Darkside – Ty Dolla $ign, Future and Kiiara
Afraid of the Dark
“Are you afraid of the dark?”
The question, Mira belatedly realised, was directed at her. She blinked, refocused on the small impish man in front of her. An elf, her old teacher might’ve scolded her.
“Um, what?”
He stared at her, his ink black eyes unflinching. “Are you afraid of the dark?”
“No – why?”
He pushed open the door in front of them, a gust of stale air rushing over them. Mira gagged, much to the satisfaction of the elf, whatever his name was. She’d forgotten it.
“Just wandering. You Oracles are crazy, you know? Going down there. Makes you crazy,” he said, holding the door open.
She breezed past, ignoring him and descended into the darkness, one hand on the cold railing.
I already am, she thought as the cold air embraced her.
She followed the stairs down, her footsteps dull thumps, echoing softly down into the chamber below. When she hit the bottom she snapped her fingers. Fires crackled around the room simultaneously, lighting the circular room in an amber glow. The polished floor gleamed before her, the patterns mocking her sleep deprived brain. She looked away as she set her bag down and fished out the pouches of herbs, each bound by a red piece of thread.
With each pouch she dropped them into each of the fires, fragrant smoke coiling up, filling the room, chasing the stale stench away. She gulped in the air, letting her mind become light, detaching gingely from her body. As she felt the call of a vision she moved to the middle of the room and lay down. There, she stared up at the painted ceiling, the depiction of ancient oracles praying, surrounded by the smoke. She drew in deep gulps and let herself slip completely from reality.
She woke up screaming. It died swiftly in her throat as she sat up sharply, clutching at her chest as tears streamed her face. The raw force of the vision still rung through her like a tolling bell. The images of what she’d seen scattered all reasonable thought. All she could think about was the bloodshed as her city resembled a battlefield; skyscrapers blown to bits, the sky raining with fire and debris, a man at the centre of it all, clutching a broken, lifeless girl, screaming with fury at the sky. She couldn’t get his scream out of her head and there was no forgetting his eyes – those eyes…
When she finally stopped crying she dragged herself to her feet and packed up. As she reached the last step she snapped her fingers and the fires blinked out, plunging her into darkness, the light of the doorway above guiding her away. She hurried up, flying through the door and ignoring the elf whom called out after her as she ran out. She didn’t stop running until she was out on the street and had ducked down a side street. With shaky hands she went to call her handler when the phone rang. Her breath hitched. She stared at the phone as it rang for a moment; then, with shaky hands, she answered and brought it to her ear.
“Sorry, I just got out of a vision,” she mumbled shyly. “What is Lady Grey?”
“Oh? Just what I want to hear. Anything promising for me?”
Just the same bloody vision I’ve been having for weeks. Why I can’t sleep, why I can barely stay in my own head. I’m going crazy and falling apart but sure, I’ve seen only good things for you, she thought cynically.
“It’s all a little chaotic in my head right now. I’ll come over once it’s clear. Tomorrow.”
“Tonight. I have someone I want you to meet,” Lady said with a dismissive tone.
She hung up before Mira could even reply.
With a sigh, Mira called a taxi and went home. Her roommate, Lola, another Oracle, sat cross legged in the living room with relaxing music playing. She cracked one shadowed eye lid open and peered curiously at Mira. As she saw the wreck that Mira must’ve looked like her other eye snapped open and she was on her feet. She breezed past Mira, straight into the kitchen and poured a glass of wine. Mira took it, sculled the whole glass and held it back to Lola.
“The same vision?”
“Yeah.” Mira slumped into the nearby recliner. “Lady Grey called, too. Wants me in tonight. I can’t keep lying to her. The second she figures it out – if she hasn’t already – I’m screwed. She’ll kill me.”
“No, she won’t. With my visions I can help until you’re back on your feet,” assured Lola, though her confidence had begun to waver lately.
Mira shot her a tired look. “You only get general vibes. You don’t see things like I do. Hell, if she realises I’m using you, she’ll kill us both.” Her phone chimed again. A text, an address and a time. “That’s my cue. I better go.”
