Dance With The Devil
Ch.2
By: Lara Winner
~~~~~ Past ~~~~~
"The child hasn?t eaten and now she?s caught fever. We must fetch a doctor Joseph."
Through the fog in her head Hilde heard her mother?s frantic voice but could not respond. She was cold. She wasn?t fevered. Huddling deeper within the many thick blankets piled on top her tiny body she shivered uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered and her hands shook with the force of her chills. She tried in vain to speak; to calm her mother and tell her she was all right but there was no strength left in her to do as she wished. The realization frightened her.
Without conscious thought she clutched her rag doll closer to her chest feeling a little comfort. Elizabeth wouldn?t leave her alone. None of her other dolls were as special as Elizabeth was. None of them had the ability to sooth her fears either.
Yet she couldn?t even remember what she?d been afraid of. Only a moment before the thought had been clear in her mind but now she couldn?t remember. Gods she was cold; so cold.
It took all of her effort to open her eyes. Longingly, she looked at the fire blazing in the hearth wishing she could absorb all that nice warmth into her. She stared at the flames transfixed just watching them flair higher then die down only to rise up again over and over in a rhythmic dance. She became so engrossed in watching the fire she almost jumped as something shook her shoulder lightly.
Jerking out of her trance she froze, her guileless blue eyes widening as she found herself standing outside her little stone cottage in her mother?s herb garden. Before her confused mind could even process the sudden unexplainable change of location, she realized that she was standing face to face with a strange boy.
He smiled widely, his violet eyes twinkling in amusement as he laughed. "Hi."
"Hi." She said meekly, shrinking away from him. He just kept smiling, watching her with eyes that held too much wisdom for a boy so young. He looked no older then herself, eight years old, nine at most. He was dressed in black, which she found rather odd, and his chestnut hair was in a long braid that swayed with a life of its own every time he moved his head. Something about the boy was off, different in an almost frightening way but looking into his eyes she found nothing but warmth and humor.
With childish curiosity she couldn?t help but ask, "Who are you?"
"I?m Duo." He said matter-of-factly as if she should already know and not ask such a foolish question.
Feeling her exasperation and confusion rise at his tone she then asked, "Don?t you have a last name?"
"No, just Duo." He paused for a moment scratching his head thoughtfully before saying, "I don?t think I need a last name. Everybody knows me sooner or later."
"What do you mean?"
Something in her tone caught him and he blinked looking at her blankly for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders saying, "Never mind. You?re not supposed to know right now."
"Know what?"
"I?m not telling." He taunted wickedly.
"Know what?" She asked angrily, stomping her tiny foot in a show of frustration. "Tell me. I wanna know."
A smug smirk crossed his childish face and his eyes lit up merrily as he challenged, "Make me."
Without thought, she lunged at him but with unexpected speed he grasped Elizabeth from her arms and took off running. She pursued as best as she could, hiking up her skirts immodestly and laughing as they trampled their way through the garden not caring where they stepped. It felt so good to run, so good to have fresh air and sunlight on her face. She was caught up in the moment, having fun with no cares and no worries.
She kept pace behind him, not slowing despite the need to catch her breath. Seeing her chance she reached out and grasping his braid in a firm grip. Ignoring his yelp of pain pulled him down with her to the ground. She couldn?t help but giggle with glee as he landed sprawled beneath her looking up at her, his lips twisted in an adorable pout.
"You don?t play fair." He whined.
"I do to!"
"You do not!"
"I do to!"
"You do to!"
"I do not!"
"Ha! I tricked you!" He laughed.
They both erupted into another round of giggles, laughing in abandon. She was having fun; so much fun she momentarily forgot that she didn?t know this boy and that something wasn?t right about the situation. That was until her mother?s voice came loud and clear, calling her from a distance. She jerked up, her eyes clouding over with fear as she heard the shrill almost screaming cry of her name.
"Mama!" She called jumping to her feet and running toward the little house. She burst through the door not caring if Duo followed or not. She looked around frantically finding the house empty and eerily silent. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to Duo, her voice small as she whimpered, "Where?s my Mama?"
He looked at her steadily for a moment, his eyes serious and cold. Then their violet depths softened as he reached out grasping her hand. "Don?t you wanna play with me?"
She nodded her head but her voice broke as she cried, "I?m scared."
