Evil Unbound- Death's Mistress Returns

by Daniel Grayson

  Kate balled her hands into two excited fists and Norah let out a little squeak as they looked at me. I checked the full-length mirror and was surprised at how well the shape of the dress hugged my curves. The cutouts on either side above the hips seemed to draw the eyes to the inward curve of my hourglass shape and the neckline plunged down further than I would have normally preferred, but had small bands of fabric holding it together across my chest.

  “What do you think?” Kate asked, practically holding her breath as she waited for my response.

  I looked in the mirror doubtfully. Similar to the last dress, it bordered on being more than I was comfortable with. “I don’t know,” I said, “don’t you think it’s a little…” my voice trailed off, but I gestured to the cutouts with a grimace to make my question clear.

  “Are you kidding me? That’s the one,” she said. “You look gorgeous! I wish I could fill out a dress like that!”

  I shot her a narrow glare. “Don’t say that. You fill out a dress every bit as well as I do!”

  “She’s right,” the saleswoman added. “You should try one too. I have similar one in another color.”

  “No,” Kate objected, waving her hands in the air. “We’re just here for Emily today.”

  “Ummm… no way!” I exclaimed. “If you’re making me do this, you should try one on too. I bet you’d look amazing!”

  “Yeah mom!” Norah cheered from the seat next to hers. “Try it on!”

  The saleswoman hadn’t bothered waiting for her to make up her mind. She’d already walked back onto the floor to find the other dress.

  “Fine!” Kate surrendered. “I’ll try one dress on, but you have to get that one. Agreed?”

  “Yes,” I replied, looking myself over once more in the mirror. “Thank you, by the way,” I added. “This is far more than I deserve.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I know you feel like you owe us something, but you don’t. What you told Jackie is true for us too… our lives are better since you came around. You’re family, Emily.”

  “Here you are,” the woman said, carrying a black dress into the changing area.

  It did look similar, but I could see that it was a little shorter and didn’t have the same cutouts on the sides. Instead it was mostly backless, but the shape was the same and the neckline was very similar.

  “Alright,” Kate said grudgingly as she stood up and accepted the dress.

  We both entered the changing rooms at the same time, but I had gotten the dress off and had my jeans and shirt back on and she still hadn’t emerged. I sat with Norah and started tickling her as we waited for her mom. She loved to hate being tickled, and we often made a fun game of it, driving Kate a little crazy with Norah’s shrieks in the process.

  Just as I was about to ask Kate if she needed help, the door opened. This time, it was my turn to react as Kate walked out of the room. Her blonde hair was held back in a careless bun, and she wore minimal make up, but she looked breathtaking in the dress. The black fabric had a shimmer that I hadn’t noticed before, and Kate seemed luminous as she walked toward us. She turned shyly to inspect her bare back in the mirror, and she looked all the more striking as the dress highlighted her delicate lines.

  “Wow!” was all I could manage at first. “You look incredible, Kate.”

  “Yes,” the saleswoman added. “That dress is perfect for you. If you two ladies went out together wearing those dresses, they’d have to put fires out behind you.”

  I knew she was just trying to get an extra sale, but it was hard to argue with the young brunette who looked like she was barely an adult. She’d picked two magnificent dresses and clearly had a knack for matching the right fit to a woman’s body.

  “I don’t know,” Kate said, looking herself over in the mirror hesitantly.

  I could tell she liked it, but I think she had a feeling similar to the one I’d had about mine. It might have been right on the border of what she was comfortable with.

  “I thought mine was too much too,” I said, taking the leap that I was right about her apprehensions. “It looks incredible and you wear it so well. It’s sexy, but it isn’t too much. Trust me.”

  She looked over her shoulder in the mirror at the back again. It was very exposed, but cut high enough that it still had a classy feel to it.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, looking back and forth between me and Norah.

  “I LOVE IT!” Norah replied with glee.

