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“Very few know of Matthias.”
“Lucia mentioned it during a hunt.” I didn’t want to ask about the creature I saw. I hoped they didn’t exist anymore. The sight of it had been terrifying enough to say the least, and I couldn’t imagine facing something like that again.
“Matthias, like me, was from House Skia. I didn’t know him personally, but… Cas, what you have to understand is that Skia, my house’s blood trait, can be difficult to control.”
“You can lose control?”
Damien nodded. “It’s the dark magic among the blood traits. While all blood traits can be influenced by your emotions, Skia can and will feed on those emotions if you leave them unchecked.”
He composed himself, continuing our practice, stepping forward, swinging his baton to the side, which I blocked.
“So, what? Did Matthias get too worked up in a fight or something?” I stepped to the side as he moved toward me, readying to strike again.
“Actually no. I don’t know the details of what happened or why he did it, but he wanted power, craved it so strongly that in his desire to gain it, he willingly let the darkness consume him.”
I blocked another blow. “What happened to him?”
He stopped his advances. “He became the first darkling.”
I had to process that for a moment. “Wait, I thought the darklings were just some creatures that you guys have been fighting forever. They were once immortals?”
Damien nodded. “Think of it as the family’s dark secret.”
“And the daughter of Matthias is—”
“A darkling born with the same power as Matthias. When he fell, he didn’t just become some mindless creature like the darklings you’ve seen. The ones you see are those created by what once were his followers, weaker, mindless beings controlled by an insatiable hunger when Selene cursed them for their betrayal. He was different; he somehow kept hold of his mind.”
I wondered what happened to make him pursue such a power. How long ago did the darklings appear? Was it before Moira? I had so many questions, but he continued before I could ask.
“The daughter of Matthias is a dangerous entity who can use Skia to its full potential—can control the darklings with it. I personally believe that Erebus had something to do with her reappearing like this.” His advances stopped, and I felt that all my questions might be distracting him from our training.
“Who’s Erebus?”
Damien walked over to the bench and grabbed a water bottle. “Selene isn’t the only God. There are many, some foul and dangerous. Erebus is the God of Darkness and Chaos. It would be child’s play for him to give the darklings an edge in creating a reincarnation of our enemy. Probably thought it only fair to level the playing field, since we had the daughter of Selene reincarnating time and time again to face them.”
It was difficult for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Greek gods were more than a myth. My existence as a human, in a world I thought I knew barely a month ago, seemed so inconsequential now. How had humans survived so long amidst these wars between gods and monsters?
“Are they the same gods that people worship?”
“Only in name.” Damien eased his water bottle down onto the bench. “What you’ll learn is that they are only gods because they were powerful creatures who found their way into this world thousands of years ago. In truth they are, Elythians, a race of creatures who come from the Godsrealm.”
It was still so strange to think about, that the Gods worshipped for ages were not only real, but were creatures that came from another world. “Do you like Selene?” I asked, walking over to sit beside him.
“That’s a loaded question. I respect her, serve her. She used to be very kind when I was young, but something changed, something happened. I don’t know what. The thing about Elythians, is that they’re a prideful, vain race. She has a difficult time seeing when she is cruel. To their kind, immortals and humans are temporary, easily replaced. I know there is a compassionate side to her, but I never know when she will show that kindness, or when she will punish you for speaking out of turn.”
She had been so intimidating to meet, so cold.
“How do the darklings make more of their kind? Are they the reason for all the disappearances?”
Damien nodded. “The darkness within them is infectious. The simple act of biting a person, human or immortal, will overcome the body with the evil that courses through the darkling’s veins. Once they overtake the body, they can continue on disguised as a human during the day. The ones who disappeared though... were likely devoured entirely.”
My eyes flashed to him. “You mean, if you’re bitten, you could change into a darkling, Damien?”
“Don’t do that to yourself, Cas. Stop that thought now.” He looked to me, taking my hand. “I’m careful. They’ve never gotten close to biting me. I never give them a chance.”
It was too late. The fear was already creeping out over me. I would be powerless to stop it. I could not only lose him to death if he fell to the darklings, but I could lose himtothe darklings. What would I do then? I don’t think I would have the strength to put him down like the others.
I hoped my next question would offer me some hope if he ever did somehow get bitten fighting them. “Can you turn someone back after they’ve become a darkling?”
