Haley Thistle
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The Black Cat & the Owl (complete)
🕑 Added 2020-05-15 19:01:00 +0000 UTC
When I fell in love, I thought it would be forever. I thought she would be mine to hold and protect and never let go. It was so very long ago, yet it still feels as if I only turned around, I would be with her again. I understand why she had to leave, but it does nothing to soothe the pain I felt. Even now, the scars remain, haunting me with stirrings of misery when the memory returns. I was her first, and she was new and scared then.
Her family was very set in their ways as well, unable to see beyond the familiar. They kept to themselves for the most part, and they had plans for their child, ones I would be interrupting. Her clan of Owls kept her in the nest, waiting for the day she would be needed.
My family and I remained in the shadows. We didn’t much care for anyone but ourselves either, but at least we knew tradition didn’t mean much. We did as we pleased, when we wanted, and no one could tell us differently. The shadows gave us comfort and protected us, warning us of oncoming danger. All we needed to do was listen to them.
My love was a pretty thing, all white with wide eyes that took in the world with caution. It was her long legs that betrayed her, causing her to fall in the woods as she was returning home. I remember how she lay there for a moment, white hair spilled across the ground. She almost looked dead. But she rose, slowly and surely, as tears poured down from her eyes. It had only been a short fall. Why she was crying was a mystery to me.
I could see her loveliness even as the tears streamed down her face. I was intrigued, as I had been told all my life her family were nothing but bug-eyed loons. This one had soft features, wide black eyes, and a dainty mouth. She whimpered, pulling her legs up so she could see the damage that had been done.
I slunk out of the woods, approaching her quietly so as not to startle her, and knelt beside her, checking the scrape on her knee that was causing her such distress. There was nary a drop of blood spilt. She seemed more afraid of me than her fall. Those fathomless black eyes peered up at me, and I could see myself in them. I could see visions of the future in her gaze, so I forced myself to look away. I wanted nothing of that.
“Don’t stare at me,” I snapped at her. “Your eyes will dry out and then they will fall from your head.”
“You frightened me. Who are you?”
I ran my hand up her leg, enjoying the feeling of her calf in my palm. She was much more shapely than me, her figure more feminine, more soft. I had long legs too, but I was all bone compared to her.
“I’m the spirit of the forest who tends to beautiful young women who fall.” I smiled at her, watching her cheeks turn pink. “I tend to them, stop their tears, and then I gobble them up.” I licked my tongue over my lips.
Her cheeks grew a shade darker. She rubbed her eyes, ridding them of tears. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” I wanted to tease her, to see her face contort. “Now be still so I can eat you.”
Her smile was small, but it was there. She looked at me, her long white lashes fluttering as her eyes trailed down my body. I had a long neck and angular shoulders, and my long, thin fingers were still on her leg.
Her gaze haunts my dreams to this day. The way her lashes raised, her eyes gleamed, all melted together into a precious image I wanted to kiss forever.
“Who are you, really?” she asked.
“I told you, I’m a spirit who eats pretty girls.” My hand stroked further up her leg. “No matter how much they scream, I continue to feast on their soft, pink flesh.”
“You don’t look like a spirit.” She looked over me again, her eyes lingering on my throat and lips. “You look like one of the Shadows.”
I tilted my head so my neck bent at an odd angle. “How do you know what shadows look like?”
“My parents taught me about them. How they stay hidden, how they prefer darkness.” She reached up to touch me, but I pulled away. “I thought you’d be much more scary.”
“I don’t know how me eating you couldn’t be scary.” I dropped my eyes.
“You’re much too small to eat me,” she giggled.
“All the more reason!” I feigned a shocked gasp. “I’m unassuming. It’s all part of the trap.” My hand hadn’t left her leg. “You’re letting your guard down as we speak. You’re becoming more vulnerable to me.”
She glanced behind her. “I have to go.” Her voice warbled as she moved to stand. She seemed nervous. “Thank you for helping me.”
