His gaze slid from me to Roman and then to Marcellious.
Both Roman and Marcellious seemed to pale, but their expressions remained impassive.
I, on the other hand, was completely freaked out and scared. My empty stomach cramped into a pea-sized knot. “How can my dagger kill the darkness? The dagger is just a weapon that allows us to time travel. I wasn’t trained to defeat or kill the darkness with it. I think it would be best to know how to kill our own darkness with the dagger and what it can do before killing something greater like Balthazar.”
I began to rock back and forth restlessly. As I waited for him to speak again, I drew my hands up to my head and squeezed my skull. I’d trained to be an excellent fighter under Moon Lee’s tutelage. Then, in Rome, I’d become more cunning and far more capable from training with Roman. But all my moves came from physical combat, not fighting with the supernatural. I was entirely out of my league when it came to destroying creatures that could fade out of sight and reappear somewhere else in the blink of an eye.
Chief Grey Feather spoke again. “Your daggers are the most powerful weapon you are born with. It might seem like just a blade that allows you to time travel, but the dagger can show you your past and present. The dagger also can control the darkness when used properly.”
I rubbed my temples, stunned to hear this.
“There must be something we do to trigger this occurrence. It can’t just happen on its own,” Roman said, flicking his fingers impatiently.
Marcellious spoke up. “When you see your darkness again, grab your dagger and point it toward the sun or the moon. Then you recite the ancient words of the dagger, and the blade will become illuminated with power. It will remain that way until the blade touches the demon’s blood. Then, the blade will control the darkness.”
I turned toward him, blinking. “How doyouknow this, and Roman and I don’t?”
“I learned how to defeat the darkness as a young boy. Dancing Fire taught me,” Marcellious said clearly, decisively.
“Seriously?” I said with a scoff.
Marcellious shrugged, back to his arrogant demeanor.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “So I hold the blade up toward the sun or the moon, intone the right words, and my weapon will move on its own?”
“Not at all,” Grey Feather said, waving his hand before him. “An alchemical process takes place. The darkness will be unable to move freely or disappear, forced to remain as a human. It becomes a fight between two people, not between humans and supernatural entities. Does this make sense?”
“Sort of,” I said, trying to fit all the pieces together. “Okay, let me reiterate. So, I possess a tool that allows me to time travel. It alsohas the power to control the darkness. And I can manifest this power by directing the blade toward the sun or the moon and saying the ancient scripture. Then, the dark demon can no longer move freely but stays in a human form. So, it’s easier to kill. Did I miss anything?”
Marcellious gave me a piercing glare. “It’s not easier to kill, but you have a higher chance of killing it when it’s not moving freely and disappearing so quickly. You must control the blade in your hand when you kill it because the darkness will stop at nothing until it kills you. The darkness moves fast, not as fast as lightning, but fast enough to kill you or distract you. Also, it has a way of poisoning your mind when you fight. It will say things to you to weaken you and get the upper hand. You must control your mind and not allow yourself to believe what it says.”
Grey Feather said, “The darkness has the power and ability to poison you with words, your thoughts, and your memories. It will say things just to break you or hurt you. You must control yourself and your emotions because the darkness will stop at nothing until it destroys you.”
“It can poison our memories?” I said.
Grey Feather spoke again. “From the first time you travel, your darkness strengthens against you. It watches you from afar and gathers as much about you as possible.”
At last, everything the chief said began to make sense. My sole job was to kill my darkness. Roman had to kill his, too.
And then Balthazar would be the final darkness to destroy.
“Roman told me that if we don’t kill our darkness and it kills us first, it lives forever,” I said.
Grey Feather let out a long breath. “No, Little Moon, not quite. The darkness doesn’t live forever. It just ages very slowly. Ten human years will go by, yet the darkness ages one year. Balthazar has killed many times but must still kill humans to survive. Just like your darkness will continue to kill until you destroy it. And if you fail and die, your darkness will live and continue the bloodlust even after killing you.”
“Who exactly is Balthazar, and how can he travel freely?” I said, more questions forming.
Grey Feather lapsed into silence again as if consulting with an unseen deity.
I met Roman’s gaze.
We both knew that the darkness would be our biggest test.
At last, Grey Feather spoke. “Balthazar is the oldest living darkness in history. We don’t know how long he’s existed, but stories of his existence have been passed down through the ages among my people. He has killed over one thousand Timebornes throughout history. With each killing, he grows more and more powerful. He is ruthless, powerful, and utterly evil, Little Moon. Balthazar is dangerous beyond your wildest comprehension.”
I massaged my temples with my fingertips. Fright filled every cell in my body, making me cold to the bone. Since I was a child watching the darkness murder my mother, I hadn’t been this afraid. I’d trained tirelessly by Lee’s side to learn how to vanquish my own fears and face threats with a calm and logical mind. But tranquil logic didn’t seem to apply here. I was in over my head—wayover my head.
I took several slow, steady breaths to calm my racing heart. When I felt like I had a measure of control back, I said, “Can our dagger kill Balthazar or destroy him?”
