The Matriarch: An Erotic Superhero Romance (The Matriarch Trilogy Book 1)

by Howell, Sloane

  His laughter ceased abruptly. He bent down. I picked at my raw fingers.

  "You will."

  His words cut to my core, eating away at my guts. He strode to the middle of the pack and continued down the street. I checked my pants to make sure they were still dry. I started to rethink my position on the lord as the boys jumped to their feet once the men were out of sight. My whole body trembled when I turned to Kyle.

  "What is wrong with you?" Kyle's shook his head at me. "Are you out of your mind?"

  "Forget him. What is wrong with you? Bowing for some guy in a hat. Sissy!"

  The other boys looked at me like I was incredibly brave, but insane.

  "We aren't going to last a week with you acting like an idiot. We are here. Get over it!"

  I wanted to burst into tears when he bolted toward the school. My chest crushed against my heart. It was silly, but we had always walked to school together. He'd never left me on the street before, especially not in some strange place. I wanted to curl up in a room somewhere and never come out.

  The odor of rotting wood and mold circulated through the schoolhouse. The taste of horrible pancakes crept up my throat. This was not how the first day of school was supposed to start. At least back home I had Kyle at my side.

  Faded, crumbling paint clung to the walls and ceiling from different angles, and a dangling light fixture had me constantly looking up in fear. Random cracks snaked through the concrete floor and the stained glass mural on the wall contained about half of its original glass. The place looked like a hobo breeding ground. It had large, boarded up windows, and crusted dirt caked the floorboards.

  I couldn't purge Kiril's stare from my mind. Imaginary bugs scaled over every inch of my body when I remembered his eyes, his bandaged face. Walking down the hall, I felt something tug at the straps on my backpack. I thought if I ignored it long enough it would go away.

  No such luck.

  I flipped around, grinding my teeth. "What!"

  There was nothing but an empty hallway as my voice reverberated off the walls. I started to think I was hallucinating when I heard sniffles below. Looking down, I noticed a pudgy face and pair of soft brown eyes welled up with tears. The girl couldn't have been more than four or five years old. Her lip quivered.

  If there was one thing I had a soft spot for it was kids.

  "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."

  I knelt down and rubbed her chubby arms. Stifling her tears, the girl still shook as I consoled her. She brushed back her thick ebony hair and revealed her pale skin. Her clothes were covered with the grotesque film that clung to everyone, but her scared, innocent face tugged at my heartstrings.

  "What's your name?"

  "S-s-suki."

  My chest constricted as the girl stuttered. I was so caught up in myself I had frightened an innocent child. I chewed on a fingernail and examined the girl from head to toe.

  "I'm Maggie."

  The girl brushed her forearm across her face and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  "Are you lost?" I asked.

  The girl nodded, her bottom lip still quivering.

  "Well, I'm sure we can find where you’re supposed to be. Come here."

  Suki lifted her hands to me and I hoisted her onto my hip. The backpack full of books and Suki's weight had me hunched over. Her head bounced as I adjusted her weight.

  "You are heavy!" I bugged my eyes out at her, searching for a smile.

  Suki grinned, her tears nearly gone and happy to have made a friend. I lugged Suki to the nearest classroom where other children played with toys in the corner.

  "You are going to have so much fun today. I know your teacher and she is awesome."

  Suki's eyes lit up. Mom walked over as sunlight peeked through the window and radiated around her casual dress and golden curls of hair.

  She bent down so she was at eye level. "Who do we have here?"

  "This is Suki." I smiled.

  Suki clung to the strap on my backpack.

  "It's okay, she's my mommy and she's the best teacher I know."

  Suki slid down my side and wrapped her arms around my leg, squeezing so tight my toes tingled.

  "Looks like you made quite the impression." Mom smiled.

  "She's just scared. I know how she feels." Mom bent down to Suki. I felt the girl’s warm cheek press into my ribs.

  "You know, I bet if you act big and brave, Maggie will come see you at lunchtime." Mom offered her hand to Suki.

  Suki whipped her head up to me for confirmation.

  I nodded. "It's true, I'll just be right across the hall."

