“No… I’m the one who should be sorry,” she muttered, turning back to the stove without looking at me. “I shouldn’t have just blurted that out. You’re probably having enough trouble with it already… Especially after what you’ve been through.”
“What I’ve been through?” I asked, a bit of incredulity creeping into my voice. “You’re worried about me?”
“Of course,” she mumbled. “And… I’m worried about us.”
I placed my coffee cup on the counter then stepped over to her. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I gave her a gentle squeeze. Her body was rigid, and I could feel the tension knotted up inside her.
“Aren’t we a pair?” I mumbled. “Me worrying about you, you worrying about me, us worrying about us, and neither of us accomplishing anything other than driving ourselves nuts…”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” she whispered.
“No… I’m pretty sure it’s just what makes us who we are,” I whispered in her ear. “And, just so you know, us is fine, sweetheart.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive,” I replied. “And, I seem to recall we’ve had this talk before. Your proclivities in that area didn’t come as a big surprise, and they aren’t a problem. You never needed to keep it a secret, especially for so long.”
“There were times I almost told you,” she said in a low voice.
“Well, you finally did and it’s all good. You had nothing to worry about. You’re just going to have to be patient with me.”
“About what?”
“That particular game. I’ve never played it, so you’re going to have to fill me in on the rules.”
“Aye, so I haven’t so totally freaked you out that you’re going to leave me?”
“Do you really think you can get rid of me that easily?”
After a moment she whispered, “I love you.”
“And I love you right back. Warts and all, my little repressed dominatrix Witch.”
I felt her beginning to relax, and I gave her another reassuring squeeze.
“Why don’t you get out a couple of plates,” she said. “Breakfast will be done as soon as I scramble some eggs.”
“You got it,” I replied.
A moment later, as I was digging silverware from the drawer, I glanced over at her and said, “Dog collar, huh? So, would I have to bark?”
She didn’t look over at me, but even in profile I saw the corner of her mouth turn up as she said, “Only when I tell you to.”
Tuesday, December 6
9:07 P.M.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
CHAPTER 20:
Darkness had become light, and light had become darkness once again.
Annalise hugged herself tightly as she lay naked in the empty bathtub. It had started out filled with hot water-as hot as she could bear it in fact. But that had been almost an hour ago. She had long since drained it but hadn’t been able to bring herself to climb out.
Her first emotion had been fear, but that had quickly given way to confusion. The man, Rowan, had called her by name. He said they knew. But, how could they? How could they possibly know she was the one responsible for all the things she had done? The only answer that would come to her tortured mind was-Saint Louis.
At least she was safe from them for now. Annalise Devereaux didn’t live here. Behind these walls, she was someone else.
But, there was someone who knew where she was. She always knew. And, from Her she could never be safe.
Annalise let out a low moan and shivered as she tried to curl into an even tighter ball. The air in the room was cool against her skin where her still damp hair laid in twisted strands across her shoulders and back. She had finally found the energy to pull a towel down from the rack and was using it as a makeshift blanket, but it wasn’t enough to completely cover her.
She knew she should get out, dry off, and change into some clothes, but she didn’t have the strength. This had been going on for five days, and the increasingly hotter baths had become her only refuge. But now, they were no longer working. Simply moving was a struggle, and it only seemed to be getting worse.
Miranda was being a bitch.
The desire had been welling in Annalise for too many days now, but Miranda wasn’t talking. And, without Miranda, she had no way to appeal to Ezili for comfort.
She was forsaken.
She was being punished.
At first, the tickle had been a pleasurable annoyance, but that pleasure didn’t last for long. Miranda never came to her. She knew she was there in the shadows, waiting.
Watching her, but never touching.
Never joining.
Never making her whole.
Very soon the tickle became the all-consuming itch, but still Miranda only watched. As always, with the itch came the need, and the need remained unfulfilled. Without Miranda, Annalise could only go so far. Miranda was in control of the gift, and it was being purposely withheld.
Annalise had been denied any form of release, and that just made the need stronger. And as it grew, the need soon became an ache.
No matter what she did, or how she tried to quell the fire on her own, it remained. Blazing through her body like a rampant fever. And now, the ache had turned to blinding pain.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she whimpered aloud, her voice thin and cracking. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked…”
She felt her plea was falling on deaf ears. Ezili could not hear her, and Miranda was the hand of punishment. She didn’t care that Annalise was suffering. It was exactly what She wanted. Besides, She wasn’t being denied. She was taking her own pleasure in Annalise’s torment.
It all came back to Saint Louis. She had tasted the fresh sweetness of the other. The one called Felicity. But, that sweetness had suddenly been taken away.
Someone had to pay, and that someone was Annalise.
On the heels of her whimper, the pain intensified. She knew Miranda was testing her to see just how much she could take-and delighting in every moment of her pain. She would have cried if her body had been able to produce tears, but they had long since run out. She could only close her eyes and whine.
“Everything,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Everything you’ve asked…”
She held no expectation of a reply other than the sound of her own dry sobbing, as it had been her only answer each time she asked. Even so, she simply didn’t have the energy to be surprised when the familiar voice finally echoed inside her head.
“No…” Miranda said. “Not everything…”
Wednesday, December 7
4:19 P.M.
Saint Louis, Missouri
CHAPTER 21:
Ben and I were standing on the front porch of my house. Even though it was cold, something about being inside right at this moment made me feel closed in. Trapped. Even though he was my friend, I couldn’t help but feel cornered by him right now. I’m not certain that being out here really made that much difference in the way I felt, but I would take anything I could get.
We stood in silence for a moment. The frosty air moved around us on a gentle breeze, making the wind chimes in front of me tinkle lightly. I reached out and gently grasped the cold metal tubes, causing them to fall silent once again.
“The Feebs coordinated with NOLA PD on that homicide. Got a definite match on the hair found at the scene,” he offered.
“That’s good,” I said, as I carefully let go of the chimes.
“They’ve been watchin’ the cemetery, but so far she hasn’t showed.”
I didn’t answer.
“Theory is she’s too spooked to go back right now.”
I still kept my mouth shut. I heard my friend sigh hard then shuffle in place. After a long pause he spoke again. “They think maybe they’ve connected a couple of unsolved homicides from last year too. All homeless types. Jury’s still out on ‘em though, ‘cause they don’t have the exact signature she’s usin’ with her victims now. But, enough shit matched up ta’ make ‘em wonder. The behavioral guys at Feeb central are checkin’ it out.”