The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,52
dark and light magic, once united, everyone would know his name. Daraka would wipe out all of history with ancient magic still known only in the spirit world, leaving only his name on the world’s lips. He would be as powerful, more powerful even, than the Great Warlock himself had been.
Daniel ripped at the constraints that bound him from every direction, but with each broken, ten more entangled him in its place. He screamed as loud as he could manage, fought for control of his body harder than he had in years. She was going to die, everyone was going to die, and it was going to be all his fault. He remembered how it had been in the beginning, when he had refused to accept the new control over his muscles, his bones, his voice, his actions. But soon, he had faded. Even the strongest of fighters cannot maintain an unrelenting fight for years. Now, this rage stirred within him again; his captor had gone too far.
What ate away at him the most, killed him slowly and painfully, was that Nameh would never know he was sorry. She would never know that he had only gone to the Guild to gain power for them both; he had done it because he loved her. Young and foolish, he hadn’t known what he was getting himself into. He had no way of telling her that dark magic was forced upon him, consuming his body entirely, leaving his mind in its original state, trapped within the blackness. No one on the outside could ever discover the reality that the true soul resided within the dark spirit which overtook the body, because there was no hope of escape. But it didn’t matter now; he knew they would never speak except through the harsh words Daraka conjured. He could see the way she stared blankly at him, as though the past had never been, and that only malice remained. This was his punishment, he knew, for becoming greedy and power hungry, if only for a moment. Now he would watch the woman he loved hate him, fueled only by his captor’s attempts on her life and the wealth of information drawn from his own mind.
He would do anything for her, even now, when she would do anything to see him dead, because he knew he deserved every ounce of her anger. He would do anything to let her drive the dagger he had given her through his heart, and watch him slowly bleed out. This was the only way he could know that she would be safe. But even his life he could no longer give, even his soul she could no longer have through his will. Even in the most remote and corrupted depths of his mind, he could not think of a worse punishment than this.
For now he could only watch, slowly watch his life being lived by another. Slowly watch another thriving for what he would give his entire existence to prevent. It would be killing me, he thought, but nothing can.
Just then, a thought crossed his mind, or what could now be considered his mind. There was nothing in this world that could truly get the best of him mentally if he wouldn’t allow it. He could be physically beaten, but no one could take his thoughts and actions completely away from him. At least for a moment, and that would be enough, he could take control. With this realization, he drove the darkness out with all the will and power that he possessed, and had ever possessed. He forced the other out of every inch of the mind and body-his mind and body.
Daraka rebelled, immediately aware of Daniel’s plan. He knew he would have only one chance, that after this moment, the spirit would be more cautious of how it imprisoned him. He ripped free one of his arms, and that was enough. Before Daraka could motion to stop him, he snatched the dagger at his waist from its hilt. Time slowed for a moment as everything he never wanted and always wanted came together in one breath. He would surrender his life as he never thought possible, and bring safety to the only one he had ever loved. At long last, he could cease plaguing the world from his fatal mistake.
The silver of the blade glimmered in the rising moonlight for a brief moment, and he saw his own shocking green eye reflected in it. In that instant,