CURSE OF THE MOON

GOOD BYE MY LOVE

“NO! NO! NO! PLEASE DON’T!” she reached her hand out to him. Her eyes were begging him to save her, this was the moment to prove his love for her.

Help me!

She mouthed out the words, she couldn’t find her voice, not with all this pain running through her body.

Please!

He watched as the only woman he loved was tortured, down on his knees held by four vampires. This would be his punishment for being happy. Tears rolled down his face, he couldn’t bear the grief that exploded in his chest. He watched, through clouded eyes, the repercussions of his love for her.

She was dying because he chose to live a different life with her.

He watched as they dragged her petite body on the dirty road, the crisp salty ocean wind blew through her hair. The moon shone on them as the swirling twinkle of the stars danced on the ocean waves. This was the setting of a romance story, instead, it was the scene of her death.

Sotera had touched a part of him that he thought died years ago when he stopped living as a human and began his life as an immortal and a killer. His heartbeat only to keep the beast in him living. But the cold side of him, the vampire, the killer.

She had a gentle nature about her, deep respect for life. She never saw the differences that existed between all the creatures under the sun and the moon. Life was a life and that was what mattered to her the most. She taught him not to kill humans to satisfy his thirst and not to take away life just because he could.

He never had anyone who cared for him that much. No one had bothered about him. They only took from him never giving back. He was a pawn.

“Stephan, help me please!”

The lifeless tone in her voice told him that she was fading away. It wouldn’t be long now.

If only he did not love her.

If only he did not stop to talk to her.

If he had not drowned in her amber eyes, as she swam on the Brazilian beaches, then she would live.

Then she would have forever.

His head sagged but was immediately forced up. He had to watch. This was his punishment. His need for freedom would take away her life.

They moved her closer to him. They were eye to eye now. He leaned his head forward to touch his cheek to hers. He longed for a single feel of her. He needed her. His lips brushed against hers. She would die again. But this time she wasn’t coming back. This was the end.

“I love you and am sorry. It’s my fault. I had no right to love you. No right.” That’s all he could do now, love her to her last moment.

He hoped she could see the love in his eyes, the pain he felt.

Sotera’s eyes burned bright with love as she smiled and tried to kiss him. And in that same second, she died.

He watched in horror as they twisted her head off her body and tore her limbs apart. He couldn’t shut his eyes not because they were forced open but because they couldn’t close. He had to witness the end of something beautiful. He felt the pressure on his body release, and the vampires dropped him to the dusty gravel. Slowly, he crawled towards her, the seven different parts of her. Stephan picked up the pieces of what had once been Sotera and held them against his chest. Sobs escaped his lips. Crying was a sign of weakness that he never condoned, but now all he felt was weak. He rocked her in his arms just the way she liked it. He could see it in his mind the countless times he had done this before.

They always thought that they had forever to be in each other's arms. As he held her close to his chest he thought about their first kiss, the first time they made love. The promises he made to her. He could smell her scent it was like a lighter to his flaming soul. She always brought out the better part of him, uncovering the gentleness he once possessed as a human.

Stephan struggled against his assailants when Sotera was snatched out of his arms and his body dragged back by his legs. They lugged him a few feet from her dismembered body. As much as he tried to claw his way back to her, he couldn’t. He was outnumbered and overpowered. He wanted to take them back, take her back into his arms. But he couldn’t. He was once considered a warrior for vampires, feared by all who knew him or heard of him. Now he was reduced to nothing. He may have well still been human, not the greatest being ever created but a powerless human.

She was on fire. There would be no evidence of her existence. Nothing!

Fire

On his knees, he watched motionless as the flames touched every part of her body. His hands, his gentle caresses were now replaced by a ruthless blaze. He could hear their laughter from a distance. They mocked his loss. He did not move and didn’t make a sound. He just sat there and watched the flames. He watched his Sotera as she turned into nothing. Her stunning body disintegrated before his eyes and there was nothing he could ever do to put her back together.

As the fire died down he knew that it was time for him to die. This was what they did. What he used to do so he knew the drill. Torture, and weaken their spirit, until they wanted, begged to die. They would wait for them to beg to die and than grant them their wish. Kill them as many times as it was possible. This was the Conselho’s way. He should know.

He turned around to face his executors, he would face his death. Welcome it.

But they weren’t there. They were nowhere to be seen. He didn’t understand, was this a trick, a game? Would they come back for him? Rage swelled up in him. He called out into the night.

“Where are you? Come finish me off! Where are you, cowards?” Why did they leave without killing him?

He took off his shirt and tried to gather what was left of her into it. She loved wearing his shirts. He would take her with him. Find a suitable place for her, perhaps in one of her favorite vases. But one thing was for sure, he would take her with him, everywhere he would go. She was part of him and they would be together. He was going to keep her ashes till the day he died.

As soon as he was sure he got almost all of her off the ground, he carefully folded the shirt and held it against his chest. He had to get going, he had to decide what to do now. He had nowhere to go. No one was waiting for him. The only person who cared was in his arms.

Stephan had to make up his mind on how he would react, whether or not he would live past this night. He walked into the dark, and let his feet lead him to the only place he was happy.

He stepped into her home, he could feel her, and he could see her in everything in the room. This was her place, her sanctuary, where she felt safe. That security was taken away the first time he came here, the moment he decided that this would be his home. Now it was empty without her and definitely without him.

He pictured her dancing around the room, humming and singing. She was so beautiful, so precious.

Stephan headed for the mantle. He picked up a white vase. He thought it best describes her as pure and beautiful. He still held Sotera to his chest. He slowly poured her into the slim small vase. He then took a cloth and wrapped it around the mouth of her vase. This is where she would be for eternity.

He turned to leave the apartment, all these memories tormented him. The loss he felt drowned him in pain and sorrow. He had to leave, he wouldn’t come back, but no one would come in here either. As he closed the door behind him, one of the neighbors smiled at him as he unlocked the door to his own home.

This was why his gifts were weak, why he was too weak to fight to save her, the preservation of human life. He was no match for six vampires on a steady diet of human blood. If he had been feeding as he should have they both could have survived the night. He was a warrior and with his gifts, they would have avoided the whole night altogether. Anger took over, he made up his mind. This was his life and he was going to live it as he should. In that same second, he attacked the unsuspecting neighbor, sank his teeth deep into his skin and his mouth took in all that he could.