Time to say goodbye

[Deuce Rhiannon]

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Don't feel you have to match my length. LOL 568 words

She'd been in and out of her mind this last few months. Now, she was almost stark mad. Almost. She clung to the image of a knife, a knife she hadn't seen in over a year. Voices taunted her. Erik spoke just a no good whore, Leilani, that's all you'll ever be. Good for nothing. I kept you in this world, and I can take you out! And then Shadow would speak, his voice softer, but full of hurt and confusion. Why, mom? Why did you let me die? Why didn't you love me? She shook her head. If she could just find that damn knife, she'd bury it and the voices would go away.

She moved deeper into forbidden territory. Inferni, the place where she'd found her son's body. And then, there it was, looming over the land. Syemv. It had been home once. She imagined she could still see Phasma, laying there on the porch. And there was Soran, staring out a window. Rurik, Akumu, Apollyon. So many old friends, gone. She stood, staring, then realized she was close to where Erik was buried. His voice seemed loudest now, most grating. Was his spirit attached to his grave, or the blade used to murder him? She didn't know, knew only one way to find out. She had to find it.

She approached the house slowly. She was deep into Inferni now, and even in her madness, she knew this was dangerous. But she had to find it, had to bury it once and for all. Why had she kept it? She didn't know, only knew it had been lost in the attack on Syemv. Aremys. Whoever they'd been at one time. She climbed the steps, opened the door. The house was musty, and reeked of coyote, but in her mind she could see Noah and Lucifer standing at the top of the steps. As Noah's body fell past her, she mounted the steps, one at a time. Her room was just down this hall. She'd had a perfect view of the forest from here. It was the same room she'd first met Soran in. She could still see the look on the lady's face when they first spoke. She could still see Akumu forcibly breaking them apart. So long ago.

She appraoched the bookshelves. Empty. her books, her herbs, that blade. But there -was that the scent of Shadow? Faint, but unmistakable. her boy. she knew he hadn't really died. He was a clever boy. She smiled as she followed the scent. Down the stairs, out the door. A wandering, meandering path. he was here somewhere. His scent terminated suddenly, as sudden as she'd picked it up. She blinked, looked around, dazed. A small graveyard. And there, the hilt protruding from a snowdrift. was that?

yes. it was the letter opener she'd stabbed Erik with. His voice echoed clearly from it, berating her and calling her useless. She picked it up, held it in her hands, her bi-colored eyes vacant and unseeing. She could feel his spirit trapped inside of it. Yes...it had to be buried. but with the rest of his body. She turned, began walking. her movements were slow, un-coordinated, like a zombie. She didn't feel the snow drifting down yet again.

Credit to Misery!

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