Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor) (10 page)

“
You’re
nothing but a nasty trick.  Join me for a swim, demon!  The water will cool you
off!
”

Before
Wren could remember that she was supposed to be getting herself out of reach,
the mer-creature managed to catch her gown, tugging violently to pull Wren
closer.  Wren resisted, clenching a pointed stalagmite with one hand while
fighting for her gown with the other.  She kicked toward the mermaid’s face,
making her lurch back, and finally the monster released her gown with a
gracious rip as her claws slid through the cloth.

The
mermaid, beached now but not seeming to care, crawled forward with more vigor
than Wren had suspected her for, flipping her tail to throw reaching arcs of the
dark water.  The cold, rancid liquid splashed into Wren’s eyes and she realized
that she was at the disadvantage – as she always seemed to be.  This mermaid
planned to drown her or otherwise kill her some other way.  She had to think,
but nothing would come and she was feeling desperate.

“
Rifter
!”
she screamed, letting her voice echo across the water and down through the
tunnels, praying that help would come.

At
the sound of his name, the mermaid halted, just on the verge of slashing her
ankles.  The creature looked up with a star of panic in her eye.

“
He’s
here?  You brought him here?  You wretched demon!  You have brought this upon
us!
”

Wren
did not hear another word.  In an instant, Rifter was there, landing on top of
the mermaid, gripping her neck.  He bent her upward and reached in, slitting
her throat with one motion.

Wren
flinched at the sight, not wanting to look, but this was not the first time she
had seen him do something so horrific.  He had never given a second thought to
killing, and she had come to understand his reasons a bit more over time, but
she still could not get used to it.

“Rifter,
you–” she started with relief, but she did not manage another word.

His
eyes flashed as he stared at the cascade of blood flowing out from the dying
mermaid’s neck, and he didn’t even seem to recall that Wren was there as he
opened his mouth of sharp teeth and ripped into the creature’s throat.

3

Rifter
swallowed great mouthfuls of the mermaid’s dark blood, giving no thought to
anything except how it satisfied him.  It hadn’t been too difficult to trick
the cave monster into falling into a deep chasm, but the battle had taken a lot
out of him.  He needed to be sustained.  This living blood would rejuvenate his
weak body.

Once
that blood began to pulse through his own veins, he felt more like himself.  He
felt alive again.  He could carry on for a while longer.

Opening
his eyes as the bloodlust faded, he recalled that he was not alone.  A figure
in a white dress was standing nearby, and for a moment, he had forgotten about
her.  Wren was staring at him, aghast as the warm blood dripped from his mouth,
and Rifter knew he had gone too far.  He shouldn’t have done this in front of
her – shouldn’t have let her see.

He
shook his head, giving her his sincerest expression.

“I
didn’t mean for you to see this,” he said regretfully.

1

Wren
considered running away, but she was frozen in place. 
Those teeth
…  She
had known that there must have been a reason for them, but she was still
utterly shocked.  Rifter and the boys had always been so casual with blood, but
this!  This was unacceptable!  It was monstrous and unnatural!

He
still had blood on his lips.  She didn’t want to look at him.

“Wren,
please,” Rifter started as she turned away from him.  “I can explain.”

Rifter
let the mermaid’s limp body fall away from him, her flesh hitting the rock
floor with a sickening slap.  He took a waterskin from his belt and cleaned his
face and mouth before he stood to approach her.  Wren didn’t try to keep
herself from stepping away.

“What
has happened to you!” she cried, unable to contain it.  “What
are
you?”

“I
would never hurt you, Wren,” he said quickly.  “
Never
.  Please, believe
me.”

He
reached for her, but she was too shaken by what she had seen.  She tried to
fight him away.  Against her wishes, he managed to get his arms around her and
pulled her into an embrace that she could not wrench herself free from.  Her
face fell against his neck, still wet with water, and she was certain that she
could hear the beat of his heart.

“Please
listen,” he urged gently.  “My body is not like it was.  I told you I was
different –
changed
.  I’m cursed.”

Wren’s
head was spinning.  She tried to focus on his words, but it was hard to think
of anything when her knees felt so weak.

“I
think you could already tell, couldn’t you, that there was something different
about me?”

Daring
to be brave, she leaned back and met his eyes, examining their odd appearance. 
Perhaps now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable, for he shifted in his
stance.

“There
is something obviously different,” she admitted.  “You don’t seem like your old
self – despite having grown.  I shiver when I look at you.”

He
breathed a deep sigh.  “I didn’t want to tell you, but there is no way around
it, I suppose.  I…  I saw those children to the afterlife, you know,” he
stated, lowering his eyes.

The
orphans – they were wanderers, yes – lost souls that had found this place on
the way to heaven.  Rifter often took them on himself when he found them.  She
had seen it once herself, and she believed that he had done it with pure
intentions, though she wasn’t sure how it affected what he was trying to tell
her.

“I’m
grateful for that,” she said sincerely.

“They
weren’t afraid,” he told her.  “They were brave in death.  I guided them to the
gates, but on the way, our path was cut off.  We met with a demon that wouldn’t
let us pass.  I’m still not sure where it came from.  Of course I tried to
fight it, but I could not quite manage to kill it.  Again and again I tried, but
still, it pushed me back.  It wouldn’t be moved.  The children were beginning
to fade away.  If they didn’t get to their destination soon, they would be
sucked into the world of shadows – into limbo – where there are many doors but
no way out for ghosts.  Eventually it came to me that if I could not kill the
demon, I would be forced to make a deal with it.”

