The lord of Darkness

Introduction

"And only the enlightened can recall their former lives; for the rest of us the memories of past existences are but glints of light, twinges of longing, passing shadows, disturbingly familiar, that are gone before they can be grasped, like the passage of that silver bird on Dhaulagiri."

-Peter Matthiessen, The snow

Fire

Smoke

Ash

Blood

It was all she could see. The destruction that has plagued her family and her entire village. They had been slaughtered by an unknown force. A demon. A creature of utter evil. Her mind refused to accept what she saw.

The red eyes, the sharp fangs, his bloody lips. His! It was a man she thought. One who had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and had began to destroy the people she called family and the place she called home. There was devastation everywhere. Mutilated corpses burning in the ground. People had been running and panicking, desperate and afraid.

Her mind started racing as she dived under the burning walls of her home. The flames reaching her skin for a moment causing her to scream and hiss in pain. She stopped crawling to avoid anymore damage. With the fire getting bigger and the smoke choking the air, she felt her body resign to the inevitable fate of death. She was already weak, injured, and alone.

What more could I possibly do? What could I possibly live for?

There is nothing. She closed her eyes and waited for the flames to consume her. She waited, and waited, and waited...until...

Wait!

She opened her eyes, and her breath hitched. It was as if time had stopped.

Everything stopped moving and no sound could be heard. She looked up and saw the burning piece of wood that had stopped frozen midair fortunately just inches above her face. She immediately rolled her body to the side, careful not to scrape her bleeding wound. Her wound! Where was her wound?! She stared unbelievingly at her pristine uninjured leg, unable to grasp the reality of it all.

Remember!

Remember who you are!

You are special!

Different!

This life isn't yours!

Remember!

Remember!

Unknown voices started to fill her mind. She recoiled from them, clutching her head in fear. What was she supposed to remember? At that moment, the person, no! The demon, that had took everything from her suddenly appeared. She held back a scream and tried to back away from his presence. His bright vivid red eyes raking her figure. She shivered.

"Look at me"

Suddenly, it was as if every ounce of fear had been sucked from her body

She felt brave! Courageous!---try stupid.

She looked up, almost daringly. Her eyes blazing not with fury or anger, but with genuine curiosity, and a hint of confusion. Finally, she met his unnerving gaze. His red meeting her green. She gasped at the sudden and unexplainable connection. She looked at his face. His dark hair, his smooth and fair complexion, the tall intimidating stance, the chiseled jaw and the broad shoulders, the devil's eyes.

"Katerina"

What? What did he just call me?

"My Katerina"

"Th-that's not my n-name"

Who was this woman named Katerina? She thought. More importantly, why was this stranger focusing intently at her, like he had known her his entire life, like he longed for her.

"My name is Isabel. Who--who are you?"

He smiled. And she shivered again, goosebumps raking her body.

"My beautiful, beloved Katerina. Remember who you are. Remember who I am". His soft and baritone voice caressing her ears.

Then suddenly she saw everything in front of her blur, as a blinding white light seemed to fill every crevice of the burning and barely standing house. She willed her eyes to open, squinting at the the dark smoke like shadow that had replaced the stranger in front of her. She suddenly felt arms embrace her and pull her body from behind, taking her away from the dark figure.

"No! Wait!...Tell me! What should I remember!"

She begged as the distance between him and her increased, diminishing their connection and making her feel hollow. The light became more intense to the point that she was unable to open her eyes.

...............
..........
..............

"Issa"

"Issa!"

"Issa!"

"Isabel Eloise Kingsley! You better wake up now before I throw this cup of water in your face!" A female voice screeched. Actively waking the other girl, who had clumsily fell from the bed.

Isabel looked up to her roommate/best friend's face and glared. The cretin was smiling, making her all the more irritated. She huffed.

"What in the world are you screaming about this early in the morning!?" She grumbled.

She stood up fixing her creased and bunched up shirt pajamas, while wiping the small patch of drool in her chin. Something's wrong. She felt weird, and uneasy. She composed herself and surveyed the whole room.

"I've been trying to get you out of bed for the past ten minutes. Also you were constantly talking in your sleep, which was by the way super annoying. Must have been a dream". Her best friend rambled.

Dream?

Dream!

It was the dream!

Her eyes widened with the realization of the terrifying yet wondrous dream her mind had conjured up. It was almost too real. She felt chills run down her body as she thought of the mysterious words of the man in her dreams. What was it again?

"Issa? Issa! Are you daydreaming again?!

"Will you stop screaming at my ear!"She rolled her eyes as she ceased her internal musings.
"Alright! I'm up already, no need to fret. Just give me ten minutes to atleast make myself presentable". She said as she walked to bathroom.

"Fine, I'll meet you downstairs then". A voice called out before she heard the door close. She sighed.

She took a moment's breath before turning the shower on, until she felt a soft whisper, just a very small voice in the back of her head.

"Remember"