Interlude
I hold her, cradle the trembling head between clawed hands and wonder at her beauty.
Eyes wide she stares up at my face. Does she recognise her own image? I stole it when I rebirthed her – she should be grateful.
A song sings, muffled behind the ribbons of satin at her mouth. I have woven them into multi-coloured braids. If she uses her tongue she will find a way out, a release for the nightingale in her throat.
We are naked, she and me; but we differ still. Her mane of gold now pours from my own scalp, studded in swathes and streaked vermilion with my old blood. I take a handful of the fine hair and use it as a paintbrush, dipping it in and out of the open slices at her belly. The thick fluids coagulate almost before I can apply them to my chest where I have tattooed her name. But all is well, the holes overflow with her juices and she is sealed to me forever.
It won’t be long. I reach down to gather the nest from between her legs. Humming an aria I sprinkle the wiry threads into a keepsake box with her brows and eyelashes.
Her last breath’s a pretty one. I help by biting the strap from her lips – I have caught her gasp before she can take another one and I hold her tight as she dies in my mouth.
It’s a hollow death. No shame in that.
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Lily - it seems you've gotten back into full tilt macabre mode. I love the unapologetic evil of the demon. It's precisely the gruesome delight he/she/it takes that makes this read so well.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work.
A creepy tale, all the better for using first person.
ReplyDeleteHoly darn moly!
ReplyDeleteI just don't want to be on your bad side but THIS was BRILLIANT.
Chris, Jen and Cathy - thanks for the kind words. What a wicked creature it is! I have no idea what it'll do next, but have no doubt it'll show me soon.
ReplyDeleteThe demon within. I'm almost afraid of what you will do next. The darkness you portray is lavish and chilling, such excellent combinations.
ReplyDeletelove it. so dark, so mesmerising!
ReplyDeleteErin, this demon has one of those voices that comes from somewhere outside of me, when I take a look the next morning and wonder where I was when I (?) wrote that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Antonia - hope all's well with you.
Wow! This is where nightmares and fears spring. Demons often have the power in your stories, and yet by writing them you become their master and they your slave. It's a fascinating relationship. Gorgeous horror, Lily. As only you can write.
ReplyDelete