by Lola Swain
“Look at her, Lyric,” Nico said as wiped the blood-soaked blade across her face. “She was pretty, don’t you think?”
I looked down at the woman who moments earlier fucked my brother and made me feel jealous. A woman who shunned me. I knew what was about to happen to her so I tried to feel something for her. I thought about the man and woman we killed during our initiation ceremony. I felt nothing for those people as we stabbed them over and over again and that night, I felt nothing for Kristine/Karen. Papa always told us that hunters have no feelings of empathy toward their prey. We were hunters and the tourists from Ohio, prey.
“Prettier than me?” I said.
Nico was lost in the blood smearing. The wife moaned as Nico pressed the flat side of the blade into her face and made patterns with the blood. I cleared my throat and nudged him.
“What?” he said and looked up with glassy eyes.
“Do you think she was prettier than me?”
“No, Lyric,” he said as he leaned over Kristine/Karen’s body toward me. “I don’t think there is anyone as beautiful as you.”
I leaned toward him and we kissed. A deep kiss that sealed us together forever. A kiss made of desire and evil.
But we should have paid attention. When Nico and I were preoccupied with our kiss, we didn’t notice that Kristine/Karen began to smarten up and become spry. Before I realized what was going on, the bitch had a fistful of my hair and yanked me onto the floor. She fell on top of me and wrapped my hair around and around her hand. She looked over me and stared at her dead husband. Kristine/Karen screamed and banged the back of my head against the floor.
“What did you fucking do?” she said and spit in my face.
“She won’t let go!” I said. “Fucking stab the bitch!”
Nico jumped off the bed and stood over us with the knife. Kristine/Karen was a tough little scrapper. She flipped over me and ran toward the far side of the room by the window. I scrambled around the floor and grabbed my purse and our clothes and stood beside Nico. Kristine/Karen huddled in the corner by the drapes and cried as she stared at the back of her dead husband’s head.
“Aw, so sweet,” Nico said as he put his jeans on. “Whatcha gonna do? Jump?”
“What are you people? What are you?” Kristine/Karen said and rubbed her eyes.
“We have to wrap this up,” I said as I dressed. “She’s making too much noise.”
“Help!” she said as she banged on the wall. “People are trying to kill me! Fire! Rape!”
Nico laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head. Kristine/Karen opened the window and screamed for help. Nico, graceful as a jaguar, padded toward her until he was right behind her. He put the knife down on the floor at her feet, grabbed her by the ankles and yanked. Half of her body hung head down out the window as Nico held Kristine/Karen’s feet by his face.
“Nico!” I said.
He looked at me and smiled.
“What? I can’t drop her?”
“No, that is not a good idea.”
“Watch me,” he said.
Nico released Kristine/Karen’s feet and I ran to the window. She looked like she was floating like a feather from a rooftop. Then she sped up and plunged toward the sidewalk below. I heard her screams. She screamed the whole way down.
A guest in the next room banged on the wall. I grabbed Nico and threw his knife in my purse.
“What the hell is going on in there?” a muffled voice said from the room next door.
We grabbed our shoes and Nico opened the door. I looked up and down the hall and then we ran toward the elevator.
“We cannot go through the lobby and we cannot walk by her body,” Nico said. “We need to go out the back way. There’s a side door by the parking lot.”
“Fine,” I said. “We left too fast.”
“We had to, there was no other way.” Nico said as he slipped his shoes on. “You have everything?”
“Yes,” I said. “At least, I think I do.”
We slipped out the side door of the hotel and disappeared into the shadows between buildings. I looked at the up at the sad purple dawn staining the sky. If this were yesterday, we would be waking up for school. But there was no more school for us. I saw to that.
As the sirens started, we increased our pace toward Park Avenue and the safety of our home. And then I remembered. I remembered that I did not have everything.
In fact, the most important thing I forgot stuck out of David/Michael’s chest.
“Fuck, Nico,” I said as we turned the corner toward our apartment, “my knife!”
