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Niculai walked slowly through the graveyard. He felt no urgency to arrive at his destination for it only brought him great sadness. His heart ached as he somberly made his way to her grave. His beautiful Maria, why had Death taken her from him? She was so full of life and beauty, yet Death had taken her away, taken away that beauty. Niculai looked up slowly as he neared the grave and notice another mourner at Maria’s grave. It was odd, he thought, that another person would be out here on a day such as this to mourn Maria. Most of the mourners had stopped coming long ago and only visited on the anniversary of her death. With the misery and gloom of the day it was odd for anyone to be out. Nicu chuckled and reflected on that thought. He was out in the gloom, but really it followed him everywhere. He had become odd even by his own standards. Niculai slowly approached the other mourner so as not to startle them. The figured moved a step to the left to let Niculai stand before the grave by its side. Nicu stepped up and kneeled down before the grave then started his nightly ritual paying no attention to the other mourner. “Maria,” he whispered softly, “sweet Maria.” “I can help ease your pain.” The figure next to him spoke. Its voice was not like anything he had ever heard and it sent chills up his spine. It was an unnatural sound. He leapt to his feet and turned on the figure. “What are you and what do you want?” Niculai examined the figure closely now. It wore a black hooded cloak that covered it from head to toe. He saw no distinguishing features that would tell him whether it was a man or a woman. Its face and limbs could not be seen and this made Niculai very uneasy. “I can ease your pain,” it said again. Its cloak moved as it raised a hand to remove the hood from its head. That is when Niculai caught sight of it. The hand that reached up to the hood was pale as the snow with a slight blue tint. Skin the color of death. Niculai was frozen in terror as he watched the hand pull back the hood. Was this death? The face that appeared under the hood was just that, a face. A man with stunning features peered back at Niculai. “I am sorry I frightened you, young one,” the man addressed him. Niculai could not answer he just stared at the man in amazement. The man before him had dark black hair that fell past his shoulders in soft curls. His hair contrasted greatly with his skin and eyes. Crystalline blue eyes pierced him from a face of ashen white. His eyes seemed to have a deep longing. Niculai immediately felt himself drawn to the man. “My name is Dimitri von Vladimir. I am sorry to have frightened you so, but I see your anguish. I can ease your pain.” As he spoke Dimitri cast his eyes down on Maria’s grave. Niculai looked at Dimitri. The moon struck his pale skin and he seemed to glow in the night. He thought before he answered. “How can you ease my pain? Death has taken her from me and unless Death brings her back I shall continue to suffer.” “Death can bring her back. Death will bring her back, but there is a price. A high price. How much would you pay for your love?” This was not what Niculai had expected. Death would bring her back? He would give all the money he had. Everything….everything. “Everything and all I have to give.” Dimitri looked at Niculai and smiled and eerie smile. “Are you sure you would give everything? Would you truly give up all you have to give? Think long and hard. Death has no use for your money. See past the words and understand what I am asking you.” Death has no use for money. It rang through his ears. What else have I to give, he thought to himself. What does Death have use for? The answer struck him as if Death himself at whispered it into his ear. Death needs souls. He wants my soul. Niculai looked up at Dimitri and saw that he was still smiling. “If I give myself to Death to bring her back I will have brought her back for no reason because I will not be with her.” Dimitri’s smile grew wider and slightly grotesque. “You do not have to die to give yourself to Death, but your life will not be as it once was. Things will change. You will be different and she will be different, yet you will both be the same.” Niculai thought but a second. “What do I need to do?” “Come to me young Nicu and I will tell death of our agreement.” Niculai took a step forward and in the back of his mind he wondered how the man knew his name but the thought quickly faded. He stood before Dimitri and waited. Dimitri took him by the shoulder and tilted his head to the side. He felt Dimitri’s lips against his neck and then a slight prick. He thought it odd and uncomfortable at first but he soon felt a wonderful bliss standing there and lost himself to Dimitri. Five years. It had been five years since that night in the graveyard and Nicu had not seen her yet. Had Dimitri lied to him? Was Dimitri just using him? “It will take time Dom, but she will come I promise.” Dimitri startled Nicu with his sudden intrusion to his thoughts. Five years had come and gone and what did he have to show for it? Nicu felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. The pain was more than he thought he could bear. Ringing in his ears caused him to stumble forward a few steps. He felt comforted when his body slumped against Dimitri and at the same time he felt fear like he had never felt before. What had he agreed to. “ Sleep well Dom, we shall finish this tomorrow.” Nicu closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift into the darkness. In the recesses of his mind a small, frightened voice asked him “what have you done?” Nicu slowly opened his eyes as he awoke from what seemed like a drunken daze. Where am I? “You are right where you need to be, Dom.” Nicu was startled by the voice answering his thoughts. He was even more startled to realized that the voice was lying next to him. A male voice in bed with him? What had he done? Slowly he shifted to face Dimitri and everything came back to him. Everything that is except for how he got where he was and what he was doing there. >> main >> intro >> contact >> updates >> whatever >> sketches >> fiction >> lunatic >> links |
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