“They’re dead, Kitten. They can’t hurt you.”
“Why can’t you hear them?”
“I can’t hear them because I’m not a witch. Ghosts are drawn to witches because you can hear them. Their whispers can drive weak witches to suicide.”
I look over at the rail. I was almost one of them. I wanted to be one of them at the time.
“Fuck, you almost jumped, didn’t you?” He shakes me. “Damn it, Dumani.”
“The voices will drive me insane. Maybe I should go to a church and pray.”
“The voices in this house are angels compared to the devils you’ll hear in the church. This is an ancient empire. The energy is ancient. There are bound to be lost souls wandering around.”
“The energy that you speak of is not good. I don’t feel comfortable here. I can’t stay.”
“I have to be here, Dumani. I told you before I left the states. I’m here on business. I have two parties and three meetings to attend. It would have been four but I met Lucca tonight. I am a man about my business, Kitten.”
“I don’t want people in my head.”
“I knew a witch who enjoyed speaking to the dead. The poor thing got so bad that the voices were the only people she would talk to. Her family locked her in a mental ward where she was perfectly content sitting in her bed talking to her friends.”
“Sweet baby Jesus. Do you think that’s going to happen to me? I don’t want to get locked in the mental ward. I read ‘One flew over the Coocoo’s Nest’. I can’t go to that place.”
“No one is putting you in a mental ward. The voices are scary at first but it will get easier, you’ll see. You’ll be able to block them out completely eventually, with some coaching.”
“Coaching? I don’t want coaching. I don’t want to block them. I want them to go away.”
“When I was a kid, my parents sat me down and told me I was different from the village kids. They told me that I am what humans call a vampire. I was devastated. I denied it and went on like I was a human. Then, the cravings started. The older I got the stronger they grew. No matter how much I ate, I was still hungry. I was sweating and not sleeping at night. I blamed it on hormones. I was with a human girl growing up. She was from a good family, beautiful, and as gentle as a spring day. I thought the world of her and she loved me. We were going to be married when we came of age. I went to Father first and I told him my plan. He told me to get Marie out of my head because I could never marry her. I loved her. I thought it was her body that I craved so badly when it was really her blood. I wanted to drain her dry and worry about the consequences later.”
“Did you break it off?”
“Of course not. I wanted green-eyed Marie more than anything in the world. I wanted her body and her blood. I had to settle for her body. I killed my first prostitute when I was sixteen. I flashed a coin at the whores and twenty were ready to follow me to their deaths. I didn’t mean to kill her. I wanted her blood. I was fucking her and sucking her blood and I blacked out. When I woke up, my dick was still inside her dead body. I ran out of there and I left her naked with her throat ripped open. There was no testing or cameras back then. I went back to school like it never happened. Inside, I was in hell. I kept thinking about the girl I killed. She smiled at me and called me handsome. She was a willing whore. I didn’t have to kill her. I don’t even know her name but I will never forget her face. Maybe, I picked up the next streetwalker to get her out of my head. I told myself that men hire whores every day. I wasn’t going to kill her. I was going to fuck her, take a little blood and return to my uncle’s house. I snapped her neck when she started screaming because I didn’t want my father to find out what I was doing.”
“When’s the last time you killed a woman?”
“I killed my last whore when I was twenty-one in human years. In time, I learned to control myself. I stopped fucking whores when I got married.”
“You’re married?” I’m shocked.
“Not anymore. She died of black death.”
“She was a human.”
“Yes. I married the human.”
“How long were you married to her?”
“Thirty years.”
“Do you age?”
“No, and neither will you. When you go home, you’ll watch your family grow old and die and you will still be the same person that you are right now. Most hags cast spells that make them age on the outside. You’d be surprised what you can do.”
I am stuck on the part about watching my family grow old and die. I don’t want to do that. My chest hurts thinking about it. I’ve watched my family die before so I know how hard it is.
“Can I cast a spell to save them?”
