Secret of The Night

I’m walking quite a few feet in front of Darren, so he doesn’t see me when I raise a hand to my mouth and cover it, screaming. My lips still tingled. His were so soft and gentle; I would’ve forgotten his strength had I not felt it personally. It was my first kiss. And I really did like him too. I didn’t think I did at first, but wow, do I feel it now. I wanna protect him. I think. Probably.

I looked back at Darren, who was touching his lips too. I grinned and turned back around. We walked like that for a while, me silently giggling to myself like an infatuated schoolgirl. Which, if you think about it, described me perfectly.

“Vivi.” Darren called my name briefly; when I turned around he was staring at something behind me. I followed his gaze to set my eyes on the palace.

It was, in a word, gorgeous. I didn’t think I’d say this about the palace of the demon world, but it truly was. Sweeping arches, glorious domes, and high peaks dipped in pure white that scratched against the sky with brutal force. The architecture was brilliant, crafted by only the finest of the world’s designers and architects. Darren and I stared in wonder, neither of us saying a thing. Our eyes were captivated by the larger-than-life sight in front of us, towering over our heads like the monster we faced, only beautiful rather than ragged.

“Magnificent,” Darren said beside me. His eyes twinkled, the nerd in him awakened at the vision of such a fantastic piece of historical architecture. “I must be the first to see something like this. That makes me like Columbus, or Magellan, or, or, even Pizzaro!”

I laughed at the history names I barely recognized and Darren’s boyish enthusiasm. His happiness was infectious, and I felt myself becoming happier.

“Come on, sailor,” I pulled his arm. “Let’s go meet His Highness Prince Yoru.” He sobered up immediately and followed me without a word.

We walk through the biggest arch, presumably the entrance to the palace. Inside its walls, the opulence hits our modest-suburban minds thoroughly. It was like a color explosion. The outside had been as black and white and gray as the rest of this whole damned world, but the inside of this palace glistened everywhere. The doors we pushed our way through were made of tinted glass, so you could see outside but outside couldn’t see you, which would explain why we thought they were just black.

The living room, or what I could only call the living room, was a vast and spacious area, with sloping marble walls and a pure glass staircase spiraling to the second floor. On the walls hung enormous 24" by 46" paintings, each a portrait of what I presume was a previous emperor. Upon my closer inspection, I could see the fine brush strokes that made all of these the original copy. They were framed in heavy black wood, black as tar.

One guard waited at the foot of the staircase, which Darren and I hurried over to.

“Hello, miss,” the guard looked down at me, and I saw a nice weathered face with kind eyes looking down at me. He looked...almost human. Then he smiled and I saw his incisors.

I backed away slowly, into Darren, who held my shoulders protectively. “We’re here to meet with Yoru,” I said, voice shaking.

“Yoru?” The guard tilted his head. He looked like a confused puppy. If puppies had fangs with dagger sharp points. “Ah, you mean His Highness?”

We nodded.

“I shall take you to him, then.” Demon guard offered readily, but I saw the strange gleam in his eyes and shook my head.

“No thanks. Please direct us the right way. We can make it on our own,” I smiled through gritted teeth, trying to keep from screaming.

The guard leaned back, as if he had been expecting my refusal, and smiled condescendingly. “Up the stairs, make a left, keep walking all the way down, and you’ll see two big wooden doors. Open them, and you enter the throne room. That’s where Master is waiting,” he jutted his thumb behind him.

I brushed past him and grasped Darren’s hand. Rough, and gentle at the same time. I smiled at him, and we walked up the glass steps together. More than 200 steps awaited us, and after 100, Darren closed his eyes and held onto my hand tighter.

“Acrophobia?” I laughed.

He nodded and grimaced. I pulled him, not admitting that the fact the stairs were pure glass was freaking me out too. The fall seemed like it would hurt a lot, from all the way up where we were. Should the glass break, we would tumble to what most likely was our death.

Well, we’re in hell already. Get over yourself, Vivi. Think of the mission.

