Page 32 of Nightshades

I hated to leave Lula when she needed me most.

I had to leave. She isn’t ready to believe in me yet.

That’s okay.

She will one day very soon.

I already miss the scent of her fear and the taste of her cunt. I should have done more than feed her my blood. I should have bitten her, so she had no choice but to be bound to me. I’ve wasted too much time.

Lula needs to be mine.

Lula-la-lala-la-laaa.

I can’t help but sing her name, the nightmare inside me desperate for her terror, her lust. Oh, I know she’d have so much desire if her reaction to me was anything like early this morning.

“Please—” The taxidermist begs as my roots wrap around his body. “You can just take the beetles. You don’t need to kill me,”my victim stammers, wiggling his bone-thin body against the roots that are much more powerful than him.

“Need?” My eyes lock with his, the vampire awakening inside me to meddle in his mind. “Iwantto kill you.” The longer he stares at me, the more he relaxes, his tense shoulder sagging as if he will be free. “Stay still. Don’t beg. You won’t be able to scream. Your cries for help will not be heard. Accept your fate.”

“I accept,” he drowses, a slight smile appearing on his thin, wrinkled lips.

It’s clear this man doesn’t get outside much or eat. By the smell of him, he is dying anyway. I don’t know what from, but the scent is rancid. I’m doing him a favor so he won’t have to suffer anymore. If he wasn’t so hysterical about dying, he would have been able to see the gift I am giving him.

Snagging a box of flesh-eating beetles, the smoky apparatus of my nightmare slips between his lips and slides down his throat. His eyes turn black, filling to the point that it drips down his face. Such a beautiful sight.

I swipe the onyx drop and suck it into my mouth, the taste of Lula’s fear still strong, and my cock awakens.

Lula-lala-la-la-laaa.

“Yes, it’s her. We will go back to her tonight.” The nightshades bloom over my roots, poisoning the taxidermist with every breath he takes. “Show me what you fearrrr,” I drag the last word on a growl, needing his death almost as much as I need Lula’s cunt filled to the brim with my cock.

I chuckle when he begins to run away from the beetles chasing him in his imagination. “Of course you’re afraid to die like this. How painful would it be to be eaten alive?” I bite my teeth together, the promise of violence causing saliva to pool in my mouth. “Perhaps you can tell me. Scream. Scream, and I’ll let you live.”

His physical body yips like a puppy, doing his best to follow my instructions, but inside his mind? He’s screaming as the beetles crawl over him in a massive, hungry wave.

“You said you would save me!” His arm punches through the beetles, stretching to reach for me in hopes I’ll save him from his impending death.

Bites on his arms begin to appear, showing that the nightmare is in full effect.

“I lied.”

His final screams are music to my ears, sending a shiver of arousal down my spine. The high from killing him only has me craving Lula more.

The bites begin to show bone across his entire body. Blood begins to drip onto the floor, and I curl my lip in disgust, wanting Lula’s over his.

Again.

“You’re lucky I can’t eat you, or I’d drain you dry before another drop got wasted on the floor.” The nightmare adds a harsh whisper to the end of my sentences, empowering me more with how much stronger that side of me becomes.

Fear doesn’t kill this man as he is being eaten alive. Pain doesn’t make him pass out. The blood loss is what kills him.

Taking a step back, I admire my work. The roots unwrap from around him, his bite-ridden body falling back into his chair.

“Thank you for the beetles.” I gather the beetles into the bag with the bones, wanting them to get an early start, then zip the duffle shut, hoping the bones will be clean by tonight.

Without a care in the world about his death, I flip the sign on the door to say ‘open’ since I made sure the entire business was shut down while I got what I wanted.

The next customer who walks into this shop will have the shock of their life. If only they would be like me, uncaring if the world lost another human.