Post by tnt on Feb 5, 2018 16:04:33 GMT
She laid there on the ground, in a heap of shattered glass and blood. Pale skin, dark hair, clad in black and feeling every cut and swelling bruise upon her. She rolled over to her back, a face of jigsaw crimson lines crisscrossed the ivory skin. She felt her shoulder, it seemed dislocated, and her knee didn’t want to bend all the way. She laid her stinging, ringing head back and smiled a broken smile of blood and cracked teeth.
“So that’s the fury unleashed, is it? I think they would call this domestic abuse. As if either of us are truly domesticated.”
She looked back at the shattered glass door she was thrown through.
“Artemis, you little animal. And that child… I underestimated her. Lily the fucking brat.”
She moved her eyes around looking at various windows trying to figure out where they were currently inside the house.
“Time to cut bait on this little excursion, the jig is up.”
She hobbled to her feet, wiping her bloody lips and spitting away tooth fragments. Making her way down the stone path to the sidewalk she fished for her phone in her pocket; thankfully the screen was only cracked and it still worked. She made her way a couple blocks over and then turned down an alley to cut across to a side street, just about the time Artemis had returned to the scene of their scuffle and had beaten “Salem” severely before throwing her through the door and making sure Lily was okay. The imposter hit a button on the phone and leaned against the side of a liquor store’s brick wall.
“Well, it seems I’ve been found out. All these months of mirth and mayhem posing as the prodigal dandy Salem are at an end. Could you send a car? I need some...slight medical attention.”
The voice on the other end told her what she wanted to hear and she hung up, crouching down against the wall.
*****
It’s many years earlier, in a beautiful Victorian house. A man enters his daughter’s room, full of vintage dolls that would fetch a fair penny had not all their eyes been gouged out. The father would be shocked and horrified, but it was certainly not the first time he’d seen the dolls in such condition. He walked to where his daughter was sitting, long dark hair in a red velvet dress that complimented the other red accents of the room’s decor. He picked up a silver handled brush and combed her hair as she faced the large dresser mirror, a pale expressionless face.
“You know that you are my favorite, dear child. Because you are mine. Blood of my blood, and nothing will ever change that. Have you had a pleasant day, my dear?”
She threw a dog collar onto the dresser that she had been clutching.
“The neighbor’s dog ventured into the backyard this morning, father. I know you told me to never leave the house but, I just felt compelled. It was so fascinating.”
He looked at the collar, a little brown cloth one with just a tinge of redness to it.
“I prefer you stay inside, and definitely never leave the grounds. There are bad people outside, if they see you they might take you.”
She turned her blank eyes up toward him.
“Are we not bad people also, father? Are they worse than us?”
He smiled and patted her shoulder, running the brush through the dark silky hair.
“Everyone is worse than us, sweetheart. In that we are better than them. They don’t understand what we are capable of. When you are older you will do amazing things. Things that will set things right in the world. Now, is the puppy in the basement?”
She nodded and turned back to face the mirror.
“Good, I’ll see to it from here. But since you’ve had your fun, you shall stay in your room the rest of the day, understood?”
“Yes, father.”
He kissed her cheek and left her to play or sit as she desired. He walked down the staircase past a butler and maid, which he smiled warmly toward. He made his way downstairs to the basement and walked back to a storage room far from the stairs. He opened the door and flicked on the light to glimpse a pulped bloody mess of fur and bone in the corner. What would horrify most just made him shake his head with a smirk. He turned off the light and went back upstairs, motioning the butler over.
“Take a broom and a garbage bag down to the basement storage area, seems a raccoon or other such rodent has filleted a critter of some sort down there. Take care of it, hmmm? And make sure my daughter doesn’t leave her room this evening.”
The butler nodded and set about his work, as the maid went upstairs. With that, David Cartier exited the home and drove across town where his wife and two daughters were expecting him for dinner.
*****
The woman sat with bandaged face and hands at the long dinner table. Her soup sat getting cold as she waited for her dinner guest to arrive. David Cartier entered the room, removing his overcoat and placing it on the coat rack, as well as his scarf. He walked up behind her and squeezed her shoulders tenderly with his palms.
“I for one will be glad when you get those damned bandages off. I was getting so tired of looking at you and seeing… her face. One of the frauds passed off as something she’s not. And you’re such the genuine article.”
He sat across from her and took a sip of his soup, frowning.
“Gods, I am late, I do apologize. University hoops had to be jumped through, you know. Keeping up with the regular job, and all that.”
She let her spoon sink in her bowl, shooting him a glance.
“Why do you feel the need to keep that professor job? You don’t need the money. Just an excuse to get away from your wife? How much longer will that ruse hold up?”
He smiled and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Appearances must be kept even though I truly do despise that woman and the lies she’s helped construct over these years. Her and that goddamn William Byrne, my supposed old friend. How she was so afraid to have children with me. I truly thought she believed in the cause, and the teachings of the cult. How our bloodlines were destined to mingle and produce a being of great power. And she laid down with Byrne and had children with him, passing them off as my own. William even faked Stephen’s death as an infant to get him away from this family. After a time I discovered that, and I’ve been watching Stephen for years. But he is insignificant. He does not bear the glimmer of specialness.”
