by Tanai Walker
I was up as well, but not for long. The change came over me, and I collapsed to the floor, on my back, writhing in pain. I heard Leda scream, and I rolled over and pulled myself forward, the black claws gouging ruts into the linoleum.
I crawled toward Leda and looked up to see her face marred by burning holes. Orange patches glowed behind the melted skin. At her right shoulder, the flesh fell away in clumps of cinders and crumbled into ash as they hit the floor. Her eyes met mine as another scream escaped her glowing throat.
I jumped to my feet and answered her anguish with a roar that seemed to shake the entire building. I sailed in front of Leda as Juliette jumped on top of the table, that horrible crop raised above her head, the flail in the other. I swiped at her, saw my hairy, clawed hand impact her chest, saw her face change from determination to fear.
She flew backward and crashed into the fat man’s mini-buffet. His young companion screamed as the table fell over sending food, drink, and eating utensils raining to the floor. Sandra watched the scene calmly. She looked to me and said my name slowly and sternly as if she were talking to a spooked horse. She took a tentative step forward. I shouted for her to stay back, but of course, it came out in the form of another soul-shaking roar.
I felt an arm snake around my neck, and a hand tangled in the fur around my back.
“Get me out of here, Tinsley,” Leda said.
I leapt forward on all fours, my claws scrambling through the restaurant debris on the floor. Bits of embers and ash flew across my field of vision, and I knew they came from Leda, that she was hurt. Juliette rose, brandishing her weapons. I skirted around her and jumped on a counter, knocking over a cash register and its screen.
Juliette came at me in a full run, Sandra close behind.
I sank down on my haunches and jumped at the window of the storefront, claws first. The plate glass shattered to bits in a smoky blue explosion. I landed on my feet on the sidewalk. I took only a second to pause to make sure Leda still held on, and then I was off again.
I ran away, right into the street where cars darted to avoid hitting me. I leapt over a full-sized pickup and landed, claws scrambling for purchase in its plastic-lined bed. The brakes protested as the startled driver stopped. The force of the sudden stop slammed me into the back windshield. Leda fell into the truck bed on her side. I leaned over her, certain she was dead, that the Sisterhood had succeeded in burning her.
I heard a gasp and looked up to see the owner of the truck staring. A low growl rumbled from my throat, and the man fled.
Leda stirred. She grabbed two tufts of my hair and lifted herself to her feet. Her skin still glowed where the embers had touched her, but otherwise she seemed to have regenerated. She stumbled a bit, and I leaned into her so she could stand.
Sirens reported in the distance. Leda climbed on my back again. I leapt out of the truck and onto the sidewalk. I scaled the fence of a large cemetery, sprinted across the grounds, and over the opposite fence. Careful of the burden on my back, I moved in the cover of dark and several underpasses of busy streets built high above Buffalo Bayou.
Despite the presence of the beast that dominated my mind, I was headed home. I stopped at an oak-shaded intersection where a rickety church presided over a group of row houses, dilapidated and abandoned except for the most lost members of society. I stopped and Leda slid off my back. The skin at her face and arm continued to glow, though not as bright as before. Her eyes were nearly closed from exhaustion.
I could not take her home. The Sisterhood was more than likely watching for my return. I squatted next to Leda and waited for her to give me some kind of direction. She said nothing and began to doze against the trunk of the oak. I heard voices, men talking loud and brash as they made their way around the block. Once again, I lifted Leda and moved toward the row houses. A warm breeze carried a dozen scents my way―grass, decay, scat, rotting wood, and sewage.
I climbed the cinderblock steps that led to the back porch of one of the houses where the screen door had fallen away. I peered into the shadowy interior of the kitchen. Inside, grime and filth layered the broken vinyl on the floor. I smelled the moist musk of small animals beneath the rotting floorboards and years-old grease. I backed away when I heard voices coming from somewhere inside the house. A resounding creaking noise was followed by the snapping of splintering wood as two of the floorboards gave. My foot crashed through one of the worn wooden boards that barely held the porch together.