I shook my head to settle the random thoughts and collect my bearings. We finally made it to the top. I shook Darren. “Hey, we’re here.”

He opened his eyes slowly. They were so brown, like cocoa on a freezing winter day. So warm, like the welcoming chocolate color of my favorite armchair back at home, where I sat many a rainy day and read my books.

How did I not see this before? Darren’s really good-looking.

I turned left like I had been instructed to and pushed through the two doors at the end of the hall Mr. Guard had mentioned was the throne room. Inside was like a Catholic cathedral, much like the one spiritual Yvonne frequented. Rows upon rows of church benches, and at the front a large space with a throne at the top of a small flight of stairs. A figure sat there calmly, like he had been waiting for us. As we approached closer, I gripped Darren’s hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him flinch at my nails digging into his flesh, and I loosened my hold out of shame.

Yoru became clearer and clearer in my field of view. That same jet black hair, beautiful face, azure eyes and lopsided cocky smile. “Hey, sweet pea. I’ve been waiting for you.” He jumped off his throne and strutted down to me. I narrowed my eyes and let go of Darren’s hand, preparing myself for whatever the sleazebag would try next.

Yoru cupped my face with one hand and leaned in close. I could feel his breath on my face before I quickly put my hands on his chest and pushed him away. But I pushed air, because Darren had just grabbed the prince of the demon’s world white tee and yanked him back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, mongrel?” Darren shouted in Yoru’s face. Yoru laughed. He really did seem just like a regular boy, but then he laughed and those notorious incisors reminded me of whom he really was: a monster. I grabbed Darren’s other hand and pulled him away from Yoru quickly.

“It’s fine. Leave it alone, Darren,” my fear must have shown on my face because Darren took one look at me and calmed himself down, veins still bulging.

I faced Yoru. “So what do I have to do to get my life-blood back? And go back to our world?”

Yoru smirked. “I’m sure Erik told you the details already, darling. And as for going back, it’s just a matter of time. Once you get all your life-blood back, this world will reject you.”

I absorb the information; I’ll surely need it again in due time. “So what now?” I ask.

Yoru looks out the window. The sky is slowly darkening, the last traces of the sun disappearing to another dimension. “Now. Is bedtime,” Yoru winks at me. “Come on, I got your rooms for you. Don’t worry, cutie pie, I sleep in the master bedroom. You and your little friend over here can take guest rooms,” Yoru stares at Darren for a long time and then turns back to me. “Follow me, darling!”

In a sickeningly cute way, Yoru directs us to our rooms. We’re right next to each other. Yoru leaves with a quick “I’ll see you tomorrow, my lovely!” directed at me and then leaves us alone.

I clutch Darren’s hand. He turns me to face him and holds my face with one hand. “It’ll all be ok, Vivi. I’m in my room and you’re in yours. Don’t worry about a thing. If they wanted to kill us, they’d have done it by now. So relax.”

I found solace in his words and nodded, opening the door to my room. The furnishings were simple, a single full-size bed with a closet, dresser, and nightstand. The bed had comforting blue bed sheets, similar to my own at home. The curtains were a deep royal purple, drawn with a golden cord to prevent any prying eyes from entering my room. I swivel, and see a fireplace. I take one of my matches and light it. The warm glow instantly lends a much-needed calming appeal to my otherwise dark and lifeless room.

I play around on my bed a little, bouncing up and down and marveling at how I could take pleasure in something as simple as flexible bed springs in this kind of situation. I laughed at my own juvenile play and quickly shed my outer clothes. Then I crawled into bed wearing my tank top and underwear. The flannel sheets were nice and cool, soothing my unease about this place. I closed my eyes and tried to quiet my mind, but restless as I was, I failed.

I was about to relinquish myself to a night of wakeful terror when I heard a scratching sound. I kept my eyes closed and pulled the blankets a little tighter around my body. All was quiet for a while and I relaxed, breathing steadily in and out.

Scritch.

The sound gave me goose bumps and I screamed.