She laughed at that.
“Father, I’m going to burn his bookstores to the ground one day, preferably with him in it.”
He placed his hand over her bandaged one.
“We cannot murder him, or any of them… yet. At first, I thought Stephen was my child, but when Morgan came along I became even more suspicious. She was indeed a hellion, she had a fire within her. But again it was not pure. And so it was I made my preparations. I needed someone of my own blood. Elizabeth knew I wanted another child and got pregnant once more, but again three for three it was with William. So it was that precious little Salem came along. She had something in her, a sickening goodness. A purity in the exact opposite manner of what I had hoped for. But around that same time you came along…. The blood of my blood. A trueborn Cartier. The one who would set things right… Circe Theodora!”
She pulled her hand away.
“Father, I am a monster. But I accept that lot in life. I enjoy it. Every task you’ve ever given me, from staying in my room hidden away lest people discover the secret child born to destroy. When you sent me to Virginia to kidnap Salem’s newborn daughter so we could begin a new family here. When you had me get surgery to look like that wretch Salem so I could also kidnap her and hide her away and take over her life. I enjoyed ruining things for her, turning her into a vile creature inside a wrestling ring. The inner glee of seeing Artemis interact with me and that foolish child.”
David slammed his hand on the table.
“But Lily and Artemis were far more knowledgeable and discerning than we could’ve ever imagined. You failed me, child. I let Salem go. A year locked away, I thought we had broken her and filled her head with all form of filth and depravity. And somehow that may still bear fruit, even though she was a tough egg to crack. The things we did to her, the things we made her do. It would be a shame if she were to ever remember, hmmm? I mean she forgot that she had a child for years.”
Circe pushed the bowl away.
“I’m not satisfied with that. I want another chance. Not posing as Salem. I want to get this face repaired and be myself. I want to unleash hellfire upon Elizabeth and William and all their horrid offspring! And to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t mind collateral damage. I enjoyed wrestling. You trained me for years in the pits and bowels and dungeons, to fight, to maim, to kill. I enjoy hurting people. I’m going to continue that.”
David nodded.
“We’ll see about that. Once we can remove those bandages I’ll set you out into the world again. But play your cards close to the vest. The general public doesn’t need to know exactly who you are, understood? I have always been protective of you.”
Circe shook her head.
“No, you’ve always been protective of the rest of the world, refusing to let me destroy it one piece at a time. I will be cautious, but the shackles are off now, agreed?”
William smiled and moved around the table to caress his daughter.
“How could I ever refuse the request of my precious little girl?”
He leaned down to kiss her lips as the fireplace flickered in the background, perhaps a precursor to the world’s inevitable burning.
“So that’s the fury unleashed, is it? I think they would call this domestic abuse. As if either of us are truly domesticated.”
She looked back at the shattered glass door she was thrown through.
“Artemis, you little animal. And that child… I underestimated her. Lily the fucking brat.”
She moved her eyes around looking at various windows trying to figure out where they were currently inside the house.
“Time to cut bait on this little excursion, the jig is up.”
She hobbled to her feet, wiping her bloody lips and spitting away tooth fragments. Making her way down the stone path to the sidewalk she fished for her phone in her pocket; thankfully the screen was only cracked and it still worked. She made her way a couple blocks over and then turned down an alley to cut across to a side street, just about the time Artemis had returned to the scene of their scuffle and had beaten “Salem” severely before throwing her through the door and making sure Lily was okay. The imposter hit a button on the phone and leaned against the side of a liquor store’s brick wall.
“Well, it seems I’ve been found out. All these months of mirth and mayhem posing as the prodigal dandy Salem are at an end. Could you send a car? I need some...slight medical attention.”
The voice on the other end told her what she wanted to hear and she hung up, crouching down against the wall.
*****
It’s many years earlier, in a beautiful Victorian house. A man enters his daughter’s room, full of vintage dolls that would fetch a fair penny had not all their eyes been gouged out. The father would be shocked and horrified, but it was certainly not the first time he’d seen the dolls in such condition. He walked to where his daughter was sitting, long dark hair in a red velvet dress that complimented the other red accents of the room’s decor. He picked up a silver handled brush and combed her hair as she faced the large dresser mirror, a pale expressionless face.
“You know that you are my favorite, dear child. Because you are mine. Blood of my blood, and nothing will ever change that. Have you had a pleasant day, my dear?”
She threw a dog collar onto the dresser that she had been clutching.
“The neighbor’s dog ventured into the backyard this morning, father. I know you told me to never leave the house but, I just felt compelled. It was so fascinating.”
He looked at the collar, a little brown cloth one with just a tinge of redness to it.
“I prefer you stay inside, and definitely never leave the grounds. There are bad people outside, if they see you they might take you.”
She turned her blank eyes up toward him.
“Are we not bad people also, father? Are they worse than us?”
He smiled and patted her shoulder, running the brush through the dark silky hair.
