I am not what one might consider a sentimental person, but I feel it might be necessary to leave a memoir of sorts to explain to those I have come to care about in case something goes wrong. And knowing my luck, nature and business that isn't totally out of the question.

After all, having a demon desiring your soul is not usually something that ends peacefully. 

I must make it clear, however, that this fiend did not come to want my soul because I was meant for greatness. No, in all honesty which is a feat for me, you will learn, I made a deal with the demon.

I wanted power, the power to reap my revenge upon a man who murdered the woman I loved, my unborn child, and the attempted murder of myself. He had attempted to kill me by slitting my throat, and to this day you can still see the faint scar that tracks across my trachea. I remember collapsing, choking on my own blood as it spilled from my body, and the screams of the woman I loved as I slipped from consciousness. 

Whether or not I regained consciousness before or after we were thrown into the harbor wrapped in burlap bags, I'm not sure. I seem to remember the bumps and noises of being transported in a cart, but who is to say I really remember that. What I do remember was the shock of the cold water as I was thrown into the water, the shock of the cold almost driving the life away from me again as the burlap bag slipped away from my body. I was weak, and could feel the last of my life leaving me in the darkness of the harbor. 

Then I heard the voice as I slipped into the grasp of death. It was a whisper, soft, almost comforting, but with an edge of disdain and cruelty. It was a female voice as well. 

"Poor poppet," the voice said. "Such a shame, to go out this way…"

I tried to speak and answer, but my mouth was filled with the salty ocean water as I sank deeper and deeper. Eternal sleep threatened to overtake me. 
"What is it you want most right now?" the voice asked.

I want…I want to live… live and destroy the one who took everything away from me…

"You want to live?"

Yes…

"You want the power to render your enemies to ash?"

Yes…

"If I were to save you, and give you this power, would you serve me? Serve me, and give your will to me?"

Who are you?

She then made herself visible to me. She was terrifyingly beautiful, skin like alabaster, hair as black as the night, lips red as though they had been painted with blood, sparkling fangs and glistening black horns and a whip-like tail. Her clothes rippled and moved with the water like black ink. 

"Will you serve me?"

I was enthralled by her, by her offer. I wanted revenge so badly that I could taste it. I wanted the power she offered, to have power that I had never had in my life before. More than anything, though, I wanted to continue to live, regardless of the cost.

And so I answered her: Yes.

She grinned wickedly at me and pointed at my limp form as I floated in the deep. Green flames engulfed me, replacing the cold with a heat that I was sure would reduce me to ash. I felt her powers fuse the gash in my throat, and sink into ever fiber of my being. New life, almost infernal in nature, surged through me as the green flames made the water around me boil and the demon vanished.

"Our bargain is struck, Adraejen Porthyrius. You will see me again…"

The flames dissipated, and I found myself in want of breath. I saw the body of my love floating not far from me, and I swam with all the strength I could muster, and dragged her body to the surface.

I swallowed the air until I was drunk on it, and dragged myself and my love's limp body to the shore. I tried my best to revive her, but she was gone, as was our child. 

An anguish far greater than any I had known before consumed me. I don't know how long I held her sobbing. Before long, however, this anguish was replaced by a rage that I felt could set my very on fire. I would destroy the monster who did this. 

He wasn't expecting me to return to his mansion. When he saw me at first, all pale and half drowned, he was certain he had taken too much to drink and that I was a ghost conjured by his imagination. Imagine how surprised and he was and the terror he felt when he came to the realization that I was all too real, returned to this life with powers that he could not comprehend. 

I will not lie here, I took great pleasure in returning upon that man the same torture and pain he had bestowed upon me. He took that which was most dear to my heart, and tried to take my life. I simply returned the favor. 

Before I burned down his mansion, with him inside it, I took with me his business documents, a business that I had greatly helped improve. It would have been a shame if there had not been someone there to see to his business affairs. 

Now you know the darker side of me. I am not a good man, nor do I ever aspire to be. But in the event that anything ill should befall me, you have an idea of what it is that has happened.