I scoffed as she began to walk away. “Be careful the next time you pass through here. I will eat you then.”
The next time I saw her, she was gathering moss from the riverbank. I came down from the trees to see her and I bit her finger as proof I could eat her. She pressed her fingertip against my rough tongue, her eyes widening as my tongue coiled around it and my teeth bore down on her knuckle. She came in closer, breathing on me while I sucked her finger. I still remember the way she tasted then, with slight hints of earth and raspberry, and the salt that shone through it all.
“Your teeth are so sharp.” She used her fingers to spread my mouth open, peering inside. Her fingertip pressed against my fang, pricking herself enough to bleed. I licked it, tasting more of her. I should have been wary then. I was easily trapped by pretty things. My favorite childhood toy was a shiny spoon of my grandmother’s.
“You really are eating me.” She was trying to make a joke of it, but her face was far too flushed.
I looked up at her, my yellow eyes gleaming in the shade of the trees. “Not yet, pretty one.”
Her name was Faye, soft and light as air. Her beauty was only matched by her tenderness. She was guarded jealously by her family, barely let out of their sight. She was starving for affection, even from a creature like me. She would come and find me, unaware I was always waiting for her. She reached for me with hands soft as moonlight and twice as beautiful. Like feathered wings her embrace wrapped around me, and I would become powerless to her. I was strong, but she made me weak, like a kitten in a warm lap.
I would touch her, giving her the contact and affection she craved. The poor thing would shiver at first, but as time went on, she melted into my grasp. Our first kiss was shared over a blackberry bush, our lips stained by juice. I could barely contain myself as that sweet little mouth pressed against mine. I returned her kisses, holding her close to me. She licked over my teeth, and a frightened sigh escaped her lips.
We kissed more and more, hiding away so no one would see us. She exposed herself to me, her pale body glowing amongst the shadows of the forest. The shadows would not touch her brightness, but moved away from her skin so I could see all of her. She was like cream spilled from the saucer, a delectable treat I had to lick up. Her breasts were heavy and filled my palms as my rough tongue circled her nipples. I was happy when she begged me to touch her. I gave her everything she wanted, and felt lucky just to be around her.
She smuggled me into her family’s barn, taking me to the loft. She stripped away my clothes to see my small chest, my narrow waist, and marvel at my dark skin. She kissed me, her lips moving down until I could take no more. I pushed her down into the hay, spreading her thighs open until she was completely exposed to me. Her labia were bright pink, poking out like plump berries from her mound of white fluff.
“What are you doing?” She could barely breathe, but I knew she wanted to hear my voice.
“I told you when we first met, lovely Faye, that I was going to eat you. Now I am.” I feasted on her then, never stopping even while she screamed. She was warm and wet against my tongue, her thighs pillowy as they squeezed around my head. I knew I was in love then, and I never wanted anyone else besides Faye.
I gave Faye my love whenever she asked, making her moan and come for me. I loved to taste her as her nectar flowed out. Being buried between her thighs was the greatest pleasure I knew. We stayed hidden in the barn, where we would not be spotted and the shadows could not reach. I did not want the shadows within the trees to see what power Faye had over me. She had too much, and yet I didn’t care.
One evening I waited for her in the usual place, but she never arrived. Days went by and I saw and heard nothing from her. Perhaps her family was holding her away, locking her in the house. I decided to find out for myself where she was and what had happened. I crept onto her family’s property and peered into the windows of their home.
Inside, I saw Faye sitting with a rugged, handsome man. She looked at him dotingly, and my heart splintered like glass, tiny cracks forming that spread from my chest and down into my limbs. The more she touched him, the more I broke. I could feel the wind whispering through me as shards fell and crashed into the ground. She kissed him, she held him, and she wore his ring on her pretty finger, the same finger I licked the black blood from.
