Heart of Darkness

Rayven went to see Luciana after seeing Angelica one last time. The woman was unlike her sister. She didn't care to dress nicely and live in an extravagant place. She liked dark places and her home looked like a place in hell. It was probably worse than hell for the demons she punished.

Luciana's home was small and dark and she hated when people came to her uninvited so no one dared. But since he was on a death mission why not?

He made himself comfortable and sat on one of her sofas.

"Look who is here." He heard her drawl shortly after. "Rayven, the dark lord. The prideful demon."

She came swaying to him across the floor. She was usually bitter and he wondered why she was in such a good mood. It was unlike her.

"What brings you here?" She said sitting on the couch nearby.

She looked just like Lucrezia and right now she was acting like her as well.

"You probably already know why I am here." He said.

"You want to die." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes."

"I am not the one responsible for you. Do you expect me to turn against my sister?" She asked.

"No. Why don't you take me in instead of your sister? Give her someone easier to handle. I will give you every reason to kill me and you can be rid of one more demon." He suggested.

"It is not a race of who kills more demons, Rayven."

"Of course. Who will you torture for your amusement when we are all dead?" He muttered.

Luciana chuckled. "Oh. I don't know how my sister is so patient with you. She believes you can be saved."

"She is too optimistic," Rayven said.

"But perhaps she is right," Luciana said thoughtfully. "Your heart must have started bleeding for a reason. My sister thinks it is the red-haired woman."

Angelica.

"She has nothing to do with my heart," Rayven said.

"Then what do you think made your heart bleed?"

Rayven sighed. "I didn't come here to share my theories or talk about my feelings." He said.

"Well we have to talk about them so I can know if you are worth saving or killing."

"At least if you can't kill me, can you make my heart stop bleeding?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I can't make your heart do anything. That is in your hands. If you want to stop it from bleeding you have to avoid whatever is making it bleed."

Well, that wouldn't be a problem. He had already promised himself to not care or get involved with that woman and her brother again.

"If your heart stops bleeding, I promise to give it back to you and you can leave this world on your own terms."

"What about Lucrezia?" He asked. Rayven didn't think she would let it slide so easily.

"Well, if your heart stops bleeding then my sister will probably change her mind about you. She will stop believing that you can be saved."

Would Lucrezia give up that easily? He doubted that. The woman promised to enjoy an eternity of his torture.

"Lucrezia won't give up easily." He told her.

"Don't worry about her. I'll take care of it."

Rayven became suspicious. Why was Luciana so willing to help?

"What are you gaining from this?" He asked.

"Nothing more than being right about you. I told my sister you can't be saved. You care for no one but yourself."

Rayven nodded. What could he say? She was right.

"Very well then." He said standing up. "I look forward to when you can prove to her that you are right."

"Me too." She smiled.

Rayven went back home feeling like there was finally a chance for him to be freed from this torture's life. Now he just had to stay away from anything that could make his heart continue to bleed.

He isolated himself in his home. The fewer people he met, the better. He didn't want anything to stand in between him and his death.

After a few days of isolation, Skender came to see him. "I need you to go to the military camp."

"I am not going anywhere, Skender."

"William.."

"I don't care about the boy! You do!" Rayven snapped.

"You have duties." Skender reminded.

"I am going to die soon so find someone else to do your duties."

Skender looked appalled. "You have lost your mind. Do you want Lucrezia to come looking for you?"

"I said I was going to die and you worry she will punish me?"

Skender sighed. "Do as you please. I have done my part. I'll tell people you are ill if they ask about you."

Ill?

"I am not ill."

Skender shrugged. "What do you want me to tell them? He is waiting for his death? That sounds like illness to me anyway."

Well, he was going to die. It didn't matter what people thought of him.

"What about Angelica?" Skender asked.

This woman. Why did he have to be reminded of her?

"Who is she?"

Skender looked at him as if he had enough.

"As much as I don't like you near her, you are able to help her more than I can. I can't go see her or her brother in the military camp."

"I can't help you with your problems," Rayven said. "Now leave me alone and tell the others not to come here."

He left his room and went to another room where he could be alone.

As Acheron said, they were all changing slowly so it was better to not spend any time with them. His last punishment before death would be loneliness.

The days went by too slowly and Rayven wondered when his heart would go back to being the same. He was in this mess because he got involved with things that didn't concern him and made his heart bleed. He wondered why Lucrezia hadn't come to see him since he had been neglecting his duties for more than a week now. He expected her of all people to come and ruin his plans. Instead, the woman he avoided with all his being, the woman he expected the least came to his door a few days later.

Just when he was about to leave his house, thinking that doing something horrible would help his heart darken faster, she came to him.

Why?

She came on the same day when he punished himself for his vanity. Her voice called to him in the pain and darkness. He wasn't sure at first if it was her.

No.

He was sure, he just couldn't believe it. He went out of his room to see with his own eyes. She couldn't see him in the darkness but he could see her clearly. She walked across the floor with outstretched arms trying to find her way.

What was going on?

He was curious at first but when he realized that she could ruin his plans he became angry. What was she doing here? Just when he was close to reaching his goal. Just when he was close to finally being freed from this endless torture she had to come here and remind him of her existence.

Rayven teleported to stand behind her. He would scare her away. But it was a mistake because when she turned around and looked at him he remembered the face he fought so hard to forget. At that moment it felt like he had lost.

His heart betrayed him.

All the torture he endured, he would have to endure again. Because of this woman.

He grabbed her face. He would make her forget and then just throw her outside. Once he compelled her, she fell into his arms and he carried her up. He heard the rain and the storm outside, followed by a rumble of loud thunder.

Rayven froze in place, still carrying her. He stared at the front door and listened to the raging tempest outside.

Turning away from the front door, he placed her on a bed in one of the many rooms in the castle instead. There was no need to cause her death. He could just ask her to leave tomorrow.

Now he had to change his clothes. She had been soaked in rain and covered in mud and.... blood. He smelled blood. He followed the scent and saw her scarred feet.

Did she climb all the way here barefoot? It seemed to him that she had been running away. His first thoughts were the shades but she wouldn't have been able to escape from them.

Then what…?

No!

He wasn't going to ask himself what happened to her nor would he care. Tomorrow as soon as she woke up he would send her away.