Free Soul of Darkness by Vanessa Black Page B

he was his father…hadn’t dared divulge the truth, which had had the potential to make Aaron’s whole world come crashing down. And yet, as his father, and especially as the one to blame for Aaron’s circumstances, he had owed him the truth, had owed him the courage to take responsibility for the actions that had defined Aaron’s whole prior existence, that had separated him from his actual family.
    But he’d been a coward.
    True, he was a fearless and influential ma n― a trusted and respected leader of a very powerful and ancient societ y― but when it came to dealing with his own son, with matters close to his own heart, he was just as afraid as the next man.
    And so he’d allowed Aaron to find out the truth by being punched in the gut by it. For, being confronted with his own face on a stranger’s body when he’d first seen Aidan must have been nothing short of a blow to the stomach.
    That wasn’t what Malcolm had wanted, but it was too late to undo any of it. He’d been an ass regarding the way he’d treated Aaron, but his behavior toward him had sprung from a place of insecurity ― he hadn’t known how to approach him. Even after having spent some time together, he was still lacking confidence because he didn’t really know his son, and he was afraid of what Aaron might think of him or that he might blame him.
    Instead of behaving in a way that would earn Aaron’s respect and affection, his insecurity and fear of rejection tended to make him act in just the opposite way, making him do and say things he didn’t mean. He hoped he still had a chance to make it up to Aaron, but he wasn’t sure if he ever could.
    Tired of pacing aimlessly around his study, Malcolm finally pulled back his wingback chair and sat down at his desk, his tired gaze resting on the large rotating globe which floated above the desk’s surface.
    Earth’s essence.
    Malcolm had been waiting night after night to see what would happen, carefully watching the globe and looking for the smallest of hints that something could be amiss. He felt sure that if anything with the potential of endangering the earth had occurred between his sons and Persephone, the globe’s appearance would have indicated as much.
    So far, there hadn’t been any change in the strength of the golden light the globe emitted, not so much as a flicker to indicate that the world was not as it should be.
    Suddenly tired beyond words, Malcolm decided to turn in for the night and at least try to get some sleep. He got up and started to turn away from the desk when a sudden movement caught his eye, causing his head to spin back around so fast that he nearly hurt his neck.
    There it was: the very thing he’d been waiting fo r― and had hoped never to witness.
    The golden light of the globe had started to flicker irregularly. In-between flashes of light, the globe looked sickly and grey…devoid of life. Malcolm guessed that when the last of the golden light blinked out of existence, so would the human race.
    Something must have happened between Persephone and one of his sons…or maybe both…how the hell would he know. And he was too far away to interfere.
    He hated this feeling of utter powerlessness.
    If he only hadn’t let them go alone…He should have gone with them, after all. Now, all he could do was witness the end, for he would never get there in time to stop them.
    But before Malcolm’s eyes, a bright, golden burst of light suddenly erupted from the center of the globe and spread outward. No longer flickering, the globe shone as steadily as it had before. The danger had passed, though Malcolm couldn’t fathom how.
    He’d thought that was it…the end.
    How glad he was to have been wrong…
    But his joy lasted only for about a minute, as he could suddenly feel an immense disturbance in the atmosphere.
    Something was, indeed, very wrong. But it seemed unconnected to an immediate threat to the earth, for the globe’s radiance remained consistent.
    Yet the