—S
I swallowed hard, unable to focus on anything else aside from the words bleeding together on the pulp of the paper before they became illegible blobs.
An eerie chittering sound echoed through the house, calling out for me in the darkness, though it was rhetorical, not expecting me to answer the call.
19
THE POISONER
Chop.
I swung the axe down, lodging it in the stump.
Unlike Phoebe, I did not feel the need to hire a full staff to keep up with the home. When the only occupant was myself, it was more embarrassing to have a staff. I did everything myself, which I was used to from my solitude. My father used to let me split a log or two while he showed me how to maintain our cottage in the countryside. I only needed to cut some smaller pieces for the woodstove, as the ones I’d bought were more fitting for the large fireplace.
Another thing about not having a staff was that no one would question you when you had to add more peculiar duties to the list.
Chop!
I swung the axe down on the arm where the elbow was connected, splitting the limb.
He had never left me with an entire body before. Burying it wholewould be cumbersome. The appendages would find a home fertilizing my hydrangeas. However, I let the ravens take what they wanted from my pile before I laid them to rest in the soil.
The autumn air was cool against the sweat accumulated across the back of my neck and forehead.
There was a taut pinch in my abdomen, and I used the propped-up axe to lean on the hilt. Eve’s curse had visited me a bit early this month, I suspected from the stress of having apsychopathon my heels. No wonder I was so bleary. The pain was getting worse when I was not in a consistent state of lukewarm discomfort, which was almost worse than brief bouts of pain in my womb.
After the splits were placed in the firewood box in the mudroom, I hoisted the axe over my shoulder as I trudged back inside. My boots were wet from the grass, leaving marks across the floor, but I was too lightheaded to fuss about it. The white blouse I wore was a mistake, as it was covered in scuffs of dirt at this point. Thank goodness my skirt was black. I did not need two stained garments. The labor for today was finished. Laundry would be an issue for a later time. My muscles ached for a warm bath, with no burden of extra work to pull me from my relaxed state.
Every step up the stairs made me feel like I was carrying some gravitas burden. I swore I heard my joints creak during the ascension. At the end of the second-floor hallway, a shadow at the opposite end insinuated that someone was waiting around the corner.
Today of all days?
He had some nerve showing up after that scene in his house, the tantrum in the cemetery, and leaving me a body to dispose ofon my own. I wouldnotallow him to disturb me in my limited time of peace.
With careful pursuit, I let the axe slide off my shoulder.
Thwap!
The blade smacked into the wood of the wall next to his head as I turned the corner.
His eyes were wide. I might have actually caught the elusive Creature off guard. He glanced at the axe and then back at my face.Genuinesurprise.
“Marry me,” he breathed.
“Getout!” I yelled, yanking the blade out of the wall and sending splinters scattering across the floor.
“Not when you flirt with me like that.” He backed away a few feet before stopping, a taunting instigation.
I swung again, the weight of the axe too slow to catch him when he was attentive, missing him.
Another swing. He ducked before it could meet that smug face.
“Oh, you’re really teasing me now.” He grabbed the handle between us, headbutting me in the face.
The pain shot through my head, and I let go of the axe, stumbling backward and hitting my head on the floor.
When I looked up, he was hoisting the axe over his head, directly above me.
