The Devil's Little Bride

HE SHOULDN’T KNOW HER

Naya couldn't move.

The man's words echoed inside her head.

I've been looking for you for centuries.

Centuries?

That was impossible.

He couldn't have been serious.

Maybe he was insane.

Maybe she was dreaming again.

She blinked rapidly.

The man was still there.

Only a few feet away.

Tall.

Impossibly handsome.

His black shirt fitted perfectly against his broad shoulders, and his dark hair fell slightly over his forehead. There was nothing visibly strange about him.

Except his eyes.

They were wrong.

Too dark.

Too old.

They didn't belong to someone who looked barely thirty.

Naya took a step backward.

The stranger smiled.

"Don't."

His voice was quiet.

Naya froze.

"Don't what?"

"Run."

Something about the way he said it made her skin crawl.

Zuri tightened her grip on Naya's hand.

"Who are you?"

The stranger didn't look at her.

His eyes remained fixed on Naya.

"She doesn't remember."

Naya frowned.

"Remember what?"

For the first time, something changed in his expression.

Sadness.

It was gone almost immediately.

"You really don't know."

"Know what?"

He took one step toward her.

Naya stepped backward.

"Stay away from me."

He stopped.

"You're afraid."

"Yes."

"Good."

Naya stared at him.

"What?"

"You should be."

A shiver traveled down her spine.

Zuri stepped in front of her.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you need to leave."

The stranger finally looked at Zuri.

His expression hardened.

"You're not supposed to be here."

Zuri's face went pale.

"What does that mean?"

He looked back at Naya.

"She should have come alone."

Naya's heart hammered.

"Come where?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he glanced toward the sky.

The sunlight had disappeared.

Dark clouds were gathering over the campus.

Too quickly.

Zuri whispered, "Naya..."

"I see it."

Thunder rumbled.

The frozen students around them suddenly moved.

A car honked.

Someone shouted.

A lecturer walked past them.

The world had returned to normal.

Naya looked around in confusion.

"What just happened?"

The stranger was gone.

Her eyes widened.

"Where did he go?"

Zuri spun around.

"He was right there."

"I know!"

They searched the crowd.

Nothing.

No black shirt.

No dark eyes.

No trace of him.

Then Naya heard something.

A whisper.

Right beside her ear.

"Not yet."

She spun around.

Nothing.

---

They didn't go to class.

Zuri insisted.

Naya didn't argue.

They walked quickly toward the university gate, both of them constantly looking over their shoulders.

Naya's mind was racing.

The strange dreams.

The mark.

The messages.

The creature.

The man.

And now the impossible statement.

I've been looking for you for centuries.

It made no sense.

Unless...

"No," Naya whispered.

Zuri looked at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You've been saying that all morning."

Naya stopped walking.

"Zuri."

"Hmm?"

"Your aunt."

Zuri nodded.

"We're going to her."

---

An hour later, they stood outside a small house tucked away on a quiet street.

Naya stared at it.

There was nothing unusual about the building.

A simple brown gate.

A small garden.

Old flower pots.

But the moment she stepped through the gate, the mark on her wrist returned.

She gasped.

Zuri noticed.

"Again?"

Naya pulled down her sleeve.

"Don't tell her yet."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Before Zuri could respond, the front door opened.

An elderly woman stood there.

She was small and thin, with silver hair pulled into a neat bun.

Her eyes were sharp.

Unusually sharp.

She stared at Naya.

The color drained from her face.

"Oh."

Zuri frowned.

"Aunty?"

The woman didn't answer.

She continued staring at Naya.

Then her eyes dropped to Naya's wrist.

Her lips trembled.

"Where did you get that?"

Naya swallowed.

"What?"

"The mark."

Naya slowly pulled her sleeve down.

"I don't know."

The old woman stepped backward.

"No."

Zuri looked confused.

"Aunty, what is wrong?"

The woman looked at her.

"Where did you find her?"

Zuri blinked.

"Find who?"

The old woman pointed at Naya.

"Her."

Naya's heart began pounding.

"I wasn't found. I live here."

The woman shook her head.

"You don't understand."

She stared at Naya with something dangerously close to fear.

"That mark hasn't appeared on a living person in over three hundred years."

Silence.

Naya's mouth went dry.

"What mark?"

The woman looked at her.

"The Devil's Mark."

Naya laughed nervously.

"Okay. This is getting ridiculous."

She turned toward Zuri.

"We should leave."

The old woman suddenly grabbed Naya's wrist.

Naya gasped.

The instant their skin touched—

The windows shattered.

CRASH!

Zuri screamed.

The old woman released Naya.

A violent wind swept through the house.

The lights went out.

Something slammed against the roof.

Once.

Twice.

Then again.

BOOM!

The old woman whispered a prayer.

Naya stared upward.

"What is happening?"

The woman looked at her.

"They found you."

Naya's blood froze.

"Who?"

The woman didn't answer.

A long shadow moved across the ceiling.

Then another.

Zuri grabbed Naya.

"Run!"

They rushed toward the back door.

But before they could reach it—

BANG!

The door slammed shut.

Something stood on the other side.

Naya could hear breathing.

Slow.

Heavy.

Not human.

The old woman shouted,

"Do not open that door!"

Naya backed away.

The handle began turning.

Slowly.

Once.

Twice.

Zuri covered her mouth.

The old woman reached beneath a table and pulled out a small wooden box.

Her hands were shaking.

She opened it.

Inside was an old black book.

She flipped through the pages.

"Please..."

Naya stared at her.

"What?"

The woman stopped.

Her eyes widened.

She had found something.

"What does it say?" Zuri asked.

The old woman didn't respond.

She looked at Naya.

Then at the mark on her wrist.

Then back at the book.

"No..."

"What?" Naya demanded.

The woman whispered,

"The prophecy."

A loud crack came from the front door.

Something was breaking through.

Naya stepped closer.

"What prophecy?"

The woman looked directly into her eyes.

"The one that says the Devil will come for his bride."

Naya stared at her.

"What bride?"

The woman opened her mouth.

Before she could answer—

The front door exploded inward.

A wave of freezing air swept through the house.

The old woman's book flew from her hands.

Naya screamed.

Something entered.

She couldn't see its face.

Only its enormous shadow stretching across the floor.

Zuri pulled Naya backward.

The creature sniffed the air.

Then it spoke.

Not with one voice.

But with many.

"She carries her soul."

The old woman began crying.

"No..."

The creature turned toward Naya.

"The Devil has been searching for her."

Naya couldn't breathe.

The creature smiled.

And then—

A second voice came from somewhere outside.

A man's voice.

Deep.

Cold.

Furious.

"Touch her, and I will tear your soul apart."

The creature froze.

Every flame in the house suddenly went black.

The old woman's eyes widened in horror.

She whispered a name.

"Azrael..."

Naya heard it.

And somehow...

the name felt familiar.

Not familiar like she'd heard it before.

Familiar like she'd once loved it.

Then the house shook violently.

And the creature dropped to its knees.

Naya stared at it.

The thing that had terrified her moments ago was trembling.

Terrified of whoever was outside.

A shadow appeared in the doorway.

Tall.

Motionless.

The same man from the university.

His eyes were no longer human.

They glowed like burning embers.

He looked at Naya.

Only Naya.

And for the first time since she had met him...

he looked afraid.

Not of her.

For her.

His voice was barely a whisper.

"Run, little one."

Naya stared at him.

"Who are you?"

The stranger's expression darkened.

Then he said the one thing that made the old woman collapse to her knees.

"I am the reason you died in your last life."