Tale of the Hidden World

	The young man’s grip was crippling, but it wasn’t the
handshake that made the her inwardly wince. Though she was
young, even she could see the darkness clouding the youth’s
soul. Oh, certainly, he laughed and maintained a jovial manner,
but the pain in his eyes was unbearable to see and she half
wondered how he survived each day.
	“Adam,” he introduced, his eyes holding hers. She
suppressed a shudder, trying to meet him even-keeled. There
were none before who could stand to look into her eyes for more
than a few seconds, and yet here was a man, barely twenty, who
would not let them go.
	“Alyssa,” she murmured, trying to keep her voice steady.
He held her hand for a long moment, his piercing blue eyes
refusing to relinquish their hold on her soft violet orbs.
There was no challenge in his gaze, merely penetrating
curiosity, so powerful that she could almost hear the words in
his mind. Almost. Suddenly, the door to his mind slammed shut,
and a ghost of a smile flashed across his lips. He released her
hand and half-turned to their mutual friend, as if making an
idle comment.
	“You were right... Her beauty is most striking, and her
eyes... They appear as if they might see right into your mind
and pluck out your thoughts,” he murmured with a smile directed
to her. She blushed in spite of herself, something she had not
done in a long, long time.
	He knows... she thought.

	Alyssa hated parties. She hated college and silently
cursed Mother for sending her here. Then she took back the
scathing words, admitting that she was the best of them for the
job. She still had her youthful looks and grace, appearing not
a day over the age of eighteen; with long raven-black hair,
smooth white skin, trim waist, taut stomach, tapered hips and
firm, albeit large, supple breasts. She had cultivated what had
been deemed the perfect form of femininity, the culmination of
everything the beauty industry had to offer. It was her
vainglorious nature that had driven her thus, but she began to
wonder if she had made the right decision.
	Too late now, she thought wistfully, and turned her mind
to her assignment. It sounded simple enough. Locate the Last
Knight and deal with him. Mother had pinpointed his location to
a small community college just outside of Salem, Massachusetts,
but She could narrow it down no further.
	“Attend their parties,” Mother had suggested. “Find any
likely candidates and report back.”
	“What should I look for?” Alyssa had asked.
	“Anything the other students might consider strange,”
Mother had responded. Little did Mother know that nothing
seemed to faze these humans. Her white skin was nothing to
them, though several girls had given her the phone number of a
local tanning salon. The only thing that seemed to cause them
the smallest amount of discomfort was the odd color of her
eyes, and now that didn’t even seem to affect them.
	Or rather, him, she corrected herself. The feel of blood
rushing to her face had been painful at first, the ill-used
arteries had long ago collapsed in on themselves, but then it
had been pleasurable... She had forgotten what it was like to
feel blood rushing through her veins, and came to the
realization that most took such small niceties for granted.
Following that came a terrible dark desire that seized her
stomach and roiled within her loins...

	The night dragged on far less slowly than the last party
Alyssa had attended, and though she wasn’t entirely certain as
to why, she thought it had something to do with the young man
with the dark soul: Adam. She came inside alone after taking a
walk with a young man who had had too much to drink and passed
out in the alley. Her face was flushed, but when asked, she
attributed it to the bitter cold. Adam had approached her from
behind without so much as a whispering footstep on the carpet
and asked her if she was all right, causing her to jump.
Furiously whirling, she was met with his startling blue eyes,
which twinkled with mischievous merriment, and her anger abated
instantly. He wasn’t smiling, but she got the impression that
he rarely smiled, not even through laughter. Without so much as
a word, he took her hand and led her to a quiet room, sitting
her down across from a large grand piano and began to play.
	His fingers were short and thick, but they danced across
the keys expertly, drawing forth a tune so melodically
melancholy, Alyssa was moved to tears, but she refused to let
them fall, wiping them on a scarlet handkerchief. The music
penetrated her like his eyes, overwhelming every sense,
superseding any thought of Mother, her mission, or the Last
Knight. It was not music so much as a transformation into a
state of beautiful bitterness, and in it Alyssa was swallowed
whole till the very last note.
