Midnight Duet Read online

There was now look of resolve. A piece of rotted skin fell from his face as he attempted a smile. She knew none of this mattered in the end. There was only one way that she would leave this house and one fate to bestow on the crumbling creature before her. He had, in a sense, made his point and she had understood. “No, it appears I am not. However, it does not change anything.”

  “What? After all I’ve said to you?”

  “You have told me that you suffer. That is of no concern of mine.”

  “Even when you’re the one that caused it?”

  “I admit I made an error.”

  “And now you can make it right!”

  The Lady stepped up closer to William and peered into his watery eyes. She could see that the fire that burned in them those many years ago had quieted. There was almost a pitiful quality in them now. There was no time to let the emotions of a human body take control. Action had to be swift. “I can not and will not. Taking you back would undermine my purpose. I have already told you this.”

  “Oh, right, Death is absolute. Can’t have anyone think otherwise.”

  The remark has meant to be sarcastic. It had failed.

  “I am glad you see my point.”

  “But I don’t.”

  “You don’t have to. You only need to accept what I give you. My decisions are always final.”

  “First you say that I have no real life then you say that you let me live. You tell me you make a mistake then you say you never make them. That doesn’t make any sense. You’re caught up in the inaccuracies of your own ill logic. Face it, you’re a liar.”

  The Lady backed away from William, turned, and stared into the mirror again with narrowed eyes. “I am the master of the world of the dead. There is no escape from it. You are not really dead and not part of that world. So again, you are of no concern to me. Despite any ill actions on my part in the past, the present cannot be changed. The present is all with which I deal. Does this make sense to you?”

  The last statement seemed to hit William in the heart. He said nothing at first. When he did speak, his voice sounded defeated and weak. “I don’t like it but it does.”

  “So we are good with everything I trust?”

  “I guess we have to be.”

  “I am glad you finally see my point of view.”

  The Lady walked away from William and towards the front door. William’s eyes followed her with disappointment. She stopped in the archway that separated the living room from the foyer. There was a few seconds of silence then she spoke with a renewed, almost, helpful tone. “You asked if I had any mercy.”

  “Your point was clear, you have nothing.”

  “I would not say I have nothing. If that were so, I’d be nothing.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re talking about, mistress. All your talk is confusing.”

  “I admit it can be. I have no mercy in the sense you talk. That is a human quality. Despite any appearance, I am not human. I may be able to do something for you though.”

  William’s body perked up a bit. He stood taller and clutched his hands together. “You’re helping. I’ll be happy for whatever you give me.”

  “You are too easily pleased. You have not yet heard what I could do.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “You say that you suffer and that you miss the things a living body provides. Somehow this makes your existence unworthy.”

  “Yes.”

  “What of your mind? If you were unaware of your body would your mind be pleased?”

  “I don’t know. It might.”

  The Lady was getting inpatient. She sighed, turned to face William again, and went on in a harsher tone. “I am offering to liberate your mind from your body.”

  “That’s all I am asking you for.”

  “Be warned, you will still be aware of your own being.”

  “I thought that was a given.”

  “Then you are decided?”

  William stepped up near the Lady Death and peered into her eyes. He offered her one of his skeletal hands. She ignored it. Putting them back down, he looked down to the dusty floor. He was almost crying if that were possible for a creature like himself. His voice trembled. “I am. Please take this wretched body away.”

  The Lady nodded and shut her eyes. William could feel something different within his rotting form. A wave of warmth came over and him and spread out, there was a sense of tingling over all his limbs. His mind became awash with peace. Looking down, his torso appeared to be fading away. Within seconds, he no longer saw it. He lifted what he believed to be his hand but there was nothing to be seen. The peace he had just felt began to ebb. It was replaced with an intense loneliness and misery. What was this? What was happening? As if an answer to his questions, the Lady spoke. Her eyes were open again as she stared into nothingness. “I have taken your body. There is now just your mind.”

  She turned, walked to the door, and opened it. William could still see her despite having no eyes. He moved forward with no legs; he felt as if he were flying. None of this abated the sadness within him. He tried to speak, but no words came. The Lady paused before crossing the threshold. She peered back over her shoulder and spoke for the last time. “You will be feeling the emptiness of nothing. While you had a body, you did not feel this blackness. There was the awfulness of decay and the horror of numbness. That kept your mind from descending into terror and despair. Now that the body is gone, there is nothing else. You wanted freedom and now you have it. Never call me again because I will never come. Enjoy it, William. It is yours forever.”

  With that, she stepped out into the night. Now that the business was done, the female form could be discarded. With just a simple thought, it dissolved into a tall column of gray mist. That, too, soon dissipated and what remained was a lean cloaked skeletal figure. It laughed and its body shimmered. The woods were still alive with the sounds of insects and animals. They had no idea nor cared for what had happened. Their own times would come and then their songs would cease. However, time was now of the utmost essence. Taking on personal things like this took too much time. There were too many others out there that required assistance and guidance. Despite it all, Death took comfort, if it truly could, that no one would ever know if its error. The balancing of life’s scales had been reset and everything was right again. Just before it went back into the realm of the dead, it could hear, in its mind, William’s screams of personal agony. He was alone in his own anguish. No one would hear him again.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  J.R. Rodriguez originally comes from the Deep South but now resides in New England where he studies to earn his BSN. When not buried in textbooks, he enjoys film, music, photography, and science. Currently in print are “Pandora’s Nightmare: Horror Unleashed” From Pill Hill Press, “Zombilaity: A Queer Bent on the Undead” From Library of the Living Dead, and “Letters from the Dead” also from Library of the Living Dead Press. Early online work may be found at Fantastichorror.com. His first feature length novel, “Keeping Up With the Deadlanders”, is due from Little Library of the Living Dead Press later this year.