Free A Toiling Darkness by Jaliza Burwell Page A

chasing them
through the crowded streets of Rheems.
    The woman was checking on her little
savior.
    “Chris,” she said, patting his face
lightly.
    “Tracy? Are you okay?” The boy, Chris, sat
up with alarm, taking in the scene. Tracy let out a small sob as
she wrapped her arms around him, so relieved that he was okay.
    “Where’s the boss-man-dude?” I asked,
looking at Kalen.
    He stood up slowly, leaving the shirt on the
ground. I reached out to the shadows and called to them. They
responded, going towards the shirt, wrapping itself around it. I
pictured my small apartment and in moments the shirt was gone. So
was any blood that was staining the asphalt.
    “What did you do?” Kalen asked, watching me
carefully, as if I might all of a sudden turn into a raging beast.
Did that little move scare him? I frowned a little.
    “A lot can be done to a person with just
their blood,” I said simply and asked again. “Where is the guy who
was in charge?”
    I jerked my heads towards the dead
bodies.
    “He got away.”
    I cocked my eyebrow. “And how exactly did he
get away?”
    His voice was angry when he responded. “You
were on the ground bleeding. What else was I supposed to do? I
picked you over him.”
    Me over him?
    My face scrunched up a little. “I don’t
understand.”
    “You were on the ground, bleeding. I decided
your life was more important, so he got away when I decided to help
you instead,” Kalen talked even slower and louder.
    “I’m not deaf, Kalen! I just don’t
understand. You should’ve chased him,” I snapped at him.
    “When someone generally sees a child on the
ground, bleeding from their stomach, they usually pick them over
chasing the bad guy.”
    “I’m not a child.”
    “Apparently,” Kalen snapped right back at
me. After a moment he sighed and went to rub at his face and
stopped just as his fingers were about to touch his skin. He jerked
his hands away and wiped at his jeans, trying to get the blood off
him, like it was going to burn him or something.
    I took in a deep breath and let out the
tension in my body. It was best to dwell on what he was saying
later on. I came before someone else? I shook my head. No. Just no.
It never happens.
    I brought the shadows over and let them
crawl all over Kalen who just stiffened. When they fell away, my
blood was off of him.
    “I’m serious about the blood,” I said. He
just kept quiet.
    Chris and Tracy were back on their feet,
watching us carefully. Chris stared at me, pondering over some
thought he just couldn’t quite put together.
    “Thank you so much for helping us,” Tracy
said, looking over at Chris fondly. “We should probably get out of
here.”
    So that’s how it was. I smiled a little.
They were all lovey-dovey with each other and Chris couldn’t let
her be used like that. She would have been fine—eventually.
    “I should walk you back, in case anyone else
comes,” Kalen said, being the gentleman that he was.
    Tracy seemed just as surprised with his
attitude as I was. There just weren’t many true gentlemen around
anymore. “Are you sure?” she asked, probably trying to decide if
she should be suspicious or not.
    “It’s no problem,” he replied, smiling. It
was a soft, open smile and transformed his entire face, making him
less predatory.
    Chris jerked back, finally becoming very
alert. “I know you,” he said, swallowing. He pulled his precious
Tracy behind him.
    “Know who?” Tracy asked.
    He pointed at me. “Her.”
    “I know me too.” I smiled up at him.
    “You’re Darkness.”
    I curtsied, lifting up my dress a little.
“The one and only.”
    Tracy looked between us, confused. Chris
looked at Kalen then back at me, his eyes dropping down to where I
was stabbed. My poor dress was definitely ruined. It was one of my
favorites too.
    “The rumors about you have to be true.”
    “Then it makes it easier,” I smiled, showing
my teeth. When I spoke again, I weaved in the threatening tone with
a hint of