A Soul For Tomorrow

Chapter 4: The Price

When Lucas and Lorien finally parted after a long night, Lucas could hardly walk straight on his way home. His mind was somewhere else, a place where he didn’t want it to be at that moment. He wanted to think about Lorien but one thing wouldn’t leave his mind alone.

Why? Why now? It’s too soon, Lucas thought to himself worriedly. This can’t happen now. Wait, Dmitri, just wait.

Lucas opened the door to his small and dainty house. It was a very narrow little house and could have been hundreds of years old for all he knew. Though, as old and battered as it might have been, it was still home to him.

“Welcome home Lucas,” he said to himself as he trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. He turned on the light in his room and looked around at the state of it, clean and tidy as he had left it.

Before he went to lie on his bed, Lucas took a look at a photo hanging on his wall. There was a beautiful young lady with long hair holding a baby. Next to her was a man who was wearing a wide grin on his face and tickling a child that was about 3 or 4 years old. The family was standing under a large tree in a vast meadow and they were happy. 

Lucas sighed. “Well, we won. Bright Splendia is free. I just wish you were all here to see it,” he said talking to the people in the picture, touching it once before he went to lay on his bed and shut his eyes. Immediately, he regretted it.

He started having flashbacks of that day, the day of the great battle. He could almost smell the blood again and Lucas fought to open his eyes but they were shut tight against his will. Since he couldn’t fight it, he decided to outlast it.

The sky was dark and his brother, Sham, had given him a cold look. Sham was always so kind hearted and warm that it scared Lucas to see him like that. Sham spoke to Lucas in a voice like ice and shouted for the army to move forward. Without hesitation, the army moved and charged forward to kill their enemies. Lucas suddenly felt bitter and the only thing that was running through his mind was death. Not his, but for his enemies.

It was then that Lucas felt an unbearable pain in his back and fell to the ground. The last thing he heard was Sham calling his name. 

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a dark dungeon, lying on a cold stone floor.

“Well well, what in the world do we have here?” an icy voice said in the darkness. The dim was suddenly brightened and Lucas found himself lying in a room made of stone. 3 flame torches that were placed on clasps on the walls were giving the only light. He tried to sit up but the pain in his back was still searing. Lucas' eyes searched the room and found that the voice belonged to a young man with blonde hair and red eyes. He smiled coldly at the fallen soldier. 

Despite the pain, Lucas found the will power and stood up. “Where am I?” he asked.

The man chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that Lucas,” the man’s voice was so icy, it almost made Lucas shiver.

“How did you know my name?” Lucas asked, glaring at the man standing before him, almost as though he was observing him.

“You don’t have a lot of time here. I suggest you stop wasting time and start asking the right questions,” the man said, circling around Lucas.

For a moment, Lucas thought he was in a dream, but he realized you cannot experience pain in dreams, and his pain was excruciating. The man continued to circle him and Lucas made sure not to break eye contact with the strange being.

“Who or what are you? What do you want with me?” Lucas asked hoping it was a right question.

The man clapped and laughed in amusement. “Very good Lucas! My name is Dmitri. Lovely to meet you. As for what I am, let’s just say I am someone who can give you whatever you want, but for a tiny price of course,” Dmitri looked at Lucas and his eyes glittered with promise.

“What kind of price?” Lucas asked.

“Another good question. Well, that really all depends on what you want,” Dmitri stopped circling Lucas and stood in front of him.

“And what if I don’t want anything?” Lucas kept his eyes on Dmitri, still not wanting to break eye contact despite his fear at that moment. Something wasn't right.

“Well then, I send you to the pits of hell and there you will dwell forever for the rest of all eternity,” Dmitri said and started circling Lucas again.

Lucas broke eye contact. “What are you?” Lucas asked strongly.

Dmitri sighed and went to stand in front of him again, holding up his left hand in a fist. “Let’s just say that I’m…” Dmitri opened his fist and a silver orb floated just above his palm. “…a demon.” Dmitri closed his hand into a fist again and the orb disappeared.

Lucas was unphased by Dmitri's magic trick. “Can you bring my parent’s back?” Lucas asked in a strong cold voice.

“Ah, now Lucas, like everything else out there, I have limits. I can’t bring the dead back to life, but I can give you something else. I know there is something else that you would give anything to have. I know about you and Princess Lorien. I can give her to you. I can make her your wife. Your love could last forever and I can give you that,” Dmitri said with a cold smile.

Lucas looked away from the demon. The only things he ever wanted were his family and Lorien, but what would he have to give.

“What’s the price?” Lucas asked, still looking away from Dmitri, but he looked at him as soon as the demon started laughing.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Alright, here’s the price,” Dmitri stroked his chin as he thought. When he looked back at Lucas, his eyes went cold. “I only want your soul. That’s all I want... from you,” Dmitri was staring coldly.

Lucas felt anger swelling in him. “What do you mean?” he asked, trying to contain his anger. "Is one price not enough?"

Dmitri sighed. “Let me finish,” the demon waited for Lucas to calm down before continuing. “Yes, one price... from each of you. The princess must also pay a price,” Dmitri held up his hand for he could see that Lucas was about to protest. “Let me finish,” Dmitri was losing his patience. “If she agrees for you to make her your wife, then she must give up her gift, the thing that gives her immortality, but that is her choice to make, not yours,” Dmitri concluded and looked at Lucas.

Lucas was staring at the ground, thinking. If he said no, then he would die and Sham would no longer have a family, but if he said yes, then Lorien loses her immortality. Which one was willing to lose what they needed the most?

Lucas looked up to face Dmitri with cold eyes. “Consider the price payed,” Lucas said in a cold voice.

Dmitri clapped his hands in delight and smiled. “Excellent! Now, you have one year to convince the princess. If you fail, then you both die.” Those were Dmitri’s last words before Lucas blacked out again.

The next moment that Lucas had seen light, he saw a battlefield, corpses everywhere on the ground, and one of them was Sham.

With all the anger burning inside him and without thinking, Lucas grabbed his brother’s sword and pulled out his own from his belt, ravaging every enemy that got in his way. It was through this that the battle was won. His brother was dead, but Bright Splendia was victorious.

Lucas opened his eyes to see the morning sun shining through the window. He sat up on his bed and looked at the picture on the wall.

“I paid my price, but was it the right price to pay? Help me Sham, dad, mum. Help me,” Lucas said with tears in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and was about to fix his bed but stopped, frozen, when he saw a pair of red eyes staring at him.