"Its okay. Don?t be scared." He tried to make his voice soothing but she could see the uncertain look in his eyes. She couldn?t think. She couldn?t do anything but cry because she?d never been so confused or afraid in all her life. He guided her toward the feather tick cot in the corner of the room. His steady hands pushed down on the bed as he sat beside her.
She looked at him questioningly and he grinned, "Just lay down and close your eyes." She shook her head and tried to stand but he pulled her back down saying, "I promise you?ll be okay. You trust me don?t you?" He asked.
"I don?t know. Why should I?"
"Because you?re my friend." He said softly.
She couldn?t place the expression on his face but she had the feeling he was thinking something important in his head. Knowing that she had never had any friends because she didn?t get to play with the other children in the village, she smiled slightly suddenly not afraid anymore. She laid down and closed her eyes. She felt his hand rest gently on her shoulder. She opened her eyes once more to ask him why she was lying down only to find flames filling her vision, the orange and red tongues flickering before her eyes.
She blinked, realizing that she was lying in her bed, bundled under the blankets and quilts still cold and still shivering. She could hear her mother?s frantic, pleading voice as she talked to someone whom she couldn?t place. The only explanation that her hazy, youthful mind could process was that she had dreamed the strange and unique young boy. Closing her eyes she curled up tighter trying to go back to sleep hoping that maybe they could play again. She let herself fall into the dreamless oblivion not realizing that Elizabeth was no longer clutched tightly in her little arms?
**********
Weeks and months passed as she slowly recovered from her grave illness. The town doctor was a common visitor and so was her new friend. She was a bright child. She caught on to things quickly and she understood more than her parents and the townsfolk gave her credit for. She knew that there was a good reason her family practiced their different magical religion away from the prying eyes of their neighbors and she knew that it was something that was not to be spoken of to other children. Her mother had explained that she could be called a witch for her beliefs. In order to protect herself and her family she had to keep the rituals and spells a coveted secret. She was good at keeping secrets. She never told another soul about her special friend Duo.
He had asked her, not in so many words but she understood that it was best, to keep this between them; their little game. He would come visit her, usually at night in her dreams and sometimes during the day when she was completely alone picking wild herbs and plants in the western forest. It wasn?t long before they decided on a meeting place deep within the woods where they could play and talk undisturbed. She also quickly learned to stop asking questions. Duo had a way of evading the answers she wished to learn from him.
One day however, he finally appeased her curiosity by saying that if she wanted, she could consider him her own personal angel. Despite her opinion that he had a devilish side no angel could possess, she accepted his answer content to know that he was there even when she couldn?t see him. It had saddened her to think he may only be a part of her imagination. He was something not of this world and being a witch herself, she knew that there was a deeper meaning to this bonding than just whimsical musings. This was a part of her destiny that she would learn the meaning of in due time.
Ten years came and went and she grew older, her childish figure melting away to that of a young woman. Along with her age came the responsibilities of being her coven?s maiden. The coven itself was small, their circle consisting of her mother her grandmother and her three aunts. She was the youngest and the only one unmarried. She was still a virgin and so it was her duty to stand as the maiden. Her Aunt Agatha was the Mother and their Priestess having given birth to six healthy boys and acting as the village midwife, and her grandmother was the Crone, her age giving her wisdom and compassion not seen it the young. It was symbolic to the three faces of the goddess. Maiden, Mother, Crone. The path that every woman must take in her life, to be the child and learn to be the mother and give life and to be the crone and teach her clever wisdom. Knowing her spiritual importance she carried out her duty with pride and devotion.
She was eighteen when her destiny finally laid its self out before her and what the fates demanded of her was something she could never have conceived?
**********
Her eyes flickered around the small clearing watching as Agatha prepared the circle for the night?s ritual. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm her nerves as she took her place beside Gillian, her Mother. Their eyes met and her Mother smiled, her dusty blue eyes crinkling as she gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. Tonight they were celebrating the feast of Samhain. To the clergy it was All-Hollows eve but from experience she knew they had no concept of the true power this night held.
Hilde shivered as the older woman took her athame beginning the ceremony. She drew a circle on the leaf-strewn ground, the dull double-edged blade glinting in the candlelight. Hilde?s eyes jerked from the ground to her Aunt?s face and her breath caught at the shadows that played across her stony features as her slivery hair flowed about her shoulders, raw energy radiated from her willowy form. Then Agatha carefully placed the knife on the altar as she faced her companions. Without a word spoken they joined hands waiting for her to begin. Hilde listened breathlessly as her voice rang clear and sharp in the night air.