  I nodded in agreement and said, “If I have to get mine, I think you need to get that one too.”

  “Then we have to go out sometime and see if she’s right,” Kate replied with a silly smile. “We’ll see if we can set the town on fire!”

  She spun one more time and then hopped into the changing room again with a little more pep than she’d had before. With both dresses in hand, we made our way back through the mall toward her car.

  I happened to see the jerk who’d been arguing with Jackie in the food court on our way out. He was walking the other way and would soon pass right by us. An idea came to mind and I tried to push it away, but once the thought had formed I couldn’t rid myself of it. I wrestled with myself as the distance shrank between us. He was ten steps away… then five… and then, right as he passed, my body seemed to make the decision for me. I slipped my leg out to the side. He was looking at his phone and didn’t see it; he tripped over my foot.

  His arms flailed as he went flying and his phone skidded across the ground. He landed loudly on the hard tile floor with a shout of surprise. He looked up at me with his mouth gaping, but I cut him off before he had a chance to say anything.

  “Watch where you’re going!” I shouted, as though he’d rudely walked into me. “Get off your phone and pay more attention!”

  The look of indignation he’d been giving me at first faded to confusion and then embarrassment. He realized that he really had no idea what had happened since he hadn’t been looking.

  “I’m sorry,” he stammered, before clambering to his feet and walking over to pick up his phone. I heard him mutter, “Dammit!” and assumed that the screen had been damaged. Served him right!

  I turned away from him to continue walking with Kate and Norah. They had both stopped at the sound of the commotion, but were a few steps ahead. Kate’s mouth was open, and her head was tilted to the side; she clearly suspected something. Her eyebrow was raised, but so was the corner of her mouth. She thought it had been intentional, but she seemed to appreciate it, at least. Perhaps because of Norah, she didn’t say a word about it, so neither did I. We just turned back toward the exit and were on our way. It was a small measure of vengeance, hardly worth any excitement at all, but it had been fun nonetheless.

  It was a quiet car ride home. Norah fell asleep in the back seat, and Kate and I mostly sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the radio. Reflecting on all that had gone so very well that day, I closed my eyes and felt the breeze from the open window rush through my hair as the upbeat song on the radio carried my thoughts along. Not only had things worked out so well today, but with Brandon taking me out again, tomorrow was looking to be just as good. While that in itself was enough to look forward to, I couldn’t help hoping that it might also lead to more opportunities for dispensing justice.

  I thought carefully about the unusual situation I was in. Just as I knew I would have to be careful about how I went after David so as not to draw suspicion onto Kate, I would also have to be cautious about how I used any information I may glean from Brandon. I didn’t want my future kills to trace back to Brandon or myself. My mind spun. I would have to wait and see what kind of lead I could get from him, and work from there. The double anticipation of a romantic night paired with the opportunity to quench my continued thirst for blood sent a thrill through me and I couldn’t wait for the next evening to come.

  “Looking forward to tomorrow?” Kate asked knowingly as we neared the house.

  “Very much,” I replied.

  “I c
an tell. You look more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a while. I’m so happy for you.”

  I knew she meant it, but there was something in the smile that punctuated that last sentence. She was unhappy. I knew that she genuinely wanted things to go well for me, but she was sad for the same reason that I’d wished it was her and not me going on the date to begin with. She needed this even more than I did.

  “Well, since you’ve convinced me that I was wrong about men,” I said, turning to face her as I spoke, “that means that we need to find a good guy for you. That night on the town is sounding like a better and better idea. How about Friday night?”

  Kate laughed for a second, but stopped when she looked over at me. “You’re serious?” she asked.

  “Deadly serious,” I replied. “Why not?”

  “Okay,” she said. Night had fallen, but I could see a smile spread across her face in the light of the oncoming cars. “I’ll see if I can get a sitter.”

