Dark Requiem (The Darkling Trilogy, Book 3) by A D Koboah

trance. She tore her gaze away from the
food and glanced at him with an indulgent smile, that of a child to
a pet dog when it returns with the stick you have thrown. That was
when he saw her eyes—her irises—which were orbs of charcoal
surrounded by a topaz blue ring. Her smile disappeared when she saw
his expression and the fury burning in his eyes. Towering over all
of the villagers and with his body covered with numerous scars,
Akan was a fearsome sight for most men to behold without the rage
that currently lit his eyes. Fear passed over the child’s features,
the fear of a child, pure and absolute. A tense silence surrounded
those gathered in the temple as he stood before the child, trying
to decide whether he should kneel before the imposter or take out
the knife at his waist and slit her throat.
    It would surely earn him a
slow, painful death, but at least the village would be spared
Mutata’s rule—for as long as he controlled the false goddess, the
village would be defenceless against him.
    After what seemed an age,
Akan got to his knees and lay prostrate before the child. When he
arose, he saw there was still fear in her eyes and her hands were
tightly clasped in her lap. He moved to seat himself keeping his
gaze lowered, the snake venom still heating his blood.

Chapter 9

    I awoke to utter darkness,
my heart a painful thump against my chest. Akan, the walled
village, the little girl before the gold altar. It had all been so
real and for a moment I stared around me, unsure of where I was or
what I was seeing
    Then I remembered I was at
the mansion, in Avery’s room. For some reason anxiety reverberated
within when I found myself alone in the bed, Avery gone.
    I scrambled out of the
bed.
    “ Avery? Avery!”
    He was in the room a
moment later. His eyes were wide with fright and he was pale. When
he saw there appeared to be nothing seriously wrong, some of the
colour returned to his face although he was still tense.
    “ What is it,
Dallas?”
    I couldn’t answer, only
stare at him, unable to understand why I had felt such anxiety at
waking to find him gone. After a few moments I moved to him and
threw my arms around him. At first he just stood there, then he
held me tightly to him.
    “ It’s all right, Dallas.
Mallory wasn’t seriously hurt. She’s fine now.”
    I buried myself against
his chest. “I...I just can’t believe I almost killed
her.”
    He continued to hold me.
When I glanced up at him he was looking off into the distance and I
thought I saw hopelessness in the downward turn of his lips and his
eyes shuttered by eyelids heavy with thick dark lashes. After a few
moments he released me.
    “ Go and get dressed. I
need to take you somewhere.”
    “ Where are—?”
    He cupped my face in both
his hands and tried to smile reassuringly. When he spoke his voice
was gentle.
    “ Go on, Dallas. I’ll be
waiting by the car.”
    He turned away, anxiety in
the set of his shoulders and the way his gaze moved uneasily away
from mine. The air around him shimmered and he vanished. I was left
alone once more, trying not to think of the dream, of the child
goddess and the fear in her eyes as she gazed up at
Akan.
     
    ***
     
    We drove for about an hour
away from the mansion, mainly in silence, until we came to a rural
road with empty open land on either side. I could see trees huddled
against the night in the distance. The moon hung proud but desolate
above us in a starless obsidian sky. We drove to the end of the
road and came to a stop. Avery parked the car and we left it
behind, entering the sparse smattering of trees. He didn’t object
when I took his hand, probably didn’t even realise just how tight
he held onto it.
    As we walked, I stole
glances at him, still in awe of how beautiful he was. He wore
shorts with a T-shirt and runners. His hair, as always, was combed
back from his face. Anyone who looked at him would see what
appeared to be a young, handsome, wealthy male who didn’t have a
care in