	Then he touched her, gently, brushing an onyx strand of
hair behind her ear, a casual, tender touch that was like fire
on her skin. Desire returned, but in a different form: It was
still savage and primal, but her stomach did not ache as it
usually did. She yearned to take this wonderfully dark creature
into her arms and embrace him with her lips as she embraced him
with her legs...
	NO! her mind screamed even as she leaned forward to drink
of his lips, It is forbidden!
	But two hundred and ten years of enforced celibacy could
not hold back the spark of human need that flickered in her
loins, and as quickly as her humanity had been taken away, it
washed over her once again.
	She did not remember the trip to her dorm room, but she
did not care. He was inside of her, filling her with a passion
that she had not known even before she had embraced Mother’s
ways. Blood coursed where it had not before, pulsing through
her with every motion, and she was reborn, if for only a few
long, wonderful hours.

	When she awoke, he was gone.
	The fact that he was gone didn’t bother her. He was an
enigma, cold and distant and then warm and passionate in the
same instant. He had not used her. Indeed, she doubted that
such guile was in his makeup, despite the darkness that plagued
him. He was a demon by nature but angelic by choice; and it was
this conflicting mixture of hot and cold that had drawn her to
him. His passion was inexorable, unhindered by trivial notions
of inhibition or self-doubt, but at the same time his beliefs
were pure and honorable.
	She lay naked beneath the sheets, feeling the soft fabric
against her breast, imagining the fire of his touch on her
skin... She smiled at the memory and stretched with feline
grace. Never in all her life had she had a lover that remotely
compared to him. Granted, Mother prohibited such activities,
saying they were below Her standards and that the Family was
the only love anyone could ever need, and for a long time
Alyssa had agreed with her... Until now.

	The sun was already high when she left the dorm for her
first class. In spite of the heat, she wore a loose sweater
whose sleeves were so long that they fell over her hands, a
tight pair of jeans, a broad-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses
over her odd-colored eyes. Her first class was American Gothic:
Modern Mythology. Mother had picked it Herself, mostly as a
kind of joke.
	“We must be apprised as to what they know,” Mother had
stated with a slight smile. She knew that the class would
provide no useful information.
	Alyssa moved across campus slowly, picking her way
carefully, trying to avoid large open areas where the sun’s
heat was most intense. As she entered a shaded commons, she
noticed a large group of people gathered around a tall, skinny
man dressed all in black.
	“And God will save the righteous, but be wary of His
wrath...” the words floated to her ears as if on a gentle wind.
She sighed. A Hellfire preacher. She had seen many of these in
her months on campus, but never had one drawn such a crowd. Her
curiosity overcoming her common sense, she moved into the
throng, listening to the man speak. She placed herself just
outside the inner circle where she could see him clearly. He
wore the white collar of a preacher and a broad-brimmed hat
like in the days of old. He spoke of Hell a great deal,
condemning sins that most people hadn’t heard of.
	He’s just like every other half-cocked brimstone-spitter,
she thought bitterly, Why is this one so popular?
	Suddenly the man stopped his rant and looked directly at
her. Rushing forward, he seized her by her collar and dragged
her into the sunlight.
	“See now the wrath of our Lord on a creature of Evil!” he
cried, tearing free her hat and removing her sunglasses. She
squinted against the sun, her eyes on the verge of watering
against the searing rays, but nothing happened. The man stared
at her, blinking in confusion.
	“Well?” a familiar voice asked, “What was supposed to
happen?” She tried to make out the speaker through the tears in
her eyes.
	“She must burst into flames, as must all Satan’s creation
under the blistering rays of God’s sun!” cried the preacher.
	“She’s not a creation of Satan, Father,” the young man
spat out the last as if he tasted poison, “She just burns
easily. Look at how pale her skin is!”
	She couldn’t be sure, but she could swear it was Adam. The
priest was not convinced.
	“I shall prove it to you!” He reached under his hat and
produced a crucifix, slamming it against her cheek, knocking
her to the ground. “You see how she is repelled by the Lord’s
power!” he fairly screamed, circling around her.
