That's All I Ask of You

Erik's Eyes: Part Two

I awoke to find her still sound asleep. Sudden panic overwhelmed me as I realized that it was the next day. I had no idea how long we had slept so comfortably, but it had seemed like days. I decided that I had to find out if there would be much time before the demon would return for her. After finding that there was perhaps a few hours until we could expect him, I returned to my grounded angel. I heard her harsh breathing and quickened my pace. I noticed her body relax at the sight of me. She must have thought I had left and it was her husband returning. I spoke to her in an insistent whisper.

"How much time do I have to find a way to free you?"

"My guess is less than a half an hour…" I stared at my beloved in astonishment and terror.

"WHAT!" My heated response shook my whole body.

"Christophe told me that tonight he would murder me…"

I began to rush around the room. "Is there nothing in this damned place to use as a weapon?"

Her next words made me stop in devastation. "NO ERIK! Leave…get out of here…he will kill you too! PLEASE…I do not want to see you shot before I die! GET OUT OF HERE!"

I let my eyes stare at her with the love I felt for her, hoping that all the fear, sadness and anxiety that consumed me would be obvious, causing her to not ask me to leave again. The tears that soon appeared, clouding my vision, startled me. I wanted her to know that I felt agony for her, and would rather experience this pain on myself then ever see her suffer through it, and so I let the tears fall down my uncovered cheek one by one. All I could think of was how much I loved her. I moved in front of her, kneeled until I could feel her breath on my face, and took her lips in a hot blooded kiss. She returned my kiss, passionately. I gently moved my tongue within her mouth, enjoying the taste of her. I had remembered Christine kissing me, but hers was more out of care for me, than love. This was pure love. Everything inside of me protested to ending this sweet contact, but I gently broke away and kissed her forehead once more, savoring the warmth of her flesh against my lips, before leaving her family's tomb.

Love caused me to have strength and courage. I knew exactly how I was going to put those emotions to good use. I flew to my home, grabbed a pen and piece of parchment, scribbled a note, and delivered it to the police station. I slipped the sloppily folded note under the door and ran straight back to the graveyard. I got there just in time. Fury rolled inside of me like thunder. A gun was aimed at my love's heart and I was astounded at the serene look on her face.

"It must have escaped your attention, for my heart no longer exists. A man took it with him about an hour ago. It resides safely within him." He stared for a second, confused at her words, then aimed once more.

I threw all caution to the wind, dodged out from behind a stone monument, and pushed the gun out of the way, just before he pulled the trigger, causing him to miss by a mile. He struggled against me, pushing, shoving, and punching. We fell to the floor, our brawl heated by a deep hatred for each other. He was angry that I had aided his prisoner, I detested him because he had made her a prisoner. The gun was of no use to either of us, it was far out of reach for us both, and so we continued to exchange blows on the floor. We were quite good matches in strength, making the war an even more serious matter. I feared I would lose, until he whispered into my ear so softly, that I was sure only I could have heard it.

"You know what I'm going to do, once I finish you off? JUST because you showed up, trying to be the hero, I am going to torture her in a different way before I kill her." He gave me an ugly smirk and threw a blow at my chest, but I blocked it with my arm. "I am going to make her say that she could NEVER love a man like you, I will de-mask your corpse and make her caress your putrid face beneath, for I know who you are and what lies behind your not-so-clever disguise. AND THEN, I will make her say she still loves me and force her to make love with me." My rage was growing to such an intense level, I nearly felt pain. "And you want to know what? I am going to make her admit she liked my raping her…THEN, I'll shoot her in the head!"

I let all the power created by my anger flow through my heated veins and into my muscles. I sent one blow into his chin while I reached into his pocked with my other hand and removed the bronze key I felt there. Then, with all the excess strength I had, I hurled him across the room. I HAD THE KEY! I HELD THE KEY TO HER FREEDOM…AND HER LOVE! I flew over to her and instantly unlocked the shackles on her wrists. One opened and then the other. She was so very weak, and could not stand on her own. She collapsed into my open, awaiting arms and I could not restrain my joy, kissing her all over. She draped her arms around my neck and rested her head upon my shoulder.

Abruptly, without warning, she screamed at the man I had defeated. I guessed what had happened and I acted out of instinct, turning us around and placing my body in front of hers, to guard her. The intense agony from the bullet entering my body mixed with her echoing scream in my ear caused my body to jerk, then plummet onto the floor. The pure agony grew blazing hot, it made my vision disappear entirely. I heard footsteps running towards me and I braced myself for anything. I couldn't see who was approaching, but as soon as I heard screams of anger, I knew it was my enemy.

"NO! LEAVE HIM BE! GET OUT OF HERE YOU MONSTER!" She roared. He must have shoved her out of his way, adding to my suffering and ripped off my mask.