The shadows reached out to me and called me home, begging me to return into their embrace, but I could not bear it. I turned my back on them and stole into her room that evening, waiting for her in the darkness. When she came in, she looked directly at me but said nothing. She climbed into bed with me, and despite the pain I felt, and the shards of me that were missing, we made love. She touched me tenderly, coaxing from me that deep euphoria only she could produce.
When we were done and lying naked on the sheets, I gathered my pain again. I lay on my side, watching her breathe, as moonlight filtered between the cracks of the curtains. She looked so lovely, so perfect, but then I caught sight of the ring on her finger. She had never taken it off. I wondered where she would leave it when she met with me.
My throat was dry as I attempted to speak. “Who is he?”
She remained silent, nuzzling my breast so her lips brushed against the nipple. “He is my fiancé.”
I closed my eyes as they began to sting. “You’re marrying him?” It felt as though the air was being squeezed from me like a rag being wrung out. “Why have you not told me?” I wanted to scream, but all I could muster was a pitiful mewl.
“I didn’t know how. I wanted to, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you.” She rose from the bed, looking down at me with those haunting eyes. “I’m so sorry, Layla.”
“Sorry?” I sat up and looked into her eyes, and there I saw a flash of my future play out before me. I looked away. It was bad enough to see what I had, and I couldn’t bear to see the end. I kissed her lips one last time, taking her breath away. “I will not stand in your way, then, nor hold any more sway over your heart.”
She grabbed me and held me fiercely. “No. Don’t go!”
I glared at her hand around my wrist, seeing his ring there. “Did you take off his ring when you met with me? Or is it new?”
Her fingers dug into my wrist and palm.
“Would you put it back on after those fingers touched me? After they had dipped into my well?” I forced her hands off me and pushed them down into the bed. “You let him put that ring on. You made your choice, Faye.”
“No. I didn’t! Let me explain. Let me kiss you again and you will see that.” She watched me from her perch as I took my clothes and dressed. “Please, Layla, do not leave me! If you could only understand how much I need you.”
I pulled back the curtains, and the forest felt so inviting. I could see the shadows reach out for me, promising me home and comfort where I had none with Faye. I opened the window to sit on the sill. Already, it felt warmer outside than in Faye’s bed.
“Our kisses are over, for now, lovely Faye. Should you ever be alone again, I shall find you and eat you for real.” I left the window, vanishing into the night.
I threw myself into my pain. I sobbed for hours, perhaps even days. Time had no more meaning to me, and it couldn’t hold me to its whims. I was lost outside of time, wandering at the mercy of my own heart. I had no desire to remain, so I left the forest that had been my home. The shadows led me away, deeper into the woods and into the world beyond the trees, and I placed myself in the hands of the unknown.
The village I made my home in was small and quiet, and operated like clockwork. It was boring, but I was able to make my life there. I was quite disliked, even though I was helping these poor souls more than anything. I cast my spells for coins, and used what the shadows would tell me. And I pleasured sad, lonely housewives because their husbands wouldn’t. None of them were Faye, which I both adored and hated. I enjoyed keeping these women company, giving them the affection they were starved for. Quite a few came to me regularly.
I was forced from the village under threats of death, which was fine. I was growing bored anyway. Years passed - how many, I am uncertain - but eventually I came to realize I was on the path heading home. Soon I was back in the forest I had grown. I took up my old haunts again, hiding in the shadows and doing as I pleased.
It wasn’t long before I found myself on Faye’s property. I came out of a desire to see if the house still stood there. In my mind it had blown away to dust, never really there to begin with. The shadows beckoned me away, begging me to return to where I was safe. I insisted that all I wanted to do was see. I would go no further.
The house looked older, and the grounds felt much emptier. I found myself gazing into the windows, and there she was. Still soft, still so lovely. Her long white hair was in a braided crown around her head. She was alone - perhaps her husband had passed away. I had made her a promise to come back when she was alone. Maybe the time had come after all these years. Perhaps she had been waiting for me.
