Page 15 of Pretty Poison
Saving me from a response, he shot me another bright grin, flashing his teeth, before he continued. “You don’t have to be scared. Don’t worry about the ending part. I’ll take care of that. I’ll make sure my favourite knives are nice and sharp and shiny, so I can do my very best work. I want everything to be perfect for you. All you need to do is bring the poison.”
“Poison?” My voice faltered. “Y-you said there was no poison in me.”
“There isn’t any in you.” His sweet voice softened to a deadly purr. “But as for our Chosen…”
10
Wren
The plan was in place. Everything was ready for tonight. I’d been on edge all day, but there was an undeniable thrum of anticipation in my blood.
Amélie’s eyes sparkled behind her mask, and my lips curved upwards. My own mask covered only the top half of my face, and I was glad about that fact because it meant she could see my smile. The crowd gasped and cheered far beneath us as we both paused in complete synchronisation and then crossed in the air in a flying leap we’d done hundreds of times—a leap that never failed to wow the audience. Swinging up onto my bar, I tossed my head theatrically before tipping my body backwards to hang down, my arms outstretched. The trapeze began to descend at the same time as the roar of the motorbikes sounded, signalling the next part of the show. Soon it would be time. Time to facehim.
When I touched down in the ring, I bowed to the crowd, and then ducked behind the curtain, my heart pounding out of my chest with adrenaline and a sliver of fear, the knowledge of what we had planned burning inside me, fuelling me for what was to come. Amélie was there waiting for me, and when I reached her,she slipped her hand into mine, leading me out of the big top to the smaller tent that housed the fortune teller and mirror maze.
Everything was set up and ready. Now, all we had to do was wait.
The big top had emptied out, the satisfied crowds had gone home, and the circus members were assembled. It was time. Seated in the corner of the tent where the fortune teller would normally be, I traced my fingers over the heavy glass jug that was brimming with a dark liquid. Two glasses were placed on the table next to the jug, the glow of the fortune teller’s crystal ball reflected on the polished surface. I adjusted my mask, still a little nervous that my former guardian would recognise me before it was time. I reminded myself that it was highly unlikely, given the fact that a large portion of my face was covered, the lighting in the tent was dim, and most importantly, he wouldn’t be expecting me to be here. From the information Teeth had provided, it appeared that he thought I’d run away, and rather than searching for me, he’d put me out of his mind and moved on to his next victim.
“Right this way, sir.” Amélie’s raised voice echoed through the tent, preparing me for his arrival. Pulling up the hood of the fortune teller’s cloak, I readied myself. When she came into view, leading the man by the wrist, I swallowed hard, my breath stuttering. My hands trembled violently. I’d thought I’d been prepared, but in actuality, nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the man who’d spent years abusing me.
He looked the same as I remembered. The same as he did in my nightmares.
Stringy, greasy hair, greying at the temples. Harsh lines around the pinched set of his mouth. That flinty gaze. The clammy, pale skin. The large, hulking body that had pinned me so effortlessly in the past.
My ears were ringing.
I came back into myself at the firm, reassuring touch of Amélie’s hand on my arm.
“Take a seat, sir.” She waved her hand towards the seat opposite me, and my former guardian leered at her, his sweaty palm daring to skim over the curve of her ass as she stepped around him. She flinched almost imperceptibly, and my nerves instantly dissipated, replaced with steel resolve. This man would pay tonight for everything he’d done.
“Welcome,” I intoned, doing my best to disguise my voice. “Let us begin by sharing the sacred blood of the ancestors.” Carefully lifting the jug, I poured a generous amount of the wine into the two glasses before sliding one of the glasses across the table to him. Catching his dubious expression, I continued. “You may know it as wine.”
His expression cleared, and as I lifted my glass, he grabbed his own, tipping it to his lips and downing the contents. While he favoured whisky, he usually began his habitual drinking sessions with red wine, often getting through a bottle before he switched. That habit was what I’d been counting on for tonight’s plan to work.
As he watched me expectantly, I realised that I’d forgotten to prepare for one of the components of the plan—the fortune telling itself. I had no idea what to do, other than the line I needed to speak, which would be the cue for the second part of tonight’s events. Amélie lightly brushed my back as she stepped into the shadows, and my confidence returned. This was the cirque, and we made our own rules, so I could do whatever I wanted.
Moving my hands over the crystal ball, I began.
“I see…a significant change coming. I see…flowers. A reflection. I see?—”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s all bollocks. None of that shit’s real, is it? Gimme some more of that wine.” My former guardian swiped the jug, sloshing some of the liquid onto the table as he poured the rest of the contents into his glass, downing it in one go.
I held my breath. I wasn’t sure how long the flowers would take to act, but based on the sound of his distinctly laboured breathing, they were already beginning to take effect.
His meaty paw came up to rub at his chest, and he frowned down at himself. “W-what’s happening to me?”
“I foresee…darkness,” I said, and at my words, the lights went out except for the glow from the crystal ball. This time, I wasn’t afraid of the dark.
Because this time, I was one of the monsters.
His shout echoed around me. “What the fuck is going on? Get the lights back on, fucking now!”
Behind him, a tiny light winked on, and off, and on. The glow from the crystal ball was enough for me to see him spin around in the direction of the light. Amélie stepped up next to me, dipping her head to my ear.
“It’s time to go,” she whispered softly, and I nodded, rising to my feet. As I did so, I flipped the hidden switch that would turn off the light emanating from the crystal ball. The only light remaining was the tiny, winking light. Then another light appeared in the darkness, and then another, creating a trail that led into the mirror maze.
“What are you doing? Turn the light back on!” There was a crash that sounded like a chair being overturned, and then I saw my former guardian illuminated in the faint glow, lumbering down the pathway we’d carefully laid out for him.
