Sybil Writes On Leaves

13

The Gothic Girl walked out the room, slamming the door behind her. Lavinia’s voice said, “Forget about her. Feed me.” There were no options. I knelt between Lavinia’s bandaged stumps, took a bite of the meat, chewed it for her and fed her. The meat was passed and the ritual was consummated. The blood was mixed with the seed. Sally ate from the meat and passed it to Lilith. Lilith did the same, then passed it to Octavia. Octavia grabbed the meat from her hands and devoured what was left. I was surprised by Lilith and Octavia’s sudden transformation. The sight of the blood, death, fear and suffering seemed to have awoken something deep inside them.

Sally chopped the corpse up with a machete, then Octavia and Lilith carried the pieces to the shed. Lavinia’s voice demanded that I go to her office. As I sat alone in front of her desk, my hands and face covered in blood, my mind was on the hand that held my soul in a clenched fist. I realized then that my enthrallment was not based solely on fear. I had never encountered a person who had so much power centered within themselves. She didn’t need weapons, wealth, permission or praise. Her power was in her heart and mind. She sacrificed her beauty, legs and breast to show that her power could not be diminished and her will could not be thwarted. I had fallen in love with her power, cruelty and defiance.

I heard the door open and turned to see Lavinia sitting on the floor in the doorway. Her voice said, “Put me in my chair.” I got the chair from behind her desk and pushed it to where she was seated. I picked her up, sat her in the chair and pushed her to the desk. She pulled out a brush from the desk drawer and began to brush her hair. Her voice said, “Sit down.”

She still wore the black and red mask. She placed the hairbrush back in the drawer, then laid her blood-stained hands flat on the table. Her voice said, “I have a different plan for Brianna. When we’re done here, you will go across the hall and strangle her. Don’t do anything else to her. I’m going to use her for something and I need her whole. I see that you have a conflict going on inside you. Do I need to cut your heart out so that I can be sure where it is?”

“No.”

“No? Are you saying that your devotion to me is a certainty?”

My heart pounded and anxiety swelled inside me. She knew my thoughts. She was asking a question that I couldn’t answer. Her voice became angry. She slammed her fist on the desk, “I ask for certainty and you give me doubt?”

“I’m in this with you all the way. I have no doubts about my devotion to you?”

“LIAR!!! In your heart you believe that you’re stuck, committed to someone that you’re terrified of, and who you believe will eventually destroy you. Isn’t that the truth? Is that what you call devotion?”

“That describes part of my devotion to you, not all. There is reverence and there is love.”

“That is fear, not love.”

“If you doubt me, then I guess the only way you can be certain is to cut my heart out.” I opened my shirt, exposing my chest, “Go ahead!” She sat motionless and silent for several minutes. Finally, her voice said, “Don’t think you’re special, I can replace you any day.”

“Now you’re the one who is lying…” Instantly and at the same, I began vomiting, pissing and shitting on myself. My right hand balled into a fist and struck me in the mouth.. I tried to stand and collapsed facedown on the floor. I couldn’t move. Then, she was right beside me, turning me over. She climbed top of me, straddling me with her stumps. She held a dagger in her hand.

Her voiced screamed in my head, “TELL ME TO DO IT AGAIN! TELL ME TO CUT YOUR HEART OUT!” Tears streamed from my eyes. She stabbed the dagger into the floor, inches from my face. Then she laid down on top of me. Her voice said, “Don’t tempt me or provoke me. I would regret it if I killed you in anger.” I was able to move again. I placed my hands on her back and thought, “I’m sorry.”

She sat up and got off me. Her voice said, “Go clean yourself up.” I picked her up and put her back in her chair. After a long, hot shower, I put on a black robe that hung on the door. Then I went to the room across the hall and strangled Brianna until her face was dark blue, her one-eye looked like it was going to pop out of its socket and her tongue hung out the side of her mouth.

I left Brianna’s limp body hanging from the restraints on the wall and returned to Lavinia’s office. Octavia was seated in front of the desk. She had showered and changed into a fresh uniform. I took a seat by the door. Lavinia and Octavia both sat in complete silence. I focused on Octavia. There was no voice to the thoughts I picked up, just images flashing into my mind; a circle of women with painted faces standing around a freshly covered grave, hands digging out the dirt, a pine coffin, a man hacking away at the wood with a machete, the corpse opening its eyes, a large woman with a mask identical to the one worn by Lavinia. I tried to draw my focus away from her, the images kept flooding my consciousness. The dead rotting old man that attacked Octavia as a child, a line of expressionless, pale faces; painted bodies dancing in a circle, a wrinkled old woman slicing open a body, the altar, a daemonic Goddess devouring a man alive, a sea of bloody bodies fornicating and feasting.

The images stopped when Lavinia’s voice entered my mind, “Stay out of Octavia’s head. She is followed by a demon, it frequents her thoughts and may not react well to your presence.”

“Does she know how to bring back the dead?”

“The dead don’t come back. The demon that follows her can channel its energy into a fresh body. I can control that energy once it’s in place.”

“How long till Brianna…”

“Go look. She’s not Brianna anymore.”

I went back to the room across the hall. Brianna was standing up straight. Her one eye looked straight ahead without blinking. Her chest didn’t move, I saw no sign of breathing. I approached her slowly. Lavinia’s voice said, “Careful.” Brianna lunged at me, her teeth snapped shut in front of me. She fought against the restraints, bared her teeth at me and growled. Then she immediately went motionless and silent looking straight ahead.

Black Sally appeared in the doorway smoking, “I like her better as a zombie. She’s a lot nicer like this.” Sally looked at me and we both laughed. It was the first time I had really laughed in several days. I couldn’t tell if it was a humorous laugh or if I was just going insane. Sally motioned toward Lavinia’s office, I followed her in and returned to my seat next to the door. Sally sat on Lavinia’s desk. She spoke out loud, “The Great Sathanas. What do you want to do first?”

Lavinia’s voice replied, “Start hitting his brothels and his workers. I want him to know we’re coming for him. He’ll hide out and hole up. Once we have him in a hole, we’ll blow it up. Start with that whorehouse he‘s got on 8th. Kill everyone inside and burn the place to the ground. Don‘t take anything from there. Do you understand? I don‘t care what you find in that house, you leave it there. Burn everything.”

I asked, “What about the women?”

Lavinia replied, “What about them? When I say kill everyone inside, it means exactly that. The women, the tricks, the guys watching over the place, the dog; no one escapes and no one is left breathing. This is war. The only rule in war is ‘Win’. Destroy your enemy. Sathanas cannot protect his business interests from us. If he can’t make money, he can’t exist. The people backing him will walk away and they‘ll take their equipment with them. They may even kill him before we get the chance. Either way, the enemy will be neutralized.”

#Ichneumon 42
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