“That it isn’t the way it works. People die. One day, you will have a daughter like you.”
I don’t want a daughter like me. Why would I wish my troubles on a poor child?
“Mino?” A voice calls from inside.
“Out here, Michael.”
A priest walks out onto the patio carrying a bible. He doesn’t look like priest. For one, he’s too young. For two, he’s too rough to be a priest. This man has been in countless fights and I bet he won them all. He’s built like a tank. It makes me suspicious.
“What do we have here?”
I am curled up in Mino’s lap where I like to be. He strokes my hair the way I like.
“This is my friend Duma.”
“You snuck her into the country, didn’t you?”
“Calm down, that isn’t why I called you. She’s hearing voices and I need you to make them go away.”
“I’m not a psychiatrist. I don’t treat mental health conditions.”
“These voices are telling her to kill people and crying for Miguel.”
“They are?” His eyes are on me. “Is that what she said?”
“One. One woman is crying for Miguel.”
“Are you sure she said Miguel?”
“Yes, she said your name. Make them leave, Mike. Kick the slut ghost the fuck out of here.”
“Who is this woman? Someone could have mentioned the name to her.”
“I took her from the Antonovs. She doesn’t know anything.”
“Any woman of interest to the Antonovs is of interest to us. Especially if she can cross over.”
“It only happened once. There is a chance that it won’t happen again.”
“Maybe, maybe not. We should call Benedict.”
“What does my brother have to do with this? As far as anyone is concerned, she’s my human thrall. Did you bring it?”
The priest reaches into his pocket coming out with an antique gold ring that he extends to me. Max takes it from his hand.
“No one touches my thrall.” He says sliding it onto the ring finger of my right hand. It feels warm, like I’m having an allergic reaction. It goes cool again. What the hell? I’m taking it off.
“Leave it.” They yell at the same time.
“Never take it off. It’s a mask. It makes you invisible to our kind. It will keep things out of your head.”
“How does it do that?” I ask curiously as I admire the ring. It’s a perfect fit.
“I don’t know how. All I know is that it works.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I took it off a witch before I killed her,” the priest says tapping the sword hanging at his waist. “She was a nasty bitch. As beautiful as a flower but as dark as pond slime. Her lover left her for a human and she burned their village. A hundred-innocent people died in the fire. She was difficult to track because she was wearing this ring. I found her hiding with a coven in England.”
I know what happened next. He cut off her head.
“What if she turns on you, Mino? What if she runs? You will regret giving her this ring. If Ben finds out, I’ll tell him she stole it.”
“Thank you, Michael. I’m sure you have pressing religious business. You should be getting back to the church.”
“I’m in no hurry. In f
act, I’m starving. What do you have to eat?” The big man turns and walks back into the house. His back is as wide as I am tall. I don’t want to go in yet. I want to stay out here with Maximino. The voices are gone and the night is clear. He’s in no hurry to move either.
“I don’t know what’s with wrong me. I was always so strong and independent. I wasn’t coddled as a baby. I wasn’t held as a child. I was taught to be tough.”
“Maybe that’s what’s wrong with you. They raised you like a man. You aren’t a man and they are wrong for treating you like one. You need someone to be tough for you. I am that someone, Dumani Dare. I’ll coddle you.”
My breath catches. Why did he say that? I think about my dainty sisters and their pretty ways. They could shoot and were useful to the church, but they worked in the house mostly and stayed out of the sun. If my father groomed my sisters to be good wives, what were they grooming me to be? Why didn’t Father leave me behind with my mother? He would never take Hannah or Meredith on a trip like that. Did he know that I would get them there? Does he know I’m a demon? Oh, my God. I feel sick. Is that why I slept away from everyone else? Is that why they caned me so much? They are afraid of me. I am overthinking this. But, one of the voices called me a witch. It’s the voice that bothered me the most. The names it called me gives me chills. Demon. Whore. Witch. Am I demon? I killed people. I can’t remember how many people I killed. I’m not counting either. Does that mean I have no soul?
