The Judger of Souls

The old man sat huddled up against the wall, seemingly just another homeless person struggling through life. The buildings towered up on either side of him, dark and forbidding. He glanced up at the small patch of sky visible to him and noted the fading light. Night was his favorite time, when fools went out drinking and nightmares came alive to devour souls. He fully considered himself to be one of the nightmares, one who preyed on the fools who drank too much, on the young and the innocent. He didn't discriminate. As long as he could subdue them, he hunted them.

As the last of the light faded, he stood up and stretched, letting the blanket wrapped around him fall to the ground. Pulling a small mirror from his pocket he checked his reflection. He ran his fingers through his hair and beard in an attempt to comb some of the knots from them to no avail. Giving up, he shoved the mirror back into his pocket and picked up the bag and hat that lay next to him. With the cap on his head and the bag slung over one shoulder, he set off through the gloom of the alley looking for all the world like a harmless old man who wouldn't hurt a fly.

"Help! Help me!"

The man froze. The sound seemed to come from just ahead of him. He shook his head. He must be imagining things; after all, the likelihood of a child being alone in this area of the city was almost unthinkable.

"Please, somebody!"

This time the man was certain that he'd heard the cry. He took a few steps forward and out of the darkness emerged a little girl, no more than 6 or 7 years old. He stopped and stared at her as she stopped and stared at him. She looked like a doll to him with her white dress, porcelain skin, big blue eyes, and mess of blonde curls. A doll come to life. He couldn't believe his luck. Not even ten minutes into the night and he'd already found someone to prey on.

The little girl looked at the towering figure of the man before her and showed no fear. She tilted her head slightly and looked up at him, studying him. The man smiled at her kindly and crouched down to her level.

"Are you lost, my dear?" he asked gently.

She nodded slightly, reaching out a hand towards him. He smiled again, a smile of amusement at her innocence and willingness to trust. Getting up with a slight groan, he took her hand and said, "Well, let's find your family, shall we?"

The little girl nodded again as she glanced up at him through her long eyelashes. She smiled slightly, a knowing smile that for some reason sent a chill through the man. Holding her hand, he began to lead her farther down the alley, away from the bustling sounds of the city.

"Don't you want to know where I live?"

The man started at the sound of the small, clear voice. He stopped and looked down at the little girl. She was looking up at him with an almost accusatory look in her eyes.

"I'm just getting us back to the main part of the city," he lied. "Then you can tell me where you live."

The little girl nodded once more and they continued on. As they walked, the man began to notice a slight burning sensation in his fingers where the little girl's hand rested. For a while he was able to ignore it, but the farther they walked the more intense the burning sensation became. He looked down at his hand, but saw nothing there. Thoroughly confused and more than a little disturbed, he began to walk faster. He glanced down again as the sensation began to spread up his fingers and into his palm and let out a startled yelp as he saw that his hand was quite literally on fire. Letting go of the little girl's hand, he backed away from her though not without noticing that she was not on fire. As the fire began to spread up his arm and over the rest of his body, the little girl stood there and watched with a mildly interested look on her face.

"Help me!" he pleaded, futilely swatting at the flames.

"Like you helped me?" the little girl asked, her head cocked to one side.

"I was helping you!" the man lied again. "Now please help me!"

In the light of the dancing flames, the little girl's eyes appeared red. "Lies!" she hissed. "You hunted me as a cat hunts a mouse. I was your prey, nothing more, just like all the others. You have wasted your life preying on others. Now you must pay!"

"What are you?" the man wailed as the fire consumed him.

Silence fell as the man's ashes slowly drifted to the ground. Nothing remained of him except his slightly charred hat. The little girl slowly bent down and picked it up off the ground. Her eyes began glow with a dark light as she spoke in a voice straight from the pits of hell: "I am the judger of souls."