Page 25 of The Darkness is Calling

After the third attempt, I realize the room is empty.

But an even better idea comes to my not-sorational mind.

If he gets to invade my privacy, how about I give him a taste of the same medicine?

Chapter 6

Artem

Sitting in the passenger seat of the large car, I savor this quiet moment, even though the music plays softly through the speakers.

Inside my head, there is silence.

The voices have calmed, still savoring the blood I served them. The blood that still stains my shirt, my hands, and my face.

Like after a feast where I fed on the desperate screams of a bastard who tried to steal from me, I now digest the images that settled my impulses.

I am still reliving the way the sharp blade cut into pale skin. How it immediately became colored by the blood that began to pour in streams, while the man’s hoarse screams, thick with pain, turned into a melody accompanying the way I carved furiously into his flesh.

A melody that carried, somewhere in the background of my mind, the musical notes I heard beneath my own roof only a few hours ago.

I almost smiled, drunk on the sounds moving through my brain.

I am certain I did it a few times, because those are the only moments when I smile. When I feed my voices, offering them the death they have craved since I was a child.

Perhaps there is something wrong with me. Maybe I’m really broken.

But to me, it feels like something beautiful.

I have never hurt innocent people, and if my punishment seems extreme to some, that is their fault. No one should break my rules, which are as basic and easy to follow as possible.

And I know there will always be people who step out of line, people who believe they can fool me, even when they know exactly what I can do to them. If they accept the risk of falling into my hands, then I can only give them what they probably desire somewhere deep inside their filthy souls.

Suffering.

And death.

My brothers are beside me in silence. Sometimes I think they feed their own demons in those moments when they let me give in to the voices. I see the satisfaction on their faces while I tear the flesh of the idiots who have crossed the line, but also the desire to do the same themselves.

All three of us are starving for blood.

But more than anything, for the death we bring upon others.

We make the drive home without any of us saying a word, but when I see the secured iron gates open and the impressive building rise majestically ahead, I remember who is inside.

I don’t even know when night comes, but darkness is my best friend, and now it reminds me that in a corner of the house is the cause of my condition today.

The stone that has already damaged me.

The one I cannot remove from my path.

“Do you want to dine alone, or are you joining us?”

The deep voice beside me makes me blink.

There is a great deal of weight in my decision, but running is not a solution. My brothers did not ask what triggered today’s crisis, but I’m sure they have figured it out. That is exactly why they are waiting for me to confirm whether I can face her or not.

“Together.”