A/N: A Stradivarius is a very, very expensive violin. Antonio Stradivarius was the original maker of the violin in 1674.

The Devil's Stradivarius

The night is black

Blacker than it's ever been before

Suffocating, surrounding darkness

The rain is crashing down in sheets; pounding on my window

The brilliance of a lightning bolt illuminates the cold, lightless room

And that's when I see them

The shadows have come out to play

They take their positions on the wall and wooded floor

Waiting

The darkness is their friend and yet I am their master

I can twist them and shape them

Contort them and sort them

With my Stradivarius

I pull it out of its velvet case; preparing my masterpiece

And then I play

My fingers move in a sensual dance across the strings

They already know where to plant themselves

My bow hand slams into the strings

Rocking back and forth

Back and forth

I play from my soul

Music pours out of my very core

And I have a symphony

The howl of the wind and the drumming of the rain

Are my accompanists

The lightning and thunder are my conductors; I play through them

And the shadows are twisting

Their gleaming, dazzling red eyes are the only things able to be seen against their shadowy substance

Their waltzing to my music; my sound

Their floating closer my way and I continue to play furiously

I play with all the hate I possess

All my hate

Thunder booms; lightning crackles

Their getting closer and closer

Closer

They're suffocating me

Surrounding me

They form a circle over the Stradivarius and I; we have become one

They are calling me

Thunder roars; lightning flashes

Calling me

They beckon me

And I can play no longer

I have done my part

Calling for the shadows to come and take me away

I am surrounded and I can play no longer

Never again

I succumb to the darkness as it seeps through my veins

Nothing is left of my soul anymore

Only:

The Devil's Stradivarius