Black Blood

Prologue -- The Devil

        “You dropped your hat.” The sound of his voice was kind, sincere even. I looked down at the ugly hat on his hands, like an offering.

        “Thank you.” I muttered, sounding like a sad child. A star tattoo was etched on the man’s right palm, before he quickly wrapped the mark under his fist.

        A lazy smile stretched across his lips. “You’re very welcome, Scarlet.”

        I tried not to flinch when he said my name, probably a side effect of the whole network splashing my name on the stories. A few seconds passed in an awkward silence, so I put on my fake smile. “It’s nice seeing you. Ma must be looking for me, so thank you.”

       As I walk away, the stranger said, “That thing you said to your mother, about not forgiving the rapists. Are you sure?”

        I stopped in my tracks. In all the weeks that followed Posie’s death, no one had ever been so direct. I’ve avoided interviews other than police questioning, and since then people have been steering clear about the topic. More importantly, how did he learn of what I whispered to Ma?

        The man smiled when I finally caught his attention. Now that I paid a closer look, he was quite good looking; tall figure, lean physique, and eyes that appeared more sinister than before.  He took a step closer, tilting his head. “Surprised that I knew?”

        My hands trembled at my sides. “Mind your own business.” I hissed, turning around to head back to the funeral. Something dark crosses my vision, and I realized it was him, appearing two steps in front of me. My heart jumped in my chest. “Wha—“ I looked back, but he wasn’t there anymore.

        “You can scream if you want.” He spread his arms wide. “But I don’t think anyone would hear.”

        Chill crept behind my back. No one can move that fast. “Who…. Who are you?”

        The stranger shook his head playfully. “Who am I is not important, dear Scarlet. What we need to discuss is the oath you’ve taken to your mother—“

        Ignoring him, I sprinted to my left. To my horror, he appeared yet again in front of me, with arms folded in front of his chest. This must be a hallucination. I’m seeing things because of my dead sister.

       “You’re not hallucinating.” He answered my thoughts with a laugh, stepping closer and reaching out for my face. I close my eyes, preparing for some pain, but he tucked a wisp of my blond hair behind my ear. His fingers were as cold as the autumn wind. When I peeked my eyes open, I caught the tips of fangs beneath his lip.

        I screamed. The stranger grabbed my arm, but I kept screaming, punching, and kicking as hard as I could. This was it, I thought. I’m going to end up like Posie.

        “Stop struggling.” The man murmured, holding my shoulders. “I know who killed your sister.”

        My limbs instantly turned slack. The words seemed to burn into my brain. “You what?”

        He let go of me, and I immediately took a step back. The stranger straightened his coat, smiling. “I know who killed your sister.” He repeated.

        Somehow, that sentence sounded like Christmas. “Tell me.”

        “I would love to, but I can’t.” he grinned like a chesire cat. “Not without a price.”

        Suddenly, the anger that I had kept all these weeks burst like an explosion. “You want money?”

        “Not money, dear Scarlet. Money is of no value to me.” He walked towards the oak tree where I had spent the time crying. The wind blew towards him, fluttering his coat and his hair. As the man turned his head towards me, his eyes burned a deep crimson. “I want something more.”

        My hat flew and landed on my feet, but as the gust picked up intensity, it rapidly spinned above me. My own hair covered my face, blocking my view of him. When I finally swept away the strands from my eyes, he was standing right in front of me.

        It was a sweet and melodic voice that came from his lips. “I can give you anything, Scarlet. Anything. As long as you pay me with the right price….”

        My heart thumped rapidly. This was my chance. “My sister—“

        He shook his head. “No, no. Anything but a human life. I cannot kill or revive somebody. That's a rule.”

        “Stop playing games with me! Tell me who killed my sister!” I screamed. “Tell me who the bastards are!”

        The wind disappeared. Slowly, his eyes returned to the beautiful shade of blue. “You want to make them pay?”

        “I want to make them pay.” I said, with a strange determination. The words had been in the back of my mind, but only now did I finally realize its presence. This man simply read my mind.

        “If we go down this path, there is no turning back.” He whispered to my ear. “It’s your choice.”

        “I want to.”

        “Are you sure?”

        I thought about Posie, the sweet girl that everyone loved, the sister who tucked me to bed and made me horrible pancakes for breakfast. My best friend who taught me to ride the bike and helped me sneaked out the house. I’ve spent days cursing her fate, and now I could finally do something.

        The man took my hands. To my surprise, it wasn’t as cold as before. “Do we have a deal?”

        I looked into his eyes. “Yes. We have a deal.”

        “Then follow me. I have much to explain.”