“She ate corpses,” I said loudly, talking over her to stop this inane bickering.
Vivien blinked. “She what?”
Lowering my voice to a normal volume, I said, “You have to understand, I fancied myself irrevocably in love with Qwynn. She was everything I’m…not. She is spontaneous, passionate, and she knows the dark arts of pleasure. She took me by the hand and led me into indulgences I would never permit myself. Soon, I was addicted to all manner of vices. Above them all, my love for Qwynn had turned to obsession.” My tone lowered. “Which made it all the easier for her to deceive and manipulate me.”
I leaned forward and ran the backs of my fingers along her bare arm as I spoke. “I not only judge souls, I protect the bodies of the deceased. The body is a temple for the soul and must be treated with respect even in death.”
Vivien shivered as I continued to drag my knuckles up, up, up to her shoulder. My index finger lightly traced down the column of her neck. Our gazes locked. Though her eyes were red with bloodlust, they were still expressive and bewitching. Her pupils expanded as if trying to drink me in.
My arousal made itself known, straining against my pants. The silky texture of her skin begged to be touched, tasted, licked, and teased for days on end. My gaze fell to her side. Those strips of exposed flesh were finally too much temptation for me to resist. I lowered my hand and brushed my thumb against the skin bared by her breast. She didn’t stop me. Her fingers were wrapped tight around the thermos while she refrained from moving a muscle.
“The body deserves worship in all fashions. From nourishing food, to plenty of water. It protects the soul from the elements, a complicated machine, yet it is also a delicate system.” My voice lowered, becoming husky. “It needs and craves touch. It can process countless feelings, textures, pressures.”
My eyes were riveted to the journey of my thumb as it slid ever so slowly under the edge of tight fabric, toward the mound of her breast. As I did so, Vivien’s hips bucked an inch.
The movement brought me to my senses. What was I doing?
You are seconds from ravishing her in this car.
I ignored Vivien’s mewl of loss as I sat back, folding my hands in my lap, covering up the hardness there. I returned to my explanation. “Cannibalism is one of the highest atrocities.”
“Which explains why you aren’t huge fans of sekhors.” Vivien rolled her shoulders back as if trying to also come back to her senses. But I could see the stiff tips of her breasts through her suit and her thighs clenched hard against one another.
I nodded my head in assent, focusing back on her eyes. The red had receded, and they were sparkling green once again. “To sekhors, people are nothing but a meal. But even people have committed atrocities against the dead. In the past, people would grind human remains into tinctures to make what they thought was medicine. It was abhorrent, and I did everything I could to stop it. The practice finally died out with new medicinal knowledge of the eighteen century.” With a deep inhale, I steadied myself for the next part. “I could have done more to stop people from such atrocious practices, but I, myself, was lost. All my time was spent worshipping Qwynn and playing in her den of sin. Then, in the Victorian era, I’d gotten wind that people were purchasing mummies and holding private parties to unwrap them while everyone watched on. And then they would dine upon the flesh of the pharaohs.”
Vivien’s nose wrinkled. A line formed between her brows as her eyes seemed to drink in every horrifying detail I shared.
My earlier arousal was chased away by sour memories. “I attempted to discover the culprits and put a stop to it, but they evaded me time and time again. Then one day, Qwynn insisted I pause my investigations for one evening to attend one of her dinner parties. Another one of her extravagant affairs.”
Only the richest, most decadent guests were allowed to attend. Qwynn hired servers to walk around naked, save for priceless jewels and gold paint that covered them from head to toe. The house had become widely known as the den of inequity, and I remembered how Qwynn threw her head back with a throaty laugh when she heard. Then she commissioned a plaque for the house, officially naming it so.
That night, the wine was exquisite and opium filled the air until every room was dense with the haze. I walked through that party with liquid, sluggish movements and a fuzzy head. I observed our guests as if walking through a dream. There was nothing but the finest suits and dresses, save for the ones who’d chosen to disrobe and fuck like dogs on the antique furniture. There had even been a caged pair of lions in a corner. One of the big cats had melted to the bottom of the crate, blinking sleepily, while the other paced the short enclosure, periodically roaring in frustration. The bystanders squealed and laughed riotously whenever the lion snapped at them through the bars.
Everything about that night had crystallized in my memory.
“And then came supper on covered, silver platters. The lids were removed, revealing thin strips of dried, grayed flesh.” Even now the revulsion and the anger rose in me as strongly as it had then. “And Qwynn, who sat at my side, smiled at me with gleaming eyes as everyone delighted and descended with vigor upon the flesh. They thought it would grant them long life and continued status, a lie Qwynn had concocted to make the horrendous practice fashionable.”
Vivien let out a low whistle. “Damn. What did you do?”
“I ended the party,” I said.
By the way Vivien’s brows rose, I knew she’d guessed the manner in which I had done so.
Violence had overcome me. I’d upturned the long dining table, smashing it on top of some of the diners. I lost complete control while servants and guests screamed and fled the house in terror. All except for Qwynn, who had remained seated, her expression one of mild inconvenience whilst chaos erupted around her. I wanted to kill her.
“Of all the stunts she had pulled over the years, that was unforgivable, and she knew it.”
Vivien put the thermos aside, leaning in. “Why would she do that?”
“She claimed I needed to prove that I loved her more than anything. If I’d eaten the flesh of the dead, it would prove that I loved her more than my duty. When I didn’t succumb to her request, Qwynn accused me of neglecting her, casting her aside for the true love of my existence.”
Vivien held up a hand, her forehead wrinkled. “Let me get this straight, she was mad you loved your job more than her? The job of reaping souls?”
“My duty is sacred and vitally important to the well-being of this planet, and I believed there may have been some truth to the matter.” Even now the accusation cut through me. Though I knew enough now to attribute Qwynn’s string of paramours to a bottomless pit of vanity, I still couldn’t shake her recrimination.
“What a selfish biatch. Did she expect you to quit your job to feed her grapes, stroke her hair and tell her how pretty she is all day, every day? Even if you had done what she wanted, she would have eventually gotten bored. No, she’s just an entitled, unhappy tramp intent on using others like playthings.”
Even as she said the words, a sense of validation settled over the memories that still had power enough to wound me.
