Chapter 27 – Empusa
EMPUSA
The night is cold and lonely, just like every night.
I stand in the darkness at that crossroads, waiting for a person to stop and offer me a ride.
It’ll go the same as always. If I look into their heart and see goodness, I’ll send them on their way.
And if I look into their heart and see darkness, I’ll climb into their car.
Find a place.
And kill the bastard.
My life is always the same. There is no escape. There is no happiness. There is nothing.
Suddenly, I see shapes floating toward me. I frown, unsure of what they could be, and see a flash of red. When they come to hover just above my head, I look up, ready and willing to destroy whatever the hell they might be.
They pop, and a million bright colors rain down on me. I stare at myself in shock as I glow with the multitude of colors, and then the light slowly fades away.
What the hell was that?
And then something strange washes over me. A feeling I can’t explain. It’s like the leash that’s wrapped me tight, the powers that make me obey, are just...gone.
“Is this magic?” I ask myself.
I close my eyes, and I feel it. Not just magic. But my mother.
Reaching for my necklace on instinct, I find it gone, and my heart aches. I don’t regret giving it to Lamia to bring her children back, but I do miss it like I miss my very soul in these moments.
I hear the sound of a car. My eyes flash open. The car almost keeps going past, but then pulls over. Reflectively, I go to it and the window rolls down.
A man grins at me from inside, and the darkness in his soul is almost pitch black. “Need a ride, little girl?” he purrs.
And I realize. I realize I don’t have to go with him. I don’t have to kill anymore. I’m...free.
But what does a monster do with freedom?
I step back from the car.
“Just get in.” His voice takes on an angry note.
Right now I can walk away, but I open the door instead.
As I climb in I turn to him, and faster than he can follow, pull the dagger that’s concealed at my wrist, then slit his throat open.
His mouth opens in a silent scream. A second later, his head hits the steering wheel, and his horn sounds, sad and lonely.
I clean my dagger off on his shirt, then climb back out of the car.
No, I don’t have to kill any more. But it’s all I know how to do. And that man...he deserved it. If I had let him go, he’d eventually find another woman or girl to hurt.
I walk away from that crossroads, free at last, and think about what I’ll do with this new freedom.
The idea comes easily to me. Who better to hunt monsters than a monster?
A cool breeze teases my hair, and I smile. The world has no idea what that magic had unleashed.