Free Eternal Darkness, Blood King by Gadriel Demartinos Page B

purpose.” Frank said, assuming a serious expression just before drinking from the glass.
     
    It had to be the mother of all jokes—dying just to find out that your soul has become the courier of another. A pile of lies, all of it.
     
    “I didn’t come here for a fairy tale,” I said.
     
    Frank put the glass back on the table.
     
    “I know you don’t believe in heaven or hell, and maybe that’s why this is happening to you.” He added.
     
    His assumption really made me furious.
     
    “It is not that I don’t believe. It’s that I haven’t found a reason to do so.” I said in a serious tone. “After more than two centuries, I can honestly tell you that there’s no other godlike creature out there but me,” I continued.
     
    The old man swallowed hard. “Maybe now is when you get your reasons,” he said.
     
    I knew the man: This newfound faith was just a masquerade.
     
    “Fine, if it is a demon, a spirit, an angel, or God himself, just let me know!” I said.
     
    The old man nodded in approval, as if agreeing with me. But I knew better than that.
     
    “Eso es lo que deberías hacer, invitalo a venir,” he suggested, grabbing his pen again. “That’s what you should do—welcome it in. I’ll call the spirits and try to find out something.”
     
    “Just get back at me before you die,” I said, trying to provoke him.
     
    Wisely, the old man ignored my comment and, in all accounts, nodded and kept writing in his notebook. “Your phone number still the same?” he asked.
     
    I moved fast, looking for the exit. “Yes, old man,” I said in a ghostly whisper.
     
    Sometimes I can’t help being so dramatic.
     
    I walked outside and found the full moon again. I stared at it and wondered if she could be looking at it at the same exact moment. I tried to concentrate in the now, but my memories sometimes take the best of me.
     
    I sensed the scent of Frank approaching from inside the house. He stopped just at the back entrance. I knew what he was about to say, and I didn’t want to hear it.
     
    “Don’t say it, old man,” I said without even turning to face him.
     
    I heard him chuckling.
     
    “Maybe you don’t want to hear it, but I will say it anyway,” he said.
     
    Not wanting to hear him, I went up to the heavens, wanting to be closer to the bright satellite above. I felt the wind, the gravity pull asking me back; and I imposed my will over it. I felt free, strong, and alive; and then the words of the old man reached me, making me feel uncomfortable.
     
    “You’re my only friend,” he said from down below.
     
    I flew high and furious, leaving his scent far behind; but his last words still burned in my head. His only friend. Me? The one who had no friends, the man who wished to be with those who didn’t want to have anything to do with him while those who sought him always wanted something in return. I was his only friend?
     
    The silly old man never learned that monsters like him can’t reach the heavens, and that gods like me can’t stay so far down for long.
     
     
    Chapter 54
    The Collectors
     
    March 7, 2005, 9:15 p.m.
    Miami
     
    I knew I was going to be late; but for some strange reason, that didn’t bother me at all.
     
    The events that took place that night have kept me thinking. I had my moment with the vigilante, and seeing Frank again was not pleasant. It never is.
     
    The old man will get back at me with his theories, no doubt. Whatever is going on with me is not random; something or someone is trying to grab my attention, but the motive remains hidden to me.
     
    But all is better now that I’m staying in the old apartment. No more sneaking in, taking care not to let Lucy see me. She is also better off in her new place. She needs that.
     
    In these last months, she had been busier than ever. She has been investing all her energy in things that will push her forward both in her career and in her life. I watched how she disconnected herself from what she