"Ye guardians of the watchtower of the East, element of air, I call you now to witness this rite and guard this circle! Ye guardians of the watchtower of the South, element of fire, I call you now?."
As Agatha continued the incantation, one by one the four candles on the small altar burned brighter summoning the guardian spirits as desired. Hilde felt the rush of adrenaline fill her body as the circle became charged with unseen energy, the space literally crackling with protective power.
As the ritual continued, she listened to her Aunt?s words with her heart, not just her ears. Letting her eyes slide closed she opened her senses, expanding her consciousness to feel everything surrounding her. She let her spirit flow and become one with the Goddess, the mother of all creation, and in her moment of connection she left her heart open in awe-struck fascination. Then as quickly as the moment came it was gone and she opened her eyes, her body still tingling with an indescribable awareness to another spiritual level of being. Her conscious mind knew she should be frightened but she wasn?t. It was a beautiful powerful feeling.
"Hildegard, come forth!" Commanded Agatha as she held out the sliver chalice she was holding to Hilde.
With a sense of calm that seemed to be borrowed strength from the all powerful entity she stepped to the center of the circle standing before the small fire that burned next to the altar. Reverently she took the chalice, her eyes dropping down to look at the dark red liquid that rippled from her trembling hold. Facing her Aunt she stood completely still as the older woman anointed her formally.
Agatha dipped her finger in the purified wine then marked Hilde?s brow with the Goddess?s symbol; a circle sided by two crescents. Softly she said, "With your mind see the truth oh daughter of Hecate." Then she did the same to Hilde?s chest saying, "With your heart hear the truth oh daughter of Isis." Then once more she did the same touching Hilde?s lips saying, "With your voice be the truth oh daughter of Anu."
"As you have said so mote it be." Hilde whispered then lifting the chalice to her lips and taking a swallow of the dry potent wine.
"Tonight we gather to celebrate Samhian, the feast of the dead. We are here to pay homage and respect to those who have passed and to the God that has led their souls across the veil. As a child of the craft, pure and virtuous, free of mind and of soul, you are summoned to open the veil so that we may transcend soul to soul, the living and the dead."
Placing the chalice on the altar, Hilde tried to focus past her rising nervousness. This was what she had prepared for, to be the open channel of communication this night. It wasn?t so bad. Just feel the words and thoughts coming from the other side. ?Shinigami help me? she whispered silently.
In response she felt the air around her stir making the thin black garment she wore move against her body almost like a lover?s caress. She shivered as a feeling of calm settled over her sweeping through her in a most familiar manner, almost as if someone or something was matching her thoughts and feelings. For a split second the joined feeling intensified then vanished leaving her breathless.
Clearing her mind, she slipped to her knees before the small yet raging fire surrounded by a circle of stones. Clawing her fingers into the grass she sat on her heels staring into the fire watching the flames bend to the whim of the soft wind. Slowly she felt a pull, drawing her out of the physical realm of her body and into the golden light before her. Her vision became filled with bright vibrant hues of orange and the low roar of the fire filled her ears as she felt herself falling into the surrounding light.
She blinked then bit back a gasp as she found herself surrounded by mist. The white smoky tendrils flowed and coiled around her body obscuring her vision of what lay beyond. It was thick and dense, almost pliable as she tried to take a blind step forward. Through the heavy fog she could hear a faint voice, a breathless alluring whisper, "Come?"
She took careful steps, putting her faith in the hauntingly familiar voice. Fear threatened to consume her but she breathed deeply not focusing on the disabling feeling. Mustering all her courage she steeled her spine trying to brace herself for what was awaiting her, or rather, calling her.
Slowly the mist began to recede thinning out little by little. Through the gray haze she was beginning to make out ambiguous shapes. As they became visible, she realized walls of stone a granite surrounded her. She was underground. The walls themselves shimmered with water-like reflections only instead of a white glare the dancing patterns were red. Over the pounding of her own heart she could hear the sound of rushing water and she spun around sharply only to bite back the startled cry that rose from her throat.
There before her, not three feet away, was a small river. She stared at the water knowing without a doubt what the dark murky red liquid was. Blood. Fighting the panic that fought to consume her she turned her eyes away almost cringing as she followed the flowing river of blood to the cavern entrance. There standing on the opposite bank was a hooded figure. She couldn?t see a face but at site of it?s skeletal hand holding the staff at it?s side was enough to make her rigid control slip as began to shake even more. Breathing deeply she resisted the urge to run as the figure motioned her forward, his bony hand extended in invitation.
