Page 44 of Clouded by Envy

Grinning with a mouthful of blackened and cracked off teeth, she said, “I would have done it for ten.”

Shrugging, Brenik helped the woman up—her hand was filthy and the skin dry. Pity struck him for a moment that this woman was willing to give herself to some strange person for only ten dollars. With the gift he was about to give her, she wouldn’t have to deal with those situations anymore.

They walked to the same place where Brenik had brought Larry. The woman stumbled, and Brenik grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Claire,” she slurred with flirtation.

He grimaced at her teeth as she smiled at him. “Well, Claire, why do you do this?”

“For money, you idiot.” Maybe he wasn’t feeling guilty anymore.

“Do you like living?”

“Not at the moment, no.” Claire didn’t even look sad when she shook her head.

“Okay, let me help you.” Ignoring the stench of her unbathed skin, Brenik drew her more than willing body close to him.

Dodging her mouth as she leaned in to kiss him, Brenik rested his forehead against her shoulder, and let his canines slide down. Without waiting any longer, since her hand was creeping near his crotch, he sank his teeth into her throat. Claire gasped in pleasure—he felt it was partly from her high and partly from him. The taste was immaculate and highlighted all that was good as it traveled down to the organ lusting for it.

The last bit of blood remained in his mouth when he lay the woman on the ground. Almost tenderly, he closed her wide-open eyes. She didn’t have to suffer anymore.

Brenik took off in a rush to get back home to the painting. Throwing open the door, he hurried inside while the blood stayed in his mouth and mixed with his saliva.

Above the dresser, the painting, as usual, seemed to be studying him. Avoiding its gaze, he spat the blood into the palm of his hand and pressed the red liquid onto the picture. He watched as the portrait drank it away.

A shift in him happened immediately, and he felt as if he was being sewn back together with pieces he didn’t know were already separating—everything tightening back into place.

Running his clean fingertip against the outline of his face in the painting, Brenik then turned to the mirror. He moved his eyes back and forth, more and more infatuated with the image of himself.

Brenik had to turn away from the reflection as he became more and more hypnotized. There was now a way that made it possible for him to feed and not feel completely haunted. Collapsing onto the floor, he pushed his back up to the dresser and closed his eyes. At that moment, Brenik knew he was losing parts of himself.

16

Bray

Over the past week, Bray had spent most of her time writing in one of Wes’s spare spiral notebooks. When the boys were at work and school, she would read but found she enjoyed writing, too.

She had started working on a story for kids around Luca’s age with fantastical creatures that existed on Laith. Not that anyone would have to know about that, except for the three of them—and Brenik.

Brenik still hadn’t returned, and she was beginning to get worried.What if he never came back?

The doorknob turned while Bray was in the middle of her reverie, and she thought for a moment that it was Brenik. But it was only Luca.

She gave him a warm smile. “Hey, Luca. How was your day?”

Tossing his backpack beside the doorframe, Luca shut the door. “It was awesome. Miss Alvi said the whole class did such an excellent job on their tests, that we got to have a movie and popcorn party at the end of the day.”

“Cool! What movie did you watch?” Bray asked as she folded one of the pages over in her notebook.

“FernGully.” He smiled deviously.

She blinked. “Don’t even say it.”

“Crysta definitely looks like you if you were to cut your hair off.”

“Too bad her wings are clear and a completely different shape.” They looked nothing like Bray’s.

“Still, a very close resemblance.” Luca laughed as he headed for the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk—drinking it in only a few gulps.

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