"Morte sii clemente..."
Tuscan red Rogue
It had been precisely a week ago when I'd first heard her infectious laugh.
After my meet with Hades I returned back to Earth to mull over this new information and to feed; my inhuman hunger was rising by the minute. My ill-temper was becoming harder to control. If I were to refrain myself from killing that girl, I would have to be stocked up with souls.
A small quiet town near Florence was luckily along my desired way. I quickly stopped for a snack, so to speak. I found a young man by the corner of the nearest pub. From the shadows I watched as he candidly asked every girl that walked past whether or not she could handle his, er... package. The answers were all the same; absolute disgust. I chuckled silently to myself, imagining all the possible ways in which I could kill this vile thing.
I could always morph into my female figure and perchance seduce the moron. His last, fleeting expression would be priceless. I would be doing this town a favour. Perhaps one of the damsels in distress would give herself to me?
Perhaps not. I rather liked stalking prey...
A slight touch lingered on my shoulder. I peaked behind me, a crease forming on my forehead. My shadow pressed itself close to me, its black figure had started to flame apart at the edges, creating an eerie, but beautiful frame. The black misty flames rolled off its broad shoulders and I quickly shot it a warning glance.
"You know I don't like to be rushed."
My shadow stretched a long, clawed, black finger towards the drunken man. I nodded my head and it smiled. If there was one thing about my shadow that I would never get use to, it was the fact that its teeth were even longer and sharper than mine. I stared at the wicked smile. In the beginning, I wanted nothing to do with my shadow.
Nothing at all, considering its nasty behaviour, malevolent streak and disobedience, but later I'd realised that my shadow was simply a magnified expression of myself. It was a real self-esteem assessor. My fangs, when extended, were about a centimetre long; its teeth were a finger long. My kill streak when my fury took over was a large town; its rage crumbled a city. My hunger made me irritated and quick to murder in cold-blood; its need for life made it fall apart. Quite literally.
I examined my shadow again. Its black swirling edges were a clear sign of hunger. I had to feed, before this naive town paid the price.
I shot another glance to the perverted man. He was busy tugging at a young woman's sleeve, her facial expression showing clear signs of revulsion and anger. I felt the cold air around me move along as I made my way past the shadows and into the blinding light. I narrowed my eyes, even though they were covered by my black hood. My cloak swirled over the dirty ground and created small, almost imaginary flames. I seemed to glide rather than walk. Nothing a drunk man and a pissed off young woman would notice. Not right now, at least.
Slowly, I could feel a headache make its way up to my temples. The light was far too bright...
The man looked up from his new toy and watched with a suspicious eye as I came to stand before him, my expression deadly. At first, the woman didn't sense my presence, but quickly she noticed the man's attention on something else. She too turned her head towards me and softly gasped.
"What do you want, princess?" The pungent man slurred his words, lingering on his vowels like they were empty beer bottles.
I smirked. "Princess? How unoriginal."
I watched as the man's expression changed upon hearing my voice. It cut like a thousand knives. The woman whimpered at my voice and I could feel her eyes roam my body. Typical... Rather sad, I would've liked to stalk her down, but there was no time for that. Neither was there any time to fulfil her every dying wish.
I lead a sad life...
"You, my friend," I spoke my words slowly and with deliberate threat, "need a few more stiff drinks if you think you can fuck with me..."
The man pointed a dirty finger to my chest and spoke with so much concentration, it was somewhat depressing, "You gonna leave or am I gonna have to slice your dick-"
With a swift movement of my black-gloved hand, I abruptly silenced his slur. I savoured the sound that echoed off the walls. The sound of a man's finger breaking multiple times.
The woman shrieked from the sudden jolt in my stance and without blinking, I quickly grabbed her neck and snapped it like a twig to stop her from alerting anyone. Her neck broke without resistance and she fell limply to the floor, her red hair falling across her face. The man opened his mouth to scream, but I put my hand around his neck to stop any sound from escaping.
I watched as his eyes started to bulge from his skull and his skin turn a sickly shade of red. I pressed harder and felt his hands fly up and try to pry mine off. It made no sense to fight.
I was Death- this was life. You're born, you die.
My life, and frankly everyone's lives, would be much easier if humans would just accept their fate.
The life drained from the man's muddy eyes and I loosened my grip on his throat. In a moment, his arms hung loosely to his side and his head rolled back in my steel grip. I watched as my shadow smiled from ear to ear, its teeth making a thrilling, ragged pattern. I indicated to the corner, signalling to my shadow to keep watch while I fed. It nodded its head greedily and scurried off, moving like a shade against the alley walls.
I brought the man's mouth closer to my face and parted my lips. I clenched my fists into balls and held onto the drunken man as a ghostly black essence flowed from his partly open mouth towards mine. Not only did his breath smell like a liquor store, but his soul tasted of a mini bar. I suppose it was bearable, but sour.
I swallowed, feeling the black soul move its way down my throat. I let go of the man and dusted off my gloved hands as he fell to the floor. My shadow made a sound similar to a sigh and shook itself. I watched as a black light flickered around it for a split second and the black flames around my shadow vanished. Good, the beast was fed.
I turned my bloody gaze to the woman on the floor. Such a waste, I might as well drain her as well. I picked her up by the hair, her shoulder-length locks tangling in my gloved hand. I loosened her jaw, ensuring that there was enough space for the soul to escape from and watched as a bright, pretty orange light illuminated from her lips and danced across the space to my open mouth. I swallowed, tasting a fresh citrusy flavour linger in my mouth. She was delectable...
My shadow made a chirping sound, almost like a crow, and an orange glow consumed it and then was gone. I tapped my shadow on the back and took out my scythe. It knew what to do with the bodies. I didn't want to be present as it feasted on their flesh and bones. I knew he'd clean up the place; like these two mortals never existed. It was a bloody feast and I had somewhere to be, so I sliced the air and stepped through the black, star-flecked abyss.
It would know where to find me.