Page 73 of A Dance Macabre

His offered palm is still between us. He reaches for me. Gently takes my hand in his and lifts it to his mouth, his lips still swollen from our kiss and warm against the thin skin of my hand. His gaze sparkles with levity, gold winking when his smile turns wide.

“Well, my ruin, it’s the dawn of a new day.”

The rain is still comingdown in sheets.

As usual, I’ve left Jeremial to sit in the idling town car a few streets down.

I kill. He collects.

I’ve been pulled to the harbor this time.

Wolfgang’s shoulder presses against mine under the wide umbrella as we stay tucked into a small alleyway, biding our time. I can barely make out the tent-like curves of Pandaemonium in the distance. We should be keeping to our respective neighborhoods as instructed, but death knows no boundaries.

I go where it calls.

I pull the collar of my long leather jacket closer to my chin while the sound of the deluge hits the umbrella with angry drumming. He must have noticed my discomfort, the cold chill of the rainy winter night seeping into my muscles. Without a word, eyes trained outward, he slips his arm around my waist and pulls me into him.

I don’t resist it, my feet shuffling closer to him as we wait in silence. The streets are quiet, smelling of damp earth and coldwind. Most of the citizens have been called to Aleksandr’s side of the city, his bacchanal still ongoing for the next three days.

A prickle at the base of my nape has my head swiveling to the left. I feel Wolfgang’s fingers curl into the leather of my coat, almost as if sensing the thrumming of my heart like a melody drifting in the wind.

There he is.

The one destined for death’s fate tonight.

His shoulders hunch up to his ears, his pace fast, head down as he tries to weather the storm with no umbrella. Another block and he’ll be passing right in front of us. Like an insect walking into a spider’s web, all I need is to wait and they come.

A few more strides.

Beside me, Wolfgang turns restless, as if fighting off a bloodthirsty urge to pounce. A similar urge buzzes through me as I count down the man’s steps.

It’s addictive in its nature.

The flavor of it electric.

Now.

I step into the rain and reach for him like the hand of death itself. I don’t bother covering his mouth. Let him scream. Let the stars above hear his plea like a requiem.

I hook my elbow around his neck, my dagger unsheathed and pressing hard against his ribs as I pull him into the shadows where Wolfgang is waiting.

He’s thrown the umbrella to the ground as if needing to unfurl, to open himself to the skies while witnessing me. To let the rain drip over his face while I kill. To feel the wet chill of nature while I permit him to share in my worship.

What he doesn’t expect is for me to push him into the brick wall, the unsuspecting man pinned between us. Wolfgang’s mouth falls agape. The pelt of the rain, the screams of our victim; it silences his shocked puff of breath.

But Wolfgang’s eyes speak volumes, and I yearn to read every page of his book. The one I see now imprinted in his irises. His arms move naturally as if we’ve performed this dance before. They coil under the man’s arms, a deadly snake rattling its tail, keeping him from struggling away, his hands rising to his chin, opening his throat for me.

I’m quick. Impatient.

My sharp blade runs over the expanse of the man’s throat. His howls turn into something a lot more primal until my dagger slits his vocal cords, and then all that is left is the gurgling choke of spilled blood. His heart beats feebly, just enough for me to feel the warm spray of blood on my face. Wolfgang growls. Drops the man to the ground and spins me around so I’m now the one pinned to the bricks.

The man dies at our feet.

But there’s only death to witness his timely passage.

I’d rather witness Wolfgang’s glory instead.

How his eyes have turned black. His rain-soaked lips eager to reach mine. His hands repose on either side of my face, fingers dragging through my hair as he takes the breath right out of me. Let him have it. Let him be the reason I breathe.

---