“That bitch is bad luck.” Someone says. “I don’t like her.”
I lock the door after them. I expect Maximino to come in later and say something. He doesn’t. I wait all night. The house is empty when I sneak out in the morning. There is no sign of the shot rapist or the party from last night. I make myself a plate of leftovers and eat it on the patio. I sit out here most of the day waiting for him. I stay up for another night. His footsteps wake me. I get out of bed and run to the sound. He’s dressed in a nice suit. He looks so handsome that I get a stomach ache. He isn’t alone. The woman from the restaurant is on his arm. They are laughing when they leave. I am crushed. The door opens and closes hours later.
“Who are you?” The young man asks smiling.
“Who are you?” I counter.
“This is my brother’s house. I will ask the questions.”
“I’m holding the gun. I’ll ask them today.”
“Yes, you are and you look like you know how to use it. I’m Mino’s brother, Lewis. I crash here when I’m in town.”
“I’m his roommate.” I lower the gun.
“Roommate? Mino has a roommate? Are you blackmailing him?”
No, I’m not blackmailing him. I am sleeping with him. Lewis isn’t like the others. I can tell. He drops his bag and jacket in the middle of the hall. I go back outside. He looks Judea’s age. I married a boy. He falls into a seat across from me drinking from the neck of a good bottle of wine. I look away when he looks at me. My arms are wrapped around my knees and my hair is blowing around me.
“You’re pretty.” Lewis says lighting a cigarette. Max doesn’t smoke very often and when he does it doesn’t smell like this. It doesn’t smell like pipe tobacco or cigarettes. It’s sweeter and intoxicating. It smells like a sin.
“Have you ever smoked before?”
I shake my head no. Women don’t smoke. It’s unheard of. I can hear hell calling me as I take the cigarette from his fingers.
“Puff, like this and breath in at the same time.”
I look around suspiciously. What if someone finds out? Who cares? I mimic his movements and I’m rewarded with an explosion in my chest that sends me into a coughing fit. I drop his cigarette when he starts pounding me on my back. My eyes are running, my nose is running, and my lungs are on fire. The coughing subsides, my face dries up, and I feel funny. Not bad funny. Funny, funny. I sit with the strange boy and smoke his funny herbs. He goes inside and returns with a guitar that he plays like he was born for it. I think about my son and my husband. I think about my lover. I think about Mino a lot. My heart hurts because of him. I think about what they did to me. I wipe away my hot tears.
“Does he know what they did to you?”
“What?” I look up sharply. The young man has tears in his eyes. They are so much like Maximino’s that I look away. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I know what you are. I know what they did to you. Don’t be afraid. You are right, I am not like them, I’m different. My mother was like you. She could see things too.”
“I’m too ashamed. What if he sends me away?”
“What if he doesn’t? Ben went too far. Mino will defend you.”
“No, he won’t. I am not what you think.”
“I know my brother and he isn’t what you think. You are living in the house he shared with Antoinette. He will avenge you. I hope he kills him.”
This man knows what happened to me. The shame is too much. I stand up and I leave him alone. I can’t tell anyone. His beautiful music follows me like a shadow. You need to tell him. He should know. I see them standing over me every time I close my eyes. I come out of the room later and I walk outside. I'm surprised to see Maximino sitting alone smoking the rest of his brother’s funny cigarette. His eyes find mine. I can’t look away. Not at first. I turn to leave.
“Dumani.” It means come here. I walk over to him. He pulls me down onto his lap.
“My brother said that you need to talk to me about something. Lewis Diego is my favorite brother. He wouldn’t tell me himself and my brother doesn’t keep anything away from me. I want to know what he saw in your head, witch.”
“I would rather leave you.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
“What? No! I would never do that.” He holds me in place. I would never hurt him. I don’t want to be a sniveling, simpering, weakling. Being torn apart changed me. They ruined me. Judea will never look at me again. He inhales on his cigarette and kisses me blowing the smoke into my mouth. It pushes the ache aside for now. I wrap my arms around his neck and I kiss him back. Those men hurt me. This doesn’t hurt. This makes it feel better. Why am I crying?
“Tell me, Dumani. Tell me what made my brother cry on my shoulder.”
“I can’t. They said you wouldn’t want me anymore.”
“Who is they? Who are you talking about?” He cradles me and I cry. “This is only for a few minutes.” Maximino slides the witches ring off my finger before I can stop him.
Chapter Forty-two
I know the second he sees it. His eyes get big and his skin turns dark red. He looks sick, then hurt, and sick again. I reach for the ring but he closes his hand around it and forces his way into my head. The scene plays out like a crucifixion. I alternate between mentally screaming for him and Judea. The plastic makes a crinkling sound under my back every time I move. The puddles of blood on the plastic that the blonde man licks up while he jerked off. There is so much blood. My chewed-up body is bathed in it. Someone shoves a champagne bottle down my throat. It rubs against my bloody gums.
“Stop it, Maximino. Please, stop it.” I beg him. He slips the ring onto my finger with shaky hands. He’s stunned. He can’t speak and he holds me closer.
