Page 40 of Cherry Moon

Uh-huh. Whoopee. What did she want? Cartwheels?

“I will feed on the rot of The Taker’s love. I will be queen of all, the first of The Nine. The true leader.”

By the tenshi, I did not give two shits about her damn ambitions. “Can’t a man die in peace?”

I got no answer, only the glare of her creepy eyes.

“You’ll get yours,” I couldn’t help saying. “I don’t stay down for long, you know.”

No death for me. I felt it in my, erm, bones.

“This time you will be down forever. In the darkness.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping she saw.

Just then I felt a tickle, and got a quick glimpse of other action.

Bob and Rose led G and Zach into a place of…I couldn’t see clearly, but they were coming this way, their energy closing in.

“I am spun from love and its pains,” Bony Hag said. “It nourishes me.”

Whatever happened to a bowl of soup?

“The world changes. Everything changes. The seedlings of our hope will always find a way through an abrasive surface.” Laughter, the cruel sound chilling my bones.

“You’re abusing the tenshi’s blessing.”

She didn’t answer that either, and the sand was still coming. Louder now, the falling grains stinging my eyes.

“I’m known to piss on big plans,” I threw out. “Just ask Mama Rita.”

She hissed. “Do not speak her name.”

“Just did. Is her spirit out there somewhere? Is she suffering? Is she screaming as she roasts over some pit of fire? I hope so. Hand me some marshmallows and I’ll gladly pay her a visit.”

Sometimes, my mouth couldn’t help itself.

Sand tickled my neck. I wriggled, getting nowhere.

Those eyes finally blinked. “Love’s threads connect me to the essence of what I am. I see them, those ancient sisters and their desire for sex and companionship. Beautiful, trapped in a spiral with their beloveds.”

Hmmm. I knew the creature she was talking about, but I couldn’t quite remember the name.

“When your soul leaves your body, you will not journey to the afterlife to await your lover, but come to me. Bound to my will for eternity, in constant awe of my magnificence. Feeding me with your endless torment over losing love.”

Grim. “Love. That’s how you got hold of me, right? Used it against me?”

“The Taker’s weakness, and my delight.” Blink, blink, another hiss. “It is almost time.”

Sneaky. “Love triumphs hate. Especially that kind of hate.”

Damn, how mean was she?

“You have no idea what awaits you,” she countered.

The sand was up to my chin now. “And you have no idea how hard your fall will be.”

“Your mouth will not save you.”