  Suki beamed and showed her adorable crooked teeth. "O...o...okay."

  She released my leg and walked through the door, though she kept glancing back to me.

  "Isn't she adorable?" I waved as Suki chose a toy and began pressing its buttons.

  "Yes, I remember you holding my leg the exact same way." Mom ran her fingers through my hair.

  She stared at the smile on my face as I turned to watch Suki make new friends. It was a smile that was no longer forced.

  "I remember," I said.

  "Maggie?"

  "Maggie!" Kyle kicked the leg on my desk and jarred me from my imagination.

  I jerked back to reality. My head flipped around to meet his face so I could lay into him.

  "What?"

  "Thinking about Bathory?"

  I realized I hadn't thought about Bathory since I met Suki. I didn't miss it quite as much. My shoulders felt lighter. The chain of weights attached to my neck disappeared. I had a new friend other than my brother, even if it was a small child.

  "No. Just—" I paused. "What do you care anyway?"

  "You still mad about earlier?"

  "Duh."

  "I was scared, okay? Did you see that guy?"

  "Like I said, you’re a sissy. And you left me there, by myself, in a strange city."

  Kyle’s head dropped. “I’m sorry.”

  “Just promise me you won’t ever abandon me again. We have to stick together in this place.”

  Kyle looked up at me, serious for once in his life. He nodded. “I promise. No matter what. We got each other’s backs.”

  I knew he meant it, but he wasn’t getting off that easy.

  "What do you want to do at lunch?" He grinned.

  "I made a friend and I'm having lunch with her. And no, you aren't invited."

  "Aww, come on."

  "Fine." I glowered. "I guess you can eat with us. But you had better be nice."

  We glanced back to Dad who stood at the chalkboard wrapping up a lesson. He dismissed us for lunch and Kyle followed me across the hall. Suki bolted through the door and into my arms.

  "I hope you don't mind a smelly boy eating lunch with us." I pinched my nose and Suki giggled.

  "Hey, I don't smell—" Kyle sniffed himself and cringed. "I mean, umm, nevermind."

  We strolled down the hallway. I looked up at the ceiling and the building was no longer a death trap. It had character. The cracked paint on the walls made it interesting. The rotted wood told stories of what it had seen. Kyle made faces at Suki and she laughed and snorted.

  Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

  A few weeks passed and Golem grew on me. Maybe it was Suki. Kyle and I learned she was an orphan when we walked with her after school the first day. She lived in a group home. It was not uncommon for many children in the city. My heart wrenched but Suki didn't realize her situation. She always wore a contagious smile.

  The drab sky lightened each day and the city seemed a little less haggard. I even grew accustomed to the smell that regularly pervaded my nostrils. The fractured streets didn't bother me as much and the trees seemed to sag less.

  I still wore my bad attitude around my family, though now it was just a performance. They saw through my little act the moment I talked about Suki.

  It was Saturday and the sun's heat found a way to beat down on us through the scattered clouds.
Suki was visiting. We pushed her back and forth on a swing a few houses down from ours. Wisps of smoke lifted above the weathered privacy fences in the backyards of each home. I wrinkled my nose at the odor of charring meat.

  "We can't even have one flippin' Saturday," I said.

  Kyle laughed and pushed Suki higher. Her giggles helped me ignore the stench assaulting my nostrils. I coughed and tried to rid myself of it as I pushed Suki back toward Kyle.

  "Sick?" asked Suki.

  "It's that stupid meat they cook. What is that stuff?"

  Suki chortled each time I gagged.

  "Howse."

  "Howse?"

  Kyle’s eyes got big and he looked away. I stared at both of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

  "What is hows—wait, no. No. No!"

  Suki laughed and snorted louder. "Dat howse!"

  I turned and stared at Kyle. His head dropped and he kicked at the dirt.

  "They are cooking horse?"

  Kyle looked up at me and shrugged.

  I went pale and cold sweat trickled down my face. The saliva in the back of my throat became thick and salty. I started to speak, but it was too late. I clutched my mouth, ran to the corner of the house, and vomited.

