Moonlight played upon their faces, casting Parvani’s in shadow and playing with light strands of Rufen’s hair.  They sat together on the swing.  His head fell upon her shoulder and her arms rested comfortably around him.  She held him as a mother would her son, occasionally running a hand through his long hair.
“Rufen…”
“No,” he choked. “Please don’t say anything.”
She obliged and fell silent, but the eerie magic of the moment was broken and she shifted her weight uncomfortably.  Parvani placed one hand under Rufen’s chin and gazed into his eyes.  So many times over the last twelve years she had looked to him for guidance, for answers to the infinite questions of the world.  Now it was him who had come to her, and she looked away to try and avoid the burden those eyes held for her.
He sighed heavily and placed his hand under her chin, lifting it back up to face him. “Parvani, listen to me,” he protested. “You have to.  You must.  If ever you loved me…if ever I needed you to love me, it is now.  Look at the sky.  You know what it means…”  His blue eyes lifted towards the heavens, where the moon rode the clouds like a dark queen.  Rufen shuddered and looked down. “You know what I’ve done, Parvani.  You know what I’m capable of doing if-“ He broke off.
“Stop it,” she whispered.. “I don’t want to hear any more, Rufen.  Not about this.”
“But you have to!” he growled. “Thiis…monster is inside of me.  How many more people have to die?  I need you to do it.  I want you to. Please.”
Her arms fell away from him, and Parvani gazed at Rufen—really stared at him for the first time since his initial request.  Shannon’s face flashed before her eyes.  The memories of his savaged corpse had plagued her every night since his murder.  Even a betraying lover did not deserve this.
“I made you this way, and I’m sorry.  Sorry that I’m evil—sorry that we are evil.  It lives within us, Parvani.  The affliction, as your friends up there-“ He glanced at the building atop the nearby hill. “Call it.  It is an insatiable craving for the blood of everyone and everything besides itself.” He raised his hand as she started to speak. “Let me finish.  It has me.  I know it even if you don’t want to accept it.  I can feel it inside of me.  And the last time…” He grimaced and took a deep breath before continuing. “The last time, when I killed your lover-” He caught the flicker of pain in her eyes, and felt immediately guilty. “I remembered it.  I remembered how good it felt to rip his throat out, to tear at him…   It wanted him.  That other part of me wanted him, and I…I couldn’t control myself.  It is beyond control, now.”  
Parvani shook her head but didn’t speak.   She could feel it, a restless presence inside Rufen that made her skin crawl. “Rufen…”
“I would have gone mad years ago, if not for you,” he interrupted. “You were young and needing.  You were a reason to fight the monster.  I was there for you to keep myself sane.  I love you for saving me, Parvani.  Sister, daughter, friend, whatever the hell you want to call yourself.  I don’t want to hurt anyone else.  I don’t want you to have to clean up another mess.  So please…will you do what I ask?”
The cold press of steel against her hand drew Parvani’s attention and she glanced down at the dagger newly thrust into it. “Rufen I can’t…”
“Please,” he begged. “Being dead could never hurt so much.  I could never hurt anyone else if I was dead, Parvani.  I know you would miss me, but it would be right and good and I would be free of this affliction…” he whispered. “Do it.  Please, Parvani.  I’m going mad.  I’ve gone mad.  Save them from me, and me from myself.”
“I love you,” she whispered. “My friend, my brother…” Tears filled her eyes, blurring the gleaming dagger.  With a grimace, before she could change her mind, the young woman turned the blade and plunged it into Rufen’s heart, giving it a twist to finish the job.  Blood poured out of the wound—his blood, her blood, and the air left his lungs in a final whisper.
“Please don’t ever end up like m-“
Then he was gone.