A smooth voice cut through the air, like a red-hot knife through butter, before it burned the wood of the board below.
My body stiffened, petrified at the sound of the cryptic voice that reached out to me. I thought it was best not to respond, granting me extra time to pull my thoughts together.
“Don’t be rude. You have a guest. What kind of host ignores a guest twice?” He tsked, and steps could be heard nearby.
“Guestis a generous title to give yourself,” I scoffed. “It may be in your best interest to stop this childish pursuit if you enjoy your nervous system remaining intact.”
“Oh”—I could hear a cocky smirk in his voice—“she not only speaks, she also bites.”
“I am sure you would be the type of degenerate to enjoy that,” I sneered.
A chuckle could be heard somewhere before it melted into that ominous predatory clicking, like a rumble at the back of a crocodile’s throat.
The hairs on the back of my neck did not just stand, butwanted to rip themselves out of their cuticles and run for the hills. Every fiber of my being wanted to tear itself from my skeleton to escape the presence before me.
I moved to the middle of the room, searching the dark for any moving shadows.
“Who are you?” I asked, my hands warily in front of me to avoid the furniture.
“I am anything you want me to be.” His voice manifested next to my ear. “I’ll let you decide, one last illusion of autonomy before Idevouryou.”
A hand rested on either side of my hips, something like needles brushed against the back of my neck. The sensation made me jump, but it made my body hot with something else I was embarrassed to admit.
“Awfully bold to assume that you will get that far.” I kept my voice steady.
“Let’s not begin our courtship with lies, my dear shadow.” He sighed. “You’ll realize soon enough that we are the same. That’s how I know that you want to see how far I will get.”
“Same? You disgust me. You are a man, ademon.”
“I am surely neither.” He laughed, and something wet slicked up the side of my neck.
I whipped around and wiped the wetness from my skin furiously. “You devil!” I shouted, grabbing the pewter vase off the tea table and slinging it across the room. It smacked against the wall and clamored onto the floor with a loud bang.
A low growl echoed around the room. It was impossible to distinguish where it came from, further disorienting me.
“If you want me to be the devil, how about a wager?”
“I don’t gamble.”
“Not with money, but you gamble with something else daily.”
“It is not a gamble when I know I’ll win.”
“Do you?” He paused. “Know you’ll win?”
“Of course I do. I always do.”
“Then what’s the harm? Indulge me.”
His voice circled me in the darkness like a snake coiling around its prey before that inevitable squeeze.
I could only see a tall black figure moving as he passed in front of the windows briefly.
“If you can get to your bedroom before I catch you”—something tugged at a piece of my hair, a hand brushed against mine—“then I’ll leave you alone for tonight.” He tugged at the sleeve of my robe like he was inspecting his prize before he had won.
“And if I don’t?”
My question was only met with a chuckle. “I’ll give you a head start as a gift of good faith.” The words came out sickly sweet, slow and tempting.
