Stone braced himself to tell her the truth. She wouldn’t like it but either way when the sun tops the sky and The Grand Marid comes, she will have to be dead, as in not living at all just so he could live. Samosa sat on the edge of the bed; chomping on her food he cooked again-sausages, eggs, and ham. For some reason humans craved anything red and fleshy after giving up their soul. He was prepared for this one.
He told her the entire truth. About how he has taken souls over the millennia and was fed in this way, but this also feeds his Master. It was always a win/win/lose situation because he would always benefit from the souls he can have and exchange for goods (like money), the human gets their fortune but eventually the human will lose. In some cases his kind would lose.
That was rare.
Samosa’s body trembled noticeably as he revealed what every human’s fate would be: Cursed to illness, suicidal tendencies, homicidal, cannibalistic, or just basically reduced to an animal, wanting flesh and to destroy. Then finally put into Limbo which is said to be housed in The Grand Marid’s astral body.
“I know this is confusing and I hate to come off as a liar in the beginning, but I need this from you.”
Samosa sat her food aside, daintily wiped her lips. She wore only his long shirt and nothing underneath and was barefoot. She padded over to his window which overlooked the lawn below and the stars above.
“I knew you were not from here,” she said gravely. “You were too giving. Too nice.” She let her forehead rest on the window’s glass. Stone couldn’t command his feet to stop reaching her. When he did, he slid his hands around her waist.
“There has to be another way.” Samosa sighed. “I may hate this world, but you’ve suddenly given me something that’s been missing.”
“Your health?”
“No.” Samosa took one his hands and gave a feather-light kissed his on his knuckle. “Something to look forward to. My foster mom is a devout Christian. A woman who read her bible daily, she prays daily and gives to the poor. I wanted to be just like her. I thought if I prayed hard enough, long enough, I could be just as happy as she.”
Stone rested his head on her shoulder. “So you do believe in God.”
“Always have,” she answered truthfully, with conviction. “I had to, because then I can be angry at someone and not at a wall or the empty sky. That would be depressing.”
“I’m glad to provide proof of the other side. Now what about the problem at hand? I don’t want to kill you.”
“You can try,” he saw her flex her hands in the reflection of the mirror. “I feel stronger.”
“Not as strong as I am, love. I’d rather pick a less violent way.”
“This coming from a man called Stone?” Samosa faced him; he noticed how the thin bottom and top lids of her eyes became lined in black. A result of the Bond.
“My full name is Stone of the Ice Rings. I was born on the outskirts of Saturn’s rings.”
“Unbelievable,” Samosa pointed to the window, up where the night sky was glittered with stars. “You mean up there? The Saturn?”
“Exactly. So if we can get back to the pressing matter of your soul and The Grand Marid possibly ending my life, I’d like that.”
“Alright. So where does this Grand Marid live? Does he have any weak spots?” Samosa asked while moving past him and to the bathroom.
Stone heard water gushing from the sink. She was probably brushing her teeth.
“He doesn’t live on this plane of the world. He is very shifty and cunning and could be in this room this very minute.”
Stone didn’t hear Samosa respond. He heard the water still running. “Samosa?” He crossed his arms and called her name again.
No answer.
Stone felt as if someone dumped ice on his chest. He grabbed the knob and turned.
Samosa was in The Grand Marid’s clutches, her chin held up with one of his long hands, her legs swung free, eyes were wild and feverish.
“I see why you wanted to risk your life,” The Grand Marid continued, grinning wickedly before running his long tongue across Samosa’s neck and cheek. “I really can be any place at any time.” Stone tightened his fists into a ball and like a cougar, leapt at The Grand Marid.
Mistake.
The Grand Marid quickly lifted Samosa in the air by her jaw,her soft neck exposed and two gentle seconds from snapping.
“I take the low road, Grand Marid.” Stone said defeated. “I ask that you strip me of my powers, of my will and I will become the cursed Nightwalker. Just let me have Samosa.”
The Marid blinked his pretty eyes and slowly lowered Samosa back down to the floor. Her eyes were feral and untamed and he never turned her loose. “To take the curse to save a woman,” The Grand Marid laughed. “Would you be able to live like that?”
The floor met Stone’s knees. He buried his head in his hands. “I know it is much to ask, Grand Marid. But I love her.”
“Heh,” The Marid huffed. “This spoken from someone who probably has children spread across the universe?”
Stone watched Samosa flinch from this bit of news. His trysts across the planet, the stars, and the galaxy were well known. Truthfully, he had lain with hundreds of questionable females through time. However, something was different about Samosa. He needed her.
“You can have her, Stone of the Ice Rings.” The Grand Marid watched Stone through laughing eyes. “But your punishment will be my glory!”
Stone felt as if rocks suddenly settled in his gut. He lifted his head and gave one look into Samosa’s heart shaped face. He knew then the Grand Marid had won.
The Grand Marid licked his pointed choppers while he caressed Samosa’s face. A single stroke which drove Stone crazy. Time ticked on as he held Samosa’s chin high up. He could snap her neck back any minute and Stone would not save her in time. He was fast but not blindingly fast as the monster that stood before him.
The Grand Marid inhaled deeply and blew a gust of frigid air right onto Stone. Stone felt his body shiver and then his arms flailed about. He could hear Samosa’s screams. His leg jerked and his entire body suddenly felt as if ice pokers were jabbing him in his ribcage. It was like a giant tickler that was meant to torture and his lungs felt squeezed.