Page 79 of The Black Lotus
Zephira’s weapon is a twelve inch carving knife; she didn’t say what she planned to do with it, but knowing how the Man Eater operates, I have my ideas. To see her eyes so full of hatredat the burnt pile of trash on the table brings me a sense of pride as a small smile lifts my cheeks. She is shining as brightly as Serena did, and the fire in her gaze doesn’t show an ounce of regret. I’m grateful to have them both by my side, laying waste to the woman who made all our lives a living hell.
“Mother, it didn’t have to be like this. We could have been the family Daddy desperately wanted, but you ruined it.” Zephira grips Cynthia’s face with a bruising force. “Do you know why they call me Salem's Man Eater?”
“Zephira, baby girl, don’t do this; I'm your mother. I love you.” Cynthia sobs real tears, not the fake shit we’ve been greeted with before.She’s finally broken. She knows the end is coming.Her tears make my fingers twitch, desperate for it to be my turn.
“I make my victims eat the man I killed before them, but I don’t have anyone for you to eat,” she pouts, tapping the flat of her blade against her cheek, “So, I’ll have to settle for you eating yourself.”
“Zephi-” Cynthia's pleas are replaced by screams as Zephira carves into her. The skin on her arm curls up like a piece of dried mango, blood pooling off the table and splashing onto the ground, hitting all of our feet. I stand watching with my arms crossed, impatiently waiting for my turn and hoping the blood loss doesn’t kill her before I get the chance to.
“Open wide, Mommy.” She takes the piece of cut flesh and tries to shove it into her mouth, but Cynthia clamps her mouth shut and turns her head away. Serena steps in, holding her head still as Zephira plugs Cynthia’s nose, the two of them working together perfectly without saying a word. As soon as she opens her mouth to greedily suck in oxygen, she shoves her bloody snack down her throat.
“You better eat it all, or I’ll cut more while Serena burns you again.”
Cynthia slowly starts chewing, blanching at the taste, her cheeks puffing out like she wants to throw up.
“Swallow,” Zephira demands, her knife poised and ready to fillet the pathetic excuse for life on my table.
Cynthia listens and swallows, ire in her gaze as she glares at her daughter.
“Now you’re a cannibal like me. Granted, I don’t partake in it often and I never eat it uncooked; that’s just gross.” Cynthia goes to say something but Zephira holds up her knife. “Uh, uh, uh, you’re not allowed to speak anymore.” She looks at me as Cynthia stays quiet, pulling weakly against her restraints. “It’s your turn, Big Brother.”
Finally.The moment I’ve been waiting for is finally here. The moment has come to make Cynthia my final lamb. I lick my lips as I grab my choice of weapon, standing up straight as I stride towards the table to have Cynthia meet her maker.
Zephira and Serena step away as I take my place, the knife my father gifted me in my hand. “Do you remember this?” I ask, more rhetorically than not, as Cynthia’s eyes flutter, her consciousness starting to fail her. “This is the knife Dad gave me on my tenth birthday. Did he really mean what he said, or did you make him say those words to me?”
“Your father meant every word he said,” she stutters, drool pooling in the corner of her mouth as she gives into the darkness threatening to take her.
“Don’t lie to me!” I yell, losing my patience.
Her eyes snap open, her breath catching as she gives me a bloody smile. “I made him.”
“That’s what I thought. And for finally telling me the truth, I’ll make this hurt.”
This is the last time I will use this knife on anyone. A part of me forever being locked away with it. I don’t feel sad or regret, I feel hopeful for what is to come, for the new chapter of our lifetogether. I am one half of the Fatal Floral Killers, and I refuse to be used anymore. I won’t be making her proud by killing innocent women.
She will be my last little lamb.
She will be the death of the Morbid Monet.
“Goodbye, Mother.” I slam the knife into her heart, her body lifting as her eyes roll to the back of her head and her body becomes lifeless. I dip my brush in the red paint and begin painting her into the monster she has always been.
Finally, it’s over. All the stress she has caused, not only me, but Serena is lifted off our shoulders. I feel like we can breathe. We can live our lives without having to watch our backs. We can be comfortable in our home, without the worry of anyone coming on our property uninvited. I can let go of everything. All the questions that ate away at me have released their hold and they will burn right alongside her. She’s gone and she can’t hurt us anymore.
“Can I drain her?” Zephira steps forwards holding her hand in the air. “I don’t want her blood to go to waste.”
Me and Serena look at one another, but she shakes her head, mouthing ‘you don’t want to know’, and she is right. I don't want to know how she will use Cynthia’s blood.
I step to the side after dropping my brush back in its bucket and hold my arms out. “She’s all yours.”
Her eyes light up as she runs and grabs three buckets, placing one under each arm and the third under her head. Slicing Cynthia’s wrists and her throat, Zephira watches as the blood collects in the buckets below.
I motion with my head for Serena to follow me, wanting to give Zephira her privacy, and we’re greeted by the fresh breeze of the oncoming summer air.
“It’s finally over.” Serena breathes a sigh of relief, wrapping her arms around her waist.We really do think the same.
She stands in front of me, and I wrap my arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head as we enjoy the serene night. “It is.”
“What will we do now? With no one coming after us, who will we kill?” She looks up at me, her head resting against my shoulder.