	“She fell because you hit her,” came the calmly sarcastic
voice, closer now, “And I don’t take well to attacks on my
friends.”
	“She is the spawn of evil, I swear it!” cried the priest.
She could feel the young man’s presence now as he drew in
close, moving between the priest and herself.
	“The only evil spawned here, Father, is that which has
sprung from your mouth. If your god condones the assault of
innocent women, then he is no god of mine. Go from here and do
not come back.” Alyssa could feel the youth’s anger emanating
from him like a fiery aura. The priest hesitated, then backed
away.
	“I shall do as you ask, sinner. But you have been warned,”
he growled. Then he was gone. Alyssa felt the young man turn
and kneel.
	“Here,” came a tender voice. Nearly blinded by her welling
tears, she reached out and felt for his hand - which held her
sunglasses. Placing them over her eyes, she wiped the tears
away with her red handkerchief and looked up. There was Adam, a
look of concern on his gentle face.
	“Thank you,” she breathed, accepting his hand and he
helped her to her feet. Reaching down, she gathered her hat and
placed it on her head.
	“Are you hurt?” he asked quietly, glancing around as the
crowd dispersed. Rubbing her cheek, she smiled ruefully.
	“I’ll probably have a cross-shaped bruise on my face, but
other than that, I’m fine.”
	“I wonder why he thought he could get away with that,” the
young man growled angrily.
	“Why did they get away with public lynchings and witch
burning?” she returned softly, feeling the intensity of his
anger. “It’s human nature.”
	“It isn’t right,” Adam snarled, turning on his heel. He
moved away, and she followed beside him, nonplused by his
outburst.
	“I missed you this morning,” she said softly. He continued
forward, his eyes cast down, his hands jammed deep in his
pockets. He said not a word.
	“Listen,” she sighed, “if last night was a fluke, I’m
willing to accept that, but I just need-” He stopped suddenly
and faced her, his intense blue eyes fiery, glowing with
passion.
	“Last night was not a fluke...” he insisted savagely, his
hands gripping her upper arms tightly, but not uncomfortably.
“I just... Couldn’t be there when you woke up... I can’t
explain it...” he trailed off, searching for the words. She
reached out and drew him close, kissing his lips, then kissing
his throat.
	“Then don’t,” she whispered. He stared into her eyes for
long moments, biting his lip. Then drawing her in, he kissed
her with savage passion, and she returned his ferocity tenfold.

	She left him and went to class late, but her passion was
aroused to a level she had never thought possible. Throughout
what remained of the lecture, her mind could not focus and
every face somehow morphed into his... She could not cleanse
his heat from her body, the press of his lips on hers, nor did
she particularly want to. It was an exhilaration beyond
anything she had ever experienced, and she reveled in it, until
the ache in her stomach returned, compounding the fire in her
loins exponentially. Cursing herself for her stupidity, she
tried to ignore it, but it gnawed at her like a wolf caught in
a trap, gnawing at its leg. It would not be denied. As class
drew to a close, she coupled herself with a small young man and
asked him to lunch.

	She returned from lunch alone, flushed and warm, the ache
in her belly eased, but the yearning in her loins multiplied.
Silently she sought Adam out, finding him in a classroom in an
obscure corner of campus. Patiently she waited outside the door
for the class to get out, and when he stepped into the hallway,
she took him by the hand and led him away. Leading him to a
deserted corner of the building, she opened the janitor’s
closet and pushed him inside, locking the knob behind her.
Quietly, she pulled her sweater over her head and slid her
jeans off of her hips. Moving forward, she pushed him to the
ground and kissed him fiercely, slowly unbuttoning his shirt...

	Her passion slaked, she lay beside him, listening to the
soft, steady beating of his heart... She knew his mortality
made him fragile, but he seemed so powerful, so strong, so
overwhelmingly... Beautiful. Was it the way he held back when
making love to her, convinced that he might harm her in some
way, or perhaps the tender way he held her in his arms
afterward? Another mystery, another enigma about the young
man... He was barbaric, yet sweet; savage yet beautiful...
