It must be defeated, my son.
If Cord had any ability left that wasn’t solely focused on the blackness that was closing in on him, he would have rolled his eyes at Velvore’s words.
But the inky blackness caressed his skin. Smooth like velvet, it wrapped around him.
Let me in, it whispered in his ear like a lover.
Cord shook his head, his hands gripped tightly at his sides, his nails cutting into his hands, drawing blood.
Let me show you what I can give you.
Cord felt pleasure surge through his body. His back arched as he felt ecstasy like never before. His mouth hung open as wave after wave of it coursed through him.
No, he had felt this before,he thought. Indigo eyes staring into his as he moved above her, her thighs wrapped around his hips, her mouth trailing kisses across his shoulders. Her smile. The way she fought with confidence. The fire in her eyes, her soul, that lit his heart.
Cord pushed the Darkness back.
Lust for her will fade, I offer eternal rapture.
His body jerked with a burst of power as it flooded him. He could feel the Darkness seeping in. Blood dripped from his hands. He remembered the feeling of taking the human’s life. He remembered the taste of Leonid’s blood as he drank, knowing when to stop but drinking more, the need inside him demanding it be satisfied. TheDarknessinside of him demanding he drink more.
He took too much.
He had not wanted to stop.
The Darkness wrapped tighter around him, his senses lost again to desire.
Desire of the flesh second to the desire for more, always, the desire for more.
Morepower.
Cord fell forward, his hand reaching out automatically to hold himself up.
Sweat dripped from his brow.
I cannot hold it back, he screamed inside his head.
You do not want to hold me back,the Darkness answered softly.Let me in. I’ll give you anything you desire.
Images of his father flashed in his head, of his mother when he was younger. Happy. Smiling. The male with her, Olezka. Cord yearned for the memory to be real. He had not known his father. Groaning with the strain, he pushed it away. It wasn’treal. The images of a happy family were a lie.
His head was quickly filled with the Master’s Tower in Tongass, where he had kept his little tiger and where he went to study in quiet. The rooms there were full of ancient wisdom.Power.Many nights he had walked the halls, barred from the knowledge within.
Cord licked his lips as room after room was opened to him. Rooms that he knew were sealed. The knowledge beckoning him forward.
His nails dug deeper into his palms. To unlock those rooms he needed toearnthat knowledge. Again, he pushed the images away, he needed to be stronger.
I will give you immortality, the Darkness whispered.No one will ever have more power than you.
A long and lonely life, Cord gasped back, trying so hard, so very hard, to hang on.
Images of Tegan flashed through his mind, as the Darkness tempted him again.
I will give her immortality too. You need never be alone.
Cord’s other hand fell to the ground as he slumped forward. She would be with him? She was all he needed. His little tiger and infinite power…it would be enough.No.This was not what he fought for. He was fighting for more than himself.
Or I kill her and take it all away.