I think about Father and me standing before the blazing pyre. It was red and orange like an active volcano. The coals were formed by the charred remains of our own flesh and blood. Father said not a single prayer or kind word as we watched them burn. We didn’t have enough hands working the shovels when the flames spread. Our help was smoldering in the fire. The winds came like an enemy from hell. Father yelled and howled plenty as the four of us shoveled dirt as fast as we could. I can still feel the flames chewing the hem of my old dress. I can still smell the noxious fumes of the burning dead. It is something you are not likely to forget. The burning is not as bad as a pile of rotting corpses but it’s still pretty rank. My mother didn’t get sick either. Now that I think about it, she never got sick. Titus didn’t get sick either. Judea got sick- or so he says. What do I know? I know what the church taught me.
“I don’t want to believe I’m different. But, if you exist and I am not dreaming, then anything is possible. How can I deny what is in front of my eyes? Do you think Gavin knew? Is that why he stole me?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible. Like I said, I sensed you before my plane landed. This ring will make sure it doesn’t happen again. You feel human to me right now.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“You feel good either way. We should come up with a better lie than telling people you’re my girlfriend. No one will believe it.”
“Why not? I’m not pretty enough? I have new clothes.”
“Firstly, I don’t have girlfriends. Secondly, I live alone. I don’t let women leave a toothbrush in my bathroom because I don’t want them to take it the wrong way. The people in my circle know that I wouldn’t fly in some random, average looking, black girl to live in my house after knowing her for a few days. It will make them curious and I don’t want them to be curious.”
“Tell them we fell in love.” I suggest.
He laughs aloud. Of course, he’s laughing.
“Me fall in love? It’s never going to happen.”
“We can pretend for a while, can’t we? No one has to know any different. Maybe having me around will be good for you. I am not disposable like your other women. You can’t send me home, Mino. My toothbrush is staying.”
My use of his nickname affects him more than my idea.
“Everyone is disposable, Kitten.” He murmurs into my hair. “Only family calls me Mino.”
That means, not me. He has this look on his face like he’s considering taking me back to Texas. I turn in his lap and take his face in my hands.
“We can pretend. I can be yours and you can be mine for now. If anyone asks you, why her? Or, why now? You will tell them because you just do. I can show you how to be in love.”
I kiss him softly. He doesn’t smell like another woman. He doesn’t taste like one. Because he was in a midnight meeting. What if he sees other women while I’m here? What will I do? I’ll be hurt. I left my husband for being a whore. I won’t like it. But, he isn’t my husband and I enjoy what we do in bed. I enjoy being with him. I can’t spend the rest of my life being useful to other people. They must also be of use to me.
I move against Maximino’s erection. His arms tighten around me and he grinds back. He wants me and I want him. Our tongues entwine like two mating snakes as I press my breasts against his chest. He’s addictive and I am addicted. I tilt my head back when he nuzzles my neck. His lips press against my throat and his teeth scratch my skin. My heart is pounding in anticipation. When he flicks his tongue over the scrape, it feels like a lick between my legs. When his teeth penetrate my flesh, it feels like his dick penetrating my pussy. I want him to do it. Maximino wants to do it. He closes his mouth over my throat. My eyes close with his mouth as he brings his teeth together. Yes. Please. My nipples harden. Yes. Fuck, yes.
“Mino, where do you keep your—?”
No! No! No! Damn. I forgot about the priest. My lover pulls away from me swearing with annoyance. He tugs down my gown and he stands me on my feet. I wrap my naked arms around myself feeling as naked as they are.
“Where do I keep my what, Miguel? What in the fuck do you want?” He’s angry about the interruption. We were being reckless. We can’t do this on a patio where someone could see.
“Basil?”
“I don’t have any fucking Basil. Use the goddamn Oregano.”
“Does your woman eat pasta?”
“Yes, she does and she is not my woman. She is my new thrall. Make her a salad too while you’re at it.”