Luckily none of the other kids were awake when Nico and I snuck into our apartment. We ran down the hall and went to my room.
“Turn on the news,” I said as I undressed. “I want to see if they mention the tourists.”
“Come on, Lyric,” Nico said, “I’m tired and I want to shower. I have dried blood all over me.”
“Just do it.”
Nico and I sat on my bed and watched the news. We waited for some mention of David/Michael and Kristine/Karen. Leaving my knife sticking out of David/Michael’s chest was a very stupid thing to do. I was in complete shock after Nico dropped Kristine/Karen out the window and I wasn’t thinking straight.
My current position with Papa was not good and I was terrified that there would be no more chances for me after his last punishment. I mean, where do you go after you heat up a leather strap with a blowtorch and whip your daughter? If I got caught because I left my knife and did more damage to my family than I already had, a different type of grounding would be in store for me.
Nico peeled his clothes off and sat back on my bed. His light brown skin was stained red in different places and David/Michael’s blood dried down to flecks across his neck. He still looked hot. He always looked hot. I ran my hands up and down his muscular legs and watched his cock grow. Whenever Nico responded to me, it made my pussy soaking wet.
“Lyric, please,” he said as he brushed me aside. “You’ll get it soon. I told you, I want to take a shower.”
“Boo,” I said and pouted. “You’re such a prude.”
“You think so?” he said and pushed me down on my back and straddled my chest. “Why don’t you suck this prude’s cock?”
Nico shoved his cock into my mouth and I sucked and nibbled at the head. He thrust his hips deeply and his cock hit the back of my throat and made me gag.
“That’s it,” he said, “gag on that big cock, you little slut.”
I opened my mouth wider to accommodate him and reached up and raked my fingernails over his balls. I spread my legs wide and arched my back as he reached behind his back with one hand and rubbed my wet pussy with his palm.
“Fuck, you’re so wet,” he said. “Can you taste the pussy of that bitch I threw out the window?”
I inserted my index finger into Nico’s asshole as I clamped my lips around his cock and sucked harder. I pressed forward with my finger and his balls tightened up and readied themselves. I arched my back higher and planted my feet on the bed. He jammed two fingers inside me and pumped them in and out of my pussy. The wider I spread my legs, the tighter my muscles held onto his fingers.
“Oh, little slut likes that?” Nico said as he reached behind his back with his other hand and massaged my clit.
“Yes, don’t stop,” I said and squealed. “Finger me deeper!”
Nico took his fingers out of my pussy and crawled down my body and rested between my legs. He popped his fingers into his mouth and sucked while he rubbed my clit with his other hand. I writhed around on the bed and raised my hips high as I grinded against his hand. Nico took his fingers from his mouth and stared at me and smiled.
“You are so beautiful, Lyric,” he said. “I’m gonna try something new on you. Would you like that?”
“Whatever you want to do,” I said and moaned.
Nico wiggled four fingers into my pussy and pumped them in and out while he gripped the hood covering my clit. He tugged up and
down on my hood while he fingered me.
“It’s like a little cock, Lyric,” Nico said as he pulled up and down on my clit. “I’m jacking you off like I do myself.”
I felt the struggle with control that I always feel right before I cum. All sound stops and I feel nothing but the imminent loss and vulnerability of myself.
“I’m gonna cum, Nico,” I said.
I pressed against the bed with my feet and pumped my hips back and forth against Nico’s fingers. Nico pressed up with his fingertips inside my pussy and I felt something release deep inside my body. A deluge of liquid rushed out of my pussy and I grabbed my pillow and held it over my mouth and screamed. Nico put his mouth on my pussy and he sucked me off as I rolled with orgasm after orgasm. And then came the stillness.
“Fuck, I peed,” I said. “And you…your mouth was there. Sicko!”
Nico lifted his head from my thigh and laughed.
“No, you did not pee. You squirted.”
“What?” I said. “I’ve never done that before! Huh, I squirted.”
