Page 6 of The Sins That Bleed

Welcome to the Underworld

VALESKA

T here’s something about seeing the worst of humanity and slowly snuffing that darkness out of society that brings me a delicious high.

The reedy ex-boyfriend of Sally hangs before me, his arms tied behind his back and pulled upward as he hangs from them. No doubt the awkward angle dislocated his shoulders and I’m upset I missed it. My men have done well but I love to hear my victims scream.

There’s no point gagging them, nobody can hear them this far down beneath the earth except the maggots and the rotting corpses of millions of insects on the other side of the walls. There’s enough concrete above us that the invisible weight is tangible in the air.

I’d done my research on the guy hanging before me—he’s left a trail of broken women behind him for most of his adult life; a long list of crimes that are heinous enough for me to know I’m doing the right thing by taking him off the streets.

“Welcome to the underworld.” I step out of the shadows from where I have been watching him. Not that he could do anything to get free, but he would have stumbled across me in his attempt to escape

“Fucking bitch!” He spits at me but I’m too far away for it to reach so it lands pathetically on the floor between us, dots of saliva wetting his lips.

“It’s Lilith to you, human.” I sneer, causing his head to snap up, eyes locking onto mine as I confirm his suspicions. “That’s right, motherfucker, I’m not one of your kind. You walked into the wrong establishment, hurt one of my girls, and now you’ll lose your pathetic little life.”

“No, pl-please! Let me go, I’ll leave Sally alone. I won’t say anything about this, I promise.” He sniffles as tears roll down his cheeks.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You seem to have misunderstood me, you will die today, there is nothing you can say, do, or offer me that will change my mind. However, I will give you two options.”

I hold up two fingers to be sure his dumbass understands what two means. My sharp nails painted oxblood-red glint in the low fluorescent lighting.

“The first option is you die a slow and painful death as I tear you apart. Piece by piece, while you’re aware of every single nerve being tormented and torn. The second, play my game and I will give you a swift death. So, what will it be, mortal?”

“They’re not options! You fucking crazy bitch, you’re going to kill me either way. People will come looking for me, you know. You won’t get away with this!” he shouts, and it grates against my ears. I would have heard him even if he whispered.

“Fine, a slow and painful death it is. I think I’ll start with your nails. I’ll prise each one from your fingers and I’ll store them in a jar. They’ll make for a lovely addition in my collection.”

I take another step closer to him and drop all pretences of having any humanity. His body picks up on the shift and I watch as the hairs stand on end along his bare arms, his heartrate kicks up to a drumming beat, sweat beading along his brow.

A low guttural snarl bubbles up my throat and the smell of urine hits my nostrils. Cowards always end up pissing themselves when they realise they aren’t truly at the top of the food chain. I soak in the power trip and commit this moment to memory.

“I’ll play your game, I’ll play!” he cries out, snot running down and over his lips as mine curl in disgust.

I flick my long, black hair over my shoulders before bracing my hands on my hips.

I tilt my head while I consider his choice, assessing him and whether this will be worthwhile.

I wouldn’t normally reconsider, but I’m feeling generous today.

Besides, I’ve got somewhere to be later.

I don’t like to rush the art I create when dismantling the human body if I can help it.

“Today’s your lucky day, motherfucker.”

I slip his blade from my blazer jacket where I stashed it earlier. The cheap plastic case would be so easy to crush in my fist if I wanted to. I flick my wrist and the blade pops out—I got it cleaned up real nice so I could watch his blood coat it this time.

His whimpering and mutters of thank you are easily ignored while I admire my reflection in the sharpened steel, my red eyes glint back at me, lined with black eyeliner as sharp as the knife I’m holding, my long lashes complementing the look.

I take a tube of my favourite cherry-red lipstick that I always carry and remove the lid to re-apply it to my defined lips. I trace each contour, ensuring it’s perfect before smacking them together and kissing the blade.

“I’m ready to play.”

My wrist blurs with the speed of my movement before the words have finished leaving my lips. The blade slices through the rope holding his body up. He collapses to the floor and the crunching of his bones hitting the hard concrete is invigorating.

He screams in agony, his dislocated arms doing nothing to break his fall, and I soak in the smell of adrenaline as it courses through his veins, almost feeling as high as I do when I feed with its sweet scent.

This is only the start of my game, and I have to make sure I don’t get carried away too soon.

“Are you listening? I will only explain the rules to you once.”

He heaves his body up until he is on his knees and his eyes meet mine. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

His lip trembles as he fails to suppress a full-body shudder. “Yes, Lilith.”

“Good boy.” I tuck my hands behind my back as I look down at him.

“Now, the game is simple, you will enter a concrete maze and your job is to run. Run as fast as you can and try to find the middle, but be warned, the maze is not what it seems. Trust your human instincts and if they’re worth anything, you might not die a painful death before I can get to you to deliver a swift one. ”

My smile is devilish as I watch my words register, that even this option isn’t a guarantee that he won’t suffer. It still makes me giddy no matter how many times I’ve done this.

“That’s not fair! You said this would be painless, this is cruel!”

I tip my head back with a laugh at his shrill voice, my smile wide enough that he can see my fangs, sharp enough to slice through his flesh like a hot knife cutting through butter.

“Nothing in this life is fair, human . Besides, I never said that I wasn’t cruel.” I shrug. “Now, run little cockroach.”

Confusion flits across his face for a few short seconds before I point to where there’s an opening behind me. He stands on shaky feet, arms limp and useless by his side before he steels himself and sprints toward it, giving me a wide berth.

He runs like a cheap version of Naruto.

I don’t immediately follow; there is no way out for him, and I enjoy the thrill of a longer hunt.

I spend the time thinking about agent Rai, wondering if he’s found my little gift by now and how he reacted.

When enough time has passed that the cockroach will be questioning if I’m following him or he’s starting to think I was lying about what awaits him in the maze, I enter the concrete trap.

It seals behind me. Now there’s no way out.

I walk at a leisurely pace, my stilettos clicking against the floor as I sniff the air and smell the putrid scent of a scared human mixed with sweet adrenaline.

With my elevated hearing, I can tell that the walls have started shifting, purposely steering him to the worst parts of the maze.

He’s further in than I expected and I count down the seconds until he finds the little gifts waiting for him.

Any second now…

I put a lot of effort into this part of my building—shifting walls, starving rats, spiders with the stickiest of webs, and of course the rotting flesh of previous victims who found themselves playing my deadly game.

I hear his shriek of pain and smile to myself. He’s discovered one of my surprises. The scent of his blood hits me and I pick up my pace as the excitement builds. As I near his location, I drag my nails along the concrete walls and delight in the high-pitched squeak they make.

He’s gone through the wall of razors.

I can taste his fear as it fills the air, like clouds full of rain that is about to fall. I hum a haunting melody, the low tones carrying through the maze and bouncing off the walls. His heart is beating faster now and it’s a wonder it hasn’t burst through his chest.

I turn to my left, knowing he had gone right at this point, and I stop at the next turn. His feet pound in my direction—he’s going to run straight into me. The sound suddenly stops and light brushing noises meet my ears from the rubber soles of his shoes and a cruel smile breaks out on my face.

He’s creeping up toward the next turn so I stay noiseless, his laboured breathing is suppressed as much as a human can possibly achieve, but it isn’t quiet enough. Time slows as I wait for him to round the corner and into my path, he peers around the edge, eyes wide with growing terror.

“Boo!” I shout at the same time I lunge for him.

My sinister cackle mutates into an insidious melody with the sound of my nails tearing his flesh from his bones.