Epilogue 1 #2
I walk back into the adjoining room, grab the last few items I need, and arrange everything so they’re in place. Walking back over to Derek, I hold my palm up and let the sparks dance across it, smirking when his breathing picks up.
“So everyone here knows I’m a witch now.
I think most people, at least the older generation, always knew.
I was naive, you see. I thought I was getting taunted and bullied because of my mother’s history, not mine.
Hell, I didn’t even know I was a witch until the night my powers came in.
And well, we all know how that turned out.
I’d planned to hide that side of me for the most part.
But as I’m sure you noticed, this town reacts to me being back.
There was no hiding that in the long run. ”
I crouch and don’t miss the way his eyes run over my naked body, though the look of disgust indicates it does nothing for him. This makes a change. Not everyone in his position has been able to control their dick, which is why I tend to remove it first.
“Wanna know a fun fact, Derek?” He blinks, his eyes on the sparks as he swallows before looking up at me. “You were right. I am the reason for all those missing men. Can’t help the town heal until you cut out the rot, you know?”
“I knew it,” he hisses.
“Yes, I’ll give you your dues, you’re the only one who figured it out.
But then you knew I was the one who killed Dale, didn’t you?
” I cock my head. “I’m curious. Did you always know about my gifts?
Your father knew about me, of course, but I hadn’t come into my power until… ” I huff out a dry laugh.
“My birthmark. Did my father tell him about it? Though he was born and raised here, he might just have known more about the Hart family history than I realized. I bet your daddy saw it when he arrested me and then told you about it.”
He doesn’t confirm it, but I can read the truth in his eyes, which pisses me off. I press my fingers to his lips and let the sparks zap at him, making him cry out.
“You didn’t even give me a chance.”
“You’re a witch,” he hisses.
“And? You’re an asshole. So what? All you had to do was stay out of my way, and I would have stayed out of yours. But you just couldn’t. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being a witch and everything to do with me being a woman. Did history teach you nothing?”
“It taught me that women are whores who can’t be trusted,” he snarls.
“Ouch. It must really suck then that my dick is bigger than yours.” I wink, getting to my feet. “Well, as fun as this has been, I really should get back. My guys tend to freak out a little if they wake up spooning each other.”
“You’re all a bunch of fucked-up freaks.”
“I can’t argue with that.” I pull the wheelbarrow over and place it next to him as he struggles in his shackles. It’s amusing watching his flaccid little pecker flap around like that.
“I think I’ve just found the root of why you hate women. When you jerk off, do you even need to wrap your whole hand around it, or will two fingers do?”
“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!” he screams.
“Not even if you were using someone else’s dick.”
I hum that same damn catchy tune as I slip the hair tie from my wrist and pull my hair up into a messy bun so it’s out of the way. “I hate getting blood in my hair,” I tell him when he watches me warily.
“Wanna see something fun I learned?”
He shakes his head no, well as much as the shackle allows him to. I ignore him, making a spark dance on my palm before it’s joined by another and another. When my whole hand is glowing, I focus on an image and watch with a smile as the white light takes on a blade shape. “Cool, right?”
“Eat shit.”
“Not my kink, but you do you. Wanna know what my kink is? Teaching wannabe fuck boys that women shouldn’t be messed with.
” I wipe all the mirth from my face and let him see the hatred in my eyes.
“You sealed your fate the second you touched Sarah. Killing Dawn just means this is going to be that much more painful. Usually, I let my guests pass out until I’m done, but you…
I think I’ll keep restarting your heart until the bitter end. ”
I bend down and hold the blade above his left foot.
“Stop, what are you doing?”
“I thought that was obvious. I’m cutting you up.”
He screams in horror. “Why?”
“Because if someone tried to eat you whole, they’d choke. Bite-sized pieces are so much better. Though I don’t suppose it matters in the end.”
He thrashes and starts sobbing. I’m unmoved, thinking about Dawn’s pain-riddled eyes as she slipped away.
I hum as I press the blade through Derek’s ankle. His body offers no resistance, and the blade passes through his skin and bones like butter. “The beauty is this blade cauterizes the wound too,” I tell him right before he passes out.
“What a baby.” I toss the foot in the wheelbarrow before cutting off the other one. I toss that foot to join the first before pressing my hand to his heart and shocking it. He comes to with a gasp.
“Welcome back. Now, where was I? Oh yes.” I slice just under his knee and smile when he screams. I throw his lower leg in the barrow.
“You want to know something funny? The first time I did this, it was purely accidental. I got an order from Lacey Giles. You know her, right? You should. She reported her husband to the police for domestic violence eleven times. Each time she took him back, refusing to press charges. From what I heard from Lacey, you didn’t even bother responding to the last two calls—one of which resulted in her miscarrying on her kitchen floor because she was too weak to get help.
“What you failed to take into account was that she took him back because she was terrified. She had no support system, no friends, no family. She’d wake up to find him standing over her with a knife to her throat, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Every time she asked for help, he was released within a day and back to terrorizing her, only worse than before.
Her husband, Parker, was a piece of shit who would never stop until one of them was dead, and I refused to let it be Lacey.
“I gave her a potion to slip into his drink. The same shit I slipped into your whiskey up at your daddy’s cabin. It’s a little something I whipped up that’s laced with my pheromones. It made him crave me, and when it became too strong for him to ignore, he came for me.
“The house let me know when he was approaching. The vines snatched him once he was close enough and held him for me until I could get him down here. It worked so well that I did it again and again, tweaking the delivery method as needed, and the flies walked directly into my web. How does it feel to be one of many? Sucks to not be special even in death, huh?”
I chop off this other leg before moving on to his arms, ignoring his crying.
“I’ll admit, it’s some heady shit. I feel like the Pied Piper of Crowhurst, luring you all in, but I only hurt those who deserved it.
You wonder why people started rallying around me?
It’s not through fear. Well, for some it might be.
But for most, it’s because of loyalty. I had their backs, and now they have mine. ”
He’s passed out again now. I heave as I chuck his limbs in the barrow.
His torso is restrained only by the band around his neck.
Not that he could escape now anyway. I look down at my blood-soaked skin and feel a sense of pride as I get to my knees and grip Derek’s hair.
I press my hand to his heart and shock it again, yanking him from the dark one final time.
“Almost done, Derek. I wouldn’t want you to miss the finale and not know what will happen to you. You see that machine over there?” I use my hold on his head to yank it in the direction of the machine I brought in.
“That’s a meat grinder. Once I’ve diced you up, I’ll throw you in there, and hey presto, instant ground meat.
I found a great recipe at the library that day you beat up Sarah, one that uses a few herbs and spices.
I’ve gotta say, the burgers have been a huge success.
Everyone was talking about them at the festival.
” I grin at him as fever and panic flash in his eyes.
I blow him a kiss goodbye a second before I bring the blade down on his neck.
Once his head is free from his body, I put it in the barrow with the rest of him and slice the torso into four parts, making it easy to carry.
It takes an hour to mince everything and put it into the coolers.
I clean the room and all the equipment before spraying myself down, too.
As I air dry, I return all the equipment and load the coolers onto the hand truck and wheel it through the other room.
I open the door to the cold storage room.
Inside is a walk-in fridge. Goosebumps break out over my skin as I leave the coolers inside and swing the door closed.
Heading out, I watch as the door to the room disappears, making me grin.
I tap the wall, sending my gratitude before I skip to my nightdress and pull it back on.
I look around once more, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything before I head back out to the tunnel. The opening behind me closes as I hum my tune. This time I don’t look back, knowing the house is doing what it’s been designed to do—protect me.
And in return, I protect it right back, by any means necessary.