I wanted to scream. Running wasn't solving anything, and crying wasn't either. I couldn't bring her back, no matter how hard I tried to.

She was gone. No amount of magic would make her return to me.

Maybe I was too weak to bring her back.

Necromancy was forbidden, mostly because it was impossible to do. It was too dark.

I stumbled through the wood, my bare feet cold against the mud that went up to my ankles. Through the bare branches, the sky glowed a soft reddish-orange. The edges of the clouds were bright against the sun falling beyond the horizon.

I should have noticed the way the wood was too quiet, but I could only hear my own thoughts raging on. No animal ran in the underbrush, and where the wind should usually be whistling, it fell silent.

Slowing in my run, I came to a small clearing. Red sunlight shined against the frost and fallen leafs. This was my last chance, my last opportunity. Everything else didn't matter, besides the fear staining my soul. I pulled a long dagger from my pocket. It was an intricate blade that had been passed down for generations within my family, used to conduct magic. It was more of a statement than anything, and I had never heard of it being used to draw blood.

Stopping in the very center of the clearing, I looked up toward the sky. A rock was situated between my feet, blackened by the assault of the weather. I don't want to die, not like she did.

I'd always heard the stories of calling to darkness and making a bargain. It'd always been strictly forbidden, but what other choice did I have? I sucked in a breath as I pressed the tip of the blade against my finger, just enough to draw a single drop of blood. Sinking to my knees, tears stung at the edges of my eyes.

I could hear her chastising me if I thought hard enough. You shouldn't be doing this, Scarlet. Yet, here I was. I didn't have anything else to lose, except for my soul.

Pressing my fingers against the rock, I began whispering in the ancient tongue under my breath. The feeling of invisible fire crept up my arms. Suddenly, the noises of the forest cascaded around me. The wind hummed against the trees like a thousand bees, and thunder clapped in the distance. The entire clearing was casted in a dark red glow.

Then, silence.

"I've been waiting for you," he said softly. At the same time, his voice was like a thousand bells and nails against a chalkboard. My gut clenched as his feet crunched against the leafs. "For so long they have kept you from me."

I dared to look up. He was the most handsome man I'd ever seen. His features changed all at once in a blur, never settling on one appearance, but breathless every time.

"When your mother died, I knew you'd come." He held a hand out toward me, as if to help me from my knees. "Is this what you truly want?"

He was here, yet I knew I no longer had a choice. Slowly, I nodded. "I do not want to die," I said.

He smiled. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he looked sweet, almost comforting. After all, he was once an angel. "You'll have to give up what you love the most in exchange for your life."

Love. I could have laughed. "I don't love anything, anymore." I took his hand and allowed him to help me stand. My finger still bled, and where my blood touched his skin, I could feel lava pulse through my veins. I'd given up on love a long time ago. I never wanted to feel my chest rip apart again. "I agree to your bargain."

Lifting my hand to his lips, he kissed my fingers, my blood smearing against his beautiful lips. "Good," he said. "You will not die, because you will not love."

Wind coursed through the clearing, and my heart pounded against my chest. Making a bargain with darkness was no easy thing, and yet here I was, already saying yes. If he could take away the pain and the fear, I would gladly accept.

Before I could take away my agreement, he disappeared from the clearing, leaving only a trail of smoke where he'd been standing before. I turned my hand toward me, and a small freckle was in the place where I'd pierced my finger to call him forward. Clenching my fist, I held my hand against my chest, and under my shirt, I no longer felt my own heart beating