THE POISONER #3
I stood at the top of the stairs to watch the people moving around the grand entrance, scattered among the social nooks.
Some moved to the middle for a small dance when certain songs played on the phonograph.
The entire evening was romantic. I didn’t believe the ones putting us on trial deserved such treatment, but I couldn’t argue with customs of a culture I was barely a part of.
As I leaned on the banister, a figure came up behind me. I leaned my back against a chest, hands around my waist as absinthe danced on my tongue with each taste from the crystal glass.
I took a deep breath, the smell of cinnamon and cognac confusing me at first. Smoky notes of leather with only the lightest hint of sweetness. Scents that you may find from something old and freshly uncorked.
A tremble raced down my spine.
Palms smoothed over my hips to the front, keeping me in place as the hot breath fanned against my shoulder.
Blond hair teased out of the corner of my eye.
The rumble of a chittering sound right by my ear, tickling my inner ear from the noise alone.
Butterflies bloomed in my stomach, or possibly it was the call of hunger.
A fang brushed against my skin, then a kiss placed on my shoulder.
The tickle of bristles.
My heart dropped, blood draining to the floor. My reaction happened before I had time to think, to be afraid.
The back of my hand met the face with all the force of my pivot.
My ring cut Levi Astor’s face across the cheekbone.
My glass shattered on the floor over the banister, a much less jovial chime for guests’ attention.
My face flustered in pure mortification; the rest of me burned so hot I thought the anger would consume me.
There was no stutter, no hesitation, but my soul demanded the words from me like a commandment from God himself. I didn’t have to raise my voice, or shout, or scream. All my body wanted to do was to destroy.
“You will not leave this place alive,” I said. My body didn’t have the strength to tremble any longer.
Levi wiped the blood from his face, keeping his gaze locked as he licked the black droplets from his thumb. “I will be leaving with what I came for.”
“Choose the horse you bet on wisely, Mr. Astor. Death rides a pale one. And he has fixed this race.”
Nothing I said moved him. The silence around us could have been a reaction to the commotion, or my more carnal senses had forgotten all distractions in a moment of homicidal desire.
He glanced down to my lips, then back at my eyes, a smirk crawling across his lips as he leaned in.
I did not move, not even a breath.
His lips were so close to mine as he whispered, “Who do you think pays for the fixing, my dear?”
The depth of my frozen state was only realized when the outside came in.
Suddenly, Levi was no longer in front of me, but quickly yanked away by the fabric of his jacket.
I stared at the floor in the distance, my body frozen as my mind reeled faster than a steam engine’s coupling rod. Yet the sounds of blunt clamoring were somehow slow, like listening to a dying phonograph that was in desperate need of winding.
Levi was thrown onto the stairs, his nose spewing blood as he lay on his back, a full view of Silas coming down the stairs with bloodied knuckles.
Silas leaned down, lifting his father by his vest before throwing him onto the marble floor.
The horrid screams and terror on people’s faces came second to the sound of a cracking nose as Silas hit him again in the face. All Levi did was laugh, doubling over in pain and the force with which his diaphragm must be working. Black blood dyed his pristine white suit an ugsome pattern of filth.
Silas straddled his chest, one hand on Levi’s throat and the other tearing itself to shreds on his father’s face. He didn’t seem to care, as long as the damage matched.
His father had the most lively smile, even with his face covered in black.
Silas’s hand snapped to his lips, fingers pulling his mouth open.
As much as Levi tried to pull Silas’s hand away, a crackling like splintering wood silenced everyone.
Then Silas stood over his father, blood dripping from his fist.
Levi panted, seemingly having to exert great effort to stay conscious. He lazily spat blood as it filled his mouth.
“I told you that you’d lose whatever touches her skin.” It was quiet enough that Silas didn’t have to speak up for everyone to hear. So quiet, in fact, we all heard the chime as Silas tossed whatever was in his fist to the floor.
One gold-plated fang.
With a bloodied smile, Levi gave a slight shake of his head before he let his back rest fully against the floor. One less fang than the last time he’d opened his mouth.
Individuals rushed to the middle of the floor, Luka grabbing Silas to pull him away as they tried to assess the damage on his father.
“Alina!” Phoebe grabbed my arm. I didn’t even notice her come to my side. “Are you all right?” Her voice swam.
But all I could do was stare at the bloodied mess of the floor, wishing I could have shared the catharsis of making it myself. Another time where my own cowardice proved I may be able to help every single soul except my own.