Wren
listened raptly as she kept close in his arms, though she was beginning to
guess how this story would go.

“At
first it seemed that there was nothing I could do, but finally the creature
admitted that there was one thing that could change its mind.  The demon wanted
to pass through the veil, but it couldn’t in its current form.  It needed a
vessel.”

“You,”
Wren confirmed, not really sure what she was hearing.

Demon
, she thought. 
Rifter’s
demon
.

He
nodded.  “I welcomed that demon into my body and promised to release it when I
came back here.  That was, of course, as long as it let the children pass.  The
beast agreed, but when I returned to the island, I realized what I had done and
refused to release it into this place.  It simply became part of me.  That’s
why I look like this – that is why I drank that mermaid’s blood.  The demon is
still inside me, and sometimes it gets the better of me.”

Wren
didn’t know how to respond to all of that.  It was more terrible than she could
have imagined.  This explained his strange appearance – the impossible heat of
his skin.  Eventually, she asked the only thing she could think.

“Does
it hurt?”

“No. 
Sometimes it’s hard to make choices and keep my mind clear, but I keep the
demon in submission well enou–”

Rifter
released her and gripped his chest.  He winced and groaned lowly.  His
shoulders slumped.  Wren could tell he was in pain, but she did not understand it.

“Are
you alright?” she asked quickly, touching his arm.

He
took a last deep breath to steady himself and looked up at her.  “Of course. 
I’m fine.  It’s nothing.”

“But
you just–”

“I’m
fine
,” he insisted, quieting her with his firm gaze.

Her
worried eyes searched him over.  She was sure that something had come over him
– whether pain or weakness – but he was too proud to admit it.  As they stood
there, the mermaid’s words finally came back to the front of her mind.  She was
somewhat hesitant about asking, not knowing how he would react, but she knew
she could not continue wondering.

“Rifter,
does everyone think you are evil because of the demon?”

He
turned his slit eyes to her, the red flecks in them flashing wildly.  “Why
would you think that?”

“That
mermaid said that it was
the Scourge
that would deliver them and that
you
brought their suffering.”

“Lies,”
he said casually, shrugging it off.

“I
admit that it doesn’t make sense,” she agreed.  “Didn’t everyone know that the
Scourge was the one who killed the world?  Is no one on your side?  Do the
boys…  Do they believe this?  Is that why they left you?”

“After
word of the demon got out, it wasn’t hard for them all to turn against me. 
This lie seems like a logical explanation to them.”

The
reply was vague, but she believed that she had her answer.

“I’m
so sorry,” she said.  She could not think of anything else to say.

“Enough
about that,” he said, not wanting her sympathy.  “You don’t believe it, right? 
That’s all that matters.  Everything else will fall into place.”

“Of
course not,” she assured him.  “I trust you.”

He
seemed pleased with that and gave her a smile.  “I’m glad you are determined. 
It will get much worse in the future.  There is no knowing
what
people
will tell you, and you’ll need to hold onto that faith.  But I promise you,
Wren, once this is over, you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.”

She
looked at him, seeing his sincerity, and felt her heart melt inside.  She had
desired vainly to keep herself young because of him, but the years had
continued to age her.  Now, she wondered if she would be looking at him the
same way if he had not grown with her.  The thought of them growing older
together suddenly became very romantic, whether or not that was what he had on
his mind.

Wren
peered up at her first love, seeing a very gentle change in his face.  His eyes
were soft, looking into her own.  He kissed her hands and then drew her
closer.  Her eyes drifted across his lips and, as she looked at them, she saw
what he was presenting to her.  There on his lips was a kiss – one she could
try to get if she dared.

There
was blood on his lips
,
she thought. 
His teeth are sharp.  Is it true that he won’t hurt me?

She
was still undecided within herself, but he didn’t give her the chance to protest. 
He leaned in carefully and put his lips against hers, and she was helpless to
stop it – because of her love, her desire, and so many years of waiting.

His
kiss was just as warm and soft as she had hoped it would still be.  She was
wrapped in such an overwhelming feeling that she completely disregarded any
dangers that might be around her – even from him.  She only felt the warmth of
his mouth and his breath on her face.  She felt his hands on her back and in
her hair.

She
wanted more of this.  She wanted all of this.  Among so many other things that
she had meant to say to him – that she had gathered within her breast over the
last four years – one of the most important was the assurance that she wanted
to be with him fully, body and soul.  Maybe there was no need for words. 
Perhaps he already knew it.

When
her tongue grazed his sharp teeth, she gasped, drawing back.

“It’s
alright,” he whispered when she tried to pull away, and was quickly back
against her mouth.

Perhaps
she was foolish – maybe everything she’d ever believed in the past had been
foolish – but she chose to trust him.  Her lust was strong, but it did not
manage to prevail over the abrupt turn as her desire swept into uncertainty.

As
he kissed her, she began to feel impossibly hot inside, burning in her mouth
and down her throat.  She could feel her own pulse pounding at her temples, and
her stomach churned, boiling.

Too
hot!  His fire’s spreading to me.  I can’t do this!

Wren
groaned and pulled away from him, covering her mouth with one hand and her
burning stomach with the other.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked innocently, gripping her arm to steady her.

“I’m
fine,” she assured him, unable to bring herself to speak of what had happened. 
“I thought I heard something.”

Rifter
looked around, listening, and she felt guilty that he had fallen for her ploy,
but she let it be.  It was better than telling the truth.