The Unseen (ONC 2023)

Two (Desmond)

I walk the line between the land of the living and the valley of the dead.

I am a hybrid, a product of a vampire and a demon. My father could trace his bloodline all the way back to the original vampire. He chose my mother, a daughter of Lilith in the hopes that my birth could unify our worlds. It was clear this dream could not be obtained. Hell was in ruin, my father's coven in the moral realm on the brink of destruction. With their dying wish they placed me in the care of a Reaper.

Elijah was a man of very few words. He lived in limbo, only visiting the land of the living when his scythe appeared in his hand. His instructions were always crystal clear. The land of the living was off-limits to me. There were those who would fear my very existence. There were those who would hunt me to the ends of the earth for what I was. Limbo was my refuge.

Curiosity got the best of me. I ventured to the land of the living. One such encounter brought her to me. Her hair the color of a raven's wings. Her eyes the color of the night sky peppered with starlight. Her name Philomena. She was beautiful, her body a work of art. Her laugh stirred something inside of me. Something I had thought died with my parents.

I began to look forward to Elijah being gone. When his scythe appeared, I would quickly conceal the smile on my face. The anticipation of seeing my Philomena brought a spring to my step. She was the daughter of the village blacksmith. Her father wished for a son, when his God did not give him one, he grew bitter and cold. Her mother defended her until sickness claimed her. His Philomena became the lady of the house at a young age.

"Your visits always bring me such joy Desmond." She would kiss my cheek, a faint blush would appear on her face.

I could keep my secret from her no longer. On Hallow's Eve, I confessed I was a hybrid, a vampire and a demon. I expected her to shy away from me. Instead, she embraced me her lips tasted like heaven. Her blood began to call to me, I was the sailor falling victim to her siren's song.

In hindsight I should have heeded Elijah's warning. They came for me, the night watch. Philomena's cousin expressed a grave concern upon seeing my bitemark on her neck. Philomena did not shy away from what I was. She embraced it, wanted a future, an eternity by my side. Our union would be the first step in restoring my home.

The night watch dragged me into the town square. My Philomena became hysterical, she begged with tears streaming down her face to spare my life. The head of the nights watch, a man by the name of Theodore forced me down to my knees. He drove a wooden steak through my heart to paralyze me in place.

"Abomination! I will not allow you to control this innocent soul for a second more. Underneath the full moon's light, you will burn! Our village will now peace once again."

I will never forget the pain that coursed through my veins. Philomena locked eyes with the man in front of her rage burned within like wildfire. There was a darkness that ignited within her eyes. She pointed a finger at him.

"I curse your descendants, within each generation misfortune and strife will befall them. Until the Unseen's eyes fall upon the thirteen daughter you will never know peace."

Philomena took the knife concealed within the belt of Theodore's right-hand driving the blade into her heart. My own shattered within me. Elijah's pale hand appeared on her shoulder his black eyes met mine. There was disappointment within them. He carried my beloved to peace, watching as the flames consumed me my ashes were carried on the wind.

I did not stay in the valley of the dead for long. With the trauma of my death, I was stuck in an infinite loop. I relived my death day after day. The site of my death became a road. My soul locked within the confines of a contraption the modern age called a school bus. Elijah had been the one to orchestrate my echo. It was his way of punishing me for defying his orders. The true punishment came from seeing her every day.

She would sit next to me, her hair the color of a raven's wings. Her eyes weren't the color of the night sky. No, these were the color of the frozen tundra. An icy blue that looked longingly out the window. She always stepped carefully, her eyes flashing with fear. Misfortune and strife hung on this girl like a cloak. After all this time, could it be?

Philomena? Have you returned to me at last?

*Word Count 2026*