When she answered the door, I could see the years on her face. She was still beautiful, but I could finally understand the time that had passed. She gazed at me, those eyes never blinking as she drank me in.
I kissed her, holding her soft face in my hands. After all that time, I had not stopped desiring her no matter how hard I tried to force her out. Her tongue found its way into my mouth, pressing against my teeth. She pulled me inside, and reluctantly drew away from me. “It’s been so long,” she whimpered. “I had no idea where you had gone! I have missed you.”
I kissed her again. “I said I would return when you were alone.”
“Layla,” she moaned. “Yes, I have been waiting for this moment.” She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into her again. It felt like there had been no space between us, no time that had passed. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her like everything was the same.
Her thighs had grown softer and thicker, and her belly was plump too. Her berry-like labia still poked out from her mound, and I tasted them. I had been pleasuring sad housewives for years, but none of them were my lovely Faye. Being buried between her thighs again was more joy than I could ever describe.
We lay naked above the sheets, breathing deeply from our passion. Faye nuzzled against my breast as her hand moved slowly across my belly. “You’re still so thin.” She looked at me like she did in our youth. Her hands stilled on my hips as she gazed into my eyes.
I kissed the top of her head. “Have you had children with him?”
She nodded her head. “He’s grown now, he moved far away from here. I’ve not seen him in so long, it’s hard to remember what he looks like.”
I gathered up my pain again. “And where is the husband?”
“Gone,” she said simply.
I accepted her answer, simply happy to have my Faye again. We made love endlessly those first few days, joyous in sharing each other once again. We shared her home too, and cared for each other. She showed me her new spell book, and the histories of the Owls. She had grown strong in her magic, just as her family had hoped, but they were gone now.
I kept the curtains shut, because when I gazed outside the shadows in the trees whispered to me. They begged me to come back into their arms. I could not take it, so I made sure I saw nothing of them when I was with Faye. I kept my attention on her and only her, giving her my love like I was a young girl again.
We were greedy at first, as I said, and it was hard to leave the bed those first few days. She kept me trapped in the warmth of her body, the plumpness of her thighs. I was enthralled, so happy to be giving this pleasure to the one I felt deserved it most.
“Where have you been? What have you been doing?” She played with my fingers, kissing each tip before flexing them. “I feel as though these hands have touched many others by now.”
I chuckled softly, watching her with a loving grin on my lips. “Never with the intent I put into you, my love. But yes, while I was away, I grew lonesome, and there were others who were pleased to have me around.”
I saw the wedding band still on her finger. She must have worn it now just out of habit. I kissed her palm while she kissed my neck and face.
“That is over now,” she whispered to me. “From now on, I am the only one you will touch, the only one. You will be with me forever, won’t you?”
I kissed her cheek. Seeing her smile the smile she gave me was all I wanted. “I will. From now on, I will stay by your side, Faye. I will love you.”
One afternoon, the two of us were in the garden together when a buggy came up. At first I assumed it was someone lost in the woods, so I was prepared to go out and help them, but Faye stopped me. She grabbed my arm and held me back, shaking her head at me.
“No, no. Just stay here, please? Stay here.” She looked back towards the buggy which had parked inside the old barn. Faye looked worried, almost terrified. She rushed to the barn, met the man who came out of it and gave him a kiss.
My heart splintered all over again. Gone, she said. She told me he was gone, and I took it how I wanted. Gone meant dead, gone meant I would never see him again. Gone was actually away and traveling. Gone was for a few days.
“This is a dear friend of mine,” Faye introduced us. His name was Matthew. He was graying, and had wrinkles around his eyes. He was happy and loved his wife. “She’s going to be staying with us for the time being, if that’s alright with you.”
Matthew’s hand was warm and callused, and his smile was genuine. “Of course it is! Any friend of my Faye’s is a friend of mine.”
He did not question who I was or why we had never met, even though they had been married for such a long time. I was given a room in their home, and Faye would visit when he was asleep. She would crawl into bed with me, kiss me, touch me, and make me feel as though we were alone in that big house.
