Mausolem moved quickly and sat down on the casket. Mara started to pace back and forth in the tomb. She glanced out the open door, and noticed that the storm had subdued.
“Well, that very night I saw you, I began having these dreams. At first, I didn’t know what they meant or why I was having them.” Mara stopped for moment. She could feel this creature studying her every move. Memories from the dreams haunted her, and Mara resumed talking.
“All of my dreams had featured a tall, pale man.”
“Me.” He interjected.
“Yes. You.”
Mara watched him smile to himself. She had this feeling that he knew something about her dreams, but was hiding it from her. After a minute or so, she went on to tell him about the dreams.
“They’re very fragmented, but after some time, I can piece them together and they start to make sense. For example, one night I’ll dream about someone with very sharp teeth and the next a woman bleeding, but not quite dead.”
The creature sighed heavily after hearing this. Hold folded his hands neatly in his lap and looked cautiously at the door.
“Now I guess I shall explain something to you.”
Mara gave him a go-ahead nod, and Mausolem began.
“Those dreams that you have been having are not your typical dream. In fact, if you never saw me, then you would never have had those dreams and probably wouldn’t even be here now. What you have been seeing is a glimpse of what to come.” He paused for a moment to let Mara contemplate all this.
“You see, I have been dead for over three hundred years. When you saw me for that spilt second, it was meant to be. If not, then I would never have brought you here. In all my three hundred years, I have learned that my victims do not know or are able to see what I really am until the point of death. But you, and a few others catch a sight of me, and feel something that is not of the norm.” At this point he stood, and moved to the door. He now closed it tightly, and the small room was enveloped in utter darkness. He had left it open since they arrived, and Mara sensed that something aweful was about to happen. Yet, he continued on with the same calm manner he kept from the point of their arrival.
“You must understand that these people are rare. Then I must act fast and pass on what I possess to this person. This time, this person is you.”
Mara felt the cold air on her neck as he spoke these last words. He gave her a moment by slowly moving all the hair from her neck. She took her last breath as Mausolem drained her of nearly all her blood.
Mara fell limp and unconscious into the creature’s arms. He scooped her up and went to the casket. Carefully, he placed her on the lid, where she lay day and night for three days.
When she awoke, Mausolem was there at her side, cutting his wrist, telling Mara to drink. She drank and drank until he pulled away and sne drifted to sleep again.
For two more days, Mara slept, but not on the casket. When she awoke again, Mara could instantly tell she was not in the tomb. She also had a distinct feeling in her gut that she was far, far away from home.