* * *
The nightmares were constantly growing worse, with this night’s being extreme. At the last convulsive surge of black monsters and wild demons ripping up her mind and tearing at her flesh, Darla had managed to shake herself awake. Yet all was not well.
Her cabin was not only filled with the night noises that a frigate like the Shikkeron normally makes, she could still hear voices and ugly laughter from within. The room had one tiny green light burning on the communication panel. It lit up the surroundings enough to allow one to see the cabin’s furnishings.
Darla opened her eyes to dispel the last of the horrid visions from her dreams, but they did not entirely go away. Voices still haunted her mind and ugly, ragged creatures continued to dance in front of her face. Darla violently shook her head again, but the confusion of sights and sounds altered little.
‘They have invaded my waking hours!’ An icy chill of fear and anxiety raced up the major’s spine and erupted in a painful, explosive crescendo in the back of her head. As the pain subsided, she could sense that she was not alone. It was as if a demon in her mind was seeking company of kindred elsewhere outside her room. She started feeling the presence of things in the form of black shadows moving about the sleeping ship, stealthy and hidden, yet awake and listening, searching one another out.
The voice in her mind cried out to another shadow not far away. An almost howling response filled her ears, and then another reply, further away, she heard. They started speaking to each other in weird, screeching cackles. It was as if the demon within her mind was calling out to the others for assistance, either to escape or to join it. All the while, Darla lay deathly still, paralyzed with panic.
The beckoning by the demon within continued. Soon, Darla could feel others approaching, until she imagined two shadows of darkness hovering just outside her cabin door. The voice of the animal within began pleading for the others to join it. The woman was sure she could hear frustrated scratching on the panel and sinister cursing at finding it locked. In one last Herculean effort, Darla let out a scream that must have reverberated off the very hull of the ship. Instantly, the demon vanished from her mind and the shadows at the door fled down the hall, their plaintive cries becoming lost in the noise of the pulsing ship o’war.
In only a moment, there came a heavy pounding on the compartment door, accompanied by a loud voice, calling, “Major! Major! Are you all right?!”
Darla clearly identified the voice to be that of Ardon. She heaved a sigh as a tear fell from her cheek and her body shuddered from relief. Fists pounded again upon the door. “Major Darla! Are you all right?!”
Just as Ardon was preparing to attempt a break-in, a still shaking voice called back, “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just a moment.” She stumbled from the cot and reached out to unlock the cabin door. As it slid open, she caught a glimpse of a worried face staring in at her.
Before either could speak, another person joined them. Crilen came racing down the corridor, his face filled with dread. As he hurriedly approached, he anxiously asked, “Major Darla, is there something wrong? I heard a scream. Is there…”
Darla interrupted, her voice still shaky, “Everything’s fine, Crilen… everything’s fine.”
Crilen quickly repeated his question and Darla reassured him there was no need for worry. After thanking him for his concern, she addressed Ardon. “Lieutenant Ardon, may I have a word with you?”
Ardon’s face clouded at the tone in Darla’s voice. He feared she was about to give him a dressing down for having disturbed her. After all, he had received quite a tongue lashing only the other day just because he had failed to appear on the bridge in proper uniform. Still, as the major’s junior staff officer, he needed to obey such a request, replying he would.
“Good!” A note of relief reflected in her voice. “Please allow me a little time to get in uniform and I will be with you.” Darla stood there naked, having not bothered to dress when hopping from her bed.
The major placed her hand on Crilen’s arm, thanking him for his concern. He offered his good nights and departed. She then requested Ardon’s patience and retired to the cabin for her clothes. In a few minutes, Darla was again at the door. She then requested he accompany her to a more private, secure part of the ship. They were soon far forward in what was once an ordnance bunker, but now served as the Marine’s wardroom.
Darla quietly closed and locked the passage portal and turned down the lights until the room was ghostly dim. She requested Ardon to take a corner seat at the makeshift conference table, while she sat at the near corner where her eyes could watch for shadows at the door. For some time, the two remained in silent conversation, adjusting to emotions and settling feelings in their minds.
At length, the major dropped any formalities. “Ardon, I must confess my disdain for your presence with me on this patrol. To be honest, if I had a choice, you would be peacefully sleeping at this moment. I have put my personal feelings aside and have attempted to treat you with the same respect and dignity I would give any officer in my command. Yet it is partially for personal reasons I have asked you to join me here.”
Ardon thanked Darla for her honesty, but inside he still felt she was going to attack him. She did not.
“Ardon...” Darla was nervous. “I am well aware why you are here. I do not feel myself a danger to the soldiers in my care, but I will not chance myself to foolish pride and possibly place them at unnecessary risk. Do as you wish with the information you hear from me. If I am unfit for duty in your eyes, we will soon be with the fleet and you may communicate your feelings to my commander. In the meantime, I will need your assistance. You are one of the Eighty. Besides you and me, there are no others aboard this ship. Our differences must be set aside for us to win success, for I fear something dreadful accompanies us on this journey that is seeking my, if not our destruction.”
Darla began to relate her recent experience with the demon in her room. She explained what she thought it was attempting, adding, “You are well aware that a person must be a willing recipient for Asotos to implant one of his demon sentinels within them. Only Michael and I are known to have been successfully implanted with them against our will. You know better than I what power they have, being of a similar nature to Lowenah. They are much weaker than her Cherubs but, at the same time, mentally more aggressive. Being an invention of Asotos’ twisted mind, and they being his faithful slaves, these demon programs seek to control the possessed mind. If they cannot do it alone, they will search out other demons to give them added strength. At the moment, that is my greatest fear…that somehow there are others aboard to join forces and defeat me.”
