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Ms. Wykes nodded to the burly man and he approached her, grabbing her arm as he used his other hand to pat her down. “Hey!” she yelled, attempting to twist out of his grasp, but he was far too strong to fight against. He pulled out the baggie of five joints and several ecstasy tablets she had in her pocket and tossed them backward onto the desk before releasing her. Kandace glared at him, straightening her clothes. Shit.
Ms. Wykes picked up the baggie, holding it up for a moment, and then placing it back on the edge of her desk without comment. “Sit down,” she said, indicating a chair in front of the desk. Kandace hesitated, glancing at the man who was watching her with a small smirk on his face, his arms now crossed over his square chest. Kandace’s gut gave a slow roll. Something felt very off. She sat in the chair, crossing her legs, as Ms. Wykes turned and walked to the birdcage, opening the tiny door and removing one of the bluebirds. It sat perched on her hand as she pet its shiny head slowly with one long-nailed, bony finger.
“Do you know the story of Lilith, Ms. Thompson?”
“Lilith? Lilith who? Never heard of her.”
Ms. Wykes gave her a small, cold smile. “I have never heard of her,” Ms. Wykes corrected. “We speak in full sentences here, Ms. Thompson.” She paused, running her finger over the bird’s head again. “I’m speaking of the original Lilith, of course. Adam’s first wife.” She sighed. “Regrettably, she was a sinful and assertive woman who didn’t understand her place, instead choosing to rebel against God and her husband.”
“Sounds like my kind of girl.”
“Indeed,” she purred.
Ms. Wykes fingered the pearls at her neck for a moment. “Of course, God saw her for who she was and replaced her with another woman, a woman of purity and grace. A woman suitable to stand by Adam’s side.”
Ms. Wykes stepped forward and drew a large pair of shiny silver shears from a cup holder on her desk. Kandace’s heart leapt and her muscles tensed, and for the first time since she’d stepped into the house, she felt a frisson of real fear.
Ms. Wykes used the pointy tip of the scissors to stroke the bird’s head, once and then again. The bird stared at Kandace with one wide black eye as if imploring her for help. Kandace’s fingers curled around the wooden arms of the chair, body held taut. “You see, Ms. Thompson, women such as Lilith simply cannot be allowed to fly free and spread their depravity. They simply cannot infect men with their sin and filth.” She brought the scissors up and in one quick movement, captured one of the bird’s wings at the place where the wing met the body and clipped it off. The bird screamed in agony as Kandace let out a shriek of her own, drawing back, while simultaneously reaching for the bloody bird Ms. Wykes was now holding by its feet as it tried desperately to escape, flapping its one wing frantically, its shrill squeals filling the room. Ms. Wykes moved the scissors to the other wing and Kandace jumped up. “No!” she wailed, reaching forward as the muscled man who had stood to the side of the desk grabbed her, and effortlessly held her back as Ms. Wykes clipped the bird’s other wing. Then in one quick flick of her wrist, she whipped the bird’s body away. It hit the wall with a hard smack, falling to the floor where it lay bleeding, its scream diminished to only a small whimper, its breast rising and falling with its final quickened breaths.
“What’s wrong with you, you crazy bitch?” Kandace screamed just as the man holding her threw her forward so she collided with the desk. Before she could even begin to turn, he was behind her, slamming her upper body onto the hard wood and holding her down by her hair. It felt as though a steel bar held her still and all she could do was flail helplessly just as the bluebird had done.
On the floor in a puddle of blood, the now silent wingless creature stared, its eye cloudy, chest still rising and falling, but slowly now. So very slowly. Oh God, oh God. Kandace’s soul shuddered, though she refused to cry in front of this evil bitch and her bloodhound. She refused.
Ms. Wykes stepped into her line of sight, blocking the bird and bending down so that her face was level with Kandace’s. I will not cry. I will not cry. Kandace stared icily back at Ms. Wykes, and Ms. Wykes regarded her for a moment. “Mm,” she hummed. “I can see you’re more defiant than some, more difficult to break.” She brought the still-bloody scissors up. “But mark my words, Ms. Thompson. You will break. You will break in ways you never imagined. And when you leave Lilith House, you will return to your parents the obedient little girl they’ve been promised.”