  Suki clapped and laughed while I hurled my lunch.

  I wiped my nose and turned to the kid. "You think that's funny?"

  Kyle was trying to hold back his laughter. "Howse! Howse! Yum."

  When she rubbed her little belly Kyle lost it.

  "This place is full of sickos!" I fumed, fighting a smile as Suki continued her display.

  "It's all she knows. Ease up a little, Mags.”

  "Ease up? Ease—"

  My sentence was cut short when Suki pointed toward our house. "Kee-Reel!"

  We glanced over as the men in the pinstriped suits strolled to our door. I nabbed Suki and we ran with Kyle to the corner of the house. Kyle shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the dirt. He started to pace back and forth.

  "What do you think they want?" Kyle asked.

  I started to hyperventilate. The memory of Kiril staring into my soul sent a wave of horror coursing through my blood. Was he coming for me? Why hadn't I put my pride aside? Why hadn't I bowed?

  I was petrified, but my curiosity got the best of me.

  "We need to get closer. I can't hear,” I whispered.

  "You're insane! Are you some kind of idiot?"

  "Come on, sissy."

  Kyle reluctantly followed with Suki as they posted up outside the nearest window. I recognized Kiril's voice. He was speaking to dad in the same evil, monotone voice I remembered.

  "It's a matter of business."

  "We can't afford it. Why do we have to pay this?" Dad cocked his head to the side, as if Kiril was speaking in a foreign language.

  "It's a tax. The price of protection."

  "Protection from who? The people we are paying the tax to?"

  "Protects you from many things."

  "We will have to shut down. We just can't afford it. This is extortion."

  "No exceptions will be made. Everyone pays."

  "We came here to help your city. Why are you doing this?"

  "We didn't ask for help. That is on you. There is nothing I can do."

  The men exited the door single file, Kiril at the rear. His gauze-wrapped face showed only a mouth and eyes, and he stared at me with a devilish grin.

  "I'll see you soon."

  It was a particularly grim Thursday when I made my way through two tall doors into a translucent, modern glass building in the heart of Golem's financial district. It sat among the decrepit high rises, juxtaposed against the cracked shelters and worn storefronts. Beggars propped against the sleek walls, panhandling for spare change or their next meal.

  I marched to the front desk carrying my briefcase. My hands shook. I realized the truth in the cabbie's statements the first time I laid eyes on Kiril. He was a frightening man, someone not to be trifled with. I needed to negotiate something. There was just no way we could pay. We would have to shut down the school we’d fought so hard to open.

  I attempted to steady my trembling hands. In front of me was an imposing, crescent-shaped marble desk. A young woman spun around in a chair to greet me. A headset wrapped around her straightened blonde hair to a pair of ruby red lips.

  "I'm here to see Kiril."

  "One moment please."

  A giant man in a suit came to the front and summoned me down a hallway. A huge, jagged scar ran down his cheek like a lightning bolt to the ground. He stood at least a foot taller than me.

  The hardwood floors gleamed and portraits of men in suits lined the charcoal walls. We strolled down the hall and the long corridor seemed to close in on me. The giant opened a door into a cavernous room with high, vaulted ceilings. My surroundings were all painted blood red. Kiril sat behind a mahogany desk. Large windows behind him bathed the room in sunlight. I bowed.

  "Come."

  Kiril had always been courteous to me. Regardless of his cordial nature, I always sensed a malevolent tone in his voice. It was as if Kiril fed on my fear. The monster's grin widened with each of my steps.

  "Business to discuss?"

  "Y-yes, I really want to show you our numbers so that you can see we can't pay. It's not that we are asking for a handout. It's just impossible. I've tried everything I can think of."

  "This is troubling." Kiril frowned. "You must pay. I don't want to punish you. But if I don't, others will see. This is a problem."

  "But we have no money. We just don't. Surely there is—"

  Kiril's voice became harsh, his courteous façade fallen away. "You don't understand. You must pay. It's not an option."

  Anger started to boil in my blood. I shook my head and clenched my fists. I heard my voice grow sharp as a wave of heat rushed into my cheeks. "No, no, there is no money. You don't get it."

