A Requiem Eternal

Chapter 8 - Natasha Cross

Sara O'Duinn, Grimoire Entry, 23rd October, 2008 – The collector drove up so late that all the other shop owners closed up while Natasha Cross was still working. Still, she thought she was glad to stay late and accept the walking canes. It was her acquisition. She bargained with the old man over the phone exclusively. He wanted to get a lot more out of the canes than they were worth. Every time they spoke she whittled him down a bit more. They finally reached an acceptable price. He didn't want to deal with anyone except her and she thought he had so many wonderful unexpected pieces. When the day was over, she couldn't wait to go back to work the next day and get a good look at each one of them.

She was uneasy for the first time taking her familiar walk home from work. It took quite a bit to shake her. Somehow she didn't feel alone. Tasha laughed to herself thinking how quickly she lost all the ground gained in the comfort of her surroundings. She couldn't help thinking how the months of self- classes still didn't overrule her fear of being singled out as a small weak woman.

Reaching her street, Tasha remembered why she loved living in New Haven. In the fall evening quiet she heard the leaves crunch beneath her shoes. It was so quiet and creepy sometimes. After so many years she loved the weird way of the place, in fact she didn't think she could live without it. On that night though, it only added to her apprehension. She was really no stranger to odd feelings and goings on. Like when she thought about talking to that woman on the street about the walking canes. Only seconds had passed when she looked up and the woman wasn't walking down the street. She just vanished. She'd experienced much in many an old building in New Haven, but never outside on the street. She thought maybe she was just tired from working late. It's possible she never spoke to anyone at all. She supposed the streets could have a recorded history too.

When she looked in all directions in front and behind she saw only people that belonged in her neighborhood. Her best friend, Alex would be welcome company. She locked the door behind her and with his black saunter, Alex mewed a greeting to Tasha from the floor. All seemed as it should around her house. Nothing was out-of-place or moved. She was really starting to freak herself out. Looking for things that were out-of-place? Of course nothing was out-of-place. She was the only one who lived there. Maybe some wine with dinner would take the edge off? She often prepared dinner while drinking wine. The suburban wildlife outside the kitchen window milled around, watching them go about their business had a calming effect on her.

She sat down in the kitchen nook and lit a solitary white candle. Tasha closed her eyes and wished for someone, a man who would share her interests to come into her life and take away the loneliness. She blew out the candle and took her dinner to the bedroom as Alex followed her down the hallway. He assumed his begging position next to her on the bed. She offered him a tidbit of her steak. He turned his nose up then looked back at her with a finicky cat scorn while moving to the foot of the bed. Strange for Alex she thought, he usually ate any type of meat offered to him. Full with dinner and medicated with wine, she fell asleep. Sleeping only for what felt like a moment, she startled in her sleep. When she looked up Alex was nowhere in sight. A flowing mist settled into her view. The figure of a man was standing at the foot of her bed. It was difficult for her to see him. She'd heard of waking dreams but never actually experienced one. Her eyes were wide open yet she couldn't move. As hard as she tried to refocus and wake up, it wasn't possible. He was dressed in a deep red silk robe. His skin was luminescent and pale in the moonlight of her room. Long dark hair cascaded over his shoulder. In one fluid moment he was sitting next to her, moving the hair away from Natasha's face. She kept waiting for some type of fear response. Natasha's heart pounded, but not because she was afraid. She thought it was only a dream.

His eyes were deep brown and blackening. He drew closer taking in the smell of her hair and neck. He gripped the hair at the nape of her neck to capture her full attention. Encircling her wrists, he immobilized her first with his hands and then with his piercing gaze into her soul. Vaporous tendrils in violet drifted from her face to his. He breathed her in until violet turned to red. She felt a precise electrifying pain and then relief as he consumed some part of her being; every cell in her body was alive for the first time. The red glow of his body enveloped them. She felt her back lose contact with the bed as they rose.