The Dominant Demon (Finished)

17. Star-Crossed

"So," I say once we are out of earshot of Colvin. I am carefully keeping my distance from Moskil, as I stop and turn to him. "I have questions."

Moskil nods. "I have answers."

I take in a deep breath, and then let it out slowly as I sit. He sits in front of me, a couple of feet away, and I glance up at him. "I remembered something."

He raises his eyebrows. "You don't say."

I clench my jaw. "We were in the meadow. I left you because you wouldn't marry me or have children with me."

He holds his finger up. "Not wouldn't. Couldn't. I would have done anything to be able to give you those things. I just couldn't."

I tilt my head slightly. "Why not?"

He sighs, staring down into his lap. "I'm a lower rank demon. We have to stay with our own kind. We aren't worthy to mix with other realms. Our place is in our realm. It is actually forbidden for me to even be in love with you."

My mind goes to Rory and how he said that he was never suppose to be in love with Jade. I begin to wonder if he is in the same boat as Moskil. "I'm sorry that I, as Thara was so harsh to you," I mumble, breaking away from my thoughts. "Why did you murder me, though? Why are you still trying to murder me millenniums later, and why did you kill all those innocent girls?"

He glances back up to me, his watery eyes meeting mine. "Because I am a selfish psychopath, and I felt like if I couldn't have you, then no one could. I killed those other girls, because sometimes, they would remind me of you, and I'd just go off."

I scowl. "Nice to know that you loved me so much that you murdered me and then killed every girl that made you think of me."

"Love," he says, correcting me as my face falls. "I still love you."

"You have a pretty messed up way of showing it," I snap

He flinches, and I instantly feel guilty. Yes, Moskil is a murder- A freaking psychopath, but he seems like he is really messed up. I couldn't imagine being trapped inside of his mind.

It's silent for a moment, until I lean over, placing my hand over his on his knee. His eyes find mine, and he seems puzzled. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," I say, keeping my voice steady.

He scoffs. "I'm sorry I murdered you."

My brow furrows. "That was a bit extreme. Why aren't you trying to now, though? We are all alone, and I may be a demon now, but you're fast and smart."

He shrugs. "What's the point? You made that deal with the reaper. I have to die in order for you to live. You basically signed my life away for yours, eternally, and honestly, I feel like I owe that to you."

That's it. That's the sick and twisted part of the deal that Colvin said would be involved. "Those assholes," I utter.

Moskil catches my gaze. "What?"

"They knew," I reply, feeling my anger return. "They knew that you and I had a history together, and I bet that they knew that I would remember before you died."

He nods, solemnly. "I know. It won't matter when I die though. I've found you in several different lives, and you never really loved me in any of them, other than Thara's. You never even remembered me- Only Colvin."

"Really?" I ask, curiously.

"Yes, really," he replies, head hanging low. "Can I ask you one question?" I nod, and suddenly, he scoots closer, knees pressed against mine. "This is the first life that you have remembered me in. Do you think that that means that if I would have found you first, you might have loved me someday?"

I gaze past Moskil to see Colvin pacing in the distance. I love him. I do, but if circumstances had been different, and I had met Moskil first, would I have maybe fallen for him someday- excluding the knowledge of his Jeffrey Dahmer complex?

When my eyes meet his again, he seems to be searching for an answer, deep in my dark, brown irises. I let out a deep breath, and my thumb begins to graze his knee. "I think I could have fallen in love with you in this life, Moskil."

As I say this, he lets out a bitter laugh, wiping a tear from his cheek. "Talk about star-crossed lovers, am I right?"

I smile at him, sadly. "Why do you say that?"

"We fall in love. I can't give you what you want. You leave me. I murder you. I find you again, and again, but you never fall in love with me. I finally find you for the last time. You tell me that you think you could have loved me this time, but Colvin actually found you first for once, and now you have to murder me, but I'll never reincarnate."

I, too, scoff bitterly now. "This universe is a bitch," I say, shaking my head.

He nods, glancing up to me. "I want you to be the one to do it."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I want you to kill me," he replies, simply.

My eyes grow wide. "Please, no."

"You're the closest thing I have to a friend or someone who loves me. Anyone else that I had, I abandoned centuries ago in my obsessive search for you. You were all that I cared about. You still are. You need to be the one to do it."

I stare at him, terrified. I don't want to kill him. I did a little bit ago, but now that I know what I know, can I really bring myself to do it? "How would you want me to do it?" I ask in a quiet voice.

"I deserve the worst," he says, clenching his jaw.

I frown, leaning closer to him, and he meets my gaze. "Moskil, you went kind of crazy. Thara really messed with your head. You've apologized, though, and before this happens, I want you to know that I forgive you. You can go in peace." I'm not really sure that I forgive him, but I don't think he deserves to die with a disturbed soul. His mind is already disturbed enough.

A small smile forms on his lips, and another tear slips down his cheek. "You're more and more beautiful every time I see you, Angel."

My heart begins to pound at the thought of what I am about to do as I stare deeply into his eyes. "Kiss me," I say, bluntly.

He looks at me for a moment, surprised. "What?"

"Kiss me, Moskil," I repeat.

His whole demeanor changes and in an instant, he tackles me to the ground, lacing his fingers into mine and kissing me with a tenderness that I have never known until this very moment. I wrap my legs around his waist, letting him enjoy the kiss for as long as he can- it will be his last. Our last. That thought stirs some type of emotion inside of me for some reason, and I begin kiss back with even more intensity.

I let out a shaky breath as Moskil's lips start to graze the base of my neck. He slowly kisses back up, and as his face nears mine, I gently place one of my hands under his chin, and the other on the back side of his head. He tenses up a little, realizing what I am fixing to do, but then I feel his body sink into mine.

"Do it," he murmurs against my ear. "I'm ready."

I hold back a sob, but tears begin flowing freely down my face. "I don't want to," I whisper.

His soft lips trail back up to the corner of my mouth. "Let me go, Salem. You were mine for a season, not a lifetime."

As he says this, I can't manage to hold back my strangled sob. I take a deep breath, kissing Moskil one last time. Visions of us laying in our meadow together, having picnics, laughing, and counting the stars that damned us before we ever met flash though my mind as our lips touch for the last time. I pull away.

"I remember now," I mumble. "I remember the lunches and late nights that we shared."

A grin spreads across his tear stained face. "Good. Never forget them, Angel."

My lip trembles. "I won't forget you this time, Moskil. You died loved."

As the words leave my mouth, I squeeze my eyes shut and my hands quickly jerk Moskil's head to the side with a sickening snap. His body automatically goes limp above mine, and I crumble, laying under him in a heap of pitiful sobs.

I truly will never forget him.