“Why are you lying?” I whispered. “Why did you not tell me the truth?”
“I told you he was gone.” She looked at me, her eyes wide and sorrowful. “I don’t want to hurt either one of you, but after all this time, I know I need both of you.”
I had been completely crushed by her before, and though I thought I had healed, it felt as though I would not survive it again. I should have said no and stuck to it firmly. But I suppose time made me weak, because I couldn’t bear to be away from her any longer.
I stayed on the farm, becoming one of the family. Matthew traveled often, leaving us alone together. I wouldn’t feel so bad about it if Matthew were not a genuinely good man. He loved Faye. He had no clue what Faye and I were doing, so he was trusting as well.
“I think I should go,” I told Faye one afternoon. She was chopping onions for supper, and her knife stilled on the block. “I’ve been selfish and stayed too long. I do not want to hurt anybody, nor do I want to be hurt myself.”
“Is that what you want?” Her voice sounded as if it were coming from a distance. “Are you sure about that, Layla?”
“I can’t keep staying here. It isn’t right. I’m a shadow, I don’t belong here.” I turned and looked at her, seeing those black eyes staring up at me. Her knuckles grew white on the knife and her hand began to tremble.
“You belong here. You always did.”
I turned my eyes from her, glancing into the woods just beyond the window. I saw the shadows within, the ones I used to play amongst. I felt as though I should run to them, but as the curtains blew back over the windows, I felt my love for Faye creeping up the back of my throat. I couldn’t leave her.
Her hand touched mine, grabbing hold of it. She pulled it to her body, resting it between her soft breasts. “Stay with me, Layla. Don’t you love me?”
I should have known better. I should have gone back into the shadows that were calling for me. Instead, I kept my hand held in Faye’s grasp, because that was all I had ever wanted. I stayed by her side, in her home, all while Matthew was there.
There was a graveyard behind the house, where her family was buried. I remember that the house had been full when we were young. Now, it was only Faye and Matthew, and me as well. The graveyard was marked with stones that circled the graves, but there was no marker to indicate who was buried in each plot. I noticed that towards the rear, closest to the woods, there was a cluster of very tiny graves. It made me wonder if Faye and Matthew had trouble keeping children.
One day, I noticed Matthew among the graves. I left the house and approached him as he looked over the cluster of stones. He saw me and a sad smile spread across his face.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Layla.”
I bowed my head to him. “Good afternoon.” I looked over the graves as his eyes returned to them. “Were you close to Faye’s family?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “Didn't have a chance to be. They all died not long after Faye and I got married. It seemed like it always happened after Faye got into a fight with them.” he sighed heavily. “She took that pretty hard, so I come out here and talk to them from time to time. I think it makes her feel better. It’s also nice to have someone to talk to.” He looked longingly at the graves.
I watched him more than anything. There seemed to be a sense of yearning to him as he gazed at the headstones. His eyes watered up and he quickly covered it up by clearing his throat. Did he want to die? Did he want to join them?
“Things were hard for Faye,” he murmured. “Which is why I’m glad you’re here now. She seems happier these days. I did the best I could. I think I did, at least. She’s still with me. I just wish you had come sooner. But I suppose people come when they are needed.”
I couldn’t breathe as he looked at me. I felt wrung out. I plastered on a smile to hide the fact that I felt I was being crushed. What had once splintered was now being ground into dust. I just wanted to make Faye happy.
Matthew looked away from me, back to the graves again.
“Did you...” I stopped myself, a little afraid to ask the question. “How is your son? Faye said he was away.”
Matthew sighed heavily. “I’m not so sure. He stopped talking to us a few years ago. Got into a fight with Faye, you see. I send him letters all the time, but I never hear back. I just want him to know we are here should he ever need us.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I murmured. “Maybe he just needs time.”