	“Alyssa,” he breathed, and she looked up into his face.
	“Yes?” she returned quietly.
	“I’m going to say something that I’ve never said to anyone
before... It frightens me some, so I’ll not be upset if it
frightens you...”
	“Yes?” she said again, prodding.
	“I think... I love you.”

	Night fell like a Solstice snow, soft, lulling and somehow
magical. A winter moon hung low in the sky precariously perched
on the horizon, a brilliant white sphere of light against the
darkness. The stars were slowly appearing, pale in comparison
to their Sister Moon, but shining brightly despite lacking
glory.
	Alyssa walked alone.
	She had no fear of molestation; she could take care of
herself, it was not an issue of safety that tugged on her
nerves. It was the fact that she was being followed.
	“You are as I have foretold,” came the priest’s voice as
he appeared from the darkness. “You needn’t say a word to
confirm nor deny it, I know the truth. As do you.” Alyssa
hesitated before turning, taking a deep breath.
	“One may question as to whether our truths are the same,”
she returned softly as she faced him. The priest nodded.
	“One may do that indeed. Only one of us knows for certain.
Unfortunately for you, I believe that one is me,” he smirked
slightly. She blinked.
	“How is that, exactly?” she asked, incredulous. His smile
widened.
	“He’s really got you confused, hasn’t he? Brilliant boy,
pity about the darkness...” he paused, silently enjoying her
discomfort. “You don’t love him, you know. At least not in the
way you would have him believe.”
	She said nothing, but her violet eyes burned with
question, and the priest seemed all too happy to explain.
	“Humans can love forever. They can do this because deep
down they know that forever, really isn’t. It is not so with
you. Indeed, it can not be so. You dwell in an existence that
humans aspire to: Eternity. You will not die, and therefore
have a better grasp on what forever really means. Loss is an
everyday thing to you, death merely a triviality that affects
the rest of the world, but not you. That sets you apart.” The
priest grinned almost wickedly. “You’ll start to change. The
emotions will just stop coming after a time, leaving you
bereft: The blood will stop flowing through your heart, but you
cannot die, so it doesn’t matter. It will turn to dust in your
veins. Without the constant pulse of movement through your
body, the world will take it’s toll on your husk, warping it
into a hideousness beyond anything you could have imagined as a
human, but it doesn’t matter anymore because you just don’t
care. Your only instinct, only drive will be to survive from
night to night, preying on the weak to give you life, if you
can call it as much.” He stopped, staring at her. Her face was
bright red, livid with rage, and she could feel him
reevaluating his assessment of her.
	“But perhaps,” he breathed softly, “this one can redeem
you... Your blood stirs in rage, coursing through a heart that
can’t quite beat... Yet. But whether he redeems you or not, you
cannot be with him, not as you claim to love him. The things
that you feel now will make you a target in your Mother’s eyes,
and she will send them after you as you were sent after him.”
	She froze, the heat of anger melting away.
	“After... him...” she murmured slowly, trying to fathom
what he was telling her. He smiled unpleasantly.
	“Oh, did I fail to mention that he is the one you were
sent to destroy?”
	“The Last Knight,” she whispered.
	“Indeed,” the priest returned. “Now I see why you let
yourself fall so far... You didn’t know that truth... Had you
known right away, you would have destroyed him and been on your
way to live out eternity in placid indifference.” He laughed.
His words were like burning hot daggers through her flesh,
rending her heart with every syllable.
	“But how? He’s no different from the others!” she
whispered, tears flowing to her eyes. Swiftly she wiped them
away, but they continued to fall, shining crimson in the silver
light of the moon. She dropped to her knees, hiding her face
from him.
	“Isn’t he? I saw you together today after he stood up for
you. He looked you right in the eye without fear. Name one
mortal that has done so much in the time you have been among
them.”
	His aggressive inquiry was met with bitter silence.
	“Yours is a choice of loyalty. Do you do your duty for
your Mother? Or do you save your soul? I suggest you consider
your options carefully. In killing the only man you have every
truly loved, mortal or immortal, you will be beyond redemption.