“Yep, you’re a squirter, Lyric,” Nico said and rolled off the bed and grabbed the remote to my television. “Look, it’s the Soho Grand!”
I sat up and we watched the news broadcast. An anchor stood on the sidewalk and the camera panned to the scene across the street. Yellow tape cordoned off the area. The camera caught ambulances, NYPD cars, uniforms walking in and out of the hotel and a tarp covering Kristine/Karen’s body on the sidewalk. An EMS worker pushed a gurney carrying a body bag out of the hotel.
“That must be David/Michael’s body,” I said.
“Hush,” Nico said, “I want to hear this.”
The anchor did not identify the dead. She concluded the segment by saying that the victims were not local residents and that NYPD is preliminarily investigating and treating the incident as a murder/suicide.
“Shit,” I sat when Nico turned off the television.
He turned to me with a big, sly smile and laughed.
“What the fuck is so funny?” I said.
“Did you not hear that, Lyric?” he said and kissed the top of my head. “Murder/suicide! We’re in the clear and we’re going to be fine.”
“Did you not hear them say preliminary, Nico? That means—”
“Spare me the vocab lesson, Lyric,” Nico said and walked to my door. “I’m going to grab a shower and some sleep. You need to do the same. You’re filthy. And stop worrying so fucking much.”
I walked into my bathroom and ran the hot water to my shower. The room filled with steam and I wiped it off the mirror and stared at my reflection. Bruises from Papa’s beatings covered my body. I stared at my face and it looked like someone took a marker and made little polka-dots all over skin. I leaned into the mirror and wiped my face. The polka-dots smeared across my skin.
I jumped up out of bed when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:00, but then remembered there was no school for us anymore. I threw a nightgown on and walked around the apartment looking for the others. I followed the music to the library and found them all eating and having coffee. They were all still in their nightclothes and incredibly bored.
“Well, hello, sleepyhead,” Julian said as I walked to the cart Carla left us and made a cup of coffee. “Nico just graced us with his presence, as well. What were you two up to last night?”
I looked at Nico who lay on the floor reading a magazine and he threw it down and laughed.
“Nothing,” I said and chuckled.
“Aw,” Rose said, “that doesn’t sound like nothing. Spill it!”
“It was kind of nothing,” I said and sunk down into the red velvet couch next to Alexander. “We played the game.”
“You did?” Alexander said and stroked my hair. “Last night? Well tell us all about it. Come on.”
Nico said he would tell them everything that happened during the game as long as they promised not to tell Papa. After they all agreed, he left nothing out. He even told them how he dropped Kristine/Karen from the fifth story window and that I left my knife in David/Michael’s chest. He let them all know about the murder/suicide investigation and they seemed to agree that we were in the clear.
“Yeah, but we left in a rush,” I said. “We didn’t have time to clean the room.”
“Oh, here comes Debby Downer,” Serene said.
“Well, if you had a beating like Papa gave me, you’d be a Debby Downer, too,” I said and threw a pillow at her.
They all agreed. I knew they felt bad for what I went through with Papa, but I also knew that they were relieved it wasn’t them. I wouldn’t want them to go through that either.
“What are you worried about, Lyric?” Alexander said. “If the police didn’t think it was a murder/suicide, they wouldn’t even say that. I think you’ll be fine. What else could they find?”
“It’s not like they’ll find any fingerprints,” Julian said.
That was true and made me feel slightly at ease. All of us were born to our mothers at their homes. We’ve always gone to private schools and none of us have ever been in trouble. There are no fingerprints of any of us on record. Never will be.
We continued to chatter about how bored we all were and tried to make plans when the double doors to the library opened and Papa walked in dressed to the nines in a new suit.
“Man,” Serene said and whistled at Papa while he made a cup of coffee, “you look smoking hot!”
“Why, thank you, fair lady,” Papa said and bowed. “Now, what are you all doing holed up in here on this fine day?”
Papa walked around the room and everyone kisses on the head. When he got to me he smiled and kissed me on the cheek.
