Eric fell knees-first onto the dirt.
The truth, held back for years by a dam of pure hatred, washed over him. All the memories he had lost after accepting the demonic power came flooding back.
He could hear a voice in his head, cold and familiar. 'What are you doing? You are not that stupid anymore. Get up. Fulfill what we desire.'
He ignored it.
All he could see was Mariam.
And then, a new memory, a horrifying one, played in his mind.
He saw himself, a monster of grey skin and bone, grabbing the neck of a small child.
His daughter.
His own hand instinctively went to his throat, his fingers digging into his skin. "What have I done?" he whispered to himself.
He let his hand fall, looking at his bony, grey fingers with disgust. "I have killed the only one I had left in this world," he choked out. "I have killed her with these filthy hands."
