AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had almost forgotten what living creatures felt like.
Glancing down at her tiny face, I cannot help but feel like I have seen her somewhere before. Though it strikes me as odd that I recognize her at all. Human faces being what they are, and all.
Furrowing my brow in thought, it slowly dawns on me where I have seen this human before.
It was the tavern.
I had stepped in for a moment to watch and listen to the humans and their tales, a brief respite from the dead bodies I had spent the day dealing with. Though, I suppose in a way, they are not altogether different.
Perhaps that is why I frequent such places.
Most of the souls there that night were simply part of the living dead as they drank their souls into blurry oblivion. And, unless one drinks themselves to death, it is the closest I can stand when it comes to being around humans.
Living ones, that is.
Except for her.
She had been sitting alone, when she suddenly glanced my way.
I thought it curious at the time, but as beautiful as her blue eyes had sparkled the dim light, they were mortal still. There was no way she could have known I was there, let alone see me.
And yet, I had felt oddly exposed by the way her eyes had searched the shadows.
Her soul had called out to me, but its song was different.
It was not a song of death.
Unlike the others, whose souls sing the slow tune of their lives, filling my ears with the melody of their final hour, hers was a song I had never heard before.
One I could not quite understand. And one I will never understand if we remain here, where souls are silenced.
I suddenly realize that the girl's body has grown stiffer in my arms. I will not get any answers if I keep her out in this cold any longer.
First warmth, and then we can finish our deal. Perhaps then, I will finally understand what her soul was singing to me that night.
Turning, I start to step away just as something catches the corner of my eyes. Looking down at the ground just to one side of where the girl collapsed, I see a small book.
Crouching as I cradle the girl against my chest, I pick it up. It fits neatly in my palm, the cover worn and faded from use, and yet still captivating in its beauty. Tucking it into my shirt, I rise again.
Tightening my hold on the girl, I turn once again and move deeper into the inky shadows as they swirl up around me. Embracing the utter darkness, I slip quickly through the nothingness, savoring it as together we become all and nothing before it finally releases me, and I step out into my own realm.
Kicking open the heavy black doors, I am greeted by a cavernous abyss of an entryway.
Stepping inside, the emptiness of the palace presses in on me, as it always does, and I allow myself to bask in it as I stride through the quiet halls.
I cannot remember a time when another being was her with me.
Until now, that is.
I glance down at the girl. Her skin is pale, and the blue tinge that's crept into her lips almost looks like death has claimed her. I cannot stop myself from admiring how much death seems to suit her.
And yet, that is not why she is here.
Striding further into my palace, I carry the girl toward one of the main rooms, the click of my boots against the obsidian echoing through the vast halls.
The room is empty, save for a black settee trimmed in gold, and, of course, a large fireplace. Tearing the wet cloak from her shoulders, I toss it aside before gently placing the girl down on the settee. She looks so beautiful in her stillness that I find it hard to look away.
But I do.
