by Jan Miller
Craig awoke at the crack of dawn and went downstairs to the kitchen for coffee. Edon was having her coffee on the deck, so he joined her. She anxiously leapt to her feet and greeted him with her arms around his neck. "Are you? Are you?" she asked. "I am" replied Craig, then he burst into laughter having just mocked the Bible. "It's a new day, dearie" he replied in a British accent. Faking surprise, he added "Oops, I'll have to watch that!" Edon settled back into her chair and sighed "Then it's complete". Craig sat down, took a drink of coffee, gazed up at her and declared "Almost complete. There is one last loose end that needs to be eliminated". Edon put her hand on top of his, grinned sardonically and replied "I will attend to that personally. It's going to be fun." Craig asked in a business like tone "When?" Edon smiled "Why; this evening, of course…and then it will truly be a new day."
******
Terri had been expecting Edon's phone call. To Edon's surprise, Terri readily accepted Edon's offer to meet for a glass of wine and to "bury the hatchet". Terri suggested they meet in the bar of her motel where she had been living since the week after the funeral. Edon agreed.
Edon showed up in one of her nearly transparent black silk shirts and black leather pants. To her shock, Terri was dressed almost identically…a look Edon would never expect from a housewife, particularly a square like Terri. She was smoking too, something that Craig said she did when she was troubled or nervous…yet this Terri did not seem at all troubled or in the least bit nervous.
Terri had taken a seat on the bar's patio, as far from the bar as possible. She waived to Edon to join her; and upon doing so, she offered Edon a cigarette. Edon accepted it. "I took the liberty of ordering a bottle of Merlot" Terri said as Edon glanced at the bottle. "I noticed at your party, it seemed to be the favorite of the night". Edon poured herself a glass and then asked "How are you doing these days?" Terri exhaled from her cigarette, glanced at Terri and stated "Liberated. I feel liberated." Again Edon was taken aback by Terri. She continued "After the years of playing the role of mother, maid, boss, and nurse to that overgrown child; I am actually thankful to you for giving me my life back."
Terri interjected "But Libby?" Terri sighed, leaned back into her chair and agreed "Yes, Libby...my dear, dear Libby. She was trapped between our daily tug of war…the poor child." After a brief silence, Edon asked "What will you do now?" Terri laughed and replied "Tonight, I'm getting drunk. I earned it. I deserve it. Drink with me!"
After a few more glasses of wine, Edon asked Terri "Do you still love him?" Terri put her hand on Edon's... looked her in the eyes and answered "I did once. We were very young and life was one continuous party. When I became pregnant for Libby, I grew up. Craig never did. To him, adulthood was a prison sentence he never could quite accept. Boyishness can be such a turn on…and such a turnoff. "Edon studied Terri's face carefully, but at the same time with one hand under the table, she felt around in her purse for something. Terri didn't seem to notice as she concluded: "From now on, men are for marriage---not boys; and sex is for sex's sake. Wouldn't you agree?" and with that, Terri leaned in and kissed Edon on the cheek. Edon smiled in agreement. Terri announced "I'm going to the little girl's room, and when I get back we'll move this party to my room." She got up and walked away.
Right on cue, Edon slid a small envelope up to the table, reached for Terri's glass, and emptied the contents into it. She then filled the glass to the top… sloshed it around a bit…and slid it over to its original place. Peeking through a tall shrub by the corner introduce to the bathrooms, Terri remarked "Edon, Edon …so predictable."
As Terri returned to their table, Edon held up her own glass and said slyly "Let's finish these up and go have some fun." Bending over to get her purse, Terri bumped the table spilling most of her wine. "Oh shit…don't worry, I have more in my fridge". She then drained what was left down her throat. Edon watched anxiously; then attempted to stand but found herself a little woozy. She hadn't had that much to drink, she thought…definitely not as much as Terri. She took a step, staggered, and then Terri caught her by the arm and led her from the patio down the hall. "It must be the heat and the leather pants" Terri wise-cracked as she fumbled for her pass card. Edon was getting more incoherent and hard to hold up with each step.
******
The room spun round and around in Edon's head. She mumbled and seemed to lose control of her arms and legs. Terri laughed "Feeling a little numb, Edie? It's on the rim of your glass...the venom of a South African toad. It causes paralysis but leaves the victim conscious. Real bitch when mixed with alcohol…it gives it a nasty kick and makes you dizzy as Hell. Oops, I said "Hell"…how appropriate!" Edon moved her head up with all of her strength. It moved very little but just enough for her to see that she was naked and lying face up on the floor…surrounded by candles. "Just like home, eh Edie?" Terri said, standing over her and wearing a black robe. "Oh, I'm sure you'll recognize these." She held up the black handled dagger and the two porcelain masks. Terri continued "Gris brought them along with the toad venom. It turns out that he loved Libby almost as much as he loved Sykes…and he blames you for both their deaths."
Terri placed the articles on the dresser behind her. "Let's see. I'm new at this. First a little wine…then what comes next? Oh yes, a little music." She turned on her iPad and played "Fire Dance" as loud as she could without disturbing the neighbors in the next room. "And now we call a special guest…The Master himself" Terri then read from tablet she held in front of her:
"I invoke and conjure thee, O Lucifer,
Ouyar, Chameron, Aliseon, Mandousin,
Premy, Oriet, Naydrus, Esmony, Eparinesont,
Estiot, Dumosson, Danochar, Casmiel, Hayras,
Fabelleronthon, Sodirnot, Peatham.
Come, Lucifer. Amen.
Do thou forthwith appear and show thyself unto me, here before this circle.
Do thou come without tarrying;
Come, fulfil my desires; persist unto the end, according to mine intentions.
Come, Lucifer! "
Heavy footsteps came from the hallway, slow and deliberate. A sudden gush of air extinguished all of the candles and the door burst open. In stepped a figure so large that it ducked its head and turned sideways to allow its folded wings and massive ram horns clearance into the room. Its head was that of a deranged goat with the upper body of a heavily muscled human, but with the breasts of a woman. The lower body was also that of a goat, down to its cloven hooves.
Tossing off her robe so that she too was nude, Terri lied down next to Edon and shouted "Master…take us…fulfill my desires. Accept my sacrifice!" The Beast mounted her first, and she screamed. When sated, he mounted Edon, and then departed. Terri reached for the dagger and the masks, but then paused to slip the wedding ring off of her finger and place it onto Edon's finger.
******
It was just after midnight when she returned to the Gressil mansion. Craig emerged from the study with a glass of wine in his hand. She dashed to his arms, they kissed and embraced. "And now is it finished?" She looked up into his eyes and replied "Finally it is finished. We'll be together now for eternity". As she kissed him again, behind his back she slipped off her wedding ring and eased it into her pocket. "Just us" she whispered.
###############
Thank you for reading my short stories.
If you enjoyed them, won’t you please take
a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?
Thanks!
Jan Earl Miller
Acknowledgements
1."Mephisto Waltz" Author: Fred Mustard Waltz, Publisher: Coward Mc Cann (June 1969), ISBN-10: 9997541243, ISBN-13: 978-9997541246
About the Author
Jan Earl Miller is a semi-professional guitarist, composer, lyricist, poet, amateur author, health insurance technical analyst, and web master. In 2013, He published his first ebook, "The Boys Next Door”, which has maintained a five star rating on Amazon Kindle. Read Jan’s Smashwords bio at https://www.smashword
s.com/profile/view/najrellim
