I Was Free Once

Chapter 14

I remained quiet, trying to think of what I should do. Should I unleash my inner demon and save Sal’s life? Or should I keep it inside and give Sal his last wish?

“That’s three,” my father said. He turned towards Sal, claws at the ready.

“But, I didn’t even say anything!” I shouted. “That’s not fair.”

He turned to me and replied, “Darien, look at me! Do I really look like someone who plays fair?” I didn’t reply, but I knew he was right about that. “I didn’t think so.” He turned back toward Sal. “Now where was I? Ah, I remember…” He started to cut Sal’s throat.

My blood was beginning to boil. Everything I had ever loved or cared about he had taken away. First my mother, then Julia, now this? It was too much. I felt nothing inside but pure hatred. I decided to get rid of this asshole of a father I had once and for all.

I felt a strange, cold sensation run from my head to my toes, as the force holding me up to the wall weakened.

“Let him go,” I said, as I landed on the floor. He didn’t even turn to face me.

“Oh, shut the hell up. You’re next.” I walked over behind him.

“I said LET HIM GO!” I shouted, as I threw his body against the wall. He landed on the floor and for once he began to bleed. I walked over to Sal and broke the shackles that tied him to the post. “Are you okay, Sal?”

He looked at me with fear and disbelief in his eyes. He let out a gasp. “Why, Darien? Why?”

“Why what?” I replied.

I heard maniacal laughter coming from behind me. “Why not, Salvo?”

I turned to my father. He was on his feet again. He walked toward me and patted me on the back. “Get your damn hands off me,” I stated, shoving him back into the wall. I looked at the ground and saw the dagger I had originally brought with me. As I picked it up to stab him, I couldn’t help but notice the two red eyes that stared back at me.

I dropped the dagger and began to hyperventilate. It was just as it was in my dream. The hair that now fell in my face was colored deep blue. My skin tone had become charcoal colored. Worst of all, the wings I used to love had now turned black.

I looked like my father.

I tried to change back and cast the black magic aside, but nothing was working. I could hear my father’s triumphant laughter from the other side of the room. I looked to Sal for help but he wasn’t even looking at me.

“Finally, after twenty seven years,” my father said, “you have become my son.” I looked over at him to see him smiling at me. He laughed a sadistic laugh.

“I will never be your son!” I shouted back.

“We shall see about that…”

“Sal,” I asked, turning from my father, “why can’t I go back to the way I was?”

He backed away from me before continuing. “Because your black magic is stronger, once you let it come out, it overtook the other side of you. Now, it’s in complete control of you. This is why you needed to control your emotions. I waited too long to tell you…”

“What?!”

“He’s right, you know,” my father interrupted. “And you know what happens now?”

“I kick your ass?” I replied without thinking. Suddenly, he turned me around. He looked me straight in the eyes with resent in his voice.

“You become a thing of rage. A mind full of wrath. An empty shell full of nothing but anger. Anger for enemies. Anger for friends. Even anger for your own flesh and blood. You might not have felt it at first, but slowly it will creep up on you and every second of every damned day will be filled with nothing but hate and malevolence. And, it gets worse as the years pass, until it’s so torturous that you have to kill to survive the physical pain that you feel from just existing. Now, turn around and take another look at your ‘friend’ and tell me you don’t want to kill him!” He spun me back around to face Sal.

What happened that day I wish I could forget, but it couldn’t be more vivid in my mind. At that moment it was as if I could remember nothing of my past life. Except my name. A name that should be filled with terror when others heard it called.

I looked in front of me to see not my uncle and friend, but instead a nameless winged creature. I remember thinking he didn’t deserve to be standing in my presence. I felt infuriated, but didn’t yell or rant about my present emotion. I smiled. I smiled like I never had before. I had only ever seen my father smile that way.

With that sadistic grin on my face, I walked over to Sal and picked him up off the ground by his neck, pushing him against the stone wall in front of me. I let him drop to the ground with a huge thud. Then, standing him up, I made two claw marks over his heart that formed an “X”.

“X marks the spot…” I told him, as he turned pale.

I’ll never forget watching him struggle for both air and words, as he coughed up blood. I gave him a look of disgust as he fell to his knees. Weak, I remember thinking, he’s so fucking weak.

“Nice job, Darien…” said my father from behind me. “Now, finish him off.”

I stood over him, watching him struggle to stay alive. I could barely hear him when he began to talk. “I’m sorry, Darien.” Irritated by his attempt to speak, I picked him up off the ground by his bloodstained, silver hair.

“Sorry for what, you piece of shit?”

He coughed up more blood before continuing. “For not telling you the truth sooner.”

“Go to hell,” I replied.

I will never forget the look of terror in his eyes, as I raised my right claw to my eye level. And with a swift slice to his neck, he was dead. I dropped his body and turned from it, disgusted.

“Excellent…” my father stated. He held out one of his cigarettes and a lighter to me. “Here, have a smoke while I go get you something even better.”

“With pleasure,” I replied, taking the cigarette and lighter from him.

He walked down the hall, while I lit up. As the smoke from the cigarette filled my lungs for the first time, I felt momentarily soothed. As soon as I exhaled, though, all the hatred came rushing back to me. I was nearly through the cigarette by the time my father returned.

He came back into the room carrying another winged creature. I put out the cigarette on the ground, as he laid the body in front of me. I noticed that the body was that of a female. I walked over to my father.

“I saved her just for you to kill,” he stated. “Just let me return her soul to her, and then she’s all yours.” He picked an amulet off the ground. A vaguely familiar amulet. I noticed that the body looked as if I had seen it before, as well.

“She seems strangely familiar,” I said to my father.

“They all do, at first,” he replied. He proceeded to take the amulet and crush it under his foot. A sapphire blue light filled the room. “Have fun…” my father said, as he left.

The blue light slowly covered the body lying on the ground until I couldn’t see it anymore. Then, with a sudden burst of light, the room was back to its normal amount of light. The winged creature suddenly gasped and sat bolt upright.

“Where am I?” she asked looking around. She then fixed her eyes upon me. “So the deal’s still on for his safety, right Calcar?”

“What did you call me?” I replied, with a bit of resent in my voice. Her eyes widened as she heard me speak.

“Darien…?” she asked in a doubtful tone, standing up. Her voice sounds so familiar... “What happened to you?!” Suddenly, all thoughts of how I knew her were gone.

“None of your concern bitch.”

“What have you done?” she asked in a worried voice. “I can’t believe you let this happen Darien! I guess my deal was for nothing then…”

“Why don’t you just shut your fucking mouth?” She backed away from me quickly. I could hear her sobbing. “Stop crying. Save the tears. You’ll need them later.”

She softly replied, “Oh God…”

I walked over to her, cornering her so she couldn’t escape from me. I took a lock of her hair in my claw and twisted it around my finger. I know this hair; I’ve held it before. Tears started to stream down her cheeks and she looked away from me.

“You don’t even remember me,” she whispered. I let go of her hair. I placed one of my sharp nails on her shoulder meaning to make a cut. No, I heard myself say. I turned from her.

“Tell me your name,” I demanded from her. I turned back to her. She had sunk to her knees, her head in her hands. She didn’t reply. I walked back over to her and picked her up by her shoulders. “Tell me your name!” I yelled.

She looked at me and responded, “If this doesn’t make you remember, nothing will…”

And then, without warning, she kissed me.