Tyler opened his eyes and the room didn't look like it did the night before. He sat up, fully awake, and scanned the room, his vision overwhelmed by the excess of information. Each item his eyes fell on seemed to stand out from what was around it. The edges of the bed were more defined, despite it being no different from the night before. The mix of red hues on Morrigan’s bedding were more noticeable, not brighter, but much easier to see.
He could see the traces of dust dancing in the air from where the sunlight leaked in through the blinds. He saw the dust that lingered on each slat of the blind perfectly. He stood up, and as he walked he noticed a slight decline in the floor caused by the building's settling.
He reached for the light switch, flipped it on, and the flash made him jump. While not blinding, the light seemed brighter. He heard the tungsten filament inside the bulb hum, vibrating under the stress of the electrical charge.
When the light filled the room, a process that felt longer than normal, it felt like the first time he'd seen it. All the details he noticed before changed, and his mind raced trying to gather every possible detail of this new image.
While overwhelming, he didn't feel uncomfortable, quite the opposite. Small moments of anxiety would swell within him if he stared at something for too long, his mind desperate for more information.
"Morrigan,” he called. He didn't receive an answer, but in what felt like ages, he did hear her hand dragging across the wall on the way to the room. The sound of her footsteps came next, rapid and with purpose. She stopped herself at the door, taking her time before opening it.
It was an agonizing wait and Tyler started fidgeting, swaying side-to-side as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. The door opened, creaking as it did. He leaned to the side, as if doing so would give him a quicker view and allow him to speak sooner.
His heart beat fast and hard. It felt like it was bashing itself against the inside of his chest. His breathing grew heavy. He wasn't annoyed at the wait, he realized, he was excited. He stared in eager anticipation as she stepped through.
Morrigan looked the same, and yet nothing like she did before. He stood perfectly still, his eyes widened, and he had to force his jaw in place to prevent it from dropping. The woman was a stranger to him. Every curve, every perfectly tailored article of clothing that covered them, was new.
The way her chest lifted and fell with every breath, the clarity of her snow-white skin, even the deep red of her hair, appeared nothing like it did the night before. Her eyes, though, they changed the most. The jade green color remained, but the more he stared, the more he noticed how the color danced in the iris, as if the slightly different shades were water that refused to mix.
"Tyler?" Morrigan said. "How are you feeling?" Tyler barely registered the words. He didn't know how long they stood in silence, how long he stared both before and after she spoke. He had to say something.
"Holy shit." He whispered, the corner of his mouth showing the smile he was trying to hide.
"Be Calm." She pleaded, holding her hands out in front of her as if pushing the sensory overload away, "It's a bit much, I know, I remember."
"You're," he began, unable to find the words, even reaching out as if to beckon them forth. He felt an overwhelming joy, "Wow."
"Thank You." She sighed. She looked to the ground, and her voice broke despite her best efforts. "I have doubts."
"I- no. Why?" He said with narrowed eyes.
"I found a few options that will work, make you forget, and I won't disappear, I promise" she stammered.
"So my choice is taken from me because if something bad happened, you just couldn't handle it?" Tyler said. He crossed his arms, and she stiffened, standing straight up with her knees together and crossed her arms as well.
No." she snapped, her tone dipping low.
"No? Why doesn't it matter what I want."
"It does matter," she countered, her voice still hinting at a deep rage.
"Then why not?"
"What is it you're wanting?"
"You." He said.
She went silent, blinking and pressing her tongue against the side of her cheek to suppress a smile, "hidden knowledge, power to call your own, and limitless possibilities to explore and all you want is great sex?" .
"I mean, great for me. If you thought I was great, you should raise your standards." He said cracking a smile when she laughed. He continued, "All of that sounds awesome, but you'd be at the center of it. I doubt I'd care otherwise. If I forget, I wouldn't really know you."
She let out another sigh, "Do you want to know what's happening to you right now?" She gestured for him to sit on the bed, and sat down beside him when he nodded and obeyed.
"Please do." He said. He sat patiently, studying her as she stared into space.
Imagine a candle on a windowsill on a pitch black night. It can only burn when lit, and if lit, it will cast its light on the shadows that lie beyond, yes?" she said, giving a nod to accent her words and continued when he nodded, "what might that light reveal?"
"Whatever the shadows kept hidden. I'm not stupid, Morrigan. I understood the first time you explained this." He said, only to have her place a finger on his lips.
"I'm not saying you're stupid, let me finish," she said, dropping her hand and using it to hold his, "Whatever lingers in the dark will be revealed, yes, but you've missed something. It's pitch black. By lighting that candle, you reveal what festers in shadow, but you reveal yourself, too."
"Oh,” he said, tilting his head back.
She raised his hand in hers and letting both fall in exasperation, "It's how the candlelight works."
She stood up, took him to the window, and pointed to it. He raised the blinds, and looked outside. The whole world was different, not just his room, not just Morrigan, but everything seemed to hide secrets in plain sight. He could see tires needing air on cars that flew by, saw the slight limp of a man recently mugged, and in the alley below stood a strange figure.
It stared at him, and Tyler's face contorted. His brow lowered and his lips tightened. It happened on instinct, as if he knew this figure was far from human and did not have his best interests in mind. Tyler could feel its eyes on him, and resisted a surprising urge to leave and confront it directly.
"He's back." He growled. Morrigan paused her lesson, her eyes lighting up.
"Who?" She asked.
"The fake man. I don't think it's human, and I know it's looking at me." Tyler replied.
"Oh," She began, "He isn't human. He's a suit.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
She went pale, clenching her jaw before dodging the question, “Why do you know that? How can you tell?"
"I just know." he replied.