“It’s my fault. They almost killed you. They—”
He can’t say it. He stands up and walks over to the rail.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I had them in the fucking house after they almost killed you. I ran out on you and left you here for days. You should’ve told me!”
“They said—”
“I don’t give a damn what they say! They tortured you. They bled you like a fucking pig.”
“It’s not her fault. You know how Benedict is when you tell him no. If she was a human, she never would’ve known. Their poison doesn’t work on high witches.”
“I’m going over there. Stay with her.” He takes off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders.
“You can’t go over half-cocked like this. What are you going to do?”
“You know what I’m going to do.”
“You won’t get out of there alive. We need a plan.”
“We Lewis? There is no we. I plan to kill someone. That’s the plan.”
“Mino! She needs you right now. You saw what they did to her. Don’t leave her again. Wait, think it out and then do what you have to do.”
He looks at me with tears in his eyes. I look away. What about me? How does he feel about me now? What will he do to me? The knock on the door makes me jump.
“Stay here with Lewis, I’ll get it.”
A minute later he returns with two of the men that tortured me. They stare like they are here for me. It makes me nervous. Lewis puts an arm around my shoulders protectively.
“Look who’s here, Lucca and Jaden. They want to stay over.” Maximino looks happy to see them. Because he’s going to kill them and I’m going to help him.
“Why are you so dressed up?”
“Lewis and I are going out.” Maximino watches them perk up. “Keep an eye on my kitten.”
“No problem. What time are you leaving?”
“We were just leaving after I take her to bed.” I’m scared when he walks me into the bedroom.
“Maximino.” I start.
“Mino.” He says into my hair. “I am Mino to you, Kitten.”
“They will attack me after you are gone. They are going to hurt me again.”
“They will never hurt you ag
ain. I’m going outside and coming back in through the window to catch them in the act. Don’t worry.”
He pulls down the blankets on the bed for me. I get in.
“Do you still want me the same, Mino?”
Maximino kisses me deeply before standing and leaving the dark room. I breathe easy when he climbs in the window ten minutes later.
“They’ll wait until you’re sleep. Try to rest.”
I won’t sleep. Not even with him watching over me. They don’t wait. They pick the lock before he can sit down in the chair.
“Mino? What are you doing here?”
“I live here, Lucca. What are you doing here?” Maximino walks up to them. “Why is your dick out, Jaden?”
“I thought this was the bathroom. I got lost. Ahh!” The beastie screams when Maximino squeezes and twists his dick like a handful of playdough. He backs him out of the room and I follow the three men into the hallway. The man is begging him to let go. I am stuck on fascinated when it comes off in Maximino’s hand in a bloody mess. There is a flash steel and the sickening thud of metal hacking into flesh. One more flash and Jared is decapitated. It took two swings of the big meat cleaver Mino keeps in the kitchen. Lewis is holding it in his bloody hand when the body falls. Lucca looks like a scared human.
“Mino! You tore off his dick! Lewis killed him!”
“Eat it. Lucca.” Mino drops the bloody organ at his feet.
“What?” The beastie laughs nervously.
“I said eat it. Eat every fucking bit of it or I’ll do to you what you did to her. I won’t kill you fast. I’ll lock you in a fucking crypt in the basement until you are nothing but bones and dust! Eat it!”
“Mino, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never touched her. I don’t know what kind of bullshit stories she’s been making up. I don’t even know her. Don’t make me do this.”
“You cock-sucking liar. I know what you did. You sucked her bloody pussy.”
“It was Ben’s idea.” Lucca changes his tune. “He’s the one who gave us permission. We healed her afterward. How did you know? Which one of them narced on us? It was Marquez, wasn’t it? The snake bastard left when the fun started.”
“It wasn’t Quez. Duma told me herself.” Maximino glances at me cowering from the doorway. “How can Ben give you permission to have something that belongs to me?”
“I was wrong. I know I was wrong but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t help coming here tonight. Her blood calls to us. It isn’t just me. She’s like heroin. Benedict told us to stay away from her. He wants her for himself. Your brother is going to take her.”
“I’m not worried about my brother. He will get what’s coming to him. They all will.”
“You turned on your tribe for a fucking woman? Don’t act like you haven’t done the same thing. We ran through a million women.”
“I never drugged a woman to fuck her. The women we fuck in the den are willing. If Duma was willing or got pleasure from it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Marquez didn’t tell me anything. Your weak magic doesn’t work on witches.”
The man reaches for his knife. Lewis has the cleaver to his throat in a second.
“Go ahead and do it. I fucking dare you, you fucking piece of shit.”
“This is tribe business, Lewis. Benedict will kill you for this.”
“Do you think he hasn’t tried? The last time, I let him live. My mother was slaughtered by a fucker like you for being what she was.”
“Who has killed more witches than Mino? He’s the worst one of us all and you defend him?”
“Mino hunts witches that deserve to die. He doesn’t kill witches like my mother and his girlfriend. We all had our wild days. Fuckers like you don’t care.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Maximino corrects him. Lewis rolls his eyes.
“Whatever, Mino. You can call her whatever you want. Just, take care of her.”
“Are you fucking insane? You brought a freaking witch into our city? The bitch has us all under her fucking spell and we are turning against each other. She planned this.”
