The Devil's Little Bride

THE MAN WHO KNEW HER NAME

Naya stared at the message until the words blurred.

AND TONIGHT, THEY WILL COME FOR YOU.

Her thumb hovered over the screen.

Then another message appeared.

«DO NOT TRUST ANYONE.»

Naya's heart skipped.

She quickly typed.

WHO IS THIS?

The message showed one tick.

Then two.

Delivered.

She waited.

Nothing.

She typed again.

HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?

Three dots appeared.

Someone was typing.

Naya held her breath.

Then the reply came.

«I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR A VERY LONG TIME.»

Her blood turned cold.

She dropped the phone onto the bed.

"No."

She shook her head.

"This isn't funny."

Someone had to be playing a prank.

Maybe Zuri.

Her best friend had always loved frightening her.

Naya grabbed the phone again and called her.

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then Zuri answered.

"Girl, why are you calling me this early?"

Naya released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Zuri..."

"What?"

"I think someone is stalking me."

There was silence.

Then Zuri laughed.

"Again?"

"I'm serious."

"So am I. You watch too many horror movies."

"Zuri!"

"Okay, okay. What happened?"

Naya glanced toward the window.

The curtains were still.

Sunlight filled the room.

Everything looked harmless.

Normal.

"Someone sent me strange messages."

"What kind?"

Naya hesitated.

"How strange?"

She looked at the screen.

"I don't know who the person is. They know my name. They said someone is coming for me tonight."

Zuri stopped laughing.

"Did you report the number?"

"No."

"Send it to me."

Naya forwarded the number.

Zuri was quiet for several seconds.

Then she said, "This number doesn't exist."

"What?"

"I mean literally. I tried saving it and checking it. Nothing."

Naya frowned.

"Maybe it's a private number."

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because the number has no country code."

Naya looked at the screen.

Zuri continued.

"And there's something else."

"What?"

"I searched it online."

"And?"

"Nothing."

Naya swallowed.

"Maybe it's a new number."

"Maybe."

Zuri's voice sounded uncertain.

"Just don't respond again."

Naya stared at the messages.

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good. Now get ready. We're going to class."

Naya almost laughed.

"You want me to go to class after receiving a death threat?"

"Exactly."

"You're insane."

"And you're dramatic."

For the first time that morning, Naya smiled.

"See you soon."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

The call ended.

Naya placed her phone on the bed.

She stood.

Then stopped.

Something was wrong.

She could feel it.

She looked around the room.

Nothing.

Her eyes slowly moved toward the mirror.

Her reflection stared back at her.

Naya frowned.

She stepped closer.

Her reflection stepped closer too.

She raised her right hand.

The reflection did the same.

Everything was normal.

She sighed.

"Get a grip, Naya."

She turned away.

Behind her, her reflection smiled.

Naya froze.

Slowly, she turned back.

The reflection was no longer smiling.

She stared at it.

Her heart pounded.

"Did I..."

She stopped.

No.

She was imagining things.

She grabbed her bag and hurried out of the room.

---

By eight-thirty, Naya was sitting in class.

She tried to concentrate.

She really did.

But every few minutes, she checked her phone.

Nothing.

No new messages.

No strange calls.

No unknown numbers.

By the end of the lecture, she had almost convinced herself that everything had been a nightmare.

Almost.

She packed her books.

Zuri appeared beside her.

"So?"

Naya looked at her.

"So what?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

Naya laughed nervously.

"Maybe I have."

Zuri rolled her eyes.

"Come on."

They walked out of the lecture hall.

The university was busy.

Students moved everywhere.

People laughed.

Cars passed.

Someone was selling snacks nearby.

Normal.

Comforting.

Naya began to relax.

Then she saw him.

Across the road.

A man standing beneath a tree.

Black shirt.

Black trousers.

Tall.

Motionless.

Watching her.

Naya stopped walking.

Zuri nearly bumped into her.

"What?"

Naya couldn't speak.

The man didn't blink.

He simply stared.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

And pointed at her.

Naya's stomach dropped.

It was him.

The man from her dream.

"Zuri..."

"What?"

"Do you see that man?"

Zuri followed her gaze.

"Which man?"

Naya pointed.

"There."

Zuri squinted.

"I don't see anybody."

"What?"

"There's nobody there."

Naya looked again.

The man was gone.

She rushed across the road.

"Naya!"

Zuri grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"He was there."

"Who?"

"The man."

"What man?"

Naya turned in a circle.

Nothing.

Just people.

Cars.

Trees.

Buildings.

Her breathing became uneven.

"I saw him."

Zuri looked concerned.

"Maybe you need to go home."

"I'm not crazy."

"I didn't say you were."

"But you thought it."

"I think you're scared."

Naya looked down.

Her wrist suddenly burned.

She gasped.

The same spot as before.

She pulled her sleeve up.

A dark red line had appeared around her wrist again.

Zuri stared at it.

Her face changed.

"Naya..."

"What?"

Zuri touched the mark.

The moment her finger came close, the mark disappeared.

Both women froze.

"What the hell?" Zuri whispered.

Naya stared at her bare skin.

"I don't know."

Zuri looked frightened now.

"Okay."

"What?"

"We're going to see someone."

"Who?"

"My aunt."

Naya frowned.

"Your aunt?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she knows about things like this."

Naya almost laughed.

"What things?"

Zuri didn't answer.

"Zuri?"

"My aunt used to tell me stories."

"What kind of stories?"

Zuri looked directly into Naya's eyes.

"Stories about people who were marked before they died."

Naya's smile disappeared.

"Before they died?"

Zuri nodded.

"And according to her..."

She looked at Naya's wrist.

"...those people were never supposed to come back."

A cold breeze swept between them.

Naya suddenly heard something.

A whisper.

Very faint.

Almost carried away by the wind.

But she heard it.

Naya.

She turned.

Nobody was behind her.

Then her phone vibrated.

She pulled it out.

One new message.

Her hands began trembling.

«YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.»

A second message arrived.

«THEY HAVE SEEN YOU.»

Then a third.

Naya's blood ran cold.

«RUN.»

She looked around.

Students were still walking.

Cars were still moving.

Nobody seemed to notice anything.

Then every phone around them went dark.

One after another.

The entire campus fell strangely silent.

Zuri looked at her phone.

"Naya..."

"What?"

Zuri's face had gone pale.

"Look."

Naya looked up.

Every person on the road had stopped moving.

Hundreds of students stood completely still.

Cars had stopped in the middle of the road.

Even the leaves seemed frozen.

Naya couldn't breathe.

"What is happening?"

Zuri grabbed her hand.

"I don't know."

Then a man's voice came from behind them.

Deep.

Calm.

Terrifyingly familiar.

"There you are."

Naya slowly turned around.

The stranger from her dreams stood only a few feet away.

This time, she could see his face clearly.

His eyes were dark.

Almost black.

And he was smiling.

Not kindly.

Not cruelly.

As if he had finally found something he had been searching for.

He looked directly into Naya's eyes.

Then he whispered—

"I've been looking for you for centuries."