Chapter 6

Feb. 16, 1999-

Damien stood outside the front entrance of the high-rise apartments. He stared out into the empty city of downtown Seattle, his eyes catching the tiny snowflakes that fell from the black sky. He could hear the subtle whisper of the wind that blew from the north; a chilly breeze that was sure to keep him stiff. But as Damien reached out his hand to let the snow gracefully land in his palm, he couldn’t feel it evaporate at his touch, nor could he feel the cold in general.

From Pioneer Square, Damien walked the lonely streets of Seattle to University Park. In that two hour journey, he reflected on the life he once knew, and how much he took it for granted. But as he reflected over those faded memories, there was only one thing on his mind that mattered, and he knew he had to confront it before it was too late.

In a narrow-ended neighborhood surrounded by tall, leafless trees, Damien stood across the street from a meager, two-leveled house with a shared lawn. It had a low set of steps that led to a small, decorative porch in front of a wide window. The lights from downstairs were on, and he could faintly hear the sound of laughter coming from inside. Damien struggled to take a deep breath before walking up the steps to the front door.

As he stood slouched with exhaustion, Damien held his presence. He rang the doorbell and waited anxiously until the porch lights turned on. Damien breathed heavily and tried to fix himself straight. When the door opened, there was a paleness that covered his face as Aaliyah stood at the doorway.

“Damien?” she said, puzzled. “What are you doing here?”

He tried for an answer but was too distracted by her beauty. Her frizzy, dark brown hair cascaded down her back and matched her low hooded eyes. Her smooth, caramel skin, free of any blemishes. Her fine, plump lips looked just as sweet as pink cotton candy, and the lavender scent of orchids filled his senses. Damien had seen Aaliyah as the angel he always knew she was.

“I’m sorry for everything, Aaliyah,” Damien began faintly. “I never wanted to hurt you–”

“Damien, now is not the best time for this,” Aaliyah asserted politely.

“I know, but I have to tell you the truth,” Damien insisted.

Aaliyah leaned her body between the crack of the door as she was curious to know what he meant.

“You were everything to me, Aaliyah,” Damien said sincerely. “But I was too stubborn to see that before you left. I was too prideful, and I see that now. I let my ego consume me to the point of losing someone as beautiful as you. You were the world to me, but I couldn’t be that for you. And I know what I’m saying may not mean anything to you now, but I just wanted you to know that I made mistakes I’m ready to take responsibility for and that you deserve better.”

Aaliyah softened her stance as she felt his words reach her. A part of her was scared to believe him, but his vulnerability was something she hadn’t seen before. Aaliyah could see the weakness in his eyes as well as the strength he had to confront himself, and because of that, she felt sorry for him. But in her empathic desire to express comfort, a voice called to her from inside, and in a quick startle, a young man revealed himself.

“Jacob, hey,” Aaliyah said nervously.

“What’s going on, you’re missing the whole movie–” Jacob paused as he saw Damien. “Who’s this?”

Damien felt his heart drop the moment he saw Jacob. He stood by uncomfortably as Aaliyah vaguely introduced him.

“Oh, this is just my friend from high school,” Aaliyah said. “He’s about to leave town and he wanted to say goodbye.”

Damien lowered his head as his eyes drifted away from Aaliyah. His throat went numb and his eyes turned sleek with gentle tears.

“I’ll be there soon, just give a minute,” Aaliyah said. She reassured Jacob with a soft kiss on the cheek and he headed back inside. But as Aaliyah had trouble finding the words to tell Damien, she settled with a shy chuckle.

“His name is Jacob,” Aaliyah began awkwardly. “We have a few classes together.”

Damien kept his head low as he didn’t say anything. Aaliyah folded her arms as the cold crept on her, and it was a way to relieve the discomfort she bitterly felt.

“Are you going to say something?” she asked restlessly.

