The Eyes Have It

Will stayed at Hannibal's that night. He lay in bed next to Hannibal listening to the steady breathing next to him. He felt a void within himself. Like a hollow in a tree. Dark and empty. He closed his eyes and thought about what Hannibal had said to him as he lay down next to him.

     "I know how long you have tried to keep darkness at bay. You empathize with murderers and psychopaths to try and better understand them and then you rail against whatever darkness you feel makes them who they are. Sometimes you need to stop fighting what scares you most and accept it. In that moment you may truly understand who you are."

Will closed his eyes. The silence was broken by the snort of a beast and the sound of pawing hooves on the wooden floor. He opened his eyes to see the ravenstag, it's head down poised to attack. It's eyes glowing with pinpoints of red the way Hannibal's did. It jumped for Will. He did not flinch and he did not run. The stag became liquid on his skin. Crashing over him like a black wave. He lay there, feeling the darkness seeping into his veins. Creeping through his skin. Boring into his bones. He had let the darkness in to save the woman he loved.