She paused in thought, wondering, “I know that the inhabitants of the Second Realm are easy prey for the devices of Asotos and his henchmen. Even innocent people become infected and possessed, either with machines that our wicked brothers use to control their thoughts and actions, or with these demon programs that even display their own intelligence and personality. With weaker bodies that become sick and die, those people are easy targets. It takes a very strong constitution by one of their kind to withstand a direct attack from such contrivances that our brother uses.”
“Never, though, have I heard of a person from the First Realm becoming an unwilling host to those devices. One must be conscious of their presence for them to become active. If a person is unaware of the thing, it will soon leave, or the body will destroy it. As I said, to the best of my knowledge, only Mihai and I are troubled by those unwelcome tenants.”
Darla stood and walked to the door, putting her ear close to it. After some time, she returned and sat down. Ardon observed that the dim light cast dark shadows on a troubled face. Leaning forward so as to speak in his ear, in almost a whisper, Darla began to explain Ardon’s role in matters. “In six days we were to rejoin the fleet, but our reunion has been delayed by another week because of the attack on the MoonDust.
We have been requested to rendezvous with the cutter, OjibSheannon, as soon as possible. It is with the collier as I speak, waiting our arrival to finish the investigation into what happened.”
“Euroaquilo has had powers given him to drive the ugly monsters far away from me, at least for awhile. Before the delay and my dreams tonight, I believed my own powers great enough to hold those things at bay…but now I don’t know. My dreams may or may not be breaking through into my waking hours and, if there are other evil forces here, and if they should gather together…” She sighed and momentarily fell into silence. Then, as if resigned to her fate, Darla continued, “I dare not take a chance at hoping I was still only dreaming about the shadows. For the safety of the crew and for my own, I am requesting your assistance. There are two things I need from you. The first you must obey. The second…well, you may do as you see fit.”
She sat back a little, but continued to speak softly. “First! I can fully trust you because you are one of the Eighty, and I dare not trust the others. My request is for you to remain beside me until we return to the fleet. If something should arise, I will be able to rely on your loyalty. The second is this…”
Darla became silent. A look of disgust filled her face. She started to stand, telling Ardon there was no need for the second request. A sudden noise outside the door made her freeze in near panic. It was only the morning watch on routine patrol. Darla sat back down in exhausted relief. She decided to reconsider her request, realizing worse things could happen.
“Ardon, I don’t like you as a friend. You have hurt me much more than you know. At one time, I even wished your death, that is, until Euroaquilo readjusted my thinking. Anyway, I believe there is little love lost between us. If I could hide away from your face and never set eyes upon you again, it would only begin to satisfy my heart. With that understanding, you must weigh my request. Ardon, I dare not chance my dreams breaking into my waking hours and fear I haven’t the strength to hold them in restraint. I need help controlling them, help from someone I can truly trust. Ardon, you are the only one I can truly trust at the moment.”
Darla paused. A tear ran down her face. The thought of being with a man she hated so, and yet the only man who could help her, tore at her heart, almost making it break. No! It must be done, or at least attempted, if not for her safety, for that of her Marines and the ship’s crew. She fought back tears and sucked in a breath to regain her composure before continuing. “Ardon, will you help me with my dreams until we return to the fleet?” She choked back a cry. “Please? For my sake?”
Ardon was caught up speechless. What was he to do? His feelings for Darla were mixed at best. He felt an evil about her that repulsed him. He also feared for her sanity, and the night’s experiences only reinforced his suspicions about her. Was the demon already reached beyond her sleep and speaking through her this very moment, seeking a way to enter him? No. He thought not. But still…
Ardon was about to decline Darla’s request when the words of his mother resounded in his mind. ‘I send you to her, not for a punishment, but for her protection. Do not allow any harm to come to her until the stormwind dies.’
Closing his eyes in thought, Ardon puzzled over the message. The answer was obscure, buried in the fogs of future destinies. But Mother was not to be denied. He would serve to the best of his abilities, no matter his personal cost. “I will try…I will do what I can,” Ardon finally whispered. He could see Darla’s shoulders relax, like some monumental weight was now lifted off her.
Darla’s lips quivered. “Thank you…! Thank you…!” She quietly wept.
For the first time, Ardon began to see the insecure child in the woman he had grown to disdain and dread. The stresses of the night had broken down her resolve. Her wild fear, the terror of damnation that she hid from searching eyes, was being revealed to him for the first time. A feeling of guilt invaded his heart - guilt at his refusal to accept that this girl had such emotions, guilt in denying that she cared or loved or feared - or that she could. He lowered his head in shame. How wicked and foolish he now felt.
Darla reached out her hand and placed it on Ardon’s arm. “The night is still young. I cannot face it alone. Please spend its remaining hours with me. If only you will hold me…that is sufficient. Just do not leave me alone. Please! Not this morning.”
Ardon felt so ashamed, he could not reply. All he could do was nod his head. Darla’s hand shook with relief. For some time, the two sat in silence.
Darla need not hold back her emotions with this man any longer. For good or ill, he would soon know the secret person of her heart. It troubled and relaxed her to think she needn’t have a wall built against this former antagonist, the one who might save her from the madness. “We should go.” The woman-child softly uttered.
Ardon reached his other hand over hers that was still holding his arm. He nodded his head. “Yes…yes. It is a good hour. You need the rest. I shall try to help you get it.”