  Kiril stood and stalked around the desk, looming above me. I started to shake as his large pupils expanded and took in every detail, every ounce of my fear. The shrouds around his lips curled when he grinned. After a heavy moment that I felt lasted several beats too long, Kiril offered me his hand. I shook it reluctantly, confused.

  "There's not much to say then." Kiril’s skin was cold, clammy.

  "So that's it?"

  "That's it."

  "Well, okay then. If we find some way to generate more revenue, you will be the first to know."

  When I exited the building, a million thoughts ran through my head. I didn't know what to make of Kiril. I did the only thing I knew. I prayed.

  Our family sat around the dinner table. I had conditioned myself to choke down whatever ingredients mom had thrown together to make the “howse” bearable.

  Thoughts of Suki at the group home gnawed at my stomach. I hated that she had to stay there with no family to share terrible food with. I was thankful for my family. I chewed and swallowed, with more than a little effort, but managed it all the same.

  A fist pounded on our door and rattled the picture frames on the wall. We jerked in our seats. The sun had set and we never had visitors, especially not after dark. Dad wiped his hands down his legs and gulped.

  "Who in the world?" Mom said, her eyes wide.

  Dad crept to the door, inhaling deep with each step. I rarely saw fear in my father. But now his knees quaked more with each stride, and I was horrified.

  When he opened the door, it took only a moment before he fell back. A large fist had crashed into his jaw and sent him ricocheting into the wall. My world turned into a blur of disbelief and terror.

  Mom screamed.

  Streams of crimson spouted from Dad’s face. I shrieked, churning my feet against the cold tile floor. A large hand yanked me up by the hair, snapping my neck back painfully. Wide knuckles dug into my skull and held me in place as I tried to claw my way free. My assailant shook me like a rag doll, demanding compliance. I looked to Kyle and Mom who'd suffered the same fate. Their screams of ter
ror filled the small kitchen. The men turned toward the front door, now busted on its hinges.

  A pinwheel of smoke lingered, swirling in the air and hovering through the entry. Kiril followed. He cut through the smoke and it shifted around him. Tiny vortices spun off in random directions.

  "I apologize for the interruption."

  Kiril stared down to Dad, first his trembling legs, and then his bloodied face. Kiril knelt, examining him. Mom wailed and scratched at the giant bear paws holding her hostage.

  "Please, just leave us alone. We don't want any trouble,” Mom cried.

  Kiril waved his cigar-laden hand in the air, his fingers and the smoke silencing her.

  "We must have clear communication."

  He sat the cigar on the tile and pulled a large serrated blade from a sheath at his hip. Glints of light sparkled along the smooth steel.

  "No, please! We'll do anything!" I fought with everything I had at the hand holding me steady, scratching and clawing like a caged animal.

  Kiril stared as Dad's eyes slowly opened.

  "You should have paid."

  Kiril pressed the blade into Dad’s mouth and carved out his cheek. Blood sprayed across the wall. Dad screamed, writhing on the ground, blood slicking the floor beneath him. Kiril gripped his shirt while Dad tried to shrink away. There was nowhere to go.

  Kiril leaned into his ear. "You will pay with your life and your family."

  Kiril turned to me, the blade in his hand dripping blood that also ran in my veins. His pupils widened, seeming to delight in seeing all the horror they could.

  "This is why you bow."

  Needles pierced my skull. This couldn't be real. Couldn't be happening. The mercenary's hand fisted my hair tighter as I fought against his hold. Screams tore through the halls when Kiril sawed Dad’s throat, severing his main artery and spilling his blood to the floor. Kiril wrenched the severed head free and held it up like a trophy. I went numb. I was in a tunnel. Kyle and Mom shrieked in my ears but it felt like they were a hundred feet away. Kiril dropped Dad’s head on top of his lifeless body. Everything went dark.

  I woke on a frigid concrete floor, the recent horrors shocking back to life in my mind. I searched the dark with my hands, trying to grasp anything that felt familiar, praying I was waking from a nightmare. I pawed at myself frantically, making sure I could still feel my body, and that I was still breathing.