Chapter Twenty-Four #2
“I’m sorry,” I murmur as I drop the knife in the sink beside me and gaze into the flames. “But I need to talk to Mastyx, and killing you is the only way.”
“What? Who?” The words barely exit his mouth when a hooved foot breaches the flames, landing in front of him.
The salesman slides back on the floor, leaving a trail of blood, his face paling from blood loss.
I stand there, my eyes unseeing as Mastyx’s other hooved foot breaches the flames, his body entering the room in slow motion.
The salesman’s eyes widen, his mouth stretching into a cartoon-like face right before a blood-curdling scream pierces my ears.
Mastyx lifts him from my living room floor, blood dripping like rain onto the hardwood from his knife wound and pulls the man against his chest so they are face to face.
I feel nothing. I do nothing as Mastyx’s throat lights up, and the man’s soul leaves his body and enters Mastyx, draining him dry until he’s nothing more than a pile of loose skin and bones.
The skin-coated bones thud to the floor. What once bothered me no longer matters. Seeing so many deaths over the years has numbed my soul. I’m a heartless monster, just as much as he is.
My eyes drift to Mastyx. “I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “They’re all sinners. No more tears for them. You don’t know what they do or think behind closed doors, but I do. I know everything.” He walks toward me, forcing me backward into my bedroom. “Now, lie down and let me take care of you.”
? ? ?
After Mastyx had his way with me, which was entirely for my benefit this time, including after care, I have a spring in my step.
I feel…refreshed, like everything that was bothering me suddenly vanished, and I feel anew.
I have an energy surging through me that I haven’t felt in days, and I wonder if he had something to do with it.
Did he clear my mind of what’s making me depressed?
This is what he does. He takes care of me.
He makes me forget who I’ve hurt so that I can focus on the why.
I want to survive—to stay in this life amongst the living.
My eyes brighten as I sit in front of a block of wood, the man I just killed, and Mastyx’s juices still seeping out of me.
Buying human bones online can be pricey, and their quality and legitimacy are questionable.
Using the bones of my victims in my work just makes sense.
Why pay such a high price for something I have access to for free?
And the best part is, no one will be the wiser.
It’s not like I’m not already doing well with the animal art pieces; I’m actually doing fantastic.
But human ones, buyers absolutely love them, and the price point I can set for them is significantly higher.
The salesman’s feet are currently serving as a buffet for my beetles. Dermestid beetles are curious and useful little creatures. I love the way they can take fleshy body parts and devour them in a matter of days, especially with the large colony I maintain.
Once the bones are picked clean and ready for use, I’ll attach them to the plank and surround the edges with little nursery pots that I’ve strategically attached to the plank.
I will fill them with mature micro grasses and add bundles of dried flowers.
I think I will call this piece Spring in My Step.
The next full moon is not only rare, but one that has the police making announcements and on high alert.
People who own black cats are warned to keep them indoors, and they anticipate an uptick in crime and unusual calls.
I scan the list of warnings provided by the police department, published in the local town crier, and smile—no warning to local men not to go home with strange women.
I call that a win for me.
? ? ?
Halloween is a week away. I don’t like decorating too soon, then I’ll end up doing it at the same time as most of my neighbors.
I prefer to do it at the last minute. Get it up, enjoy the day and take it down like a week-long pop-up shop that suddenly appears out of nowhere.
I secure my skull archway at the end of the sidewalk and plug it into my green outdoor extension cord to make sure it lights up.
My eyes brighten at the sight of multiple skulls in different states of horror, screaming with a glowing backdrop of red lights. It’s perfect.
I turn my attention to the rows of marigolds that line the walkway leading to my porch.
Water spills from my watering can, giving each one a drink before I kneel in the grass beside them.
Cleaning the ground around them may seem pointless to some, but I like the black mulch surrounding them to be pitch-black and perfect.
It really makes the blood-red flowers pop at night.
I stand, brush off my grass-covered knees, and grab my sign to put at the end of the walkway, just beside the archway, so that everyone can see it.
The rubber mallet bounces in my hand, vibrating up my arm as I tap down the list of rules for Halloween night. I stand and back up into the street, making sure no cars are coming, and gaze at my simple, yet lovely Halloween display.
“Looks good,” a voice says from behind me.
I turn to see the old man across the street giving me a thumbs up from his porch, where he’s resting his freshly carved pumpkin. I’m not a big fan of real pumpkins; they attract critters to your doorstep. I nod to him and return my attention to my display.
The five-foot skeleton is a little crooked, so I walk over and adjust it until it points perfectly at the rule sign in the yard. I once again back up, and a broad smile stretches across my face.
It looks amazing. A sense of calm and relaxation washes over me.
It’s been a fantastic couple of weeks. I sold my third human art piece, raking in over two thousand dollars.
I could start listing them on auction sites to get the most out of my work, but I prefer to do all the work so I can keep all the profits.
Mr. Solarman’s skull, as it turns out, served a better purpose as a centerpiece for a dining room table.
I carved a perfect hole in the top of his head and placed a Raven ZZ plant in its center.
With leaves that start green and turn black as they mature, I knew buyers would love the color combination.
Around the skull, deep purple dried pansies and green moss skirting the borders of the circular, black-painted wooden plank.
It was light, gothic, and “stunning” according to the five-star review I received from the buyer, along with several beautiful images she took from every angle.
I feel optimistic about my future, and if the last few sales are any indication of what’s to come, I’ll be upgrading to a new car in no time.