Page 49 of Absentia Mori

“Now it’s your turn to behave,” I murmur.

“What?”

I jab the scalpel into the side of his neck. “Be a good boy and die,” I growl.

His eyes bulge as he grasps his open wound. Blood spurts through his fingers. I scramble off the table and back up as he charges toward me. He reaches for me with his free hand but I dart out of the way.

“You bitch! I’m going to kill you.”

I laugh, my adrenaline spiking. “I’m going to enjoy watching you bleed out.”

He stumbles as the loss of blood weakens him.This is my fucking chance.I run behind him and slash the tendons in his ankles, sending him crashing to his knees. I grab the back of his head and press it to my belly.

“I’m not your little, Doe. I’m Libra fucking Thorn.” I drag the scalpel across each of his cheeks. “And when I get out of here, I’m going to hunt down every single person you love and kill them too.”

His cries are gurgled as blood spurts out of his mouth. He tries to scream, but with my hand around his throat, there’s no room left for air or words or prayers.

I am wild. Unhinged. Psychotic.

With my hands soaked in blood, I jab the scalpel into his ear. “This is for Kitty and Rowena and the Terror Twins and for every other girl you’ve violated in your pathetic wretched fucking life.”

His body goes limp in my hands, and I let him slump to the floor. I spit on his corpse. “I hope the ravens peck at your brain for an eternity in hell.”

I catch a glimpse of a stranger in the mirror and realize it’s me. I put my shirt and pants back on without bothering to clean the blood off my hands or my face. It splatters my neck and arms, and I wear it like a badge of honor. Before I leave, I grab the three syringes and stuff them into my pockets. It’s time for payback.

I let the whispers guide me back to my wing of the asylum. They are my invisible army now. It won’t take long for Dr. Hall and the other orderlies to discover Gorman’s body. I’ll kill them all when they come for me. I can see the headlines now:Former party girl massacres entire staff at Absentia Asylum.

I warned them not to push me. Now blood will run through these halls.

I wait for the orderlies to switch shifts outside of Dr. Hall’s office before I strike again. I’m quiet as a mouse when I creep up behind him. This time I hit an artery, killing him instantly.

“Shhh,relax,” I murmur in his ear as I guide him down to the floor, mimicking Gorman’s taunt.

Like a wild animal, I ransack the doctor’s office, stuffing handfuls of lollipops into my pockets. I leave bloody fingerprints on her desk. I want her to know I’m coming for her next.

As I throw open her cabinets and toss out all her fake files, a glass bottle catches my eye. It’s wedged far back inside one of the drawers. My blood runs cold.

Fucking hell.

Anger surges through my veins.

I pull it out and smear my bloody fingers across the Blackwell Gin Company label. Anexclusiveprivate reserve label I’ve only seen a few times before. There’s only one explanation for it being here in Dr. Hall’s office.

It was payment. A thank you gift. Just like the one I received all those months ago for dragging Maureen to the Nocturnus party.

This has never been about me.

It’s always been about Jessamine and Silas. The star-crossed lovers who died after drinking poison.Thorn poison.

I’m just another casualty in the war that has taken over Raven’s Gate.

I grunt and throw the bottle across the room. I watch it break, shattering into a hundred shards against the wall. The pungent scent of gin fills the air, and I vow never to drink another ounce of it again. Not until I’m toasting a glass of it over Penny Blackwell’s dead body.

But first, I need to find out what the fuck this has to do with Raithe, Fabien, and Mordecai. Did she get to them too?

I charge back toward our rooms, determined to leave a trail of bodies behind me if I have to. But luckily for the delightful staff of Absentia Mori, my path is clear.You’re safe for now, fuckers.

With the three syringes tucked safely into my pockets, I grab the skeleton key from my room and let myself into theirs. These psychos are not stupid. They will hear me, sense me, in seconds, so I act fast.

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