“Everyone is worse than us, sweetheart. In that we are better than them. They don’t understand what we are capable of. When you are older you will do amazing things. Things that will set things right in the world. Now, is the puppy in the basement?”
She nodded and turned back to face the mirror.
“Good, I’ll see to it from here. But since you’ve had your fun, you shall stay in your room the rest of the day, understood?”
“Yes, father.”
He kissed her cheek and left her to play or sit as she desired. He walked down the staircase past a butler and maid, which he smiled warmly toward. He made his way downstairs to the basement and walked back to a storage room far from the stairs. He opened the door and flicked on the light to glimpse a pulped bloody mess of fur and bone in the corner. What would horrify most just made him shake his head with a smirk. He turned off the light and went back upstairs, motioning the butler over.
“Take a broom and a garbage bag down to the basement storage area, seems a raccoon or other such rodent has filleted a critter of some sort down there. Take care of it, hmmm? And make sure my daughter doesn’t leave her room this evening.”
The butler nodded and set about his work, as the maid went upstairs. With that, David Cartier exited the home and drove across town where his wife and two daughters were expecting him for dinner.
*****
The woman sat with bandaged face and hands at the long dinner table. Her soup sat getting cold as she waited for her dinner guest to arrive. David Cartier entered the room, removing his overcoat and placing it on the coat rack, as well as his scarf. He walked up behind her and squeezed her shoulders tenderly with his palms.
“I for one will be glad when you get those damned bandages off. I was getting so tired of looking at you and seeing… her face. One of the frauds passed off as something she’s not. And you’re such the genuine article.”
He sat across from her and took a sip of his soup, frowning.
“Gods, I am late, I do apologize. University hoops had to be jumped through, you know. Keeping up with the regular job, and all that.”
She let her spoon sink in her bowl, shooting him a glance.
“Why do you feel the need to keep that professor job? You don’t need the money. Just an excuse to get away from your wife? How much longer will that ruse hold up?”
He smiled and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Appearances must be kept even though I truly do despise that woman and the lies she’s helped construct over these years. Her and that goddamn William Byrne, my supposed old friend. How she was so afraid to have children with me. I truly thought she believed in the cause, and the teachings of the cult. How our bloodlines were destined to mingle and produce a being of great power. And she laid down with Byrne and had children with him, passing them off as my own. William even faked Stephen’s death as an infant to get him away from this family. After a time I discovered that, and I’ve been watching Stephen for years. But he is insignificant. He does not bear the glimmer of specialness.”
She laughed at that.
“Father, I’m going to burn his bookstores to the ground one day, preferably with him in it.”
He placed his hand over her bandaged one.
“We cannot murder him, or any of them… yet. At first, I thought Stephen was my child, but when Morgan came along I became even more suspicious. She was indeed a hellion, she had a fire within her. But again it was not pure. And so it was I made my preparations. I needed someone of my own blood. Elizabeth knew I wanted another child and got pregnant once more, but again three for three it was with William. So it was that precious little Salem came along. She had something in her, a sickening goodness. A purity in the exact opposite manner of what I had hoped for. But around that same time you came along…. The blood of my blood. A trueborn Cartier. The one who would set things right… Circe Theodora!”
She pulled her hand away.
“Father, I am a monster. But I accept that lot in life. I enjoy it. Every task you’ve ever given me, from staying in my room hidden away lest people discover the secret child born to destroy. When you sent me to Virginia to kidnap Salem’s newborn daughter so we could begin a new family here. When you had me get surgery to look like that wretch Salem so I could also kidnap her and hide her away and take over her life. I enjoyed ruining things for her, turning her into a vile creature inside a wrestling ring. The inner glee of seeing Artemis interact with me and that foolish child.”
David slammed his hand on the table.
“But Lily and Artemis were far more knowledgeable and discerning than we could’ve ever imagined. You failed me, child. I let Salem go. A year locked away, I thought we had broken her and filled her head with all form of filth and depravity. And somehow that may still bear fruit, even though she was a tough egg to crack. The things we did to her, the things we made her do. It would be a shame if she were to ever remember, hmmm? I mean she forgot that she had a child for years.”
Circe pushed the bowl away.
“I’m not satisfied with that. I want another chance. Not posing as Salem. I want to get this face repaired and be myself. I want to unleash hellfire upon Elizabeth and William and all their horrid offspring! And to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t mind collateral damage. I enjoyed wrestling. You trained me for years in the pits and bowels and dungeons, to fight, to maim, to kill. I enjoy hurting people. I’m going to continue that.”
David nodded.
“We’ll see about that. Once we can remove those bandages I’ll set you out into the world again. But play your cards close to the vest. The general public doesn’t need to know exactly who you are, understood? I have always been protective of you.”
Circe shook her head.
“No, you’ve always been protective of the rest of the world, refusing to let me destroy it one piece at a time. I will be cautious, but the shackles are off now, agreed?”
William smiled and moved around the table to caress his daughter.
“How could I ever refuse the request of my precious little girl?”
He leaned down to kiss her lips as the fireplace flickered in the background, perhaps a precursor to the world’s inevitable burning.