But to forsake your vows given Mother, you will become a
target, hunted for the rest of your life. And it will be a
mortal life.”
	His voice was soft now, almost caring, even as he turned
his back and began to walk away.
	“Is there redemption?” she demanded. The priest hesitated,
then stopped, turning park-way around to face her.
	“For you, perhaps,” he murmured.
	“But not for the rest of my kind,” she snarled viciously.
He faced her fully now, shrugging.
	“Perhaps for them as well, no darkness is beyond
redemption, just as no goodness is beyond taint. Save one,” he
amended.
	“God,” she spat, hoping to get a reaction out of him. When
there was none, she turned away from him and started walking.
	“Just as there is an untaintable good, there is an
unredeemable evil,” he called after her. “The irony is that his
son strives for redemption as opposed to thriving in darkness.
Lucifer’s greatest shame is mankind’s greatest hope.”
	She turned to face him, staring in disbelief.
	“The Last Knight of Hell walks among us, and Satan is
powerless against him. But darkness runs deep in his veins and
pulls at him, making him question himself.”
	“Who was his mother, that put such a goodness in him that
he resists the power of Satan?” Alyssa asked, her voice
quavering.
	“A barren prostitute,” the priest murmured, “ so depraved
and dark he felt for certain that she would leave the child to
his fate, and that his son, ruled by the darkness within him,
would grow to be everything the Dark Prince desired.”
	“The Anti-Christ... Such was not the case,” Alyssa
prompted, and the priest shook his head.
	“As I have said; there is no unredeemable evil,” he
reminded her. “She found God in an urban Catholic church and
gave up her life of sin for the love of her son. With the help
of the priest, she raised him in God’s light. He knows nothing
of her past and is better for his ignorance.”
	“How do you know all of this?” Alyssa demanded.
	“I know because I was the priest who aided his mother,” he
returned coolly. She stared at him in skeptical disbelief.
	“Then why did he react to you as he did? Why did he not
recognize you?”
	“Adam never knew me. His mother made certain that he
attended Mass elsewhere, lest somebody let slip the truth of
her past,” he responded.
	“Then why are you here?” she asked, curious.
	“His mother died some years ago,” he replied, “and on her
deathbed, she bade me look after him. And to warn him.”
	“Warn him of what?”
	“Satan will come for him on his twenty-first birthday,”
the priest stated, “on the morrow. Adam has no idea who he
really is, and he will be faced with a terrible decision. Save
humanity and forsake the blood in his veins, or follow his
lineage and be the destroyer of worlds. His blood cries for
destruction, but his heart and mind cry for peace. You must be
the one to tell him, for after today’s fiasco, he will not
believe me.”
	“And what do I care? I have followed Mother for so long,
searching for a way to destroy humanity. What makes you think I
would not welcome an easy solution such as this?” Alyssa
growled. The priest met her gaze evenly.
	“Because you love him.”

	She had to see him. It didn’t matter that it was three in
the morning, or that she had to walk all they way across campus
to get to his apartment, she had to see him. It was an all
consuming need, a desperation borne of tormented anguish that
only can be attributed to love’s painful fingers that gripped
her cold, still heart. What if he was everything the priest had
said? A creature of darkness searching for the light... What
did it mean? Was it possible? If he could be saved, could she?
The irony bombarded her mind like a meteor shower, and she
didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry. All she knew was
that she had to see him.
	If anybody heard the pounding as she slammed her fist into
the door, nobody made mention of it. Just another drunken
college student who forgot his keys. After mere moments, Adam
answered his door, opening it a crack and poking his head into
view. Without invitation, she pushed her way in and closed the
door behind her; not realizing that the young man was soaking
wet and unclothed.
	“Do you have any idea what you are?” she demanded, glaring
at him. He blinked a few times, answering hesitantly.
	“Naked, wet and cold,” was his reply, “none of which are
terribly pleasant at the moment.”
	“Everything I thought you were was a lie,” she snarled,
whirling from him and walking briskly away, only to turn back
and march closer. “I hate being lied to!”
