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But to no avail.
His body was not his own. The Master and their darkness controlled him.
Hewasthe darkness. He was the Master’s monster.
As they progressed further, short, dark, furry hobgoblins scuttled out of the murky black that surrounded them, chittering and snorting, their beady eyes sharp with greed. Toothsome boggarts with straggly, long hair and wide mouths full of blackened teeth stepped into focus from their hiding places, their yellow eyes narrowed with calculation.
Four of the same sort of monsters that had attacked them before loomed behind them, then fanned out to their sides, surrounding them. Herding them toward an inevitable destination.
Red-eyed demons, pale-faced ghouls, flocks of Sluagh, long-toothed goblins, emaciated kelpies, and the deer-hooved Baobhan Sith…these monsters and many more began to follow them as if Sai was leading the way toward a long-sought destiny.
Or they were witnesses to Brigid’s ultimate sacrifice.
At last, they stopped. They, as in Sai and the darkness within him.
The Master’s creatures stopped with them, crowding ever closer with endless buzzing and muttering. Some of them reached out to touch Brigid’s dress. One of the ghouls raked the tips of its bony fingers over her hair.
But otherwise, they did no harm, keeping their sharp teeth and claws sheathed for the time being.
And then, Sai understood why.
You will die now, changeling child,the Master’s voice emanated from within him to communicate to Brigid through their minds.
It is time.
She turned to face him, still holding his hand. Hers was warm and soft as always, while his limb was icy cold and stiff with death.
“Why must I die?” she asked, her eyes big and round behind her spectacles.
There was no fear in them, merely curiosity. As if she was inquiring after a new flavor of tea in the middle of the Rathbournes’ sitting room.
So that I may take your body and become what I was always meant to be, the nebulous darkness answered through Sai’s eyes.
“Why me?” Brigid persisted, still calm and collected. Blinking innocently.
Sai fought to take control of his own body, shaking from the effort. To fight to defend her even if he was doomed to fail.
But his wounds were too great, his blood and strength drained. Just like the way he’d been when the Master first sent him into the human world.
He could barely hold onto himself and not drift entirely away. To fade from this universe forever.
The darkness within him easily tightened around his heart like spiked iron manacles, squeezing until his body stilled. Until he could do nothing but stand there while the Master’s evil glowed through his eyes.
You are the long-lost fairy queen,the Master said.
You are the changeling that will change the world, or so the prophesies foretold.
But if I take your body, heart and soul,Iwill be the One True Queen. The prophesy becomes my own. And I will unleash such devastating wrath upon this world…
A spleen-shuddering laugh boomed from his chest and throat, shaking the very ground they stood upon. The Master crowed in triumph:
Blood, death and destruction. Screams of pain and oceans of tears. I will revel in the fear, violence, hatred and sadness of all living things.
And so will my Dark Prince. This formidable dragon who obeys and loves only me. This beautiful monster of my very own creation…
He will rule by my side forevermore.
This was new news to Sai. He had always assumed that he was one of the Master’s countless prisoners, to be tortured and used at will. Nothing more.
