The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 63

Prince was either patient or dramatic, probably both. He took one step after the other, but he seemed to be going in slow-motion, giving the impression that he had all the time in the world. At this point, that seemed very accurate to Hailey. She knew she didn't have more than minutes left and yet there seemed to be all the time in the world.

Then he stood in front of her. He crouched down, his elbows leaning on his bent knees. His eyes moved from Hailey's forehead to her neck, but never directly into her eyes.

All of a sudden, his state of controlled calmness rapidly changed into violent hastiness. Prince grabbed her chin and pulled her up with so much force she was scared he would rip her head off her body.

One hand was still holding his sword, the other was circling around Hailey's neck, holding her up just high enough for only the tips of her toes to touch the ground. She gasped for air, but it was no use; she was choking.

"You and me, Hailey, you and me, until the end. The end of all my problems and the end of your life." His voice was distorted, more demonic than ever before. It was almost unrecognizable. His hand around Hailey's neck tightened.

She was about to die and yet she had time to see details in his face that she hadn't seen before. His straight pale hair had fallen into his eyes. His irises were completely pitch black but the white of his eyes was slightly blood-shot. His features, which had looked straight and perfect from further away, were actually more crooked. There was a slight bend in the bridge of his nose, the corners of his mouth weren't evenly aligned and there was a small slit in one of his eyebrows.

Then white spots started covering her vision, growing bigger and bigger. She started to feel very light, not just in her head but also her whole body felt like it would float away. All she could see now were Prince's eyes. They were looking straight into her eyes now, finally. Her eyelids were fluttering, and she realized that the last thing she would ever see were these horrible eyes that were completely void of anything that―

Huh? Hailey couldn't manage to gasp out loud, but she saw something. Something that hadn't been there before. Or it had but the Dark Prince had kept it hidden from her. It was a bit of light that didn't belong to him, yet it was undeniable that it was there. It was something incredibly beautiful, but it was unimaginably painful to see it trapped in such a dark place. Then the thing spoke to her.

Help. The sound was one of the most human things she had ever hurt. It was everything that Prince was not. Although, it wasn't a it at all, it was a who. A person was trapped inside the Dark Prince, and it wasn't simply someone; it was a somebody so pure and humane that it was unbelievable they hadn't suffocated in the darkness of the Dark Prince they lived inside.

The sound gave Hailey renewed strength. She pulled up her feet high enough for her to pull two daggers out of her boots. She plunged them in the back of Prince's neck. She held them there, not because she wanted to but because she was stuck.

Prince started laughing hysterically as if he had caught Hailey in another one of his traps, but she was sure he couldn't have. It couldn't be part of his plan for her to nearly behead him just when he was about to finish her off.

From the back of his neck, black fluid started to flow. Except, the moment it came in touch with air it turned to smoke. Hailey's hands started to shake violently; she couldn't control it. More and more of the Dark Prince was turning into smoke, evaporating. All the while they were staring at each other intently, Hailey could also see the boy inside.

More of Hailey's body started to shake. She tried stopping, tried pulling her hands off the hilt of her dagger but she was losing complete control of her own body. She was trying to understand what the Hell was going on when the most agonizing pain overcame her.

She felt like she was stabbed by two daggers in the back of her own neck. The pain that the Dark Prince should've been feeling was going through her body, not his. She had never felt anything worse than this and her vision was completely blurred by the agony. The only reason she was still standing was because the Dark Prince was somehow holding her up even though he was becoming more shadow than flesh. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought about how ironic it was that the thing trying to kill her was keeping her standing.

"Hailey!" Ash screamed but his voice sounded distorted and distant. In the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement. Then a black wall of shadow surrounded her, and she was completely cut off from the world. She was a prisoner in the demonic dome that made all of her nightmares seem like nice walks in the park.

Finally, Hailey was part of the shadow, part of the world of darkness and fear. Soon, she knew, she would not just be a visitor, but she would become the shadow. It was like a force sucking her soul out of her body and into its core. Little by little she could feel her life force leaving her. She should've let him choke her. This was a worse way to die.