At the demon’s ball. Gothic. Natalie Yacobson

quiet cry of a child, which brought him back to real life. Emily’s vision, a devilish smile – everything disappeared, and there was only this salutary cry calling him to her.

      Roderick involuntarily flinched from crying, now that the devilish vision had disappeared, he could remember who he was and why he had come here.

      Roderick walked swiftly to where the body of a crying child shone like a bright star in the darkness of the great hall. Roderick took the baby in his arms. The child was as beautiful as the dream itself.

      Suddenly a wave of terror swept through Roderick’s body and made him turn around. Shrouded in a mist of darkness, a bloody demon stood before him, emerging from the very darkness, and his fiery eyes shone with a fierce triumphant fire.

      “Give her to me,” he ordered, “give me Maerlin.

      “No,” Roderick said firmly, boldly looking the bloody demon in the eye. “No way in the world,” he repeated boldly, squeezing the child tightly in his arms.

      Courage and fearlessness gave him his vow Emily.

      The demon chuckled.

      “You think you defeated me,” he said, “but you are wrong, I needed you, so you are still alive. It was you who brought me here, to Maerlin, you let me in here, you opened the way for me to her. Now I can kill both of you, but you can still be saved. I will let you go, just give me Maerlin.

      He held out his clawed hands, covered in the blood of many people, towards him, but Roderick did not hesitate for a moment.

      “Give it to me,” the demon repeated.

      “And forget your love,” Roderick looked straight into the monster’s eyes.

      “I’m not afraid of you,” he whispered, “no matter what, I will keep my oath, and in the end your fate will find you.

      – Your love was also just a dream teasing you, and in gratitude for the torment you are faithful to it,” the tempting voice of the devil sounded in the darkness.

      – Now take revenge on this dream that gave you not love, but eternal suffering and sorrow, help me kill her, give us both liberation.”

      He persuaded, but his speech could not suppress Roderick’s will. The prince gripped Emily’s child tightly in his arms, like the last spark of life.

      “No,” he said firmly, “I’m not afraid of you, demon. Let the whole world shudder at the mere sound of your name, but it will not inspire fear in me, I loved Emily and I still love, so may my hatred for you help fate kill you.

      “Give her to me,” the devil almost cried out, slowly approaching Roderick.

      “No,” the prince said even more firmly.

      “Well, then try to save her,” the bloody demon said with the same cruel mockery, “prove your immortal love.

      Roderick no longer looked into inhuman eyes, clouded with bloodlust, but tightly squeezed the child in his arms and quickly rushed away from the mysterious house, where darkness of evil and mysteries prevailed over the light.

      He ran out of the hall without even looking at the beautiful portrait of Emily, whose wonderful face at that moment was distorted by an ominous smile.

      Roderick quickly ran down the narrow steps of the stairs, but suddenly at the very end, at the behest of something incomprehensible, he looked up and again saw her, Emily.

      “Emily,” Roderick blurted out. He was ready to forget that it was the spirit of darkness, the ghost of a bloody demon. The only thing he wanted now was to stay with her with Emily forever.

      “Give it to me,” in a voice similar to a mournful moan, whispered Emily, holding out her hands to him, “give me my daughter.”

      Only a few steps separated him from her, and at that moment Roderick noticed that Emily’s hands were covered with streams of blood.

      “No,” Roderick said.

      The silhouette of a bloody demon flashed in Emily’s beautiful eyes, but Roderick managed to run past her and rushed out of the house.

      Roderick leaned against the wall and hugged the small child tightly to him. Already, he loved her as much as he loved anyone else, a beautiful dream with Emily’s face and soul.

      “Roderick,” suddenly it was heard not far from him. Again the silhouette of the beautiful Emily appeared in front of him.

      “Come to me.”

      Then another hateful voice sounded:

      “You belong to her forever, and she will destroy you, because now her beauty is born of darkness.”

      “No,” Roderick could only whisper back, although Emily’s beautiful image was already obscuring all his thoughts with a veil of unrestrained fog. He no longer controlled himself, all his feelings, all his actions, prayers, all his dreams were already subordinated to the darkness in this beautiful image. He was ready to rush to her, forgetting about everything, to surrender himself into the arms of death itself, if only the bloody death had her face.

      “Emily,” he whispered.

      He was already ready to completely and completely surrender to the forces of evil, but suddenly it was heard behind him:

      “Roderick.”

      The sound of this voice suddenly brought him back from the world of dark dreams to ordinary human life.

      The prince turned involuntarily quickly.

      Before him stood a beautiful girl, as beautiful as the ghosts of the rocks of sorcery, but, unlike them, kind, sympathetic and open.

      “Clara,” Roderick said, hiding his weariness.

      He was looking at a cute face, similar to Emily’s, but so implacably different from it. One was the embodiment of purity, the second was a seductive sorceress, a siren who stole his soul forever. The black-haired Clara was a kindness, Emily was an eternal darkness. One was innocence, the other evil. One was a beauty with golden blond hair, a symbol of a clean day, although her soul was covered with an eternal darkness of mystery. The flame of the night itself burned in the black hair of the other, but in her heart there was not even a drop of mysterious evil that overwhelmed Emily’s soul, which had been completely sold to darkness. Nevertheless, they have always been real sisters, although the soul of one of them was open and pure, and the other was hidden by the eternal darkness.

      Roderick, in the throes of despair and unwillingness to believe that Emily is no longer alive, closed his eyes for a moment, and only Clara’s soft voice woke him up again, forcing him to wake up from his dreams.

      “I don’t know why I came here,” Clara said quietly, “but I feel like Emily needs help.

      “That’s right,” Roderick whispered.

      He knew that this was his only hope to save Maerlin, until a vision of Emily made him give his soul to the darkness, and he was already close to it. The bloody demon knew he could hurt him, and he was about to deliver his final crushing blow, which Roderick could no longer resist.

      He approached Clara, and now they stood together against the background of the old house, the tomb of ghosts.

      “Take Emily’s baby,” Roderick said, “get her out of here as far as you can. Evil and death reign here, which will lie in wait for you if you appear here at least once. You can handle it, can you save her?

      He looked hopefully into Clara’s clear and open eyes.

      “Yes,” she replied, “I’ll take her as far away from the damned rocks of sorgery as possible. This is what Emily wanted, and that means I must do it, I must give her the name of the dream itself.

      She looked at Roderick with pain in her eyes.

      “I know that Emily died,”