	Adam was unfazed.
	“And if I had any idea to what you were referring, I would
endeavor to make amends,” he murmured calmly. “But as yet, I
stand vexed.
	“Evil is in your blood, Adam,” she stated angrily, “it’s
as much a part of you as your heart or brain. It consumes you
completely, you live with it every day, every night, you can
feel it roiling inside of you, and I can see it in your eyes...
It’s in every gesture, every look, every touch... It’s in the
way you walk, the way you talk, the way you make love. But
somehow you have not succumbed to it.”
	She moved forward during her tirade and now she stood
barely a foot away from him, not touching him at all, but with
her eyes. She stood and stared into him, feeling his soul, his
longing, his loneliness. Without understanding, or even
realizing her actions, she began to remove her clothes; first
her shirt...
	“You are as damned as I am, and yet the darkness is held
at bay,” then her jeans... “You search for redemption and you
don’t even know why,” then her bra... “I can feel the good
inside of you as much as the evil,” and finally her panties...
“You make love like a sin, but it is so wonderfully tender, so
darkly beautiful that it cannot be.”
	They stood before each other naked, not touching, just
staring. Her skin was pale, so pale it was almost translucent,
and the dark eyes seemed black in comparison, like staring into
a starless sky. Maybe it was their proximity, maybe it was her
confused anger, but suddenly Alyssa felt a pain grip her
stomach and loins as it never had before, very nearly causing
her to cry out. She could feel his heart beating, the pulse of
it intensifying her lust, but she stood firm, unwilling to
destroy such beautiful irony as him.
	Suddenly a different pain seized her chest and rocked her
against him, a scream tearing from her very soul. Adam caught
her and laid her on the ground, panic touching his eyes.
	“Alyssa!” he cried, feeling her neck for a pulse. For a
moment, there was nothing, then suddenly...
	Blood sprang anew from her shriveled heart, coursing
through her semi-collapsed veins, and her skin flushed deeper
and deeper until she was a healthy shade of pink. She gasped
for breath, forcing air into lungs that had ceased to breathe,
and her eyes sprang open, shining a glittering blue. Adam fell
back, amazed at the sudden and strange transformation. For a
long moment, Alyssa’s eyes darted around sightlessly, but
ultimately they fell upon his face and locked there.
	“Adam,” she breathed, a smile touching her sweet pink
lips, “it’s so amazing... I’m breathing!”
	Her hand flew to her neck, feeling the vein at her throat
beating.
	“I’ve got a pulse!” she exclaimed. She pushed herself to a
sitting position and flung her arms about his neck.
	“I’m me again!” she cried, tears, real salt-water tears,
sliding down her cheeks.
	“I’m glad,” Adam responded, utterly confused. She drew
back from the hug and kissed him passionately drawing his love
from him as she once might have drawn his blood. She loved him
fiercely, passionately, loyally and for the first time in her
long life, knew what it was to make love. They made love like
they never had before. Her passion was insatiable, her love
complete. She was everything he needed, and they were as
perfect together as they were apart. Anod together, theyy made
love as if it were the last night on Earth.

	Morning came unbidden as the sleeping couple lay in each
other’s arms. Sunlight spilled across them both, casting
shadows that were somehow the same and yet seperate, and for
the first time in too long, Alyssa turned her face to the
healing rays of the dawn. She smiled in her sleep, snuggling
closer to his comforting form, feeling his warmth and for the
first time sharing it. His arms held her close, as though, even
in slumber, he feared for her safety, that if he let go, she
would fly away from him.
	The small digital clock on the table by the bed steadily
ticked away the minutes as time sailed, and the two lay
oblivious to it’s passage. 6:00 AM came and went, then 6:15,
6:30, and 6:45, and finally 6:59.
	Perhaps the clock itself was faulty, or perhaps a
clockmaker with a sick sense of humor and an innate sense of
bad timing, but the clock did not stop there. Soon it was 6:60,
then 6:61. Alyssa stirred as his breath graced across her bare
neck, revelling and shrinking from the unique sensation of
ticklishness returned to her. 6:63, Adam shifted to his back,
and Alyssa moved with him, and still their shadows flickered
and danced as two individuals, yet moving as one. 6:64 and
6:65, they lay in silence, not moving, breathing the full,
steady breath of deep slumber.
