Dark Soul Silenced - Part Two Read Online Free Page B

died.  There was no doubt about that.  But it wasn’t the first time.  He had been through this before, had woken alive and cleansed.  And he had been wielding magical power for some time, learning to bind it to his body and soul.  Teeth gritted against the almost overwhelming pain he focused.  As the sunlight burned through his body he managed to guide it, use it to sear out the darkness and strengthen his own soul.  For what felt like an eternity he wavered on the brink of losing control.  Even as it burnt and screamed, the darkness tried to tighten its grip.  It wanted to ensure Daniel died too, wanted to take him with it.
    Daniel wasn’t aware of reaching the tipping point.  Slowly he realised the battle was becoming easier, the darkness weaker and that his strength was starting to return.  Every moment was still torture, he still felt as if molten lead was pouring through his veins and mind, but he no longer teetered on the edge.  Moment by moment he became stronger and the darkness faded. 
    The end, when it came, was astonishingly fast.  One moment the darkness was still clawing at his soul, the next there was a final flash and it was gone — taking the pain with it.  Daniel slumped back on the floor, basking in the bright sunlight.  As he lay there panting, trying to recover from the fight, a dizzying wave of brightness swept over him and he finally lost consciousness.
     
     
    Daniel blinked at the bright light and slowly sat up, enjoying the sun’s warmth on his body.  Judging by the sun’s position it was early afternoon.  He had been unconscious but not for too long — assuming it was still the same day.  He stood gingerly but found his body was strong.  All trace of the darkness had gone, but it had left its mark on Daniel.  Even standing in the warm sunlight a shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what had almost taken over his soul. 
    More than that, it had opened his eyes.  He’d assumed the dark power the vampires wielded was innate, that it was merely a reserve of energy and nothing else.  The power Daniel drew on was inert.  It had no life of its own.  Now he knew the darkness did, or could grow to have such a life anyway.  He needed time to consider the implications.  That would have to wait.  First he needed to work through the memories he had taken from Razgul, decode them to find where Rafael had taken Mary.  That took priority over everything else.
    Daniel walked towards the stairs.  Even though his body felt fine he walked slowly, tentatively.  The memory of his own body betraying him, of it dancing to the tune of the darkness, was still strong.  When he reached the stairs he placed each foot carefully, holding the stone handrail as he descended.
    When he reached the third floor all thoughts of his body vanished.  One again he felt the strong pull towards one particular doorway, but this time there was no reason not to give in.  He found himself walking over and triggering the switch, mesmerised by the siren call.  The doorway led to a corridor with a single exit at the end.  Daniel moved down the corridor as if in a dream then entered the room.  It was large, thirty paces deep by twenty wide, but almost empty.  The only thing in the room was a square stone block roughly ten feet on each side and as high as Daniel’s waist.  Despite its solid construction Daniel felt it was a table of some form.  He knew immediately that it was the table that called to him.
    Quickly crossing the room Daniel studied the table carefully with his eyes and his powers.  He wasn’t at all surprised when the table responded to his probes.  Where the doors and windows had a single switch each the table had many.  Daniel counted twenty-six, each one charged with a different combination of powers.  One combined the greenish tinge of healing power with the reddish power Daniel had used to form barriers.  Another needed whitish power tinged with blue.  Daniel worked