Leda fell along with me, and I scrambled to free myself from the hole. Once I was free, I looked for Leda, only to find that she was gone. The voices in the house began to chatter excitedly. Their high-pitched tones told me they were children.
Quickly, I made my way into the house, through the kitchen, and into the small living room. There I saw Leda surrounded by a group of children. They were admiring her glowing skin under the light of candles. One of them pointed the beam of a flashlight into my eyes.
“Transmorphation,” they exclaimed in unison.
The Sun Monster kids. I scrambled away from them and became tangled in a gutted wall of broken wood and wires. They moved in as I extricated myself. The boy Bobby stood among them. He reached out with an extended finger to touch me.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
I roared at him. The children startled but none of them moved. Ignorant children, so blinded by a make-believe world created by a conglomerate of entertainment companies eager to sell them useless myth that they didn’t realize what danger they were in.
“It’s okay,” Leda said and then spoke to the children. “You’re making my friend nervous.”
They all gathered around her once again, squatting on milk crates.
“Are you a Fire Pixie?” one of them asked.
“Yes,” she said and allowed them to touch her arm and face. The glow slowly vanished, to the children’s disappointment. Leda seemed to gain her strength back. She sat among them and looked through their collectable cards.
I squatted in the darkest corner. Bobby tiptoed in and tried to give me a Snickers and a can of Pepsi as if this were some ridiculous movie about another boy adventurer. I growled evenly.
They had drawn the Sun Monster symbols all over the walls, as well as crude drawings of the most popular of the creatures. If I had been in a better humor, I would have laughed. Were we all not children in the dark drawing graffiti and following even more ridiculous myths?
I changed back into my own skin and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Professor Swiggleslock,” Bobby said in amazement.
He took off his oversized T-shirt and gave it to me to cover myself, and I thanked him.
“That Dark Agent figured out I was spying on her,” he said. “She was pissed.”
“Did she scare you?” I asked and found my voice hoarse and scratchy.
“She told me to look out for you.” He smiled. “She gave me twenty dollars.”
I rolled my eyes. “All of you should go home,” I told them. “It’s late.”
They exchanged glances as if they had to decide if I could tell them what to do. They looked to Leda as if she held more authority.
“We can play tomorrow,” Bobby finally said, and they began to drift off. I reached out and grabbed his arm when he moved to follow them.
“If you ever see the Dark Agent lady again, tell her that was a dirty trick she played.”
He grinned, pleased to be involved in this bit of intrigue. He left behind the soda and candy, and I felt so depleted that I devoured them as soon as he left. Leda watched me while she removed her cell from her pocket and called Claudio. She told him where we were.
“Make sure you’re not followed. Alexandrine’s cult is everywhere.”
“They’ve been following us,” I said once she ended the call.
“For some time,” Leda said. She showed me one of the kids’ cards. On it was a picture of a scantily clad woman with fairy wings, with tresses of flames. “Like I’ve told you, Tinsley
, this game has played out many times. There is only one way it can end, with me on the pyre or at my rest in the underworld.”
I stared at the card. “So we can’t just run?”
“No,” Leda said. “That’s why tomorrow is so important.”
“What’s going to happen tomorrow at the parade?”
Leda walked out of the rickety house. Once we were out on the street, she turned to me.
“I wouldn’t have recovered if we hadn’t come upon those children,” she said. “They made me a part of their little cult, and it gave me strength. Tomorrow, I will make a new cult, something temporary to help me reclaim the beast and cross over into the underworld.”
A car cruised onto the street. When its headlights hit us, the driver honked the horn. Leda took my hand and led me forward urgently.
“We must go quickly.”
Once we were settled in the car, I found I couldn’t let go of her hand. My thoughts were of life without the beast and the curse of its presence every seven years. The prospect seemed empty. There would be no Leda, or Sandra, or even my postcards.
