Taming Darkness
Chapter 7

~Aleera~

The memories wouldn't stop. I come to learn, through them, that the so-called plague was never meant to be a plague at all. It was supposed to be a cure for Harmony-Fae who were dying off from some virus that spread like wildfire. Darius, being a Demonic Harmony-Fae, was not affected by this virus.

They couldn't explain why Darius was immune, but they think it was because of him being an elemental Demonic Harmony-Fae, because Molly was Harmony-Fae but not an elemental and it affected her. That is why Xandrious started hunting for a cure, they needed to replicate the gene that created Darius.

So they spent months hunting down others like him, only they never found any and my father's intentions were kept secret. Grayson betrayed Xandrious, my father claimed to want to help, but his true intention was to take over the world, by creating something deadlier. The plague that wiped out all the White-Fae.

What my father created was never a cure for the mysterious virus, it was a mutated version of the virus that turned into the plague. Xandrious ordered him to destroy it when they realized what they created. After all the things I saw him do, I wasn't sure how someone like him wanted to stop the unpredictable epidemic outbreak until I learned of Molly. Xandrious truly loved his daughter.

Xandrious was hoping to replace a cure because the virus that infected the Harmony-Fae he knew would affect his daughter if she became infected. However, my father was scheming behind Xandrious' back, plotting a way to take down the Demonic Kingdom and the Vamperic Kingdom. From what I saw, he was adamant to destroy everything, sacrifice as many lives as needed if they got in his way just to get closer to his goal.

My father became the very definition of a mad scientist with a god complex. All of his plans and doings were hidden right under the council's nose. Hidden under the guise of looking for a cure when really he was creating something far more sinister. He wanted to infect the world, yet his reasoning still was not all that clear to me. I saw the money side by infecting them, people would pay for the cure. There was just one issue, there wasn't one. But initially that wasn't his goal by the looks of Darius' memories, something else

was.

When Xandrious learned of my father's betrayal he could do nothing to prove it without implicating himself. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop my father, it was too late to act once he found out what was happening behind his back.

Through Darius' memories, I also learned why the first plague existed. The same as why Darius' mother was also immune.

When the Harmony-Fae started getting this mysterious virus, and it proved to be not only dangerous but also deadly, cord blood was taken right after Darius was born. By none other than my father, of course. So I had no doubt he was the one who was responsible for creating the first original strain and I wouldn't doubt he created the initial virus.

But now, I also knew what Darius meant about him being responsible for the plague being set free. What he meant when he claimed it started with him.

His cord blood created the plague, and that wasn't all my father tricked him when he was a child into doing his bidding. Darius was so blinded by his hate for his father that it was easy to coax him into teleporting into the lab, and retrieve the vials his father ordered to be destroyed.

And my father was there, with a friendly smile on his lips, claiming that Darius was doing the right thing and helping save the world. He told Darius that if he did that, he would be able to put a stop to his father's vile doings. Darius was fooled into believing that he could stop his father, not realizing he was giving the virus to the very man his father was trying to stop and that was when the second wave was unleashed.

To my horror, I realized that the full extent of my father's evil plan was now revealed. He had managed to dupe Darius into believing his father was responsible for the plague, when in reality it was my father who started it. Not only that, but he also released it into the world knowing full well how destructive and deadly it could be.

I couldn't believe what I had found out. Knowing the truth about my father's actions shook me to the core.

So, Darius did what my father asked - he retrieved both vials and then burned the place to the ground out of anger. Darius hated that place with passion. He was convinced if he did what my father told him to, he would never be strapped to that chair again, that the world wouldn't have to fear another wave of the plague.

But Darius was wrong.

When the second wave hit, Darius knew it was his fault, he knew my father used him. The second wave of the plague had spread throughout the world like wildfire, and it seemed like there was no stopping it. And when the council ordered my father to replace a cure, once again, Darius found himself becoming another casualty to those experiments. Until one day he had enough.

The guilt Darius felt for unleashing this virus onto the world made me feel sick, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him and everything he had gone through.

And again, I watch the world through Darius' eyes. This time he's barely a teenager.

He had spent all day at school and was now getting changed to meet his father, so he can go to the newly built lab.

His father scrutinized every move made by my father. There were cameras set up on every desk, notetakers stood close by and copied down every move my father made, Xandrious knew it was my father but he had no way to prove it.

So, Xandrious was trying to catch him red-handed and have justice served for the vile crimes he committed. He knew my father let off the second wave, but the council believed all evidence was destroyed in the fire, believing the lies my father told, and as far as the council was concerned Greyson could do no wrong.

My father had them wrapped around his finger because no one was hated more than Xandrious, the Demonic King. And after the building burned to ashes, nothing could be retrieved or taken in as a proof to point fingers at the guilty one.

Besides, no matter how many times Xandrious had done awful things, he genuinely wanted to put a stop to this. Without him being present, there was no one who would stand against my father. And yet, he couldn't speak up without the much-needed evidence because then, the council would replace out about his involvement in the creation of the initial plague by default.

Xandrious believed my father stole the vials. He had no idea he was keeping an eye on the wrong person. As smart as he was, he didn't realize that the one who stole what he sought was none other than his own son. It was Darius, all along. What was even worse was that my father seemed to love the power that secret gave him. He thrived in the sense of superiority over Darius and Xandrious, he believed he was untouchable.

He liked to use that against Darius. He threatened Darius that if he were ever to say anything, come clean with everything that had happened and who was responsible for the mess - he would tell Xandrious that Darius was the one that unleashed the plague. So, Darius had no other choice but to go along with whatever my father told him to do, or risk his father's wrath. If he were to disobey the orders, Darius knew he put his life at risk. What made everything even worse was that his sister and mother were trapped in the basement until a cure could be found.

A cure that didn't exist. All he had was another outbreak of a deadly plague that crept over the lands and destroyed the water supplies like death itself, and a secret that tormented him every moment of his life.

I watch as Darius goes to his room and unpacks his bag. He knew that he had two hours before his father would come searching for him. Two hours before he would be subjected to all kinds of t*****e. All in the name of science, he would be used again as my fathers pawn in a game he didn't know he was drawn to play in.

But Darius didn't trust anyone anymore. And how could he? After everything that I watched in those awful memories and the things he was forced to do, I couldn't force myself to question his inability to trust others.

He set the contents of his bag on the counter as he double-checked the dosages from the book he spent the day reading. When he wasn't sure if he had enough, he added a bit more to the concoction. I could see tiny specks of sweat breaking out on his forehead. Feel his fear of the unknown and the weight of the actions he is about to take.

He was so focused on what he was doing, so lost in the moment, absorbed by his task that it consumed him. He would make sure no one else died because of what he was.

But nevertheless, I held my breath and kept watching. I had no idea what he was doing or why he was making this strange concoction, but I am dying to replace out. Briefly I wonder if he is going to poison his father, or maybe mine.

What were you up to here, Darius? What was going through your mind? And most importantly - what were you trying to create in the secret of your room? What were you hiding? Some part of me thought it was all to stop our parents, or maybe he figured out how to save his mother and sister. However, I know whatever he is doing scares him.