Despite her fear, she took a hesitant step forward suddenly realizing that her trembling wasn?t completely from fear. The air was so cold her breath came out in little puffs of mist. With each step the warmth of her body seemed to leave her chilling her to the bone. She was nearly to the bank when the hooded figure held his hand up in a motion for her to stop. She did so readily as she clutched her arms around her body tightly.
With a quick glance she took in the cave, her eyes moving to the second entrance that was directly opposite the first. The narrow banks fell away as the river extended completely across the wide tunnel. She squinted her eyes trying to see into the darkness that led into the tunnel but she could see nothing. It was obvious that was the path into the underworld.
She tensed, tears of terror filling her eyes, as a cold hand placed itself on her shoulder. Biting her lip hard she turned around facing the hooded creature that now stood next to her. In the shadow of its hood two brightly glowing green eyes peered at her as it then lifted it?s fingers brushing at her tears. The simple gesture made her eyes widen as she tried desperately not to flinch, then the fear returned double seeing the white bone of its fingertips was tipped with blood as they pulled away.
"The living have no place here. I cannot permit you to pass this point." The creature said softly, its voice rich and deep. The gentle somber sound did not fit his appearance. She nearly smiled as his tone lifted in surprise. "You are the first living creature to come this far. I?ve never seen the like. Might I inquire your name child?"
"Hildegard Schbeiker." She whispered.
"You are a mortal?" He gasped, a bony hand flying to his throat in shock.
This time she couldn?t help but smile nervously. "Yes."
"Even the Gods fear to tread on this land. Go back the way you came. There is nothing for you here on this side of the veil."
"I?ve crossed over?" She cried knowing her job was to open the veil, not enter it.
"Well, I thought I made that clear." He huffed as she stared at him wide eyed unsure what to do. She didn?t know how she got here. She was just here. How was she supposed to go back?
Giving him a pleading look she opened her mouth to speak then shut it quickly. What did she say now? She still couldn?t see the creature?s face and she didn?t want to. Though she was no longer afraid of him she found herself in a whole new equally frightening predicament. Could she go back?
Before she could say anything to state her desperate need of help a familiar voice broke the silence. "I?ll take care of this Charon. She?s my guest. Don?t worry yourself."
The effect of the voice was like cold water pouring down her spine. She couldn?t begin to place the thousands of emotions colliding in her as she stiffened in pure shock. Unable to turn around and face him she watched as Charon bowed his head respectfully mumbling, "Yes my lord." Then right before her eyes his form grew fainter and fainter till he dissolved into a swirling shroud of mist and disappeared.
Holding her breath she waited unsure what to say or do. She felt a tiny spark of relief that she wasn?t alone but she couldn?t shake the stunned daze that seemed to keep her glued to her spot. She heard him take a step closer, then she felt his warm hands settle on her bare arms as he whispered, "Are you alright?"
She nodded her head as she choked, "What are you doing here Duo?"
"I might ask you the same thing." He sighed sounding slightly angry. "This is a dangerous place. You really should not be here."
She didn?t resist as he slowly turned her to face him. It was definitely relief that flooded her as she looked up at his handsome face. His eyes flashed with emotions she couldn?t place and his usual cynical humor was gone as he glared down at her. She felt his grip on her arms tighten. He looked as if he wanted to pull her closer but instead his lips pursed as if preparing for a lecture. She didn?t give him room to speak. It was time to get some answers. "Why are you here? You never answered me."
Reluctantly, he released his grip turning his eyes from her searching gaze. Almost wincing he said, "That?s irrelevant Hilde."
"Oh I think it?s very relevant. What are you? Tell me!" she hissed. Her eyes flashed with anger brought on by fear, uncertainty and a little bit of hurt at his blatant disregard of her question. She was done playing this game. The least he could do was give her simple explanation after being his friend these past years. She had never made demands on him before but this was the last draw. "I need to know."
He took a step back breathing deeply as he whispered, "I?m the God of Death and the underworld is my kingdom."