“Alexandrine’s cult knows about the fucking party house,” Leda said to Claudio. “Make sure it’s cleared out.”
He grunted, his eyes watching me through the rearview mirror.
“Tinsley saved my ass today,” Leda told him. “She’s the beast.”
*
We drove to a motel, a tiny seedy-looking place a bit out of town. Dos Palmas. When we stepped out of the car, I could hear Tejano music blaring from one of the rooms. Leda skipped the check-in desk and led me to a room on the second landing. She opened the door and stepped into the darkened room. When she shut the door, I could only see the silhouettes of the furniture. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her as she moved around in the dark, shedding her clothes.
I could still hear the music in the distance. After a while, she came to me and straddled my lap. She leaned forward and bit my lip before kissing me there in the dark. Her body felt lithe and feverish under my hands. She broke away from me to turn so that my hands could better reach her more erogenous areas.
I wanted light. I wanted to see her under my hands. My protest came out as a groan. Leda laughed. Her body arched into my touch as I tested the firmness of her belly, the softness of her small breasts cupped in my hands, and the wetness at her center. She locked her legs around my waist and rocked her hips. Each time her ass lifted off my lap and returned, quick pangs of pleasure pulsed from my center.
She moved away from me and stretched out on the bed. I crawled after her and covered her body with mine. She relieved me of my borrowed shirt and played her hands up and down my sore ribs and along my tortured spine. The sighs that escaped her fueled my passion. I pinned her shoulders to the bed and felt her hand slide beneath the waistband of my pants. I parted my legs to give her better access to what she was after.
Her touch was electric. I felt myself slipping away, as if the beast was taking over, except instead of pain, I felt intense pleasure that weakened my limbs, and I could hardly keep myself from falling on top of her.
When I was close to my climax, she began to slide away. I grabbed at her and she laughed at me once again. She climbed off the bed, and for a few agonizing seconds, I lost her to the darkness of the room. My eyes caught a movement near the window where light from the outside bled in through the sides of the curtains.
“Come back,” I whispered.
“And what will you do with me?” she asked. I turned around, not able to pinpoint the direction of her voice.
I laughed this time. “You’ll have to come back and find out.”
“Finish undressing.”
I stepped off the bed and did what she asked. Once I was completely naked, I felt Leda slip behind me, her hands on my waist, my belly. She walked in front of me and kneeled. I finally got my wish for light when her eyes began to glow like molten gold, illuminating a circle around us a few feet wide.
She drank deep and the cries that came from my throat startled me.
I sank to the floor with her and kissed a trail from the base of her throat to her abdomen. I sampled the strip of stiff, dark curls, moist from her encounter. She tasted of earth and the air that flowed over the sea, like falling rain, green, and at the same time of the perfumed smoke from a censer.
She cried out, and spoke in that same language from the vision. I felt her reach her climax and took my time releasing her. Her glow faded. She climbed on top of me and kissed my cheek tenderly. Her eyes shimmered in the darkness like faraway stars beneath her closed lids. Even though in so many ways she was like a human woman, from her vices down to the way she snoozed in my arms, she did not belong in this world.
Chapter Twelve
I woke to the sound of female voices chattering over my head. I opened my eyes to see Pearl and Rose standing over me in the dim room. I stirred under the covers, conscious that I wore nothing beneath the sheets. I snaked my arm around the other side of the bed searching for Leda. I turned my neck to find the space empty.
“Whoa,” Pearl said. “Someone got it on last night.”
“Leave her alone.” Rose smiled. “Leda says to feed her and get her ready.”
Pearl surreptitiously tossed me the Sun Monster shirt, which I slipped on. Rose brought me a delicious smelling bag of little tacos full of bits of meat, onions, and cilantro. I wolfed down nearly a dozen of them, washed down with a tall bottle of Coke.
“Where is Leda?”
“She’s doing a bunch of press for Bacchanista,” Pearl said as she unpacked a paper shopping bag from a trendy store.
