at the mountain, sensing a storm brewing. Clouds began to cover the moon, and a chill wind blew out of the west. She shivered, wondering where Will was, and if he was all right.
“Come on,” Candace told her, gently but firmly guiding her into the building. “You can watch the storm from the office window if you want.”
Amy followed Candace up a set of narrow metal stairs to a group of empty offices, and into the nearest one. There were people all over the place, most of them carrying rifles. They all nodded to Candace as she passed, but there was a strange look in their eyes. Amy was starting to wonder how safe she was here, despite her friend’s “protection”. Candace went to the window, looking out at the mountain, and then motioned for Amy to join her quickly.
Amy stared as she joined the other girl, wondering at the red and gold lightning over the mountain. There were hints of blue and purple in there, too. She looked higher, and saw with amazement that there were two fantastic creatures battling above the city. “Do you see them, too?” she asked Candace. Her friend nodded, staring in wonder.
Amy watched as the black dragon and bluish-white gryphon tore at each other, a deadly dance of talons, teeth, and beak. She had no doubt which beast belonged to whom. The dragon undoubtedly belonged to Cheng.
She cried out as the dragon bit into the neck of Will’s gryphon, and felt the Sign start to glow at her throat. Candace glanced over at her and winced. “You should really take that thing off. It’s going to suck all the energy out of you to do what it wants and leave you empty.”
Amy raised an eyebrow at her. Give up her only small protection in this den of lions? Yeah, right. “It was a gift from someone for whom I care very much, and I believe in him.” The challenge was clear. She was not going to stop trusting in Will.
The gryphon fell from the sky and Amy clutched at the windowsill with white knuckles. Will was losing. The dragon thrashed around, and Amy wondered if perhaps Will could still win this battle.
The dragon exploded in a burst of lightning, sending a shock wave over the city. Amy felt the surge of dark power as it reached her vantage point, and the Sign flared with brilliant light. She felt the darkness flow around her, being absorbed by her captors. She could sense that things on the mountain were quickly coming to an end, and she prayed that Will was okay.
She felt the world suddenly stop breathing, and she looked around. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. A swirling column of darkness, like a wimpy tornado, materialized in the center of the room, and Cheng stepped out, bloody and beaten. He motioned to the two guards in the room with their rifles, who grabbed Amy by the arms and forced her roughly to her knees.
She glared up at him, defiant. “Will won, didn’t he.” It was not a question.
“And now he will pay the price.” Cheng raised a black metal sword over her head, and one of the guards grabbed her painfully by the hair, forcing her head down and exposing her neck. She took a deep breath, trembling. This was not how it was supposed to end. “I told him that it was too late, and now I mean to make sure of it.” She tensed as he raised the blade just a little higher, and then closed her eyes as she sensed the whistling descent of the steel.
“STOP!” Candace shouted, and Amy peeked one eye open to see the other girl between her and Cheng’s sword. The Chinaman had stopped millimeters from cleaving Candace’s face in two, and he was trembling with rage. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her!”
Cheng laughed as he lowered his weapon, and Amy saw horrified realization dawning on her friend’s face. “You know that she will only poison us, an agent of Stanton’s blasted work. If you are with her, then you are not with us.” He gestured to the guards, and Candace found herself on her knees next to Amy. “Tie them up,” he told the two men with rifles. “We are leaving.”
“What? What are you going to do with us?” Candace demanded as Cheng headed for the door, a note of panic in her voice. Amy’s heart went out to her. “What about the great plan? Master, please!”
He stopped, not turning to look at her. “You are of no more use to me,” he told her quietly as he left the room. It was a dismissal of the worst kind, and Amy watched as her friend’s shoulders sagged with the realization that she had been betrayed.
The guards dragged them to their feet and to a pair of chairs, sitting them down roughly. Amy struggled against their grasp, but they were just too strong for her. Rope was produced from somewhere, and Amy found herself tied to Candace and the chairs. The men with the rifles left the room, and Amy could hear everyone hurrying out of the building. She had the worst kind of feeling about what was about to happen. “I’m sorry I got you into this,” she apologized to Candace, who was sobbing softly at this point.
“It’s my own fault,” the other girl cried. “I should have seen that I didn’t really mean anything to him.”
“The Dark is like that, always using and always taking without giving anything back, disguising itself with promises of power and satisfaction. You had no way of knowing what would happen.” Amy felt like she wasn’t herself as she tried to comfort her friend. She could sense the darkness growing below them. She was shaking, and she could feel Candace shaking with fear too. Where was Will? He had said that he would come for her when he was finished. Now would be a good time.
Amy felt the Sign glowing hot at her throat, and she sensed the explosion split seconds before it happened. White light flared around her, and Candace shrieked. “AMY!”
The world was torn apart, even as Amy clutched at Candace’s hands. She had time to wonder why Will hadn’t come to save them, and then everything went dark.
Genre: Dark is Rising fanfiction
Rating: PG (suspense, mild violence)
Chapter 21
Amy grimaced as she and Candace pulled up outside of a warehouse on the west side of town. “Is this my prison for the night?” she asked her friend, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.
“We’ve been told to keep you here, away from Stanton. The master is going to destroy him tonight. He let me take you out of the way because you are still innocent in this fight, Amy. You have no idea the kind of peace that Stanton stands in the way of.”
