Finding Inspiration

I drew another drag from the cigarette. I was caught between savoring the moment of a long earned victory or preparing for another crushing defeat. I grabbed the keys and opened the door. I tossed the remainder of the cigarette on the damp ground. As it hissed in protest, I pulled my old coat a little tighter against the cold.

I looked up at the imposing cathedral; the heights of her spires were obscured in the fog. Despite the fact I had never been there before, the entire scene was familiar. The feeling was comforting and eerie. I checked my watch, 3AM. I reached for the worn brass handle of the door hoping that this would indeed be the last night of the hunt.

"It's the hour of the wolf," A woman's voice echoed from the darkness, "I find that appropriate, don't you?"

It was her. My heart skipped a beat knowing I was that close to my goal. My mind quickly tempered my excitement with the knowledge that she had given me the slip before and could do it again. I looked at the inside of the cathedral. It was mostly dark, but the candles had been lit. Long shadows hid most of the room. The altar was lit in a soft glow. She was sitting on the steps to the altar. Then it struck me why it was so familiar. It was the cathedral I had always seen in my dreams.

She was wearing a light green shirt and tight jeans. Her hair was wet. She had been out in the rain earlier. She stood up and lightly descended the remaining steps. I could almost see pale gray wings behind her before she stepped into the shadows. I heard the measured clicks of her steps on the stone aisle.

At first the sound came tantalizingly closer, but then it began to move away in the darkness. It was all I could do to not sprint after the cadence.

"You know, because we've been dancing around each other for so long, now," there was a tease in her voice, "Finally making the catching me in the hour of the 'wolf'. A certain poetry, I think."

It brought a wry smile to me in the darkness. Then her footsteps stopped, I heard the sound of flowing water. I walked at a deliberate, controlled pace to the water. I pulled out another cigarette and my silver lighter. In the flashes of the flint and steel strikes I could see that she had led me to the baptistery. I could see snapshots of her face in the bursts of light. The wick finally caught the flame.

"In a church?" She asked. I couldn't tell whether she was amused or annoyed.

I shrugged. Pulling another cigarette halfway from the box, I held it out to her. I stared at her fiery green eyes.

"I don't," I was fairly certain she was both amused and annoyed, "They're bad for you, you know."

I shrugged again as I put the still lit lighter down on the white marble of the cistern. I briefly looked at the way the ripples in the holy water caught the firelight. Looking back at her, I saw she now had amber eyes that were bright in the dim firelight. I must have given away some of the confusion by way of expression because before I could say anything she had a knowing smile cross her face.

"Magic," She said mysteriously, playfully.

I felt a half smile cross my face as I shook my head; I hadn't believed in that for a long time. I almost chuckled at it. Almost.

She sighed, as if she knew I was holding something from her. She put a slick black phone on the marble next to my lighter. When I looked back into her now captivating, purple eyes, her gaze now bored into me.

"You may have finally found me, but you can never really hold me down, catch me. I am that which I am," She grinned at the last part. I was sure she reveled in the quote in that place. She returned again to the sprightly tone I had become accustomed to hearing from her, "But, my implacable pursuer, you've earned something for your determination."

She pointed to the phone, "You can use that to call me. I'm the only one listed in the contacts. Leave it on. You never know when I may use it to call you."

I heard a quick breath. The flame flickered and died. All the candles died, leaving my in darkness except for the ember that burned by my mouth. I didn't hear a single sound in the darkness, but I knew she was gone. I returned the lighter to its place, and slipped the new phone into another pocket. I left the cathedral with a small sense of satisfaction and pride. At the same time, though, I wondered what, if anything, had actually changed as I walked back out into the foggy night and toward my car.