Chapter Five~ The Promise

    In centuries past he had never had to interfere with her life, she controlled her own power and commanded those around her with ease but as the centuries wore on her powers changed, became buried deep in the subconscious leaving her defenseless to the powers of darkness. In the early years of her creation, Candria, as she was then known, was fully aware of her mother Artemis and the duties she was meant to perform for mankind. She battled the Prince of Night and his followers weakening his hold on mankind considerably both alone and with the help of her sisters. For thousands of years she was born and reborn fulfilling her duty to the gods but in the past century she had been reborn twice signaling a dangerous rise in the Prince of Night's power. Arsenius watched as her bond with her mother and sisters diminished to the point where now she recalled nothing of her past lives. Melanie as she was now known lived the life of a normal single woman living in the Big Apple never understanding the power she felt on the nights where the moon held her sway. He feared the heaviness he sensed in the air and his ability to fulfill the promise he had made to her mother many years ago. The past swam before his eyes bringing him back to an age of darkness when the hope for the world of both man and god rested with three powerful goddesses.

    The night remained once again devoid of light and a heaviness permiated the air with little breeze to lighten it. Wolves howled in the distance lamenting the absence of their mistress, the moon. Faustus ran up the path through the imposing grape vines screeching to a halt before me, "Master, the Great Lady is here to see you, she says she has a task for you-" Faustus stood before me anticipation gleaming in his hazel eyes . "Master, she is more beautiful than any woman I have ever laid my eyes on, she eminates a light so powerful and pure,  what is it she could possibly wish of you?" I stared at my loyal stable boy, worry filling my aging eyes,
    "Show her here Faustus. Leave not the Lady of the Moon waiting." Faustus ran off into the distance to lead the Mistress of the Moon to me but I could already sense her presence in the very room in which I stood. "Is it the end then?" Turning, my eyes graced upon truly the most beautiful woman ever to grace the earth with her flowing blonde locks and piercing blue eyes which sparkled with the very stars of the night sky. She looked upon me as a mother would a child,
    "The end shall not be today nor in the near future for once again Hecate has devised a plan to save your race. My sisters and I have created three women in our likeness and have bestowed upon them our magic and powers. I may be the youngest of my sisters but I fear Hecate has not thought to the safety of our daughters and I ask of you to be my daughter's protector. I see in the coming centuries a wane of power and belief in the Old Ways, the New Religion shall bury its roots deep within the human psychie and it shall flourish in the coming years. It is this reason I ask of you to offer your soul to her protection. You will remain alive for all eternity until her death but unlike her you shall not reincarnate and lose past memories. I wish for you to see all there is to the world and the changes it shall face. I foresee a time of great peril in the long distant future, Candria shall remember nothing of her origins and she shall need your help but until that time you must remain nothing more than her guardian; invisible to her and all those she holds dear. Will you do this for me?" Artemis had the power to bend the will of all men yet she imposed none of her awesomeness upon me but what more could I do than bow to the will of a goddess?
    "I shall do as you ask of me M'Lady. My soul is yours to command."
    In that moment he ceased to exist as all men do. He guarded Candria, protected her from harm and watched as the years slowly sped by. If he had known then the torture he now felt he may never have agreed to this duty, but even as Candria lost more memories of the past he remained in awe of both her and Artemis's power. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his duty to them both and he feared the time was drawing near where his protection would be needed most. In the air loomed a heaviness he had not felt since the Prince of Night took control all those many years ago. Candria remembered nothing of her origins just as Artemis said she would not. The day was drawing near, the day he would reveal his true presence to the Goddess of the Night but until then he would continue to watch, protect and guard her fast.

~*~

    Melanie walked home from the club relashing the feel of the night wind on her face but something deep inside her made her quicken her pace. There was a heaviness in the air but not the natural humidity of a hot summers night, this felt wrong, sinister almost. She chuckled at her childishness, how could the air feel sinister? She had been watching too many horror movies in the late night hours she spent soaking up the moon's rays. Her skin crackled with unreleased tension and she felt a pressure inside her lungs slowly cutting off her breathing. A scream rose within her throat but no sound was emitted. Cutting through the park had been a bad idea, the dark of the night sky remained pitch black from the lack of moon, even the stars seemed to have deserted the sky. Quickening her pace she passed through a thicket of trees colliding on the other side with a young man with dark raven hair and eerie grey eyes.
    "Pardon me, I didn't mean to run into you, I didn't see you there in the dark." The man stared at her for a moment barely acknowledging her presence and for a moment Melanie thought he hadn't heard her. His voice startled her as it floated to her barely audible on the breeze.
    "It's not safe to be alone in the park on the night of the dark moon, but then again you already knew that didn't you goddess. Looking for some easy prey aren't you? Well you made the mistake to hunt in these parts, especially when you have no protection from your darling mother or aunt." Melanie looked around her suddenly noticing the elongated shadows that surrounded her. Leave it to her to run into a crazy on her way home from the club, she had to remember not to cut through the park at night when she was alone, there were too many weirdos roaming New York.
    "I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're talking about. I have to be getting home." The man eyed her for a moment before stepping toward her blocking her path.
    "Stay a while goddess. If you fear me you are not as powerful as they say you are, then again it is the night of the dark moon. You've always feared this night haven't you? Felt forsaken, alone in the dangerous world, filled with despair, powerless against the darkness." Melanie stared at the man fear growing in the pit of her belly. How did he know these things about her? How could such an obviously crazy man know her deepest feelings?
    "Because I am the Night. I am your greatest fear and now I shall take you with me to the one you fear most and you shall beg for death." The words slithered across her mind making her skin crackle with energy. Fear that should have overwhelmed her subsided into the depths of her mind and a new sensation filled her, one of primal power and awesomeness. The man backed away involuntarily as Melanie's skin lit with the power of a true goddess of the night.

Reviews

[DowntoEarthDreamer]

wow! poor Melanie! i hope she'll be ok! this was an amazing chapter! i can't wait for more!