“Good morning, Lyric,” he said. “You look especially radiant this morning.”
I blushed and threw my arms around his neck.
“I am so sorry, Papa,” I said.
“It’s forgotten. You took your punishment like the lady you are, Lyric. You took your punishment like I knew you would,” Papa said and sat on top of his mahogany desk and sipped his coffee.
“Thank you, Papa,” I said as I took my seat next to Alexander.
“Now,” Papa said and clapped, “I have a surprise for all of you! For years I have been building my business in Manhattan to ready us for the next phase of our lives. We are extremely successful, but as you all know, our family requires a certain amount of anonymity to maintain our lives and this lifestyle. Recent events have threatened this, so I’ve escalated the deadline for phase two. After the close of business today, we will be ready!”
“Ready for what, Papa?” Alexander said.
“Ready to leave Manhattan. Tomorrow, we leave at dawn. And not like gypsies cast out in the night, but like gentlemen and ladies of sophistication and stature.”
“What the fuck?” Nico said. “What about our friends? School?”
“Your sister and you saw to it that Wilton Day is not an option. And to explain the situation to the headmaster of a new school in Manhattan, well, I don’t think that’s realistic. As for your friends, you’ll make new friends. Plenty of friends. How does that sound?”
“Nice, I suppose,” Nico said. “But, where are we going?”
“We are going to the promised land, my children. To the land of milk and honey,” Papa said and jumped off his desk.
“We’re moving to Israel?” Rose said.
“No, but that’s a good one, Rose,” Papa said and laughed. “No children, we are moving to Rome!”
“This is going to be so much fun,” Serene said and rushed to our language books to yank the Italian books off the shelf.
“Yes, indeed,” Papa said. “So, today you go out and enjoy the city. Do whatever you want and wrap up whatever loose ends you may have. Tonight, you pack your belongings. I’ve chartered a Boeing so you can be excessive in your packing. But, the bigger pieces will have to stay behind.”
“Can’t we send for them?” Rose said.
“No, I’m afraid we cannot,�
�� Papa said and called for Carla to bring more pastries. “When we leave, this apartment will be no longer. I have the movers coming at 1:00 to pack up our artwork, small antiques and books. Other than those things, what remains becomes ash.”
I knew he would set the place on fire. It was impossible for it to remain, really.
“What about Carla?” I said as she walked into the library.
“What about me?” Carla said as she refilled the cart. “You think I’ll stay behind? You’ll not get rid of me that easily.”
“Yes, Lyric,” Papa said, “Carla is coming too. David is, as well. We are a family and no one gets left behind. I was betrayed in the most spectacular way by those I thought of as family and I refuse to do it to my own. Loyalty, Lyric, yes?”
“Yes, Papa,” I said, “loyalty.”
Papa left to go to work and we all excitedly spoke over one another as we planned our day.
“Papa said we should tie up any loose ends,” Alexander said. “So, what does everyone want to do? I want to find Sabrina Norcia and stick my cock in her ass. I’ve been dying to do that.”
“Well, while you’re fucking Sabrina the pig up the ass, I’m going to take a stroll down to Apartment 3D and do Mrs. Kostovitch,” Julian said.
“I want to find Landon Perrault and stab him in the neck for dumping me last week. I also want to stab his mother for making him dump me because she thought I was a bad influence on him,” Serene said.
“You all are crazy,” Rose said. “I am so tired and bored with these American boys. I can’t wait to go to Italy and get on some Italian cock!”
“I want to grudge fuck Mandy Cantervoss,” Nico said. “Hard!”
“What about you, Lyric?” Rose said. “You’ve not said what you want to do.”
I was actually thinking of my plan from the time Papa told us of the move. I knew what I wanted to do. I just had to convince my brothers and sisters to help.
“I want to play the game one more time in New York and I know the perfect victims,” I said and smiled.
They all smiled as I told them my plan for the ultimate game.
“So, we’re all in agreement? We’ll play one last game with them?” I said.