“It’s rule by fear. Everyone will be too afraid of what the Dark will do to them.”
“The Dark,” Candace scoffed. “Is that what your Englishman calls it? It is the Power, Amy, the only power with enough force to let us all start over again. Why won’t you join us? Have you been so brainwashed by him that you won’t see the winning side right in front of your face? Do you like losing, Amy? Is that what it is?”
Amy snorted at her, not wanting to dignify the question with any sort of answer. She turned to look at the mountain, sensing a storm brewing. Clouds began to cover the moon, and a chill wind blew out of the west. She shivered, wondering where Will was, and if he was all right.
“Come on,” Candace told her, gently but firmly guiding her into the building. “You can watch the storm from the office window if you want.”
Amy followed Candace up a set of narrow metal stairs to a group of empty offices, and into the nearest one. There were people all over the place, most of them carrying rifles. They all nodded to Candace as she passed, but there was a strange look in their eyes. Amy was starting to wonder how safe she was here, despite her friend’s “protection”. Candace went to the window, looking out at the mountain, and then motioned for Amy to join her quickly.
Amy stared as she joined the other girl, wondering at the red and gold lightning over the mountain. There were hints of blue and purple in there, too. She looked higher, and saw with amazement that there were two fantastic creatures battling above the city. “Do you see them, too?” she asked Candace. Her friend nodded, staring in wonder.
Amy watched as the black dragon and bluish-white gryphon tore at each other, a deadly dance of talons, teeth, and beak. She had no doubt which beast belonged to whom. The dragon undoubtedly belonged to Cheng.
She cried out as the dragon bit into the neck of Will’s gryphon, and felt the Sign start to glow at her throat. Candace glanced over at her and winced. “You should really take that thing off. It’s going to suck all the energy out of you to do what it wants and leave you empty.”
Amy raised an eyebrow at her. Give up her only small protection in this den of lions? Yeah, right. “It was a gift from someone for whom I care very much, and I believe in him.” The challenge was clear. She was not going to stop trusting in Will.
The gryphon fell from the sky and Amy clutched at the windowsill with white knuckles. Will was losing. The dragon thrashed around, and Amy wondered if perhaps Will could still win this battle.
The dragon exploded in a burst of lightning, sending a shock wave over the city. Amy felt the surge of dark power as it reached her vantage point, and the Sign flared with brilliant light. She felt the darkness flow around her, being absorbed by her captors. She could sense that things on the mountain were quickly coming to an end, and she prayed that Will was okay.
She felt the world suddenly stop breathing, and she looked around. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. A swirling column of darkness, like a wimpy tornado, materialized in the center of the room, and Cheng stepped out, bloody and beaten. He motioned to the two guards in the room with their rifles, who grabbed Amy by the arms and forced her roughly to her knees.
She glared up at him, defiant. “Will won, didn’t he.” It was not a question.
“And now he will pay the price.” Cheng raised a black metal sword over her head, and one of the guards grabbed her painfully by the hair, forcing her head down and exposing her neck. She took a deep breath, trembling. This was not how it was supposed to end. “I told him that it was too late, and now I mean to make sure of it.” She tensed as he raised the blade just a little higher, and then closed her eyes as she sensed the whistling descent of the steel.
“STOP!” Candace shouted, and Amy peeked one eye open to see the other girl between her and Cheng’s sword. The Chinaman had stopped millimeters from cleaving Candace’s face in two, and he was trembling with rage. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt her!”
Cheng laughed as he lowered his weapon, and Amy saw horrified realization dawning on her friend’s face. “You know that she will only poison us, an agent of Stanton’s blasted work. If you are with her, then you are not with us.” He gestured to the guards, and Candace found herself on her knees next to Amy. “Tie them up,” he told the two men with rifles. “We are leaving.”
“What? What are you going to do with us?” Candace demanded as Cheng headed for the door, a note of panic in her voice. Amy’s heart went out to her. “What about the great plan? Master, please!”
He stopped, not turning to look at her. “You are of no more use to me,” he told her quietly as he left the room. It was a dismissal of the worst kind, and Amy watched as her friend’s shoulders sagged with the realization that she had been betrayed.
The guards dragged them to their feet and to a pair of chairs, sitting them down roughly. Amy struggled against their grasp, but they were just too strong for her. Rope was produced from somewhere, and Amy found herself tied to Candace and the chairs. The men with the rifles left the room, and Amy could hear everyone hurrying out of the building. She had the worst kind of feeling about what was about to happen. “I’m sorry I got you into this,” she apologized to Candace, who was sobbing softly at this point.
“It’s my own fault,” the other girl cried. “I should have seen that I didn’t really mean anything to him.”
“The Dark is like that, always using and always taking without giving anything back, disguising itself with promises of power and satisfaction. You had no way of knowing what would happen.” Amy felt like she wasn’t herself as she tried to comfort her friend. She could sense the darkness growing below them. She was shaking, and she could feel Candace shaking with fear too. Where was Will? He had said that he would come for her when he was finished. Now would be a good time.
Amy felt the Sign glowing hot at her throat, and she sensed the explosion split seconds before it happened. White light flared around her, and Candace shrieked. “AMY!”
The world was torn apart, even as Amy clutched at Candace’s hands. She had time to wonder why Will hadn’t come to save them, and then everything went dark.