“Where are you going?”
The priest complains like a child when Maximino takes my hand and walks past the kitchen. He doesn’t stop or turn around. I know where he’s going. To bed. Not to bed. He doesn’t even open the bedroom door. He backs me against it and pinned between two hard places with a third pressing into my belly. I gasp when his teeth open my throat. I cradle his head the way he cradles me. He unfastens his pants shoving them down around his knees. My nightgown is yanked up around my hips and he touches me through my silk panties. Max rips the crotch open and he lifts me up sliding me down onto his dick. He sucks too hard and fucks me too hard. All that I can do is hold on and hope he doesn’t kill me. Death by pleasure. I cry his name and pound on his shoulders with my fists. I’m not fighting him off. I’m fighting off his invasion into my heart. My body fell to him the first time he touched me. My body welcomed his invasion the first time he took me. He had me wrapped around his little finger the moment I laid eyes on him. This is how I feel when I read dirty books. This is how it’s supposed to feel when you are taken.
“Christ.” He hisses when my nails tear into his pale skin. He turns the doorknob backing me into the room. The door slams closed on its own. I don’t even care as we fall over onto the bed. The scratches are weeping red. I lick them slowly. I lick them like a kitten licks her cream. His teeth are red with my blood when he opens a vein for me. I latch on with a moan of relief. I need this. There is nothing like this feeling. My mouth is sucking his wrist. My pussy is sucking his cock. I am going to hell. I am going to cum first. Oh shit, I’m cumming. I sob in agony when it happens. I lose control and I let him carry me away. The first jet of his release hits my cervix like the spray of a fire hose.
“So, beautiful.” He groans in my ear as he pumps furiously between my thighs. “You are so fucking beautiful.”
If he says so. I kiss him feverishly as we come together in a tangle of limbs and emotions. I kiss him like I never want to stop. Because I don’t. He’s hardening inside of me already. He’s an animal and I le
t him take me like one. The pasta is forgotten. The priest is forgotten. The world is forgotten. We don’t come up for air until the next afternoon.
Chapter Forty
“Last night was good.” I say shyly. We are showered and standing at the island in our robes poking at bowls of leftover pasta. Neither of us was saying anything. What is there to say? Except what we’re both thinking about.
“Last night was incredible.” Maximino agrees with a gentle smile. We feel differently today. I watch the world swimming in his eyes with a glad heart. He wants me again. He’s thinking about fucking me right now. It pleases me to know it.
“Your toothbrush can definitely stay.” He says. I blush warmly. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”
“The part when I said that I like it when you—”
“Yes, that part too. But, no. The part when you told me to tell people that we are in love. I am not in love with you, let there be no misunderstanding. It isn’t a good idea to pretend. It would only make things more complicated than they need to be. I don’t know what I was expecting when I met you but it wasn’t this. I enjoying being with you. I want to be with you when I can’t see you. It’s troubling.”
“You took my blood. We sleep together.” I touch his face. “We give each other orgasms.”
“It’s more than that, Dumani. Maybe you are casting and you don’t know it.” He suggests.
“Do you think I put a spell on you?” His words shake me.
“I am considering the idea. This isn’t like me. Fucking witches and bringing them home with me isn’t my style. I snuck you into the fucking country. I brought you into my circle.”
“Do you think I would put a curse on you to make you want me?” How dare he? “You showed up in my bedroom, Casanova.”
“Put your claws away, Kitten.”
“No, Maximino. Are you saying you wouldn’t want someone like me unless you were under some kind of sorcery?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Because you are too much of a coward to say it aloud. Well, fuck you. If I could control men, my husband wouldn’t have three wives or be the head of a fucking cult. You know what? Since I’m not worthy of you, tell your blood sucking friends that I’m the maid.” I sweep the bowl of pasta off the marble island. It flies through the air and hits the tile floor in an explosion of porcelain and linguini. I stand up and walk away.
The Doomsday Papers Page 43