All she could do was stare at him blankly as her mind slowly comprehended his words. Then she felt the blood drain from her face and her hands began to shake. God... He was a God. She knew he was something powerful, something important and special but a God was something that never crossed her mind. An elf, a demon, even an angel she could have guessed but a? God? She was dumb-struck. It was as if in a split second the axis of her world had tilted with mind numbing results. He was one of the most powerful creatures of the universe. He was a direct part of the higher power. He could change the fabric of life with the snap of his fingers. He was the God of Death.
Her voice trembling, all she could whisper was, "Shinigami."
She watched his eyes narrow with displeasure? Disappointment? She couldn?t tell.
With a tired sigh he stated softly, "I go by many names, Hades, Pluto, Seth, some even call me the devil, to name a few. My existence is not good or evil. It is simply my duty to hail the end of life and make sure that the cycle of life, death and rebirth continues for the balance of humanity." Then his voice turned even softer as he said, "That is why I?m here. As far as what I am?I?m what you want me to be."
"What does that mean?" She asked warily, too afraid and confused to read anything more into his words.
"Take it as you will." He shrugged carelessly moving s step closer. The look in his dark eyes made her breath catch as they bore into her own unflinchingly. He was so close she could hear him breathing softly.
Accusingly she whispered, "You never told me. How could you?"
Loosing her nerve, she looked away. Blinking back hopeless tears she tried to make sense of her whirling emotions. She was afraid, she was hurt and she felt betrayed that he?d kept his true identity a secret. All this time he had lied to her. She must have looked like a fool to him. Not to mention he was the God of Death and he was consorting with a mortal. There was obviously something he wanted from her and just the thought terrified her.
"Hilde."
His fingers brushed her cheek softly and she jerked away flinching from his touch. She couldn?t help the reaction as her eyes met his, fear evident in their blue depths.
Instantly he drew back, his shoulders slumping in a show of defeat. He tried to explain helplessly. "I didn?t know how to tell you. I?ve never had to explain myself to anyone before. I?ve never cared about what they thought of me. But you?" He sighed sadly, his gaze turning beseeching as he asked, "What is the difference if I?m a God or a mortal?"
"You?re not who I thought you were. I don?t know you." She cried, tears sliding down her pale cheeks.
Ignoring her startled gasp he gripped her arms pulling her closer, bringing his face inches from hers. His voice bordering on desperation he insisted, "Yes you do. You know me better than anyone and this is exactly why I didn?t tell you. I didn?t want you to look at me the way you are right now. Please don?t be afraid of me. Please."
The honest emotion in his eyes made her heart twist painfully. He was right. She knew him and she knew he wasn?t lying. It was almost as if she could feel the hurt flowing from him and it matched the funny ache in her chest. Maybe she was a fool but she could feel her anger fading. How could she blame him for keeping his secrets when she had many secrets of her own? One being the very reason why this hurt so much.
Tenderly, she brushed his unruly hair from his eyes watching his expression relax in relief. He smiled crookedly and the last of her anger disappeared. In its place a feeling of embarrassment took over and she blushed stammering, "I?m sorry. I?m so sorry. I?ve never treated you with due respect. You must thi-"
He stopped her words by pressing his finger against her lips. "I don?t want your reverence. Don?t love me for being a God. Love me for being me."
It was the first time love had ever been mentioned by either of them and she started at the simple word. She watched his smile turn sheepish as he prepared to brush off what he said. She wasn?t fooled and she wasn?t letting this moment of rare insight go to waste. "What if I already do?"
The astounded look on his face was almost comical. He blinked once then twice opening his mouth to speak yet noting came out. After a moment his usual humor returned as he grinned. "Then I should be able to do this." He smirked as he lowered his lips to hers shushing any reply she might have had.
It was a sweet kiss, gentle and soft, a bare brush of lips. She shivered, chills coursing up and down her spine, partly from the cold but more from the way his arms held her against him tightly. All to soon it was over and he pulled away, his expression once again turning stern. "You have to leave now. You don?t belong back here anytime soon."
"Duo."
"Trust me Hilde. I don?t want anything to happen to you." He said seriously. Reluctantly she nodded still not wanting to let go of him. It struck her as ironic that he should fear for her life considering just who he was. He had his reasons and she did trust him, despite everything.
She felt even colder as he stepped away. She hugged herself, Hilde watched as a heavy white mist rolled over her, slowly obscuring her vision. With in seconds she could no longer see the cavern walls or the river just feet away. Then right before her eyes he began to fade into the mist too, his body becoming transparent. She smiled slightly as he blew her kiss then with a wink he vanished into the suffocating white fog along with everything else.