I glanced up into the trees. I could see the shadows watching me, almost bearing down on me. I swallowed my breath and walked away from the graves and Matthew. I went back into the house, then closed the curtains around the windows. I didn’t want to see the forest. I didn’t want to feel the shadows looking at me. They had something to say, and I didn’t want to listen to them.
I woke one evening, staring up into the rafters as moonlight filtered through them. I heard sounds from the other room, soft and barely there, but the more I focused, the clearer they became. I heard sighs, a low moan, and the squeaking of a bed. I listened to Faye and Matthew as they shared their marital bed. I heard Matthew’s voice praising Faye as he entered that euphoria she always brought me to. Faye was quiet, aside from her breathing. The bed tapped against the wall rhythmically. The rhythm slowed until it finally stopped, and Matthew sighed happily.
I sat up in bed as I heard footsteps come down the hall. I lay back down quickly as my door opened, and Faye walked into the room. I feigned being asleep as she stood in the doorway. She didn’t come in. I was not sure what she was doing. I could smell sweat in the air, left over from her lovemaking with Matthew.
After a while, I thought she had left to go join Matthew again, but as I sat up I saw her still standing in the doorway. I froze, watching her as she watched me. Her expression was blank, which suited the endless blackness of her eyes. My breath caught in the back of my throat and was suspended there as her eyes bore into me. As my lips parted, her face broke into a smile. “I came to check on you. I thought I heard something.”
I shook my head slowly. “No. I didn’t make any noise.”
“That’s good.” She remained standing there in the doorway.
I managed to take a breath, which shuddered in my chest. I stood up from the bed. “I think I need something to drink.”
“I’ll join you, then.” She waited for me, then led me into the kitchen, where she poured me water from a pitcher and set it down on the table for me.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains as I sat down at the table. Taking a drink, I noticed that one of the curtains had blown open and I could see outside into the woods. I felt a jerk at my throat, and I choked. I coughed up the water, sputtering it over the table and my fingers.
“Oh, goodness.” Faye approached me, putting her arm around me as I gagged and heaved. “There, now. You must have drunk it too fast, silly.” She patted my back as I coughed, then took the cup from my hands and filled again.
I wheezed, trying to catch my breath again. I looked back to the window, seeing the curtain closed tight over the glass. Faye pushed the water close to me.
“No.” I pushed it away. “I’m fine. I’ve had enough for tonight.”
Faye looked up at me. Those eyes of hers gave me no comfort then. “It will make you feel better. Just have a drink, and it will make all that bad you coughed up go back down.” She gave me a smile. “For me?”
I took the glass into my hand. “One sip. For you.” I tipped the cup back to my lips, and the water felt cold against my tongue. Then I set the cup aside, glancing back at Faye as she smiled at me. She reached over the table, taking my hand into hers.
“I was glad you were awake, I couldn’t sleep.” Her fingers traced the lines in my palm. Then her nails slipped along my arm, going straight down the underside. “I sometimes fear you’ll leave me again. So I go to your room and make sure you’re sleeping there. Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable until I see you in bed, breathing.” Her eyes flicked up to me and the long lashes fluttered like a moth’s wing. “Promise me you have no plans of leaving.”
“Where would I go?”
Faye’s smile brightened. “I’m glad. Soon it will be just us. We’ll have all the time in the world. Won’t we, Layla?” Her hands squeezed tighter around my arm. “Don’t you want that for us, Layla?”
I felt short of breath again and as her hands constricted. I wanted to pull away, but I was locked in place. “Yes, of course,” I answered quickly. “That’s all I have ever wanted for the two of us.”
“Don’t you wish it could be now?” Her voice sounded different then, strange. Once again it seemed to be coming from a great distance, and yet in my ear at the exact same time.
“Of course, but… Matthew.” I felt so tired then, so utterly exhausted. “I want to go back to bed, Faye.”
“I’ll take you, then.” She took my arm, holding me as she walked me back down the hallway. I stumbled once or twice, but eventually I fell into bed.
