The Curse Of The Blood Moon

9: A Path to Heal

~Evelyn~

A dark shadow came for me, asking me to trade my soul for something else. I tried to fight back, but my whole body could not move; I was glued to the seat while the Shadow's flimsy hands ran all over my face.

"I would rather not sell my soul. Let me be!" I managed to scream, but the shadow laughed. An eerie laughter that broke its form momentarily.

"You must be idiotic to think that you have a choice. I will take your soul and in turn, give you the revenge that you so desire," the shadow said, breathing each word close to my ear.

"Why don't you stop being a coward and reveal yourself?" I dared the shadow, knowing that wasn't its true form.

"Because I do not owe you, you owe me now. All you have to do is keep your side of the bargain and watch me keep my side of the bargain." The figure said and laughed again.

I could feel its smoky form passing through me, irking me every time it did that. I closed my eyes and mustered courage one more time to ask.

"Who are you?" I demanded with all the bravery inside me.

"Why don't you open your eyes and see?" The shadow said, and I felt myself being thrown down a very deep ditch.

***

I opened my eyes, beads of sweat running down my forehead. The room was achingly bright, and I shut my eyes from the blinding light that caused my head to pound a few times. My eyes caught the sight of a figure in the room, looking right at me. It looked like the smoky figure from my room, so I opened my eyes, fighting through the headache to see well.

"You are awake?" Asher asked even though it was already obvious that I was awake.

Asher's image became clear in my eyes as I sat up, immediately terrified. He had indeed promised me revenge for all that had been done to me; the only part I wasn't sure of was what exactly I had to give in return.

"I will stay with you.

The exact words I had said to me rang in my ears as the headache intensified. I closed my eyes and shut my ears with my fingers as the chaos within was threatening to drive me crazy.

"Your fever abated three weeks ago; we were waiting for your body to fully expel the poison. You look a lot better than you did," he said and moved close to me, examining me.

He was definitely the smoky figure I had just sold my soul to for revenge. Thinking about what Mason and Ember had done to me, I didn't mind. It didn't matter if I lost my soul forever; as long as I was able to make them pay for what they did to my father, then I would truly have peace. I warmed up and managed a smile at the man who had saved my life.

"Thank you. I feel a lot better" I lied through gritted teeth as my head continued to pound.

"No you are not. Aunt Claire said you would wake up with a pounding headache, and then you should be given these pills to use. It will help you with the pain" he said and handed me some pills.

"I haven't eaten; won't it be bad for me to take pills without eating something first?" I asked him, not trusting what he was giving me. The image of Aunt Claire floated back into my mind; I had barely seen her. She was the one who gave me the herbs that made me start throwing up. I owed her my gratitude and my life.

"She instructed that you take them first without eating. Anne is currently on her way with food for you. I reached out to her as soon as you stirred. You haven't done that in weeks" he said and gave me a glass of water.

I took the pills, letting the bitter taste sit on my tongue for a moment before I washed it down with water. He nodded his head approvingly before the door opened and Anne came in. A sweet smell wafted from the tray she was holding, and I heard my stomach rumble greedily. Asher looked at me, and I turned my face away shyly.

"When he called me, I was so excited. We had our hearts in our hands all these days. The only thing that pointed to any kind of recovery was the color of your skin. All thanks to Aunt Claire and my brother" she said as she opened the plate, and I stared at chunks of chicken spiced with all kinds of vegetables.

"It's a healing soup. It will give your body all the nourishment that it needs" Asher said as he walked out of the room, almost like he had been waiting to leave.

"Don't mind him; he does not really like staying around people. He will come around once he gets comfortable around you" Anne told me when she saw that my face fell asleep after Asher left.

"I'm just grateful to be alive. Thank you for everything, Anne. You have been most helpful to my recovery here" I thanked her, and she laughed heartily at me.

"Come on, don't be like that. I would have taken care of anyone else just the same. It's who I am. You don't have to fret" she said and helped me to some soup. It was refreshing, and I felt rejuvenated as soon as I tasted the soup.

"This is so good" I said, even though I was tired of the meal already but knew that it was what my body needed to make a full recovery.

"I cooked it. I know how to cook a lot; I enjoy it. It is not a chore for me" she said and shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing.

"You will have to teach me sometimes, right?" I asked.

"Of course, but first, get well, and I will show you the entire kingdom. Hopefully you like your new home" she said happily and I prayed to the moon goddess that it was so.