AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Was it the creature? Stalking me as I walked towards his front door?
I longed to call on that fire now — to shed light across the hungry darkness around me. A guiding light would come in handy as I stumbled my way up the ruined perron towards the closed door of the castle. But I resisted, hands fumbling across the vine-covered stone banister to keep myself upright.
I waited before the door, unsure to knock or wait. He would know I was here. From the stories I had heard, I knew he likely sensed my presence the moment I stepped foot on his land. Yet the door did not open, but I grew colder and impatient.
Giving up, I raised a fist but before my knuckles could rap upon the dark oak door, it swung inward. I cringed at the sound of old hinges as they screeched.
If he did not know I was here before, he would now.
“Hello?” My voice echoed into the barren entrance before me. I hesitated, foot poised to take my first step into the castle, as I waited for a response.
Silence greeted me in return.
Whereas the world beyond the castle was shadowed in darkness, the inside was not. Although worn, I was greeted by colour. The wooden flooring glowed orange beneath the lit candelabra. White candles dripped furiously among the intricate twisting of metal. Wax melted in frozen drips that puddled across the polished, yet ancient floor. As I stepped inside a wall of stale air slammed into me. I cupped a hand over my nose, trying not to inhale the scent. But it was too late. It lathered the back of my throat and clung to my tongue. This air that had festered without the benefit of an open window or door.
“Hello?” I questioned again, body tense as I reached for the door to see who had opened it. I readied myself for a scare, only to find the space empty behind it.
Years I had readied for this moment, but the fear that stiffened my body was never expected. Its presence shocked me. Mother taught me about fight and flight, always urging me to clench fists and throw power. But now, standing here, I wanted nothing but to turn and run.
The door slammed suddenly. I jumped back, spluttering a shout as I got out of the way of its aggressive swing. The phantom movement shook dust from the walls and rafters until it settled down upon me like snow.
“You rush to leave so soon?” The voice was everywhere and nowhere at once. My fists clenched at my sides as the velvet tone slithered down my spine.
“Forgive me.” I kept my gaze down as I turned around, unable to bring myself to look up at the stairway that took up the majority of the entrance. He was there. I knew it.
“It is that time already…” the voice purred. “Another year has passed without much thought. And here I find a Claim standing in my presence. How can it be a year already when I still can taste the last Claim so… clearly?”
I looked up for a moment, long enough to see the towering figure standing at the top of the stairs. Only to snap my gaze back down to my feet in a blink.
Adrenaline flooded through me, setting every vein on fire. I felt the elements stir at my reaction. A readiness that made my bones shake. This is it. My target. That fear that had not long raced through me was blown out with a single exhale.
Should I cower? Force my hands to shake so he thought me weak?
I opted to keep my gaze low as I fought the urge to smile.
Play the part.
“They normally scream, you know.” The voice was closer now, yet no more than a whisper. “It has been many a year since one stood without words before me.”
“I fear words fail me… in your presence.”
There was a shift in the air. He had moved from his perch at the top of the stairs to a place inches before me in a blink. Where the floor was empty before me, now stood boots; black polished leather that caught the light of the candles that hung far above.
“Let me see you,” he purred; a sweet brush of breath tingled over me. I breathed it in, images of orchards in spring flooding my mind. But there was something else beneath it. Copper. A sharp tang that hid almost perfectly beneath the illusion of apples. “Do not fear me.”
I should have not looked up so quickly for fear that he sensed that I was not scared of him. But my reaction that followed would have covered up any distrust in my forced demeanour.
His eyes were obsidian. No. I squinted closer. Red. Deep red that it seemed they were nothing but pits of darkness.
He was pure light. From the white marble of his manicured hair, to the glow of his skin that seemed to shine from within. His entire body had been crafted from strands of moonlight. My neck ached as I had to look up at him. He towered over me by a foot, or two.
“I do not fear you,” I said, eyes darting across his face. A face I had imagined a million times.Such a waste. He was handsome, so much so it should have inspired songs and stories. Perhaps it would have been harder knowing the outcome of this visit if I had grown up looking upon his face. Somehow it was easier creating images of it from my imagination all these years.
They were always different. Sometimes human, like the man before me, other times I would play on his title of creature and imagine a beast with horns and a twisted face.
His lips were flushed with colour, as if he had taken a bite from a pomegranate a moment before he smiled. “How… unexpected.”
I wanted to agree with him, but I swallowed my words as he exposed two points of his canines.How unexpected indeed.