	6:66.
	A sharp intake of breath from Adam startled Alyssa awake.
She suddenly remembered everything the priest had told her and
she sat bolt upright, then stared down at her love. He lay,
stiff and rigid, his hands gripping the bedclothes with a
terrible strength, his eyes wide open. As she watched, the
flashing blue bled to a fierce crimson, startling and
disturbing, and from his mouth there began to pour a multitude
of sounds which somehow triggered images of death, chaos and
destruction in her mind.
	She screamed in pain and anguish and writhed naked in the
suddenly stark sunlight. She cursed God, cursed Satan, and
everything in between. The visions intensified, making her
shrieks sound like mere whispers to her own ears, until finally
she forced the visions aside for one moment of insane clarity,
wherein she cried out at the top of her lungs, already raw from
screaming:
	“Damn you! Release him!”
	And with all suddeness, the visions ceased. Exhausted, she
collapsed across his chest, sobbing. For a long time, she lay
there, until finally she looked up. He was staring at her, his
eyes glittering with a terrible intelligence, still gleaming
scarlet.
	“Release him?” Adam asked, in a voice not his own. She
stared back, horrified but unrelenting. “What of you?” he
asked. “I shall give you a choice... He is tainted with good.
He resists me, and that is your doing... So I give you this
choice: I will release you and take him, or take you and
release him. Choose.”
	Alyssa stared at him, knowing it was not her love who
retunred her gaze, but the Dark One himself, and that the
choice she would now make would seal the fate of all humanity.
But she didn’t care. She couldn’t give a damn about humanity,
it was humanity that had driven her into the arms of her
Mother. What she cared about was him. And that was all.
	“Him. Release him. I want him.”
	He laughed, low, long and terrifying.
	“Wrong answer,” he growled, and suddenly Adam’s hands were
at her throat, and the air that had flowed for so short a time
through them was cut off by a most hideous strength. She
gasped, and he laughed as he felt the life escaping from her
body. She fought him, pummelling him fiercely with her fists,
but he clung onto her with wicked resolve. She could feel
herself weakening, and resisted the urge the spit in the
twisted face of her possessed lover. Instead, she closed her
eyes and prayed to God for his redemption.
	And then, she could breathe again. Her eyes snapped open
as she gasped for air, and there he knelt, every muscle tense,
staring down at his hands. They were twisted into frightful
claws and trembled as he fought the pure evil within himself.
He looked up at her.
	His eyes were blue again, but Alyssa could see the red
flash behind them, struggling to be let out. And judging from
the veins that stuck out on his neck and the lines of
concentration furrowing his borw, she could tell he was losing.
	“Go,” he growled. She could tell it took all his strength
and focus just to speak. She stared at him, and turned to
leave.
	But she didn’t.
	She turned to him.
	“No,” she whispered, “God save us, no.” And she leaned
forward and kissed him softly on the lips.
	Suddenly he was infused with light, and he cried out, the
voice of the Dark One lacing Adam’s voice with evil and
darkness. In his eyes, Alyssa could see the light chasing away
the dark until there was nothing left but blue. There he was
for a moment, the Good and the Evil exorcised from his tortured
form, until a voice, deep, soothing, and somehow without
gender, spoke one simple word.
	“Sleep.”
	And they slept.
	The clock returned to normal, stating the time as 7:07 AM,
and began ticking away the minutes as they slumbered,
peacefully, restfully, happily. It would be hours before they
awoke, but when they did, neither would remember anything about
the morning’s exertions, nor would Alyssa remember anything of
the Mother, or her past, save her deep love of the man next to
her.
	Together they would go through the rest of their lives
happy, normal and in love, oblivious to all the things that had
tormented them to that point. And to be honest, they couldn’t
be happier, for that is all they really ever wanted in the
first place. Doesn’t everybody?