Faye took my blankets and pulled them over me, tucking me in snugly. As I drifted, I thought I heard her whispering. “It should be just us, shouldn't it? Why should we have to wait? Why would you want to wait? You agree with me, right? We should be together from now on! Just us. Just us. Don’t you want that?”
I woke in the morning, gazing up at the rafters as sunlight poured through them. I took in a deep breath, still feeling that lump in my throat. As I stood, my limbs felt strange. They felt heavy for some reason, and I could only move slowly. My vision was blurred, and sometimes it doubled. I stumbled out of my room and into the hallway. It looked dark for morning, considering how bright my room had been.
I pressed my shoulder to the wall as I tried to make my way into the kitchen. There was a pit in my stomach, as if I hadn’t eaten for days, but all I wanted was a cold glass of water to make it all feel better. I walked into the kitchen, seeing Matthew standing there over the stove. His shoulders were slouched, and he had an ax in his hand.
He looked up, and I swore I saw blood all over his face. I stumbled again, falling against the table. I could smell blood in the air, and it was coming from Matthew. I looked up again, and my vision doubled as he came towards me. His ax was raised, and I could see blood dripping from the ceiling. My eyes widened and I fell backwards, and the ax came crashing down upon the table.
I scrambled across the floor, feeling sick from the movement as I tried to stand up. Matthew wrenched the ax from the table, coming towards me again as I screamed. I ran for the door, but it had been bolted shut from the outside. I pounded on it, hoping someone would hear. I forgot that the shadows could not reach me inside. I ran, falling several times while Matthew gave close chase behind me. The nausea was bubbling up in my stomach threatening to spill out with the bile.
I closed the door behind me as the ax came through the wood. I screamed, falling back onto the floor. The door shook and slammed as Matthew banged against it. I cowered there, my vision worse than ever as it splintered and shattered like a mirror. I looked up, shivering horribly as the door knob rattled.
The door began to open and, fearing for my life, I began to change. My body shifted, bones cracking as I took the shape of my foremothers. My skin became as black as a void, and shone in the morning light.
As Matthew opened the door, I caught him in my claws and my fangs. I dug into his skin and ripped it from his bones, making sure that he wouldn’t be able to raise that axe against anyone ever again. I gnawed at his throat, hearing the bones pop and the air hiss and gargle as blood began to pool in his mouth. I mangled his limbs, rending his arm from his shoulder and chewing on the wrist until it felt like pulp in my mouth.
Blood dripped from my jowls as my vision returned to me. I looked down at Matthew’s body, or at least what was left of it. I moved away from it, looking for the axe he tried to kill me with. I had been so certain that he was trying to kill me, that something in him had snapped and he could no longer take it. I found nothing.
I went into the hallway, leaving bloody paw prints in my wake. I looked at the table - yes! He had swung at me and drove the blade into the table. It would certainly have left a mark. But as I looked over the smooth, pristine wood, there was no sign of any such attack.
I was trembling, shaking from head to tail as I looked. Blood had dripped from the ceiling! I knew what I saw, but the only blood in the kitchen was mine. I went to the door, but remembered it had been locked from the outside. I had banged on it, thrown my body against it, and it never opened.
I went down the hallway and saw Matthew’s blood pooling outside the door, bits of him strewn across the hall. I lay there in the hallway, head down and eyes wide open as the pool spread, eventually drying into the wood. I could barely breathe. I couldn’t even think. If I could find the ax, I would be sure. But I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what came over me.
“Look what you’ve done, Layla.” Faye’s voice whispered behind me. “You killed my husband.” She knelt on the floor beside me, wrapping her arms around my bloody neck. “That’s alright. I still love you.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the bloody mess at the end of the hallway. As Faye cradled me in her arms, I could feel the bile and panic bubble up into the back of my throat.
“What did you do?” Faye cooed to me.
