“Hello, my beauties,” he whispered as he walked past them while his boots crunched over frozen water droplets.
Each figure told a chapter in his story. A confession of beauty, pain, and evolution.
The only thing missing was her. She would be his final masterpiece.
“I learned from my failures, Ava. Each piece before you was practice. But this…” He smiled faintly. “This will be eternal.”
He turned toward a narrow alcove cut into the far wall. Within it stood an altar of polished ice, its surface carved with his mark—a cross intersected by a circle. The sign of his creed.
On the altar covered in blue were several bowls filled with melted wax. Embedded within the wax were fragments—threads of cloth, locks of hair, the memory of women who had been here before. Another masterpiece. Almost too breathtaking to give up.
He stepped into the alcove and relived his second victim’s terror. She’d been too busy trying to change her flat tire. By the time she’d heard his approach, he had the needle in her neck.
They hadn’t found her car yet. They were too busy searching for him.
He chuckled at their failures.
Seeing the fear in her eyes as he took the first bowl and held it over her head was a feeling he wanted to experience again soon.
This time, the game had become more cunning. More enjoyable.
“Come find me, Ava. I know you can,” he murmured, his voice low and intimate. “And when you do, I’ll be waiting.”
???
The frozen lake stretched out in front of them. Ava’s steps slowed despite Shadow’s constant tugging.
“What is that?” Rachel asked as they were nearing the icy edge.
In the middle of the lake was a small table draped in a blue cloth. A candle, covered by a protective glass, had burned down almost to the point of extinction.
“It’s his altar,” Ava murmured in disgust.
“At this time of the year, the lake should be solid,” Caleb told them. “Let me test it out for weak areas or slush before we go any further.” He cautiously stepped onto the ice testing eachstep until he was almost to the altar. He returned slowly. “It’s safe to walk out onto. Just follow me.”
Ava slowly nodded. “Rachel, you’re with Caleb and me.” She handed the dog to Shackleford. “Stay, Shadow.” The dog heeded her command, his attention briefly going to Ava before returning to the altar.
She turned to Caleb and nodded. “Let’s go.”
The three stepped out onto the ice.
Caleb took the lead. “Be careful, you don’t want to lose your footing.”
Ava followed close behind him. As they walked, deep, echoing groans resounded around the countryside. Both Ava and Rachel stopped.
Caleb turned. “It’s safe. It's just large sheets of ice shifting or expanding.”
The sound gave Ava the creeps, but she trusted Caleb’s judgment.
They reached the halfway point while lesser sounds like pops continued as the ice expanded and contracted with their weight.
Once they reached the altar, Ava could see wax dripping all around, covering the blue cloth with iridescent streaks almost as if Wax had dripped the wax across the surface to give it his creative touch.
“Oh, no,” Rachel whispered. She was standing past the altar looking down at something.
Ava moved to her side. A large hole had been augured into the thick ice. A fishing line was set up as if someone had abandoned their fishing hole. Only Ava knew it was nothing so innocent.
“Help me with it.” Caleb grabbed hold of the small pole and the line and pulled. “Whatever it is, it’s heavy.”