She blinked her eyes and winced as the firelight seemed to momentarily blind her with its brightness. It took a second for her to feel the warmth slowly seep back into her blood. It took another second for her to feel the cramped muscles in her legs screaming for relief. Then all at once her shoulders sagged and the world spun right in front of her eyes as her emotions finally got the best of her and she collapsed to the ground submitting to the welcoming darkness?.
**********
No questions were asked. Not even her mother questioned what she?d seen that night. Her Aunt said it was something personal, something she would talk of if it felt right. She didn?t offer any information. The situation between Duo and herself was their concern and no one else?s.
Duo, however, was another story in itself. He couldn?t seem to keep his hands off of her now. It still amazed her how just the clarification of her feelings seemed to open up an entirely new side of him. Their relationship went from strictly platonic friendship to that of lovers in the blink of an eye.
Well, sort of.
There were limits neither of them crossed. She didn?t blame him. He told her that this was the first time he?d ever had feelings this strong for anything. Sure he?d harbored affection for certain things but nothing ever compared to this feeling. Nothing compared to the way his heart flipped at the site of her or the way her smile could make him tongue-tied. To prove he meant his words, he gave her a mystical necklace. He said it was something made just for her, a way for her to keep him with her at all times. It was a token of his devotion. His admission and gift had been a sweet much needed reminder that she wasn?t dreaming this. He really did lover her.
So to her frustration and relief the only thing he did was steal kisses and barely naughty caresses. He was a God. He could take her if he wanted, all he had to do was will it, but he didn?t and he wouldn?t. It was both good and bad at the same time.
But when she was with him it was easy for her to forget just who he was. His devilish charm and genuinely good nature were a far cry from what she ever expected a God to be like. Yet it was still there. Every now and then a certain look would enter his eyes. It made her tremble, the way his purple eyes would turn cold, like steel, and the way they flickered with haunting intensity. Cold and calculating. She couldn?t help the tiny twinge of fear she felt. He was what he was. No matter how much he loved her he still had the power to destroy her. It was a sobering thought and one she couldn?t quite let go of.
It wasn?t until she witnessed a death first hand that she finally comprehended what he?d meant when he said he said it was his duty?
**********
With trembling fingers Hilde, gently as she possibly could, brushed sweat drenched blond hair from the small pale girl?s face. The girl, Susanna, was in labor. She held the young woman?s head in her lap as Agatha rushed about the ill equipped little hut constantly getting more water and somewhat-fresh linens. The pile of blood soaked with cloths kept getting bigger as the hours ticked by. Susanna was dying.
Trying to fight back her tears, she cooed soothingly to Susanna. Placing a wooden bit in her mouth Hilde whispered, "Bite down hard. It will all be over soon."
She tried not to flinch from the pleading exhausted brown eyes that looked up at her. There was nothing she could do and they were both quite aware of that. The herbal concoction of angelica, comfrey, lavender, and sage that she?d made had done nothing to ease the pain. Time was running out and Hilde knew it. Susanna couldn?t keep bleeding like this. She would die within the hour.
Despite her determination that Susanna would live she swore she could feel the sickly presence of death in the room. Like a cold breeze blowing against her she could sense the eerie almost sinister impression that loomed over them like a living entity.
"Push child!" Agatha commanded sternly.
A shrill pain filled scram rang in the small room as Susanna bore down, her heels digging into the dirt floor. She squeezed Hilde?s wrist tightly in her pain, her nails imbedding themselves into her soft skin. Hilde barely felt the sting or noticed the blood that began to trickle to the ground. Her focus was on the well-being of the writhing screaming girl before her.
Feeling her feverishly hot brow, Hilde whipped at the sweat running down the sides of her colorless childish face. She heard Agatha order the girl to push again and she closed her eyes trying not to loose her composure as another scream lit the air. She bit down on her lip trying to block out the bloodcurdling sound.
After a moment, the scream died abruptly. Susanna went limp against her, sagging to the ground half-panting half-whimpering. Hilde looked up and met her Aunt?s sorrowful gaze. Her eyes darted to the motionless bundle in the older woman?s arms and her tears couldn?t be stopped. They slipped down her cheeks silently as she read her Aunt?s expression. The infant was stillborn. It wasn?t unexpected. Susanna was only fourteen. She wasn?t strong enough to go through childbirth yet.
