|
|
|
|
|
|
Amazon.com, 
Amazon.co.uk, 
Amazon.de or 
Amazon.ca
|
 Walking with Shadows  (3 ratings)by RVB Page 1 of 2 Rob walked slowly forwards. The ghost stood calmly before him, waiting, watching as he crossed over the threshold into the small, murky chamber, a shadow from the moon outside casting an eerie silhouette upon the cold stonework. Somehow he did not fear what lay before him. Instead, he felt a certain calm, like a soft ocean breeze caressing his skin. Silence engulfed the night like a wolf in a sheep’s pen. The screams were gone now, replaced by the wind and the stars and the rustling of the trees nearby. The ’kek-kek- kek’ of a passing sparrowhawk was the only other sound audible, starkly clear in the midnight hour. Everyone else had gone now, escaped from the terrors of the night and the presence of the ghost, leaving Rob alone to walk with the shadows. Up close, the ghost appeared more substancial, heavier almost - real. She still emitted a soft glow yet he could distinguish a depth he hadn’t noticed before. An unearthly feeling spawned in his cleared mind. Rob stopped. The ghost stretched out a slender, robed arm. Running the arm down the side of his face, a pasty white under the moon’s light, never touching him, she inclined her head and closed her eyes. Rob watched her intently but did not fear her actions. He had long since been at peace with his mortality. Time passed slowly. Eternally. The ghost smelled of sweet scented blossoms and Rob felt an electric, sensual shiver run down his spine. "You are not the one? "she said surprised, her arm retracting slowly, as if she was incapable of sudden movement. "No, I am not, "Rob admitted, wondering if his death would be longer with this piece of news. "Then why...?" The ghost seemed confused, whether by Rob’s mere presence or some other, deeper meaning he couldn’t say. "You wanted a victim, " Rob explained. "I am here." The ghost looked at Rob, or did she look through him? "You are not the one," she repeated. "Why do you wish to die?" Her voice was warm, bright, almost the opposite of her being. "I do not wish to die," Rob shook his head. "I only wish to save my friends and if I have to die to do so then, so be it." He caught her eyes as she caught his. There was more pain and sadness in those eyes than Rob wished to see. For not only did they tell a story of an untimely and despicable death, they were blue; as blue as the deep blue sea, as blue as the water’s of life. "Your death will not help me leave this place. My soul is intertwined with that which slayed me in the mortal plain. Your death, at my hands, is meaningless." "Then I can go?" Rob questioned, fully expecting a negative response yet already troubled by the nobleness of this stricken spirit. "You may go," the ghost sighed, dispirited. "And you will not follow?" "I cannot follow. I am trapped here, in the confines of this ruin, by the pathways of the graveyard, within the gardens of the church. I cannot leave. " She appeared to be losing substance, her form shimmering and fading wistfully away. "In the darkness where it is cold and I am alone, forever it seems as I do not think the real culprit will ever return." Rob hesitated. His legs wanted to carry him far, far away as quickly as possible yet his head held him back. Torn by a variety of emotions, he paused. "I will bring him to you," Rob said, with a certainty he had no right to feel. "It is just." Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 RVB, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. The author has submitted the work in accordance with and in agreement with the following Submission Guidelines. |
Copyright © 1999 - 2004 sffworld.com