“Shouldn’t I be with her?” I asked.
“We shook the Sisterhood last night,” Rose said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “They tried to draw us out of hiding by burning down the party house and Little Foxes.”
Pearl shook her head and made an apathetic sound as she fussed with the clothes from the bag. “There’s like an army of them. Throwing Molotov cocktails. All these chicks in black, their faces covered with ninja masks of all things.”
I tried to imagine Sandra dressed in such garb tossing a flaming bottle at a smoking house. What Pearl described didn’t sound like the Sisterhood I had known, but then again, Juliette was in charge now. Without the beast in their possession, they would have trained to be more proactive.
“They’re desperate now,” Rose said. “They know it’s over for them, after tonight.”
“What will you all do when Leda is gone?” I asked.
Rose shrugged. “Maybe go to Hollywood. She’s taught us some things.”
“How to conquer the cult of fame,” Pearl added.
My mind wandered to the Sun Monster kids the night before, how easily she had slipped into their little game, how their admiration had given her strength.
“She said she’s making a cult tonight,” I mused aloud.
“We better get going,” Rose said. “The parade will start in a few hours.”
I frowned. “A few hours? Have I been sleeping all day?” They laughed.
“You should feel refreshed,” Pearl said. “Now hit the showers.”
I put the tee on and slunk to the tiny restroom. Once I was cleaned up, Leda’s young witches once again dressed me. This time, they gave me white twill skinny pants embroidered with anchors and a tank top.
As we stepped out into the fading day, I found myself anxious to see Leda, and anxious about the beast who would take over my body in just hours.
We drove to the Montrose district, just minutes away from my home. A resurgence of young professionals had transformed the once exclusively bohemian neighborhood. Restaurants replaced the independent bookstores, and several of the older gay and lesbian bars closed down.
Still, once a year, several blocks were closed down for the Pride festival and parade. Hundreds of revelers usually turned out, and this year was no different. Even on the outskirts of the route, there were throngs of people.
I spotted Claudio s
tanding guard in front of a white tent. A sign at the entrance read Bacchanist V.I.P. Bash. Inside the tent, among a small crowd, Leda sat in a director’s chair. Her small, shapely body was covered in a silky robe. Despite the humid, sticky air, she waited cool and collected, her eyes covered with dark shades.
She stood to greet me and slowly kissed my cheeks. Her fingers clutched my hand. For a split second, I thought I felt her tremble when we touched.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
I leaned in close to her. “For what exactly?”
She removed her shades. “Just follow my lead. The Sisterhood will try to interfere.”
I frowned. “The police are out in full force.”
“They’ll try,” Leda said. She let go of me and moved to walk away. I placed my hand on her arm just above the elbow and held on.
“I’ll never see you again.”
She smiled. “You haven’t become attached, have you?”
Leda came close and kissed me. I clung to her arm, not wanting to let go. Afraid.
“Come on, Tinsley,” Pearl said, drawing me away. “Leda’s chariot awaits.”
I followed them away from the tent and into the bustling gathering. Parade goers set their camps up on small plots along the curb sitting on everything from patio chairs to milk crates. A few of them sat right on the grass drinking, smoking, and snacking.
They were young and old, gay and straight. Most of them were dressed in typical summer wear, but there were a few in proper Pride attire, bikinis and lingerie. I thought of Sandra, the two of us in shorts and tanks in camp chairs. Soon, I would be free of the beast. I could have a life with or without Sandra. The thought didn’t bring me much comfort, as I pictured myself just as solitary.
I walked with Leda’s witches to the midway point of the route. A row of camp chairs sat in front of a trendy set of resale shops. Several young women welcomed us, and once we were settled, they passed around plastic cups and a thermos of vodka cherry limeade. I sipped my drink quietly and people-watched. The parade started with various council members and the parade marshals in cars that were thumping out the latest pop hits. Houston’s lesbian mayor rode past on the back of a convertible and everyone cheered.