What did I do? I looked towards the end of the hallway, where the curtain across the window had blown open. There was nothing but darkness outside, and the shadows were pounding against the glass. They wanted me. They needed me to come home, but I was trapped, held hostage by the woman I loved so deeply.
I struggled, but Faye’s grip on me was too strong.
“It’s just us now,” Faye continued to murmur lovingly. “We have all the time in the world, my love.” She stroked my fur and nuzzled my cheek. Her affection was forced upon me, though. I did not want it, and it felt like spikes digging into my flesh.
I wanted to fight her, but I couldn’t. I was as helpless as a kitten. She made me this way, whatever it was she did it to me. I’m sure she did it to others before me as well - to her family, her children, and yes, to Matthew. I’m certain of it now. All of us were just objects for her own whims. She was just like her family, I should have known. The shadows tried to tell me that from the beginning, but I was too stubborn to listen. I ignored it all. I sealed my own fate.
“Come now, let’s clean this mess.” Faye rose from the floor and her black eyes bore into me. They felt hot, frightening. I had seen these eyes before - no, I had seen what was in them before. I saw blood dripping from her; my blood, his blood.
“Layla,” she commanded. “Get up. All I have now is you.”
My vision blurred, doubling again as I rose to all four paws. I helped her drag the body away, but she wouldn’t let me outside. She left the house to bury him in the graveyard with the others. While she was gone, the house grew dark. All the windows became filled with the shadows from the trees. They could no longer stay away. They were demanding my attention. If I stayed in this house, I would die. Faye would ruin me forever. Already, her influence had taken my magic away from me. The shadows screamed at me, begging me to come hide amongst them again.
The door opened and Faye stood there, dirty and with dried blood on her. I could see behind her to the forest, to my home. The shadows reached out, but they could not touch Faye, for she was all moonlight. Her giant eyes gazed down at me, and her sharp, razorlike mouth split open.
“It’s finally just the two of us, Layla. We can be together forever now.”
I was pulled by the throat as the shadows screamed at me, as Faye attempted to hold me. I ripped the skin away from her fingers, and she screamed at me. Feathers spilled from her, filling the room and my mouth. I clawed at her wrist, and wings billowed forth as the skin was torn away.
Her voice was a storm, filling the house with wind and moonlight that whipped around me and cut me. The feathers frothed and danced, almost blinding me as I tried to fight my way out of her grasp. I clawed the air, ripping her flesh with each strike. Every scream from her throat changed as her feathers flooded my mouth. I pushed her onto the ground, biting her face. I kissed it once, then stripped away the remaining skin. Her sharp beak opened wide and pecked at my eyes. I struck her face, drawing black blood rather than feathers. Her sharp claws ripped into my sides as she struggled.
Her wings slapped me, knocking me off-balance while her talons dug into my back. I threw her off, tossing her into the blizzard of feathers. Once I was upon her, I did not let go. I sunk my claws into her for the last time. I ripped at the feathers until they gave way to soft, wet pink. I gnashed my teeth into her neck, ripping out her throat before swallowing its flesh. There were berry-like chunks between my claws, all over the floor. They mixed with the white fluff of the feathers, eventually becoming a red stain that seeped out under the closed door.
My teeth were clogged with feathers and sinew. Faye’s large, gaping eyes remained open, gazing up at me, more fathomless than before. They did not blink. They did not flutter long white lashes. I backed away from her, leaving her there as the feathers continued to dance in the air.
I raced outside, where the shadows were waiting. Running on all fours, I returned to their embrace. I would hide there forever if I had to. I would never come out of them again, and I would never leave this form again. From now on, I was the shadows, safe inside the trees, untouched by anyone.
It was so long ago, and yet I feel that if I turn around, it will all still be there behind me. The pool of blood that seeps out from under the door, Faye’s unending eyes, my love for her. She did not heed my warning on the day we first met - a mistake on both our parts. I told her I would eat her. I promised I would.
Comments
Jennifer Lynn Bolan
Woah... I never expected the murderous one to be Faye.
