I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, trying to get away from the darkness and evil.
The basement door slammed shut and Tate -- the real Tate -- stood in front of it, an emotionless look on his face. He slowly began descending the steps towards me, forcing me backwards into the basement again.
I was trapped between him and the Evil. He seemed unaware of its presence, but I couldn't be sure that he didn't know it was there.
I clutched the grimoire tightly against my chest. "Tate, stop. You're scaring me." My voice was quieter than I wanted it to be, but he ignored my words either way, continuing to close the distance between us.
Before I could react against him, Tate's hands were around my neck and he had a murderous expression on his face.
I knew the Evil was driving his actions. I dropped the grimoire to claw at his wrists and hands, trying to get him to release me.
I couldn't breathe, my lungs were starting to burn with the need for oxygen.
Black dots began to darken the edge of my sight, slowly expanding and blacking out what I could see.
I closed my eyes, thinking this was it.
I was dropped to the ground suddenly and I landed hard on my ass, my hands touching my throat as I gulped in air.
It took me a moment before I could look around.
There was a bright light in front of me, the Evil had fled in fear of it and as Tate looked upon it, he seemed to calm.
I think I blacked out then.
----
When I woke up again, I was still on the cold floor of the basement. The grimoire was next to my head.
"You're awake." I looked up into Violet's eyes and pushed myself up to sit.
"What happened?" I asked her.
Violet shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know. There was this calm and peaceful feeling throughout the house for a moment.
I came down here where it seemed to be coming from and found you passed out on the floor.
There was a girl I'd never seen in the house before too. She was standing over you."
I pulled the grimoire into my lap. "Huh?"
Violet nodded. "She had brown hair, looked our age."
Sunny.
Violet continued speaking even though I think my heart stopped.
"I think she sacrificed herself for you because she turned into this warm light and shattered."
I clutched the book tightly to my chest and burst into sobs.
I cried for all the fear I'd had, all the wrong I'd done, for everything.
Violet wrapped her arms around my shoulders and let me cry it out.
---
I walked around the house taking in the death and gore that seemed to cover every inch of the house.
My mind was churning over so many thoughts at once.
Had I summoned Sunny some how?
Had she come on her own?
Where was Tate now?
How long till the Evil came back?
I sat down on the living room couch next to a mutilated corpse and put my head in my hands.
How was I supposed to fix all of this?
Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the grimoire. The book had been so soaked in blood, the pages were full of writing.
I flipped through them, one by one.
Slowly a rage began to bloom within me.
The pages were full.
But I had never seen this fucking language before in my life!
I stood up and stormed over to the house phone. As I picked it up to dial 'Derek's' number, Caper, my little kitty hopped onto my shoulders.
I pressed the phone to my ear as I listened to it ring and ring until I heard it get picked up.
"Well, well. Little Miss Shepard, whatever can I do for you?" I heard Derek's voice.
"Why can't I read the book?!" I demanded answers from him. I gave up my humanity for this!
I heard a chuckle from the other end of the line. "So you fed it enough blood and still can't read it?"
"You knew this would happen!" I accused. "You meant for me to fail all along."
"On the contrary, Fox, I want you to succeed. Long has that house and all things in it defied me. I can not even enter it to claim the souls that belong to me.
But there are rules to the book. You gave your humanity to become the grimoire's master. But in order to read it, you must sacrifice something else."
I could feel the urge to cry out of frustration growing. "What do I have to give you?" I asked angrily.
---
Once the deal was sealed, I sat on the couch again with the grimoire. I opened it up, and was happy to find I could read the ancient language within it this time.
"Fox?" I snapped the book shut at the sound of my name.
Tate stood in the doorway, looking like a wounded puppy.
"What do you want?" I snarled out.
He seemed to be taken aback by my tone, as he blinked several times and took one step backwards.
"I'm sorry, Fox!" There were tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Please forgive me."
I sat the book on the cushion next to me and looked away from him, ignoring his presence the best I could.
I heard him close the distance between us before sinking to his knees in front of me. He laid his head in my lap and cried.
"Please. Fox. I need you. I love you. Don't send me away from you!"
I loved Tate. And I believed him when he said he loved me.
Because Tate loved me in the best way he knew how.
I closed my eyes as he continued to cry.
I was doing this for him. All of this.
I was doing it to save him.
I could forgive him out of love. But there were two parts to Tate.
The one I saw now, that truly and desperately thought he loved me.
And the monster that would use that love to kill me.
"I'm doing this for you." I whispered and he looked up at me at my words.
"You forgive me?" His voice was so full of hope, it broke my heart.
"I'm sorry, Tate. I can't trust you with what's left of my humanity. I'm doing this for you, to save you.
But you can't be at my side anymore. You need to leave me alone."
He backed away, still on the floor in front of me. There was such shock and pain in his eyes. I knew he felt betrayed.
But with Tate around, I was more apt to give into my own darkness, to forgo my mission to save everyone in this house.
The darkness inside me was ever growing, with Tate around I'd become a monster so quickly.
I watched him get to his feet, his body shaking with so many emotions.
He didn't say a word as he vanished from my sight.
But I knew that wouldn't be the end of him.
I opened the grimoire once more, starting my search for the end to the darkness.