  The rest of the evening was uneventful. We arrived home and woke Norah just long enough for her to stumble upstairs and into bed. Then, we settled ourselves onto the couch with a bottle of wine and wound down with one of Kate’s favorite shows. I wasn’t as big a fan of reality TV as she was, but it was mildly entertaining, and simple enough that I could let my mind wander without worrying about missing anything.

  That night I was thinking about how I was going to take care of David. It was clear that it needed to be done, but it was going to require far more sensitivity than the others. I’d targeted him for very personal reasons, but his death was going to have to appear random and anonymous. As much as I would like to take my time with it again, I could not risk his death being linked to Joe’s in any way.

  An apparent suicide could work pretty well, but that would be much harder to pull off. Same thing with trying to make it look like an accident. If he resisted in either situation, there could be evidence of a struggle left on his body. Modern forensics was certainly a challenge, but I would figure out a way, and the victory would be even sweeter in the end.

  It crossed my mind that I could try pinning David’s murder on someone else, then, I could still have a certain amount of fun with him. If I acted fast, I could return to Kyle’s car before it was located, lure David out to meet me, and run him down on the side of the road. A license plate left behind at the scene as if it had broken off would pin the death on Kyle, and people would assume that he had simply fled after causing the accident. It was an appealing thought, but I knew I couldn’t rush this kill. It was too important. It had to be exactly right, and linking Kyle with David was a big risk. Right now, I was in the clear for Kyle’s murder because no one knew I had any connection to him whatsoever. But if I tried framing Kyle for David’s death, and then Kyle’s body was found with his throat slashed like Joe’s, it could lead right back to Kate and me.

  I needed to keep thinking, but after a long day, I was feeling quite tired. When the show ended, I said goodnight to Kate and headed upstairs. My mind was abuzz with anticipation for the next day, but it took very little time to doze off. My dreams were just as vivid as the night before, and I found myself walking hand-in-hand with Brandon under the moonlight, when to my horror, I was snatched away and dropped into the clearing with the witch who’d cast her spell on me all those years ago. Being aware that I was dreaming did nothing to calm me. I’d been dreaming the entire time I was trapped before. Had she imprisoned me again? Was this going to be my reality for another three hundred years?

  “I see you’ve learned nothing from your punishment,” the witch said, stepping toward me and running a finger down the side of my face. I could feel the jagged edge of her nail dragging at my skin. “My magic was not strong enough to hold you forever and now you’re evil is spreading again.”

  My limbs were locked in place. I could not lift a hand or move my legs. I swallowed in fear and realized I was not completely frozen. I opened my mouth and screamed, not to call for help; I was testing my voice. When I saw that it had not been stolen from me this time, I responded to the ugly woman.

  “I’m not evil. All you see is the death I bring, but it is justified. These men don’t deserve to live!”

  “You’re wrong!” she snapped, hissing as she took a fast breath before continuing. “You started with the best intentions, but you invited evil. Now you look for reasons to kill. You take joy in it. You’ve lost control.”

  “No!” I shouted, glaring at her in defiance.

  “You know it’s true. You won’t face it, but the signs are there if you’d only look. You crave death now. You no longer merely kill; you take joy in bringing pain and misery. That’s not the attitude of justice. Your heart is full of malice and hate – it’s blinded you to what you’ve become.”

  “Maybe so – but they deserve it!” I shouted once more, with more venom this time. “They don’t get to treat women the way they do and get away with it. Someone has to make them pay; someone has to stand against them! That is exactly what I do!”

  “Tell me, if that is your true motive, then why do you long for it? Why does it consume your thoughts and invade your dreams? Why were you not satisfied with what you did to Joe?”

  “Because death is not punishment enough!” I shouted. “It’s too easy for them, its…”

  “It’s because you are addicted to violence and pain!” she interrupted. “You need each kill to be worse than the one before or you won’t be content. You are not serving justice – you are gratifying yourself.”

  I trembled with rage and indignation.