"Wrong," she said, "Candlelight. What you saw last night was enough to light it in full. The more you see the more you're going to see. It grows brighter."
"Which reveals more to me," he said, cutting her off, "and makes me more visible to them."
"Exactly," she grinned, "I'm not an expert. There are those who know far more, but that's the idea." She stopped, and walked to the bed. Tyler followed, and when they sat, wrapped his arm around her. His mind strayed, focused on the creature downstairs.
He stood up, something Morrigan didn't expect. She quickly brought her head back up from Tyler's shoulder to avoid falling over onto the bed. She tilted her head, listening to every sound that he made.
"I'll only be a moment,' he whispered, walking toward the bedroom door.
"Wait," she replied, elongating the word to emphasize the warning, "that thing can be dangerous." He was already out of the room and nearing the front door before she realized his absence. "I said no," she yelled. Chasing after him. She heard the front door shut, heard him quickly moving down the stairs. She rushed out of the apartment and Tyler turned to look at her, featuring to follow.
"I want him gone," he said, his thoughts spoken out loud, "It's bothering me."
"Stop." Morrigan growled. Tyler didn't listen. He turned and waltzed across the empty road to the alley. Morrigan followed, matching his speed. The strange figure stared at Tyler with a hunger, only showing fear when it saw Morrigan trailing behind.
"Can I help you?" Tyler said, the words sounding more like an accusation than a question. The coat ripped open, revealing the feathered form beneath. It leaped toward Tyler, its birdlike feet, complete with sharp black talons, poised to rip flesh from bone. Tyler didn't expect it, raising his arm in a pointless attempt to protect himself.
Morrigan raised her hand, positioned it just above her hip and closed her eyes. Tyler felt a rumble beneath him. In a single swift motion, Morrigan let her hand rise in line with her chest, clenched her hand, and slammed it down to her side. Two rectangular chunks of concrete and dirt burst straight up from the ground on either side of the creature, slammed together, and drove themselves back into place in the ground with the creature crushed between them. The sound left a ringing in his ears, a deafening grind of rock and rubble.
Tyler turned around, seeing several passersby walking gingerly as if nothing happened. He turned to Morrigan, met her vacant eyes, and instinctively lowered his gaze to the ground.
Morrigan screamed, then stopped, the anger rising as she tried her best to lower her tone, shaking her head and constantly moving closer to him, only to step back as if unsure how close she wanted to be. Her breathing was chaotic, and with every labored breath, Tyler felt even worse.
"What is wrong with you,” she screamed, running her hands through her hair. Tyler saw people on the street turning their heads towards the commotion.
"Oh, now they notice." He muttered.
"What?" Morrigan asked, dipping her head down as if it would help her hear. She heard the mutterings of the people around them, then growled again, quieter than the before, but with a tone sharp enough to cut all the same. "They didn't notice because they can't see it,” she snapped. “They aren't in the know."
He walked in defeat, with Morrigan nearly stepping on his heels behind him. He opened the door, entered, and Morrigan slammed the door shut.
"Are you serious," she asked, holding up a finger, "You've been up for an hour, then wander off to get yourself killed?"
"I didn't know it would just attack me. " Tyler said, his voice calm as he tried to piece together some form of defense.
"And you never asked," she snapped, her voice rising in volume with every word. "I don't care what you think. I don't care what reasons you may conjure," She paused, looked to the ground, and whatever swelled in her thoughts seemed to calm her down, though only a little. She lowered her voice, took and released a deep breath.
Despite adopting a more civil tone, she spat her words at him, her hand held in front of her with a finger pointed to the ground as she continued, "When I say wait, no, and don’t, please listen. Ask whatever you want, I'll answer, I promise. Complain if you must, but you will damn sure, listen.” A tear came down her cheek, followed by another, “You could have-" She closed her eyes and buried the sobs that almost leaked out, "You could have been killed. I almost lost track of you. I'm blind, you have to understand that."
She looked at him, puzzled by his silence. Her eyes grew wide. Her lips, which stayed firmly in a straight line from her clenched jaw during most of the conversation, loosened and frowned.
She turned her back to him slowly, as if to not be noticed. Her hand covered her face, and she took another deep breath. "No," she began, her hands falling to her side and flying back as she searched for a seat. "I'm sorry." She said in a soft whisper, the shame painting her voice. "I nearly did the same thing."
"That could be an interesting story," he said.
She laughed, trying to hide it at first. When she failed, she slapped his arm. "Please be more careful. You have to trust me. Don't rush, take it one step at a time." He nodded, sighed, and then sat back in his chair.
“I've never done this before,” Morrigan began. “I imagine someone with more experience that would have had you much further along. We need to get started.”
She stood up, and motioned to the front door.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Just a couple blocks down. You and I are going to the library.”
I'm going to try and keep this as minimal as possible this time. Your opening two paragraphs mostly begin with "He" which isn't great. Alteration of this pattern needs to take place. You can keep a few as repetition is a useful literary element but it gets distracting in such quantity. Beyond that, Tyler's initial reaction makes sense but then him randomly chasing after the suit came out of nowhere. You know more about the character, but the lack of questioning and the instant response seems more like something Morrigan would have done in Tyler's place instead of the other way around. Other than that, there wasn't much to critique in this chapter. I liked the description of everything Tyler could see and hear new with his growing sense of the Candlelight as well as the idea that it illuminates both the user and the shadows. It's an interesting idea to implement into your story.
Excellent points. i shall fix these issues. The candlelight does make one a little more impulsive, but it does come out of the blue. I never set that up in previous chapters. It likely should have been handled a bit differently, particularly on Morrigan's part. She would have prepared for that.