Blight

I remember my first as if it were yesterday. That sense of satisfaction, that feeling of pure ecstasy, that sensation of power as you watch your victims life slip away, eyes wide with fear as they see Death staring down at them with his black, featureless face, an unanswered question on their lips.

It has been ten years since I took my wretched fathers life and became Death’s apprentice. I am now a young woman, and I have learnt new ways to kill, new ways to hunt – enjoyable ways. Ten years of learning everything I could from Death, and soon, he will pass the torch onto me. Ten souls – that is all that it will take.

 “WHAT NAME WILL YOU TAKE?” Death asked before I slipped away to start my hunt.

“Blight.” I replied immediately, I’d given it a lot of thought, and that was the name that I always went back to.

“FOR YOU SHALL BE A PESTILENCE UPON THE EARTH!”

I smiled at that quote and bid Death farewell. Soon, I will have his job. But for now, it was time to start hunting. This was going to be fun!

– Ten –

The first one was easy. I just needed to brush my skin up against his as I walked past him and he was mine. He followed me, like a lost puppy to my lair, and I gave him what he wanted. When he was satisfied, I climbed on top of him and whispered seductively into his ear,

“It’s my turn now.”

I tied his hands to the bed frame, and placed one hand over his mouth as I started to kiss him on the neck. I could feel him stirring beneath me and I leaned back and smiled. He peered up at me with lust-blinded eyes, and that was when I drove my knife through his heart.

– Nine –

 

My second victim reminded me of my father. I saw him outside a bar, hitting on a girl that looked to be half his age and probably still a teenager. It made my blood boil. I approached him and tore him away from the frightened girl, slamming him into the brick wall behind him; grabbing his crotch I whispered an offer into his ear that he couldn’t refuse. All thoughts of the girl forgotten, he was mine for the taking.

This man would not get the satisfaction of laying with me before he died. I lured him back to my den, and drowned him, just like I did my father – he was the only one that I used my magic on, I prefer my new skills. The look on his face when he realized that he wasn’t going to get his wish was priceless.

– Eight –

 

My third and fourth occurred at the same time. They were a husband and wife that were looking to spice up their marriage. I gave them what they wished before I ended their lives. A poison, smeared onto my lips was enough to claim their souls for my collection.

Be careful what you wish for, especially around me.

– Seven, Six –

The fifth one was probably my favourite by far. He was so handsome, so confident, and oh so forceful. I let him have me more than once over the course of a whole weekend. I almost decided to let him go, but I knew that if I did, he would move on to the next woman, and I wanted him all to myself. As the weekend came to a close, I gave him one last show before I slit his throat.

– Five –

 

The sixth, seventh, and eighth were unexpected. I met them at a Night Club, standing to one side watching me dance. I could hear all the lurid things that they wanted to do to me, and I was exhilarated… I had to have them all, I had to experience these things!

Sadly they didn’t even attempt half the things they bragged about, and that earned them all a slow, painful death.

– Four, Three, Two –

 

The penultimate victim was this sweet young woman that reminded me of myself. How I might have turned out if my mother had left my father before he murdered her. I needed to snuff out the light, bury this alternate path so I could move on.

I followed her to a home that looked eerily similar to my childhood home; I waited in the shadows as she disappeared inside, shutting the door behind her. I listened for the sound of a lock clicking into place. When I didn’t hear one, I smiled and crept out from my hiding place.

When I opened the door, I was shocked to see that the living room was identical to my old home. I noticed the door to the basement ajar, with lights flickering from down below. Of course she would be in the basement, I thought to myself as I silently descended the stairs.

As I rounded the corner and entered the basement proper I paused to take in the scene around me. I remembered this room perfectly, how could I ever forget it? This was my old house yet how was it that it hadn’t changed at all? It must’ve changed hands over the course of ten years; it looked lived in, there was no dust in sight.

“You don’t have to do this.” called out a feminine voice, my voice.

I looked up, and found that the woman standing in front of me didn’t just remind me of myself, it was me. This woman was the lightest version of myself and it made me sick just looking at her.

“I can’t stop.” I replied as I took a step towards her. That wasn’t entirely true though, I could stop, I just didn’t want to.

“You can choose a different path.” her voice was pure, like liquid silk, I felt compelled to listen to her.

I take another step towards her as I shake off the effects of her voice, “I don’t want a different path.”

The knife I carry with me appears in my hand, sharp and thirsty for her blood. Without hesitation I thrust the knife through her heart. I guide her weak body to the floor and lay her down in front of me. The woman peers up at me with those familiar green eyes, a gaze that pierces my very soul and smiles,

“She is perfect.” she said, one final ounce of strength in her crystal clear voice before her life slipped away.

– One –

I left her there on the cold floor of my old house. As I walked away I thought about what she said, perfect, how? I turned around before I left the basement and found her body gone, the room covered in a thick layer of dust. I shook my head in confusion and climbed the stairs.

I found my way back home later that evening. Death was sitting at the piano playing a mournful song which echoed throughout our underground lair. It still amazed me how someone with skeletal fingers could play such beautiful music.

“IS IT DONE?” he asked without turning his head.

“Almost, I just need one more soul.”

– Zero –