Damien searched for the right words to say but there was nothing. He sniffed his nose from the cold and carried his head back to Aaliyah. A brush of tears settled below his eyes but he didn’t bother to wipe them away. Aaliyah felt a sense of guilt the moment she saw the pain he endured, but because she had moved on, there was nothing else she could say.

“It was good seeing you again, Aaliyah,” Damien said heavily.

Aaliyah heard the pain in his voice as he tried to sound genuine. Although it was hindered by the state of his condition, Aaliyah knew he meant what he said, which killed her. As he stepped down from the porch and dragged his feet across the lawn, Aaliyah called out his name.

“Damien,” she said in a worried tone.

He stopped at the end of the lawn, his head down, and his back still facing Aaliyah. She waited for him to look back at her but he didn’t. Damien walked off the property solemnly and disappeared into the snowy night, leaving Aaliyah to remember the last happy memory they shared together.

As the early hours of dawn approached, Damien wandered through the dark city without any thoughts. His mind was a barren cube that torched his brain the longer he stayed awake. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept and it bothered him. Damien knew if he closed his eyes he would have uninviting dreams about the demons he battled internally. It would be an everlasting nightmare he didn’t want to live with.

At the end of 35th Ave, near the Assumption Catholic Church, there was a cemetery that caught Damien’s attention. From the corner of the street, he could see the tall, dead trees that hung over the snow-capped graves across the field. Damien always found the idea of cemeteries unpleasant as it carried the bodies of the past; good and evil alike. But to his sudden discretion, there was a sense of peace that drew him in.

Damien eased his way into the cemetery. At first, he could barely see the stones that cemented beneath the snow-covered field, but it wasn’t until he stopped to embrace the environment that he could sense the spirits that still remained. Damien toured through this cemetery without fear, soon finding a sizable grave that stood upon an icy platform. It was presented in a gothic statue that held a thick cross at the top. Damien curiously read the name on the tomb. McArthur.

Damien closed in on the grave, reading the sentiment that blessed the person who laid there. It was short and sweet; something Damien found hopeful. But in his hopeless state, there was no escaping the curse that was to manifest his soul, and he knew that. But as he remembered the words Aurora told him about his soul perishing and an evil that would take over, Damien could not live with that burden.

He gently sat upon the icy steps of the tombstone and waited. His body became fragile as the dawn was inevitable. Damien watched across the vast field from the east, seeing the once dark, smoky clouds disappear from the sky. A blue tint was visible after an entire month of gray, and beyond the horizon, the glorious sun etched into its marvelous form. Damien leaned against the steps, his elbows buried in snow, and his face aimed at the sky. He slowly closed his eyes and recalled one last memory.

Aaliyah sat gorgeously across from him in the Italian restaurant. Her face was glowing as the warm lights surrounded their table. She smiled unconditionally as Damien said something meaningful, and his hands locked with hers. The diamond that rested on her right ring finger glistened under the table candle, and because it was a token of his love for her, they shared a soft kiss that ended their night perfectly.

When the sun was bright and clear above the chilly sky, the groundskeeper of the cemetery made his daily morning route. He checked the south corridor first and then the west. By the time he circled back to the front office, he noticed a faint light that illuminated the east corridor. As he casually made his way to that section of the cemetery, he came to a startled stop. Upon the stone steps of Larry McArthur’s grave, the shadow of a black shrouded body was torched in a bright, hellish flame.

Below the vacant penthouse of the high-rise apartment, the dark room remained. Within this dark room, a sensitive vampire sat lonely upon a velvety-red sheet accompanied by a dead corpse. Serena was presented under the globe of light from above, holding the Blade of Kraus in her hand. She admired how sharp the dagger was, and how clean the blade sparked under the misty rays. She gazed at the blade sorrowfully, thinking about how Damien left without it. He was given another chance to destroy her, but he didn’t. Serena wondered why that was but could only think that he did have some love for her, but not enough to stay at her side. And because of this, Serena held the blade close to her heart and pondered over the instrument that was able to end her curse as well as her suffering.