Elvira's Ghost

Note:

If you missed chapters one and two, don't worry! They are pinned on my profile. Also, make sure to refresh yourself on the content warnings in that post if need be.

Chapter Three

Elvira had found her ghost. With hands like ice, like death, gripping her forearms. The longer they touched her, the more cold she felt through and through, as if his touch alone was draining her body of its natural warmth. But his eyes—she’d never heard of ghosts having eyes like that. 

"It is a dreadful mistake on fate’s part that you ended up here," he said, startling her with a voice that moved like silk, a slight trill to the words, marking him as foreign. Ancient. She couldn’t guess the accent. 

He wore black clothes beneath an old-fashioned, possibly medieval, trench coat. It wasn’t any piece of fashion part of her history, but with a small silver cross clasped at the neck and onyx detailing, the crimson velvet coat fell open to his knees. 

She swallowed hard, and despite not fully comprehending his meaning, her heart leapt into her throat. His eyes followed the movement, and she grew even more nervous. "I lost my friends," she breathed.

"Your first lie," he replied, the corners of his lips twitching slightly.

Elvira pulled against his grip, but it was a tight vise, like a statue come to life had clamped their hands around her. "Please," she whispered, "don’t hurt me." Whatever this man was, he was neither a ghost nor human.

His only response was, "I am sorry," as a wicked grin spread across his lips. 

No, some defiant part of her cried. Whoever this man was, he did not have good intentions. Elvira could feel it as potently as she could feel his grip tightening. If she didn’t fight, she might end up the ghost in this lonely graveyard. 

And with that thought, she realized that she would never wish an eternity of that on Rosia, even if it meant Elvira never got to see her again. 

The man, the demon, adjusted his grip on her, moving both of her wrists into one hand as the other came up to push the hair from her shoulder, baring the skin between her jaw and collarbone. She shuddered and his grin twitched, as if drawing pleasure from her fear.

"Elvira!"

Raven called from somewhere deep in the graveyard, too far to save her. Another voice rose up to meet Raven's, and then another. They were all looking for her. 

"Elvira," the demon whispered, his tongue rolling over the sound as his breath brushed her neck. 

More animal noises, howling like hyenas but too human to be anything but rose up. They didn’t stop, steadily growing nearer. 

Another tremble raced through her. No, that voice cried again. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t let this demon or whatever was making those chilling sounds kill her. 

Elvira had her childhood house to take care of, a degree to finish, and the world to see. It was also her last year with Raven and William before they moved to Prague. 

The last year of Rosia’s life. 

She couldn’t miss that. No matter how much it would destroy her, Elvira couldn’t leave her best friend alone on her deathbed. 

And, a small, selfish part of her admitted, it’s my birthday. 

So she pulled at his iron grip, twisted and thrashed, and tried to make it as difficult as possible to handle her. His grip didn’t loosen and, no matter how much she threw herself at him, didn’t jar. 

"Let me go," she growled, fighting to sound more fierce than she really was. Elvira would show him her most monstrous self if it meant somehow frightening away the red-eyed demon. 

Chest heaving and fatigue creeping through, she shot the heel of her foot into his gut. It hit nothing but air. 

Suddenly, she was whirling and her back was pressed into one of the tomb walls. The scratchy, rough lace of her dress was digging into her skin.

He towered over her, one hand still gripping her as the other came up to brush along the curve of her cheek. "Lucky for you and unlucky for me, there is a greater threat than even I growing nearer. As well," he said, lowering his voice and smiling as if they were sharing an inside joke, "as poetic as it may be, I do not kill maidens on their birthdays." 

Slowly, he unwound his fingers from her wrists and stepped away. The moment his touch disappeared, heat flooded her, chasing away the chill he’d left. Her head was spinning, and it was relieving to know he hadn’t frozen her for good.

A chilling grin stretched over his face as he walked back from her, his movements oddly sure and balanced in a way no human could be. Elvira stood frozen, part in awe and part in terror.

Then, raising his arms like he was giving some grand performance, the demon spun on his heel. He hadn’t finished turning when five dark figures appeared. They rose up through the ground in black smoke before solidifying into humanoid forms. 

A gasp tore from Elvira as she slammed back against the wall, her heart hammering. She tried to press against the wall, to melt into it, as wild eyes found hers. It instantly became apparent that it had been these creatures making those animalistic sounds.

They all wore black, with weapon harnesses stuffed full of silver; silver stakes, blades, clips, and guns. Large silver crosses sat where the straps of the vests connected in the center of each of their chests.

One with a long sword strapped to his hip and wild blond hair stepped forward, yellow eyes trained on the demon. When he spoke, there was a mocking edge to his voice, "You’re far from your castle, your lordship."

They weren’t here for her. They all watched the demon with hungry expressions, and she knew that, once they were through with him, she’d be next. She should run. But whatever these things were, they were predators, and everyone knew that predators loved the chase. There were enough of them to tear him apart that one or two wouldn’t be missed if they decided to follow her. 

Swallowing down the debilitating panic roiling in her core, Elvira stayed silent. Hopefully, if she became one with the wall, they’d leave her alone. 

"Elvira!" Rosia’s voice this time was slightly closer than Raven’s had been.

The demon turned to look at her over his shoulder, still smiling as if he weren’t in a compromising position at all but truly only performing for them. Immediately, five other eyes followed his. Elvira’s heart stopped. So much for staying invisible.

She kept her chin up, meeting their gazes one by one as if to assert her dominance. As if she weren’t trembling against the stone behind her. She’d heard it worked with some animals. However, the false bravado would be easy to see through if they were able to smell fear.

The demon’s grin was something truly wicked as he said, "No need to worry, I shall have you returned to your friends in no time." 

Elvira didn’t know how to respond and she was almost too scared to. But her mouth worked faster than her brain, and she snapped, "I don’t have all night." 

She was sure then that he’d pounce on her, that they all would. A lowly human treating these terrifying and hypnotic creatures as if they were nothing more than dirt beneath her shoe.The animal-things did indeed look annoyed, some even affronted. 

But if anything, the demon only appeared more amused as he turned back to the beasts with a taunting grin that only served to deepen their annoyance. His arms rose higher. "If you must force me back, then you are free to try. But I will warn you that I do not wish to return, so I won't."

Elvira couldn’t decide if he was insane, idiotic, arrogant or all of the above at that moment. She didn’t have time to figure it out as the blond pounced.

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