Sometimes It's Even Darker

Chapter 16 - Dare To Believe Again

Tobi wakes up to the creak of key. Since he finished his work on the new Edguy album he has nothing to do in her empty house but dozing. So he sits on their bed, rubs his eyes and in this moment he hears her voice, warmer than ever:
- Hi. I'm back.
- Hello – he says with a smile but when he looks at her, the smile disappears from his face – Oh God, Aethie...
- I told you I went hunting. Have you expected something else?
She is all covered in blood. Huge crimson stains speckle her clothing all over and she still has some drops on her cheeks. Eyes are the most frightening – so still and calm that she looks like the most skilled killer on Earth. She holds a dead deer, it's hanged over her back and almost as big as her. The animal is headless and it seems someone severed his head with an...
„Axe?”
- How did you kill it? Not by axe I guess...
- Sort of. Would you like to help me to disembowel it?
Tobi nods. He isn't afraid of blood or dead animals but he is afraid of her, no matter that he loves her.
„Isn't it the thing that appeals me the most?” he thinks.
When they work together he dares to ask the same question one more time:
- How did you kill it, Aethie? It doesn't have any scars on body. I can't believe you murdered such a fast creature with an axe.
She smiles with a dose of pride.
- I have my methods.
And then there is silence. Tobi bites his tongue not to ask anymore but after a few minutes he hears Aethernia's voice:
- There is a poison and I own it. It's very weak and it only drowses them for a few minutes. No matter if it's a human or animal. So I just use a little arrow to apply it. They just sleep and when they do, I cut it's head off. It doesn't suffer.
Tobi freezes for a while.
„They just sleep. Oh shit...”
- That's very crafty – he says smiling but he knows that the reason of this smile is totally different.
„I saw her with a tiny bottle. She holds it in this little drawer in her room. She was hiding it there right before she went hunting.”
Hope appears in his heart suddenly and without warning.
„There's a chance for me. I can do it if I try to be the fastest I can. I must remember I have only a few minutes. But still...”
There are ghostlights too. „Or maybe they disappeared?”
Since that traumatic day neither Tobi nor Aethernia have seen them. Tobi guesses they are still closed in their stuffy room at the attic, but maybe they are more and more powerless. „We haven't seen them. They might have been gone. I think Aethie won't be safer than she is now. I think it is a good moment to run away.”
That evening when ghostlights attacked Aethernia was very severe. She managed to fall asleep for a while but for the rest of night she was awake, having cried almost all the time. It seemed as if her phobias had been devouring her from inside. She was clenching her hands on his arms so hard that he was bruised all over, but he didn't mind it at all. He took care of his beloved woman and fixed her spirit as much as he could.
Tobi knows that it's not fair to leave her alone, now and ever. But he also knows he has no choice. There are many things that he worries about, but mainly he worries about her safety in this place. When she sees his upset glance, she asks:
- Is everything all right, Tobi?
- I think... yes – he responds – At least I hope it will be.