My breathing hitched. I pulled back, stumbling away into the encroaching shadows. With no way of knowing what lay beyond the light, he’d backed me into a corner. Vapula followed, keeping our quarters close, forcing me to either run blindly into the dark or face him.
I took a deep breath, puffed out my chest, and straightened to challenge Vapula. “Stop stalling. Name your price, and I’ll tell you if I want to pay it.”
Our eyes locked. Vapula held my stare, unflinching, unrelenting. I hoped he didn’t see my legs shake, hear my heart thunder in my ears. The confident mask I wore was a moment away from slipping. I had to hold it just a little longer… until I knew what he wanted from me.
“Then I shall get to the point,” Vapula said. “The only thing I require is your soul.”
He offered me his left hand, inviting me to shake it. The polite gesture sent a shiver down my spine. I’d heard the myths, seen them in TV shows and movies; predatory creatures who appear in an hour of need and offer temporary aid for an eternal price.
That chilling request made it all too clear who and what he was. Not a man, nor a figment of my imagination, but something far more dangerous. Far more evil.
“You’re a demon.”
“And what if I am?” His smile deepened, and his hand hung in the air, an open invitation. “It doesn’t matter what I am. It matters only what I offer. I will give you my gifts in life, and as long as the heavens burn, your soul shall belong to me. Vow you will be mine until the darkness kills the light.”
Vapula’s grin showed his fangs and stole my breath away. There, alone in the dark, I had no time to consider the consequences. Longing warred against fear deep within the recesses of my mind. Common sense should have sent me running, should have made me get as far from Vapula as I could. I found that treacherously difficult to do.
He hoped I’d take the bait. Vapula strung it up carefully on a gilded hook and dangled it just in front of me, promising everything I’d ever wanted. A faithful companion who would walk alongside me. A mentor who would guide me. The freedom to do as I willed.
And his price. At first, it appeared to be a curse, but I saw the blessing it disguised—a place in the afterlife at his side. Assurance that even in death, I would never be alone.
“What do you say, Lillia?” he asked. “Do we have a deal?”
His eyes twinkled in the dim light, as did his sharpened teeth, still bared in that cruel smile. I’d already made my choice, though it meant giving him what he wanted. I reached out to him, clasped our hands together, and united us in a bond I couldn’t possibly understand.
“We do,” I whispered, my voice wavering. “You can take my soul. I pledge myself to you. Until the darkness kills the light, until the heavens cease to burn, I will be yours.”
“A wise decision,” Vapula said as his fingers curled tight around mine.
Light ignited, bringing with it a searing pain that made me wince. Emerald flames sprouted from our locked hands. They grew, swelling up my arm, burning me until I screamed. I pulled against Vapula, desperate to break away, but his grip was hard as steel. The fire raged until it consumed us both, blurring the demon’s features, setting the dark ablaze.
“You are mine now, Lillia; do not forget that. I shall see you again soon,” a distant voice whispered as sleep gave way to the waking world.
My eyes flew open. I jolted upright, my skin dripping with sweat, my breathing ragged, and nerves still sparking with pain. It slowly faded away as my room came into focus. The white walls and simple furnishings soothed my panic until only a gnawing dread remained.
“Just a dream,” I whispered to myself, though I didn’t believe that lie any longer.
I already sensed the changes deep within my mind. Something new lurked there, some foreign presence. When I closed my eyes, it swelled, bringing with it answers to questions I hadn’t asked. Guiding my hands to work, to toil with tools and machines whose names I couldn’t place, things I’d seen in labs and workshops, but never touched before. As I refocused, it shrank back until only a whisper remained. It flexed like a muscle, extending and contracting as I willed. This was proof of the bond we’d just forged—proof it was more than a dream.
What exactly had I just done?
It didn’t matter, at least not now. The first light of dawn shone through my window. It illuminated the remnants of my bedroom, and with it, my grim surroundings. Bare shelves. My belongings in boxes on the floor. I had only a few hours before I would board a plane, leaving the life I had behind. I pushed off my blankets and rose on unsteady feet. Sweat soaked my nightgown and set it clinging to my skin. My short brown hair hadn’t escaped the night terror, either. Thick clumps of the stuff stuck together, caressing my neck like cold snakes. I needed ashower, and I’d need to take it quickly. After all, I had a schedule to adhere to.
A schedule I’d never asked for.
A schedule I’d be forced to adhere to, whether I wanted it or not.
