Wails of Midnight

Chapter#1 The Intruder (V)

Ever since I can remember, I've loved late-night walks. There's something enchanting about the night, something dark and mysterious, it makes me feel so invigorating. You could hide who you were, and what you were doing. You could simply be yourself and the darkness of the night will give you a sanctuary under its wings by taking you in the form of sleep or by giving you access to the world around you. So, when I couldn't seek comfort in her arms through her promised slumber when the voices inside my head got too loud, I would seek refuge in the quietness that the night would have to offer. I would get out of the apartment and walk, letting myself go into darkness. Letting the silence wash over me and releasing all my demons out in the night where they belonged.

Tonight, as I was soaking in the quiet and taking in the cold from the wind that could be felt even in the summer, I heard something unusual. I was very much familiar with the sound of the deer in the woods and the birds in the trees but at this hour, at my place near the waterfall, I never once encountered a human being. It was my spot which no one knew about except for my brother Alec.

I didn't make any sudden moves, but let my shadow get a good look at the stranger who gaped at my silhouette. I couldn't tell whether he was mesmerized by my back which was not all that attractive or awestruck with me floating in the air. At first, he stayed still, but then slowly, very slowly with the same stunned expressions, he started walking towards me.

That's when my shadow knocked him down with a stone.

Poor creeper.

I let go of the magic which was keeping me afloat and approached him as my shadow once again found its way back to my body. There he was lying face-front on the ground. His hair gleamed darkly under the light of the full moon, one hand twisted under his body while the other lay by his side, there was something on his finger that glowed just so slightly. I moved his hand tentatively, and all color left my face.

It couldn't be.

There was a ring on his ring finger. A ring I'd seen too many times to count. A ring that shouldn't even be there. A ring he shouldn't even have. It was just the way I remembered it to be, a silver ring with a tree of life surrounded by a circle of small diamonds. A ring I'd only ever seen one person wearing.

My Godfather Benjamin.

I had no idea where he'd gotten that ring from. Whether he'd gotten it off from his dead body or whether it was handed to him willingly, which I was pretty sure wasn't the case, either way, I didn't care. All I knew was that this ring didn't belong to him, and I was not gonna let him have it a second more. I nudged his body slightly making sure that he was very much unconscious, which he was and then slowly removed the ring from his finger. I was about to pocket the ring when he grabbed me by the wrists, and the next thing I know I was lying on my back with him on top of me. The ring slipped from my hands in the scuffle and now I was trapped under his hold. He'd caught me by surprise, and he knew that. His black hair covered his forehead, his eyes shone darkly, and his hold on me was strong.

Before, I didn't have a good look at his face. But now, as I bored into his dark eyes and his face under the light of the full moon, I recognized some of those features. That defined jawline, that small cut just at the tip of his lip line were all too familiar. But what blew me away were the eyes, their shape, their color which was evident as I bored into them a moment more. As I lay on the ground with his weight crushing me, I couldn't believe it for a second. It was him. But how could it be?

No, it wasn't him. It was just impossible.

I don't know what he saw, maybe my expressions betrayed me, or maybe he knew that I was no threat to him, whatever the case, he loosened his grip on my hands just so slightly until he let them go. His face lacked the dark expressions from before, it was blank. He looked at me strangely as if he was trying to remember me from somewhere. And I was thinking along those lines too.