A Spark In The Shadow

CHAPTER - TWENTY FOUR

"There's a human girl. She was there during the attack on the village. And the strange energy, the light power used to fight back and destroy our kind... it reacted to her. The wild vampires said she seemed to carry a faint, special light. A new light. It pulled power from the Shadescore. It almost seemed to... make it stronger. Or, maybe, awaken something inside her. The air around her pulsed with it."

Rowen's eyes widened, a sudden, fierce greed burning in them, hotter than any fire. Ember's light. He knew what "new light" meant. It meant a spark, a faint echo of Ember's special, pure power. A source. Untapped. Pure. He had made the Shadescore to find and use such power, to make its dark essence perfect. He had believed Ember had destroyed any trace of such an ancient family line.

But here it was. Living. Breathing. The Shadescore was a cursed weapon, yes, feeding on Duskiel's soul. But if it could feed on that kind of light too... the thought thrilled him, making his pale skin tingle.

"Unbelievable," he whispered, a low, hungry sound.

"A true Sun-Weaver. After all these centuries."

The Shadescore would become truly unstoppable. It would be perfected. And with it, his own power would become endless, like a god's.

He stood from his throne. The air in the cave seemed to press down, heavy with his rising purpose, with the sheer weight of his ambition. His red eyes glowed brighter, shining like two suns in the heavy darkness.

"A new light," he purred, a low, hungry sound that echoed through the vast room.

"A connection. My creation, drawn to its true fuel. And the boy, holding it, unknowingly bringing it to me. The threads of fate weave perfectly into my hands." a dark, cruel laugh rumbled deep in his chest, a sound that made the very stones of the cave tremble slightly.

"What a beautiful twist of fate!"

"My King?" the messenger asked, confused by the sudden, terrifying joy on Rowen's face.

"What are your orders?"

"Silence!" Rowen commanded, his voice now a sharp sound that broke the quiet.

"This isn't just a few rogue attacks. This is a chance. A great chance! My patience has finally paid off!" he turned to the deep shadows where his personal guard, his most powerful warriors, hid unseen, silent as death.

"Listen to me! The Shadescore has been found! And with it, a new source of power, a living light to fuel its true potential! The missing piece of my rule!"

His guards, huge, silent forms, stepped forward from the darkness, their red eyes fixed on him, their bodies giving off a cold, dark power.

"Your wish, my King," one rumbled, its voice deep and steady.

"You will send out the hunters! My best! My chosen! The Rowen's Chosen!" Rowen ordered, his voice echoing through the cave, filled with absolute command.

"They will track the boy. They will track the girl. They will not stop. They will not rest. Every path, every village, every shadow will be searched until they are found. Bring them to me, unharmed. Especially the girl." he began to walk back and forth in front of his throne, his thoughts racing, his cruel mind already seeing his victory.

"This is the final stage. The end result of all my planning."

"My King, the hunters from the city are also in the human lands," the messenger dared to add, its voice barely a squeak.

"The Dawn Watch. They are strong. They will get in the way. They believe the boy is a threat to be killed."

Rowen sneered, a flicker of disgust in his cold eyes.

"The Dawn Watch are just insects. Distractions. They will be swatted away if they interfere. Their strength is nothing compared to the true power of the Shadescore once it is fully fed. They will be no match for my purpose. Let them hunt my nephew, unknowingly driving him closer to my grasp. It suits me well." he stopped, his gaze piercing the darkness, as if seeing the human world laid out before him, ready to be taken.

"This Shadescore... it is more than just a weapon," Rowen thought aloud, half to himself, half to his waiting guards.

"It is the key. The key to absolute power. To breaking the last bits of Ember's defiance. To taking her soul forever. And to making my rule strongest over all lands, forever." he looked at his waiting guards, his eyes burning with a fierce, terrible light.

"Find them. Bring them to me. Both the boy and the girl. Especially the girl. She is the fuel for the ultimate weapon. I want the Shadescore. And I want the raw, unawakened light that calls to it. No one will stop me from having this."

"Go! Spread out! Hunt! This is not just a job; it is a holy mission. Failing is not an option. Bring them back, or face my endless anger. Your lives depend on it!" he raised a hand, his long, pale fingers bending, as if already grasping the power.

The guards bowed low, their forms disappearing back into the shadows, moving with a quiet urgency that showed instant obedience. The messenger, shaking slightly, quickly left, disappearing into the maze of passages.

Rowen returned to his throne, a cold satisfaction spreading through him. He leaned back, staring at the empty space where the Shadescore should have been.

The gem was alive. And it was pulling a new source of power to itself. He felt a familiar hunger, a thirst for complete control, grow within him, swelling like a dark tide. The boy was just a container, a way to deliver it. The girl was the true, ultimate prize. The hidden light inside her would complete his ultimate weapon, making him a god.

Far above, in the quiet village of Havenwood, Duskiel suddenly shivered. He stood by the flickering fire of the common hearth, his mind focused on the warmth, on the simple laughter around him. But then, a cold dread, deeper than any chill, swept over him.

The Shadescore in his pocket, which had been a low, uneasy hum, now vibrated with a sharp, strong intensity, almost burning his skin. It wasn't the pain from Brianna, though that dull ache was always there. This was different. A distant, familiar echo of terrible power, a deep, rising hunger from his old world.

The King. Rowen. He knew. He was coming. And for the first time since he had run from Dravothrone, Duskiel felt a fear that went deeper than just being caught.

He felt a chilling certainty that the true hunt, the one for his very soul, and for Brianna's light, had just begun. And they didn't even know it.