  “The evil you’ve invited has taken control and demands your submission. You’ve given yourself to death. You became his mistress all those many years ago and you’ve awoken exactly the same. You’re losing control, and if you don’t stop soon you will be lost. I locked you away to save the world from you, but also to give you a chance to start over. Only you can banish the evil inside of you. Heed my words, Emlyn Erwood! If you don’t, the evil will only grow, and one day, it will infect others. You cannot satisfy death; it will always demand more. It will take everything from you. The love and the joy that you’ve found will bleed away. You cannot have both. You must choose!”

  “Shut up!” I shouted. This was a dream, not a prophecy. This hag knew nothing. She was the one who was blind! I was doing the world a favor and she wanted to make me out as a monster, on par with the very men I slaughtered. It was nonsense.

  “You’ve been warned,” she whispered. “Now, WAKE UP!”

  Her final scream shook me and I could hear it, even as her haggard face faded away with the dream.

  “WAKE UP!”

  My eyes opened and I jolted upright in my bed. Kate’s hands were on my arms and the shock of seeing her there almost earned her a backhand, but I recognized her before throwing my fist. My body was covered in sweat; my shirt was clinging to my back and my hair was damp and uncomfortable. The room felt like it was ninety degrees and I was breathing heavily.

  “You’re okay,” Kate said softly. “You were screaming in your sleep. It must’ve been some nightmare.”

  “It was,” I replied. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you sleep on the couch after you cool off? You’re drenched in sweat.”

  Ever the mother that she was, Kate pulled an extra sheet from the hall closet and laid it out on the couch for me, along with a dry pillowcase for my pillow.

  “What was the dream about?” she asked.

  I looked at her for a moment, not sure what to say. My instinct was to brush her off with my usual ‘I don’t remember,’ but part of me longed to confide in her, if even just a little. “It’s this nightmare I keep having ever since I woke up,” I replied in a small voice. “It’s like there’s someone telling me that my memory loss is a punishment and that I’m not a good person.”

  It was the closest thing I could tell her without saying too much.

  “I try and argue and explain myself” I went on, “but
then the voice just says that I haven’t been punished enough and it’s going to happen again.” I gulped, trying to hold back tears. I detested showing weakness, but the dream had shaken me to my core. “I’m so afraid!” I cried, “I feel like I’m going to get lost again and forget you and Norah.”

  Kate wrapped me up in a big hug and said, “You’ll never lose us. It’s just a bad dream. Your mind can’t explain what happened to you, so of course you’re afraid. Whatever your life was before, whether it was bad or good, you’ve experienced a deep loss. I think this is just your mind trying to process it. Trust me, you’re not a bad person, and your amnesia is not a punishment. Just relax and try and get some more sleep.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I lay down on the couch. I felt childish. The situation was reminiscent of all the times I’d heard her encouraging Norah to use logic over emotion. I liked feeling like she was taking care of me. “You are too good to me, Kate.”

  “We love you, Emily. Norah and I both. You’re our family now, so stop expecting me to treat you like anything less than that. Get some sleep and we’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  Sleep sounded very good, and I somehow knew that I wouldn’t fall back into the same nightmare again, so I let myself drift off. When I awoke, it was from a dreamless sleep and I felt rested, despite being slightly unnerved. I’d been having so many dreams lately that it was strange to arise with the feeling that I had only just closed my eyes.

  I was the first person up, and I decided to take advantage of it by making them breakfast for a change. When Kate made her way downstairs, it was to a clean living room and a kitchen filled with the scent of bacon and eggs.

  “Wow,” she joked, “you should sleep on the couch more often!”

  I smiled and handed her a glass of orange juice.

  We sat at the table together, knowing that the peaceful morning would soon be filled with endless chatter once Norah joined us.

  “Have you thought anymore about what you’re going to do about David?” I asked.

  “Only enough to know that I’m going to fight. I’m not letting him run me over when it comes to Norah. She’s better off here with me than she is with him, and I won’t let our daughter be used to placate his current fling.”