Read Rising Dark (The Darkling Trilogy, Book 2) for Free Online Page A
Authors: A D Koboah
coat pocket. But I was struck dumb, unable to
utter a word of prayer as I stared at what could only be an
apparition. Her laughter became more shrill as she straightened and
stepped off the edge of the roof to glide through the air to the
ground. She landed lightly on her feet.
Even more extraordinarily, there were
now two others standing beside her. One was a tall, glacial-looking
blond male, with a strong jaw and dark, heavy eyebrows. He was
dressed in ivory breeches and coat. But it was the one standing
between the two who held my gaze. It was the dark-haired woman I
had seen by the graveyard the last time I had been at my church in
England. Her gold gown glinted in the light of the setting sun
along with the lavish jewels they were all draped in.
Still laughing, the mulatto vanished
right before my eyes. The sudden absence of that laughter was even
more unsettling, but then it burst forth again and she was standing
about four feet from me. She howled at my expression then walked
toward me, assuming a coy, feminine pose and fanning an imaginary
fan. She closed the space between us, grabbed me by the head and
placed a kiss on my lips. She vanished again just inches from
me.
Horror washed over me and my heart
slammed against my chest. I perhaps could have explained away
everything else I had seen up until that point—the effortless leap
from the roof of the chapel, the other two appearing out of thin
air. But those cold lips against mine were proof that all of this
was real. That I was somehow alone here with these three who could
not be human. But then what did that leave me with? Devils? The
gravity of my error in not listening to Minny hung heavily on
me.
The dark-haired one spoke then,
revealing a Spanish accent.
“ Devils? No, my sweet one.
And it would have made no difference if you had left the moment
that stupid girl told you to. I would never have let you
go.”
The fact that she had responded to
thoughts I had not uttered, and what this signified, was
overshadowed by a scream from the direction of the
woods.
Julia.
I had been so wrapped up in the
extraordinary things I was witnessing that I had completely
forgotten about Julia.
I turned and ran toward the trees only
to come to an abrupt stop. The mulatto was already back in the
clearing and Julia was caught in her grasp. I watched, horrified,
as the mulatto grasped one of Julia’s breasts, causing her to wince
in pain. Julia struggled fruitlessly as the mulatto’s lips closed
around her ear. The mulatto sucked on her ear and then glanced up
at the dark-haired woman. I stumbled toward Julia.
“ L-Let her go!”
But it was as if I hadn’t spoken and
the mulatto pulled her lips away from Julia’s ear to address the
dark-haired woman.
“ I like this one, Auria.
Can we keep her for a few days?”
“ No!” Her voice was sharp
and shrill with anger. “I have had to watch her fawn over what is
mine for far too long. Kill her.”
The mulatto shrugged. One moment Julia
was struggling in the monster’s grip. The next moment, the mulatto
grasped my darling wife by the hair and snapped her neck in a
quick, merciless motion. I heard it snap from where I stood and
then Julia sagged lifeless against the monster, her eyes open as if
she were gazing at something only she could see in the twilight
sky. The monster let her fall to the ground and stepped over her as
if she were a log in her path.
The Bible fell from my grasp, as
ineffectual as the leaves it fell among. I wasn’t aware I had
fallen to my knees until I felt the grass against my hands. I
fought to control nausea as I stared at Julia’s body, not wanting
to believe what I had just seen.
“ Julia,” I whispered,
trying to crawl toward her.
But the mulatto was before me. She
moved past me, grasping the collar at the back of my neck. She
dragged me backward with strength beyond that of any human
being.
The clearing wavered as the world
seemed to cave in before my eyes, hurtling toward me. I
utter a word of prayer as I stared at what could only be an
apparition. Her laughter became more shrill as she straightened and
stepped off the edge of the roof to glide through the air to the
ground. She landed lightly on her feet.
Even more extraordinarily, there were
now two others standing beside her. One was a tall, glacial-looking
blond male, with a strong jaw and dark, heavy eyebrows. He was
dressed in ivory breeches and coat. But it was the one standing
between the two who held my gaze. It was the dark-haired woman I
had seen by the graveyard the last time I had been at my church in
England. Her gold gown glinted in the light of the setting sun
along with the lavish jewels they were all draped in.
Still laughing, the mulatto vanished
right before my eyes. The sudden absence of that laughter was even
more unsettling, but then it burst forth again and she was standing
about four feet from me. She howled at my expression then walked
toward me, assuming a coy, feminine pose and fanning an imaginary
fan. She closed the space between us, grabbed me by the head and
placed a kiss on my lips. She vanished again just inches from
me.
Horror washed over me and my heart
slammed against my chest. I perhaps could have explained away
everything else I had seen up until that point—the effortless leap
from the roof of the chapel, the other two appearing out of thin
air. But those cold lips against mine were proof that all of this
was real. That I was somehow alone here with these three who could
not be human. But then what did that leave me with? Devils? The
gravity of my error in not listening to Minny hung heavily on
me.
The dark-haired one spoke then,
revealing a Spanish accent.
“ Devils? No, my sweet one.
And it would have made no difference if you had left the moment
that stupid girl told you to. I would never have let you
go.”
The fact that she had responded to
thoughts I had not uttered, and what this signified, was
overshadowed by a scream from the direction of the
woods.
Julia.
I had been so wrapped up in the
extraordinary things I was witnessing that I had completely
forgotten about Julia.
I turned and ran toward the trees only
to come to an abrupt stop. The mulatto was already back in the
clearing and Julia was caught in her grasp. I watched, horrified,
as the mulatto grasped one of Julia’s breasts, causing her to wince
in pain. Julia struggled fruitlessly as the mulatto’s lips closed
around her ear. The mulatto sucked on her ear and then glanced up
at the dark-haired woman. I stumbled toward Julia.
“ L-Let her go!”
But it was as if I hadn’t spoken and
the mulatto pulled her lips away from Julia’s ear to address the
dark-haired woman.
“ I like this one, Auria.
Can we keep her for a few days?”
“ No!” Her voice was sharp
and shrill with anger. “I have had to watch her fawn over what is
mine for far too long. Kill her.”
The mulatto shrugged. One moment Julia
was struggling in the monster’s grip. The next moment, the mulatto
grasped my darling wife by the hair and snapped her neck in a
quick, merciless motion. I heard it snap from where I stood and
then Julia sagged lifeless against the monster, her eyes open as if
she were gazing at something only she could see in the twilight
sky. The monster let her fall to the ground and stepped over her as
if she were a log in her path.
The Bible fell from my grasp, as
ineffectual as the leaves it fell among. I wasn’t aware I had
fallen to my knees until I felt the grass against my hands. I
fought to control nausea as I stared at Julia’s body, not wanting
to believe what I had just seen.
“ Julia,” I whispered,
trying to crawl toward her.
But the mulatto was before me. She
moved past me, grasping the collar at the back of my neck. She
dragged me backward with strength beyond that of any human
being.
The clearing wavered as the world
seemed to cave in before my eyes, hurtling toward me. I