“Look at her. Does she look like she’s fucking casting? Dumani doesn’t know how to cast. She was raised by humans. She doesn’t have me under a fucking spell. I’ve always enjoyed fucking witches. Everyone knows it. Probably more than I enjoy killing them.”
“Kill her! You have to kill her and free us of her hold. I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Witch blood does that to a man.” He nudges the severed penis with the toe of his loafer. Now, back to this. Eat it. And, maybe I’ll let you live.”
“Not this, Mino. I’ll do anything else. I’ll suck your dick instead, don’t make me eat that.”
“I don’t need you to suck my dick. The waiting list to suck this dick is backed up for years.”
The beastie picks it up in two hands and whimpers when he takes the first bite. I turn my head. It’s my first look at Mino’s bad side. It’s my first time seeing what he’s capable of. The man eats it, cleans up the blood and helps Lewis with the body. The innocent looking young man comes back alone wiping blood from the shiny blade. He finds Mino in bed, holding me while I sleep.
“Is she okay?”
“No, but she will be in time. Dumani is puny. She trusted me to keep her safe and I let them fucking mutilate her. Ben and the Swede are next. I’ll wait and bide my time but they will pay.”
“You care about her.”
“I do.”
“Good.”
“Why do you care?”
“Being around her reminds me of my mother. I miss the feeling.”
We are returning to the palazzo after a wonderful afternoon. Mino jumps out of the car and runs into the building. I pick up the hem of my dress and I take off after him laughing. His back disappears when the doors close. I am right behind him. He’s gone. I listen for a sound that will tell me which way he went. The basement. He ran into the basement. I run down the tile steps into the darkness. I’m not afraid of the dark. I listen again. He’s running away from me. I run after him with my hair trailing behind me. I turn right and left and right again. He stopped somewhere up ahead. I creep along quietly so that he can’t hear me either. Something moves along the wall that doesn’t sound like him. It sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before so I can’t begin to guess what it is.
“Maximino?”
I hear the sound again on my left. He’s trying to scare me and I hate to admit that it’s working. I am afraid of what I don’t know.
“You win. Turn on the light.” It isn’t him. If my mind wasn’t so clouded with smoke I would have sensed it. I turn back the way I came only to hear a door close somewhere. Another door closes and another. What if someone is locking me in?
“Maximino!” I scream.
I run blindly. I run right into my tormentors. Hands grab me twisting my wrist until my knife clatters to the floor. I’m going to die.
“Dumani, wake up.” Someone is shaking me. “You are having a bad dream.” I throw my arms around him and cry.
“Baby, it’s okay. I’m here. I won’t let anything else happen to you. I will die first.”
I’ve lost my mind. I am not sure of anything. He kisses me. I’m sure about him. Maximino tip-toes around me the next few days. He smothers me with attention like he can somehow ease the hurt inside me. He cooks for me and cleans for me. He holds me and kisses me. Mino takes me on long walks and fucks me until I can’t move. He does these things like it will make me feel better. It does. A week drags into two and then three. Our weeks turn into months. I wish I could say my paranoia has eased but it only gets worse. I can’t hear the voices anymore. Now, I can sense the things that I can’t hear. I’m jumpy and nervous and I miss my baby. I tell Mino how I feel. I expect him to be annoyed. He isn’t the fatherly type and doesn’t pretend to be.
“Call him, Duma. Call your brother and check on your son.” Mino presses his phone into my hand and hugs me from behind. I wrap
my arms around his. We make the call together. I need his strength. My brother sounds happy when he answers.
“Titus?”
“Duma? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me. How is Judi? Does he miss me?”
“Judi is fine. He’s running around breaking shit like Judea’s other brats. We miss you. Even the old man asks if I’ve heard word. How are you?”
“I don’t know Titus. I’ve been hearing voices and—”
“What?” He cuts me off.
“I know how it sounds, but it’s true. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“You need to come home.”
“Why? My husband doesn’t want me anymore and the church wants me dead. I don’t want to come back.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have to. There are things you should know. Things that Judea can explain better than I can. You shouldn’t be out there alone.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“We know that, but who is going to protect the world from you?”
“What do you mean, Titus? What’s wrong with me.” My blood runs cold. He knows something. His silence is heavy and weighs on my heart.
“Come home.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? I’m a monster.”
“Duma, where are you? Who are you with?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I say squeezing Mino’s hand.
“It does matter. There are people out there who will take advantage of you and use you.”
“Like the church used me?”
“The church protected you. They protected your mother. They did what they had to do to keep you safe.”
“By beating me? By making me feel like I didn’t belong? Now, I understand why.”
“The Reverend was too hard on you, and Father should’ve treated your mother better. But, we love you. You know we do. You are my blood sister, nothing can change that.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me? Does Judea know?”
“He knows, Duma. He spent his childhood protecting you. Father and the good Reverend told us that you and your mother might be the last of your kind.”
“What kind is that?”
“Your ancestor ran north from Salem when they were burning women as witches. The church took her in and hid her. She never said much about where she came from. She married and lived her life as one of us. You are one of us.”
The Doomsday Papers Page 46