"Goddess have mercy." She whispered with barely a breath.
Suddenly she felt Susanna jerk, her body lifting off the ground as a low, growling moan rumbled in her throat. With a feeling of detached horror she watched a pool of crimson begin to seep into the ground as blood gushed from the child?s body. She was frozen, she couldn?t move. All she could do was drown in the sickening helpless feeling that consumed her as Susanna eyes widened then narrowed as the life in their depths flickered, then like a flame in the wind, slowly faded.
Finally she closed her eyes, gasping for breath to hold back her tears. She wasn?t sure how long she sat there with her head bowed crying silently. She didn?t look up till she heard them. She heard the voices, faint at first then growing louder, overriding the ringing in her ears. She looked up and blinked at the vision that met her eyes.
There in front of her stood Susanna, her slight form a vaporish haze. She blinked her eyes but the image didn't disappear. Instead the blond girl smiled as she tenderly held her squirming infant in her arms. Hilde?s breath caught realizing she could feel the energy radiating from the ghostly form. She felt a strangely calming sense of peace as the girl?s musical laughter floated in the air reminding her of a harp's tune. Abruptly the image began to fade, slowly becoming less and less visible.
Then she felt it. It was the softest breeze, yet stunning in its chill. It flowed around her in a black shroud of smoke-like mist. Her skin tingled and she shivered as she felt it like a physical touch. She gasped without even realizing she spoke. "Duo."
Yet even as she spoke it was gone. All the charged energy that had filled the small space suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but suffocating stillness?
**********
For days she couldn?t get the image of Susanna?s face out her mind. The girl had looked happy. She didn?t look frightened or scared in the least. Hilde had wanted to comfort her mother and husband so badly but how could she explain to them that Susanna was fine. She wasn?t even sure herself but her intuition told her there was nothing to worry about.
Perhaps she did believe in a heaven. And maybe what she had seen was just a figment of her imagination. But Duo was real. Death was real. She had felt the girl?s soul, her spiritual energy, and she was at peace. No pain, no suffering. No fear.
Maybe it wasn?t so bad to die.
Of course that only brought her back to Duo. She hadn?t seen him for a week after Susanna?s death. When he finally did show up she could sense his distance, his confusion, and she understood. The same would happen to her one day. She was mortal and destined to die just like everyone else. It would be his duty to take her soul to the afterlife. It was something they tended to forget for the moment but it was always there just beneath the surface. Something they could only overlook or so long.
It left her feeling helpless. With this constant reminder on their minds, desperation grew between them. Almost as if every moment they had was borrowed time. And maybe it was. She was playing with fire. She was in love with Death and the result would only end in her demise. It was like dancing with the devil.
But he was something she needed. She couldn?t begin to explain the way just seeing his face made everything all right. The sound of his voice could lift her spirits. The touch of his hands could melt her. She didn?t care of the risk. He had her heart and soul. And she knew that deep down he felt guilty for that. He felt like somehow he was wronging her. But if being with him felt so right then how could it be wrong?
Still, her feelings were effecting more than just the two of them. She was eighteen now. Well past the prime age for marriage. But no one held her attention. No one stood a chance. That still didn?t stop her suitors, well one in particular.
William Moseley.
He was persistent. He refused to accept her choice of living alone. He outright told her that if she wanted a solitary life then she needed to join a convent. In his feeble mind it was unacceptable, just unthinkable, for a woman to make her way with complete independence. At first she had brushed him off but he was trouble. He watched her just waiting for anything he could use against her. The only place she knew she was safe from him was the secret meeting place Duo and she had made for themselves.
But she could only refuse him for so long. He was too dangerous. This wasn?t about love. He was determined to break her, to bend her will and see her give in either to him or to his ideals. He was a proclaimed Christian and an active member in the town council. He would use both against her if he needed to. Just her religion could get her and her family killed. If he only knew that she was Death?s mistress there was sure to be hell to pay.
But she refused to worry about that petty little man.
She knew in her heart that there was only one thing left for her to do. It was time she proved herself. To take a step that she couldn?t erase or revoke and deal with the outcome afterward. She wasn?t afraid. There was no price too great to keep this treasure that she had?.
A.N.- Okay, I warning now, next chapter has lemon content and it's somewhat graphic. If you are okay with this then please proceede, if not then read at your own discression.
Thanks for reading! *hugs*