Dead of Night

Hello there! So this is a short story that takes place in between some of my books. Thought I go ahead and share it here, and hopefully you all will enjoy it. A little background first though, so that it will all make some sense for you:

This story is narrated by a girl named Faith Kent. She's sixteen in this, and was born under a cursed contract of a Fallen Angel named Saffron (fan art here). Originally, her soul was of a woman who contracted Saffron and another Fallen Angel named Jade back in the late 1920s. The two actually had a kind of rivalry, to put it very lightly, and Saffron ended up changing the contract to spite Jade and kept having the soul reborn for his own purposes after he murdered her, always following and killing her again before Jade could find her. Faith is the second to last incarnation. She's also to be the mother of his Nephilim child Ariana, although she never lives to see her daughter born. This short shows just a tiny glimpse of the twisted relationship between Faith and Saffron. It's short, but I think interesting. BTW, the song that inspired the some of their relationship is called Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Rey. Just a quick little add in

Dead of Night

Darkness was always the one thing that I took comfort in, even as a young child. I didn’t really have a choice, and I was always well aware of that. After all, I was born into what can only be called a cursed existence, and it was all his fault.
Well, mostly his fault. It was my soul’s too I guess.

These were my thoughts sitting by that window and looking out at the night sky. The little town of Madison was quite, but I guess it should’ve been, considering that it was past midnight. Outside, I could see the deer grazing in the fields across from my home in the bright moonlight. The air was warm, almost sticky, and I didn’t like it one bit.

The familiar feeling of a cool presence appearing beside me brought me back to attention. “Looking at the moon again?” Saffron asked, his voice carrying the usual friendly tone. Yet, I could sense the smirk within it. That terrible smirk that was always there, masking his true nature of death and destruction.

“Not really. I couldn’t sleep, so I was looking at the deer and whatever else is out there.” I replied, not bothering to look at him. Honestly, I didn’t feel like it. Not when I knew that there was a good chance that he’d try to seduce my mind with his pretty words and piercing blue eyes.

When it came down to facts, Saffron was both my savior and the reason for my cursed existence. If I hadn’t been born with his contract in my eye from a previous life, then maybe my mother wouldn’t have been murdered, and my father wouldn’t have been a raging alcoholic for guilt of her death. If he wasn’t around, maybe I wouldn’t have carried so much blood on my hands as well.

But also, if he wasn’t around, this beautiful life probably wouldn’t have been growing inside of me either. I could hate him all I wanted, but I also couldn’t help but love him.

At my words, he moved over and sat down on the opposite end of the large window sill. As I suspected, that pleasant smile was still sitting on his handsome face, and his blue eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness of the room, which was only lit by the moonlight. “You do realize that you don’t fool me darling. When you claim that you cannot sleep, then it is often because you actually feel regret in the small piece of your heart that I haven’t been able to touch.” He said.

“I’m not like you, even if I do bad things. Besides, it’s not like you don’t influence it. You’ve been doing that since I was a little girl.” I countered, remaining still with my right hand draped over my belly.

Saffron just smiled back at me, as always. “Perhaps so, but you are also the one to make your choices. I simply suggest them; I do not tell you to do so. Besides, I’d think that you’ve enjoyed the last few years of your life. You’ve gotten to do things that some could only wish they could get away with.” He said.

“You’re twisting things around again. I never said I enjoyed what we’ve done.” I said.

“Of course you did. You’ve enjoyed the power that I’ve given you, even when you were so young and couldn’t take any more of that woman.”

I turned away again, feeling the slight sting of bile in my throat as he said that. He was right. I was a sinner by my own choice, and had been since I was a young girl. But of course, back then, I probably hadn’t stood a chance either. It wasn’t like my parents were that good of people either. They were high class and had a lot of money, but from the time I could remember, they never really had a good marriage. I was more of a burden to my beautiful yet selfish mother, and she never hesitated on hitting me or hurling insults at me. Of course, this backfired on her at times too, because Saffron would in turn have something happen to her every time she did such things, even when I was a baby. I’d dare say that he was fond of me even then for some strange reason.

But also, within that fondness, there was the darker side as well. Although Saffron was my friend from the shadows, he also was an influence. As I said before, he was the reason that my mother died. For several days before, he’d been sweet talking to me about her, telling me how it would be better if she was gone and unable to do any more to me. He could take care of it. All I had to do was order it.

And eventually, I did.

My mother’s death was made to look like a murder when he killed her. Someone had broken into the house and raped and stabbed her. Of course, this wasn’t exactly the case. Saffron had done that. I was only five, but I did see the body, and I can say that I understood at that moment just what he was capable of. Yet, I can’t say that I ever feared him. Instead, there was that certain empowerment that he’d given me. The world was cruel and nasty, and he was going to allow me to be cruel and nasty back.

Of course, all of this had allowed me to bend to his will too. I was well aware of that, even as I sat there thinking of the child growing within me. Even this was part of the design that he’d placed in motion, as he so liked to put it. Because of who I was, and the soul that I had, I wouldn’t be able to live very long. After all, there was another fallen angel after me; one just like him. And if he caught me, he would take me away and devour my soul for himself. Allowing Saffron to take my life and soul again would ensure that my existence wouldn’t end. But also, because I was so special to him, he wanted us to leave a reminder of this life of mine. This child, a baby girl, would be the mark of our strange, dark love in this world, even though I would never see her born.

Saffron seemed to sense my train of thought. “You do realize that nothing that is done can be undone. But I wouldn’t think that you’d regret anything either.” He said.

“Not really. But I do wish that I could see her, even just once. It’s not fair you know. Why do the moms of these kinds of kids have to die when they’re born? You said that there are types of them now that don’t.” I said.

“There are, but they are born to the so called righteous ones; the ones who cannot see that they aren’t much different from us. But I would think that you would be grateful for my gift of her as well. All of those times of allowing your body to be used by me and those victims actually has meaning now.” Saffron commented.

I felt myself scowl then. “Stop talking like it was all me. You were the one who enjoyed killing them afterwards. Besides, I don’t know if I like you being the only one with her. Maybe I want her to have a better chance in this world then I did.”

Saffron just chuckled. “Of course she will. She’ll have me.” He said. With that, he leaned over to look me in the eyes. I stared back into his blue ones, feeling my heart beating a little bit harder. “You have never been useless to me, and I can say that you actually do mean something within my existence. However, you and I both know that this fantasy must end, and for that, the seeds have been planted. I will make sure that our daughter has all of the protection she needs until the promised time comes.”

The promised time. Even sitting there, I knew what he spoke of. There would come a day when the children like ours would be able to live freely and without fear of the Heavens hunting them down. This was Saffron’s ultimate goal in his existence, along with control over them. Did I think that he could accomplish such a thing? I wasn’t sure. Saffron had proven so many times to me that he was incredibly smart and tough, yet it always felt like another thing entirely to me to defy the Heavens. But wasn’t that just like a Fallen Angel?

Perhaps so.

Either way, I was left with a rather empty feeling that night as I finally laid myself down in the bed and tried to rest. Very soon, I would die, and my daughter’s life would truly begin in this world. I can’t say that I carried any real regrets for having her. I just wished that I could’ve been there longer to see her. Maybe I could’ve made up for all of the bad that I’d done along with him. But the past is the past in the end, and no one can change it. And even though I knew that he was going to move my soul on to my next cursed life, there would come a time when I would be turned away from paradise for never repenting on all that I’d done.

Yet, even as I closed my eyes, I felt like I never would’ve changed that either. I loved Saffron, and would always do anything for him.

Even die.

End