THE DEMON IN BLACK

Elisa

The sound of hushed voices woke me up.

It had been days since I saw either Lucien or the woman who inhabited the manor, and I was just left to drown in weakness and fear of the unknown.

I slowly got up from where I had been lying on the floor and crawled to the door.

As I placed my ear on the door to listen, the door opened wide with the weight of my body on it.

Hope renewed my strength instantly and scurried off the floor in a flash.

I walked the opposite way from the one I took last time, which led to the garden, and soon I was in a hallway that seemed to be leading somewhere.

“By the gods, I hope I am lucky this time,” I whispered to myself as I ignored the ache in my head and kept walking.

A noise from one of the rooms sent chills down my spine - hushed tones between a woman and a man whom I was sure was not the same man I had seen some days ago in the garden.

I rushed quickly into the slightly open door and flattened myself against the wall in the room, my heart pounding loudly.

I closed my eyes and held my breath, praying, hoping they wouldn't find me.

I released my breath when I heard the soft click of a lock. I let out a sigh of relief and opened my eyes.

The sight struck me and my heart skipped a beat.

The room was dimly lit with candlelight that cast dancing shadows over a wall. It smelt of paint and old blood.

Also, I felt this heaviness, this ache in my chest, which I knew was from the atmosphere that filled the room.

There was a painting on the wall, and I approached it to see what it was.

It was a painting of a faceless girl reaching out to touch a grotesque monster.

The candlelight flickered, and I froze. My hands shook.

I stepped away from the painting, one step back after the other, breathing heavily.

Canvases leaned against the walls. Animals, strange creatures, faceless figures.

What have I gotten myself into? What did that mean?

I needed to get away as soon as possible. I had to leave.

My hands shook as I reached out to grab a candlestick. I steadied it, trying to calm my nerves.

Could this be the room…where the rituals happened?

I didn’t want to find out.

I grabbed the candlelight and turned towards the door. A scream got caught in my throat, and I took two steps backwards when I saw the shadow standing in the doorway.

Lucien.

He wasn't the beautiful man I'd seen the last time. His eyes glowed like red-hot coals, and his beautiful face had contorted into something menacing and blood chilling.

“ What are you doing here again?” He growled.

I shook, “ I…Lucien I…”

He took a step forward into the room and stopped. I was too shaken to even take another step.

It was almost like he was glitching, half human, half beast. And he was struggling, trying to keep his rage under control.

His rage, his pain, somehow I could feel it.

Could it be that the room was somehow controlling him?

I looked around for a weapon but couldn't find one. He took another step towards me and stopped.

Maybe somehow, he could listen to the voice of reason.

“ Lucien. It's me, Elisa. Please I…I stumbled in here… I didn't mean to…”

“ You're not supposed to be here, Elisa”.

Since he got my name, he still glared at me with that glazed look of a predator locked on its prey.

“ Lucien, I know, but you have to listen to me”.

This was the moment I hoped that sneaky Yennefer would show up, although I hated her. He wasn't listening to me.

“ Lucien, please listen to me”.

He was transforming now, claws jutting out of his fingers, and he suddenly grew bigger with hair all over his body.

His face contorted into an ugly-looking beastly form, and he snarled at me, his eyes glowing bright red.

Oh! He was the monster. He had always been.

My legs finally moved, and I took a step backwards. Was this my end?

“ You're not supposed to be in here”, he said again with a voice that clearly wasn't his.

It was loud, guttural, and raw.

“ I am sorry, please forgive...”.

“It’s too late”, he snarled again even before I completed my statement. And took a heavy step forward.

I looked around the room again, my heart racing. There was nothing, nothing I could use to defend myself that was in reach.

Suddenly, he charged at me, and I closed my eyes, raising my arms to shield my face.

I willed my body to move, but it clearly resisted staying rooted in the spot.

I heard him scream and howl in pain, and I opened my eyes slowly. He was on the floor, a few inches away from me, writhing in pain and groaning.

He was glitching again, caught in the middle of human and beast. I'd never heard a cry so heart-wrenching.

I stepped backwards in relief. I'd escaped death again.

I was just going to hurry out of there and shut myself in my room. It was safer there.

But as I made my way around him towards the door, I heard my name.

“ Elisa…please”.

I turned back to look at him. Clearly, this room affected him.

Was that why he was so mad earlier when he saw me, or could it be more? What could I do for him? I felt his pain so much that it broke me.

It felt as though we were going through the same nightmare at that moment, even though he was the one writhing on the floor.

I remained where I was and merely stared back at him, not sure what I was supposed to do.

He was becoming weaker, as though something was tearing him apart from the inside.

The beastly face had gone, replaced with his face. His black eyes held so much pain that I couldn't even bear to look at him.

“ Elisa, please”.

“I don’t know what to do?”

He shook his head, and another loud, chilling groan escaped from his mouth.

Damn that Yennefer. Where were these people when you needed them?

I panicked, thinking of what to do.

Then I saw it. A red glowing light, like a small flame, on his chest.

I moved closer to him before I even had time to think about my own safety.

I let myself touch his skin, and as my fingers traced the edge of the mark, the flame disappeared until it was completely gone.

My body became even weaker as the hole sealed up, and it felt like a lot of energy had been taken away from my body.

I slumped beside him, and in my almost unconscious state, I saw him lean over me and try to raise my head.

What was this curse, and why hadn't all the sacrifices ended it? It was slowly tearing him and the village apart.

“ Elisa…” he said in a low, breathy tone.

The room suddenly stilled, no more full of that tense, choking energy. The candlelight flickered, and I felt another presence in the room.

I held my breath; maybe I was imagining things. Everything that had just happened was beginning to play tricks on my mind.

Right behind Lucien, I saw him.

A man in a long black robe, its cowl drawn up to shadow his face.

I felt his eyes on me like a curse, and Lucien was too worried about me to even notice.

I saw him raise the cowl over his head just before I passed out.

And then darkness, like a spell, seized me.