At the front door Lola grabbed Mira’s upper arm, stopping her. “Be careful, okay?”
“When am I not?”
Lola pressed her lips and released Mira’s arm. She said nothing as Mira walked away, her silence saying everything else instead.
Lady Grey’s meeting place was one of her favourite nightclubs. It was a Wednesday night, which meant the place was open only for her. The security out the front saw Mira approach and opened the door for her, ushering her into the empty, booze-soaked club. The lights were dimmed, as if readying for opening tonight. A single bartender stood at the pour, shaking up a martini. Mira’s gaze flickered over the club, found the queen herself reclined in one of the rear booths, surrounding by her own personal bodyguards and a man whose face was hidden behind a menu. Mira approached cautiously, her heart racing.
Lady Grey glanced up and smiled like a cat who had the cream. “My darling, what news do you have?”
“I saw shipments being stopped at the docks. Couldn’t get a read on the ship but it was a red hull. The FBI were raiding it. That’s all I have so far,” she said, rambling off a story she’d scraped together with what thin scraps Lola had fed her on the way over to the club.
It seemed enough as Lady nodded thoughtfully. It was a general enough of a report that it could be useful, yet also be rubbish. As she considered the news the man lowered his menu and raised his hand to order. A waitress materialised from the darkness, scurrying silently over. Mira then saw him and froze.
It was him.
She sucked in a deep breath and schooled her features, looking back at Lady Grey calmly. “Can I go?”
“Why don’t you just join us for a drink? Don’t Oracles enjoy a little booze?” Lady Grey taunted.
It was a well-known fact most Oracles spiralled into alcoholism or some messy drug habit. Anything to escape the visions. Some things, after all, couldn’t be unseen – not unless you completely destroyed yourself. Mira wasn’t immune. She had her fair share of drunken oblivions after a bad vison.
“Only a clear mind will be useful to you,” said Mira carefully.
“You’re right. Very well, go but, before you do, this is my nephew, Lukas. Say hello Lukas.”
Lukas stood and held out a hand. Mira stared at his hand, as if it was some sort of alien concept before she shook it – the second his hand enveloped hers a vision yanked her under. The same vision. She quickly tore herself from the vision and quickly yanked her hand away.
She calmed her face and looked to Lady Grey. “Can I go?”
Lady Grey studied her closely, then nodded. Before anyone said anything else she was gone, straight out onto the street where she threw up. One of the guards might’ve said something but she didn’t hear them, didn’t care. Her heart was racing, thoughts scattered into a thousand tiny shards.
“Hey, you okay?”
She stood shakily, wiped her mouth and turned around. “What do you want?”
“You saw my future, didn’t you? Must’ve been a hell of a vision,” he said quietly as he fished out a cigarette from his pocket. He held one out for her but she waved him off. With a shrug he lit up, took a drag, then beckoned for her to follow.
She realised the guards were watching, too closely. With a nod, she set off, falling into step beside him. Truthfully, she wanted to run the other direction but with the guards watching she reigned in her wild thoughts. Kept calm with all eyes on.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said restlessly.
He finished his cigarette, stubbed it with his shoe on the ground, then picked it up, and tossed it in a bin. “I see the future, too.”
“That’s impossible. Only females are Oracles, our curse,” she said darkly.
He laughed but there was a bitter edge to his voice, one she’d heard in her own voice. “Yeah, so I thought. Then I saw you. A year ago I had my first one. Then I kept seeing you. A city burning. You, in my arms, dying.”
She stopped dead, grabbed his arm, hard, and yanked him to look at her. “What?”
Before, she’d thought he was crazy but what he described was her vision, which she hadn’t even detailed properly to Lola. All her room mate knew it was an apocalyptic type vision, one that made her sick, kept her up every night and was sending her crazy.
He stared at her and she saw the panic settling with relief in his eyes, that he wasn’t the only crazy one. She looked away, drawing a deep breath, then dared to meet his gaze. There was only one way to be sure of his vision, to know his demons and see what he saw.
“Are you afraid of the dark?”625Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CBDs6I74z
