Here Be Monsters - an Anthology of Monster Tales by India Drummond, S M Reine, Jeremy C. Shipp, M. T. Murphy, Sara Reinke, Samantha Anderson, Anabel Portillo, Ian Sharman, Jose Manuel Portillo Barientos, Alissa Rindels Page A
Authors: India Drummond, S M Reine, Jeremy C. Shipp, M. T. Murphy, Sara Reinke, Samantha Anderson, Anabel Portillo, Ian Sharman, Jose Manuel Portillo Barientos, Alissa Rindels
Tags: Horror
Ads: Link
the walls, far away lands captured into frames. The bathroom was a special place, with shelves full of jars and bottles. Modern potions of beauty. Fragile bowls held aromatic salts, bars of soap carved into flowers and powdery spheres of bubble bath.
A luxury of scents to overpower the senses. A fragrant hiding place. She recognized a safe-room when she saw it.
Lux was coming out of the bathroom when a flicker of movement startled her. A cat was looking at her from the sofa. It was a slick creature with misty-grey fur and golden green eyes on its heart-shaped face. It waved its long tail, like an undulating question mark.
The Witch’s primary power was a biological self-defence. Her skin produced a mutated pheromone combined with a mild hallucinogenic to aid her psychic suggestions. Simple chemistry. Lux raised her hand and inhaled deeply on her sleeve, soaked with a mixture of essential oils to neutralize the Witch’s subtle scent.
“I can see you,” she said, even though it wasn’t true yet.
The cat blinked twice and a woman took its place. Like her feline illusion, she continued to study Lux with the calm eyes of a predator that isn’t hungry at the moment.
“Come closer, girl,” a smile bowed her perfect red lips. “Sit down with me. Be welcome to my home.”
She wore a lovely summer dress, and her hair had been meticulously braided.
“That was a good trick, with the perfume. You’ve done your homework. But it’s quite unnecessary. I only use my tricks on paying customers.”
Lux gave in to the telepathic pull, but not completely. She resisted enough to take a chair, instead of joining her host on the sofa. The mental fingers probed her mind lightly, as delicate as a cat licking blood.
Meanwhile, she kept talking, talking.
“And how is the Doc these days? Still strapping girls to tables? You grew up pretty. He must be all over you…”
Lux flinched at the salacious images filling her head.
“Oh, I see. It’s not like that with you, is it? You’re just a sweet obedient killing machine. I suppose I was your prototype. Or maybe all of us were. He enjoyed my services a few times, before he decided that I’d be an ideal subject. He paid well, until then.” She watched the girl shift, uncomfortably. “He’s just a man, cherie. He bleeds and he comes and he can be…distracted.”
Lux, concentrating on keeping the woman out of her mind, thought of a wall of spikes.
“No need for that, sweetness. I am only skimming the surface. Although I don’t suppose he allows you to have depths. No. Thinking creatures make bad slaves,” she paused. “You are here to kill me. But…you don’t want to. What is it that you want, Lux?” She had picked up her name, like snatching a fish off the water. “What’s your heart’s desire?”
The Witch’s skin was flawless, creamy caramel. Her skin was her armour. No one would ever touch her again. Were their powers determined by their wishes? And, if so, what did a terrified five-year-old wish for?
“For a while, I thought you were his child, but he must have stolen you from somewhere. Do you even remember?”
Lux flinched again, and the probing stopped.
“No, of course not. You are not his, Lux,” her voice sprouted hard edges. The honeyed charm had no place here. “None of us are.”
The girl stood up. It was the Witch’s turn to flinch.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“What will you tell him?”
“That you’re dead.”
*****
The Witch dropped her clothes on the floor and walked naked into the bathroom. Everything was in its place. The girl had felt longing here, but she had resisted temptation. Clever girl. She wondered how well-trained Lux really was, how long before she tried to break free. Her mind was full of bolted doors, repressed horrors going back to a tender age. How long before he sent her back, better prepared this time, a true menace?
Her scents enveloped her in a comfort cocoon, perfumes and soaps blending in the
A luxury of scents to overpower the senses. A fragrant hiding place. She recognized a safe-room when she saw it.
Lux was coming out of the bathroom when a flicker of movement startled her. A cat was looking at her from the sofa. It was a slick creature with misty-grey fur and golden green eyes on its heart-shaped face. It waved its long tail, like an undulating question mark.
The Witch’s primary power was a biological self-defence. Her skin produced a mutated pheromone combined with a mild hallucinogenic to aid her psychic suggestions. Simple chemistry. Lux raised her hand and inhaled deeply on her sleeve, soaked with a mixture of essential oils to neutralize the Witch’s subtle scent.
“I can see you,” she said, even though it wasn’t true yet.
The cat blinked twice and a woman took its place. Like her feline illusion, she continued to study Lux with the calm eyes of a predator that isn’t hungry at the moment.
“Come closer, girl,” a smile bowed her perfect red lips. “Sit down with me. Be welcome to my home.”
She wore a lovely summer dress, and her hair had been meticulously braided.
“That was a good trick, with the perfume. You’ve done your homework. But it’s quite unnecessary. I only use my tricks on paying customers.”
Lux gave in to the telepathic pull, but not completely. She resisted enough to take a chair, instead of joining her host on the sofa. The mental fingers probed her mind lightly, as delicate as a cat licking blood.
Meanwhile, she kept talking, talking.
“And how is the Doc these days? Still strapping girls to tables? You grew up pretty. He must be all over you…”
Lux flinched at the salacious images filling her head.
“Oh, I see. It’s not like that with you, is it? You’re just a sweet obedient killing machine. I suppose I was your prototype. Or maybe all of us were. He enjoyed my services a few times, before he decided that I’d be an ideal subject. He paid well, until then.” She watched the girl shift, uncomfortably. “He’s just a man, cherie. He bleeds and he comes and he can be…distracted.”
Lux, concentrating on keeping the woman out of her mind, thought of a wall of spikes.
“No need for that, sweetness. I am only skimming the surface. Although I don’t suppose he allows you to have depths. No. Thinking creatures make bad slaves,” she paused. “You are here to kill me. But…you don’t want to. What is it that you want, Lux?” She had picked up her name, like snatching a fish off the water. “What’s your heart’s desire?”
The Witch’s skin was flawless, creamy caramel. Her skin was her armour. No one would ever touch her again. Were their powers determined by their wishes? And, if so, what did a terrified five-year-old wish for?
“For a while, I thought you were his child, but he must have stolen you from somewhere. Do you even remember?”
Lux flinched again, and the probing stopped.
“No, of course not. You are not his, Lux,” her voice sprouted hard edges. The honeyed charm had no place here. “None of us are.”
The girl stood up. It was the Witch’s turn to flinch.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“What will you tell him?”
“That you’re dead.”
*****
The Witch dropped her clothes on the floor and walked naked into the bathroom. Everything was in its place. The girl had felt longing here, but she had resisted temptation. Clever girl. She wondered how well-trained Lux really was, how long before she tried to break free. Her mind was full of bolted doors, repressed horrors going back to a tender age. How long before he sent her back, better prepared this time, a true menace?
Her scents enveloped her in a comfort cocoon, perfumes and soaps blending in the
Similar Books
