I Was Free Once

Chapter 11

I shivered as the pale moon lit up the sky around us. I wrapped my arms and wings around her so she wouldn’t be cold. As she laid her head on my shoulder, I gently kissed her and realized that she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

“I’m tired,” she said, yawning. “Let’s go home.”

I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the edge of the cliff we had been sitting on. I looked at her and saw a child-like innocence sparkling in her eyes. The moonbeams illuminated her face as she caught my eyes.

“Darien,” she said, with a look of uncertainty, “how much do you love me?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

“Do you promise that you’ll love me that way years from now?”

“I promise to love you forever, and I promise that a day won’t go by that I don’t think of you.” Sealing it with a kiss, I flew off into the night, with her in my arms and my heart.

That still fresh in my mind, I arose from the cot. A week had gone by and I had spent most of it reflecting on the memories of the past, both good and bad. I walked out of the room and down the hall into the bathroom.

I splashed my face with cold water, hoping to wake up, and, finding a dull pair of scissors, cut my hair. Looking up in the cracked mirror, seeing the length of it brought back all the memories of Julia. She loved my chin length hair and I kept it that way only for her.

“There! I cut it just the right length for you. It’s long enough that I can run my hands through it, but it’s short enough that it won’t be in your way. Promise me you’ll keep it like that all the time.”

After throwing the cut hair away, I walked back into the dimly lit room I had been in for the past few weeks. I slipped on my pants and boots and stood to leave the room. But, when I turned towards the door, I heard a loud crash from down the hall.

I rushed into the kitchen, only to find the table over turned and papers flying everywhere, as if a gust of wind had just blown in. But, when I turned the table right side up again, I found something more.

There was Shadow. Dead.

I bent down quietly and turned over her still warm body to find a dagger impaling her and blood running out of her. But, the dagger impaling her was that of Sal’s; it was the same one that had sent me into convulsions and given me my wings back. I could feel that its strong magic had left it along with its carved ruins.

I slowly pulled the dagger from Shadow’s body, and placed it in my belt loop. I just then noticed that the kitchen window was broken and crimson traces of blood were evident on the counter tops. I stood up and walked over towards the window. A piece of yellowed parchment was lying in front of it.

Upon opening it, a long strand of deep blue hair fell out and a note was written on the paper:

HE’LL NOW BE BROKEN JUST AS YOU WERE.

I looked into the scarlet sky and, without a second thought, left through the broken window in front of me.

There’s only one bastard who would do this.

I knew where Sal had been taken without much thought. I remembered the way Sal had taken me to his house; following it backwards was simple and gave me time to think.

The sun fell below the horizon at a rapid pace and the moon cast scattered rays of light on the ground below. Snow began to fall as I drew near the ancient castle. Even before my eyes perceived it, I could smell the demon blood lurking all around.

I looked up at that fortress of pain and torture, debating whether or not to enter. But, I knew that this would come to pass, and I would fight to the death just to see one ounce of pain and sorrow on his face.

I pulled out the dagger and prepared to face the inevitable.