“Vanessa.”
“Vanessa?” Billy asked, “Vanessa what?”
The coy look was replaced with a sly smile as she answered. “Just Vanessa…for now.”
Billy sat back in his chair with a small grunting laugh. “Well then, Miss Vanessa, I’d like to introduce you to…”
But Ventina spoke quickly, interrupting him. “Mr. Washburn.” Her face smug. “Just because I don’t wander in here, but rarely, doesn’t mean I don’t know who he is.”
Washburn’s eyes narrowed as he knew she had never crossed over his doorstep before, but he wasn’t going to call her a liar to her face in front of Billy. She turned her attention from Billy to him as if she suspected what was going through his mind. The look he got chilled him to the bone. He quickly set the glasses on the table, wiping his hands on his rag at his belt. He threw a thumb back to the bar.
“I…I need to get back, but it…it was…” Here Washburn coughed before he finished. “It was a pleasure.”
Her gaze was as icy as her reply. The small hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. She had raised the glass to her lips, but didn’t sip on it. Just peered over the rim at him.
“The pleasure was all mine.” Her voice betrayed her calm demeanor, making it obvious that she wished him gone from her presence. He could feel her eyes boring into his back making his chest tighten and his heart pound harder, almost to the point of pain. The sooner she was out of his place the happier he would feel.
Ventina’s eyes flicked back to Billy’s, the look changing from ice back to flirty. Judging from the look on his face, it had the desired effect on him. She even took a small sip of the; as she put it; bitter brew.
Ventina had purposefully picked this night as she knew the other girl was off and she would have Billy’s full attention. She had precious little of the hypnotic powder left and when he turned his head for a quick moment she managed to sneak a small amount into his beer. She hoped it still had enough oomph left in it to start the spell on it’s way. He looked back at her as he picked up his glass and downed half of it. He made a face, but drank again. With the second largest swallow Ventina began a low sing song voice as she chanted the spell for control. Billy’s eyes took on a glassy look almost vacant before he shook his head, clearing it slightly as he tried to focus on her face. It was then that he heard her low singing chant.
“What is that tune? I don’t recognize it.”
She smiled sweetly as she spoke “Oh…just some silly old lullaby my mother taught me to sing.” She tilted her head slightly as she continued. “Maybe I’ll teach it to you someday.”
“How about now?”
“No. It’s getting late and I have to get home.”
“I’ll walk you home then.” Billy said as he attempted to stand, but found wobbly legs not willing to support him.
Ventina put her hand over top of his. “No, there is no need. I’ll be fine. You stay and enjoy the rest of your night as I have something I must attend to.” The something was Harry.
“Alright.” He said, leaning back in his chair, the glassy look deepening to the point of appearing deep in his own cups from beer.
Ventina never moved her hand from his, her eyes looking deeply into his. She spoke her voice almost melodic. “Don’t worry Bill, we’ll be together soon.”
Billy blinked very slowly, “Uh huh.” His head nodded just as slowly. She backed away from him, leaving the same way she came in; the backdoor.
Ventina backed out of the door and stood in the alleyway for just a moment. She remained in the dark waiting to see if anyone else was around. When she was sure she was alone, Ventina began looking around for Harry. He wasn’t where Billy had dropped him with the punch. Harry had managed to revive himself enough to crawl over by the wood pile on the far corner wall. Harry wedged himself between the wood pile and the building wall before passing out again in a drunken stupor. Ventina finally spotted him and went over to him. She looked down at him with disdain before prodding him with her toe. He mumbled as he settled back tighter against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Reaching out, Ventina grabbed a hold of his wrist and yanked. Up he came in a rush, as she effortlessly draped him over her shoulders. One arm held him in place as the other raised up her skirts. Ducking into the shadows she found an opening and on a dead run took off for her house. She was all the way out of town and entering the woods near her home when Harry began to stir. He began to struggle against being held like a bag of feed.
“Hold still you fool.” She growled.
“Wha…what the hell is going on?” Came Harry’s slurred question.
“Shut up.” Her voice reverted to her normally gravelly tone.
Harry was coming around and decided he had had enough as he struggled against her. His thrashing hampered her progress to the point of almost stumbling so she stopped. She dropped him heavily on the ground knocking the breath out of him in the process. This was when Harry finally got a good look at his abductor. Ventina had dropped the phony facade of the young woman and was in her wargi form. Harry tried shaking the drunken fog from his head as he recognized the dress, but not the contents. The dress hung slack over her bony, wargi frame. The face was definitely not the one that had caught his attention in the first place, it was ghastly. Harry managed to struggle to his feet, wobbly from drink and shock. The effect was quite sobering for Harry as his breath caught in his throat, blocked by the scream that wanted to escape. It was quickly followed by a violent gush of vomit. He was frozen where he stood for a moment before he started to backpedal away from her, unable to tear his eyes away. His heel caught on a root and he fell. Muscles froze with terror. Ventina pounced, seizing him by an ankle. With very little effort Ventina lifted him and swung him in a wide arc amongst the trees until his head smashed against the trunk of a large tree. She had swung so hard that his head exploded against the bark like a rotten tomato. His death was instantaneous as bone, brain and blood painted the area in a large swash of white and red. Bits of bone and hair were embedded in the tree trunk. Ventina dropped him so she could pull the now limp body up into a sitting position, blood weakly pumping from a dying heart into the barren cavity that had once housed who Harry was. Her nose twitched at the metallic, coppery smell of fresh blood, her mouth salivating. Ventina twisted what was left of Harry’s head down and around so that her long tongue could reach deep into the bony crevasses, licking out what remained of his brain. She smacked her lips at the delicacy and had to stop herself from tearing him apart right there and devouring him. She grabbed a large handful of dirt, grass and dead leaves, shoving and packing them into the empty cavity. It effectively stopped any more blood from dripping out and leaving a trail to her door.
Ventina hoisted his limp body up and slung it over her shoulders like a sack of feed. She started once again for her home. Even though he was now dead weight, the trip was much easier without him struggling. She would get the body home and come back to clean up as much of the bloody bony mess that had splattered about and stuck to the underbrush and tree trunk. She didn’t want anyone to come upon it accidentally. The news of a death in town would definitely mess with her plans for Billy.
Harry would provide her with more than a couple of meals as well as some much needed fresh blood for certain spells; one of them involving Billy. She finally reached her home and unceremoniously dropped the body outside the doorway as she went inside to strip off the dress and shrug on a baggy shroud. Ventina threw the dress in a bucket with cold water to keep the blood stains from setting. She walked back outside and grabbed the body by the collar and began dragging him towards the shed.
Once inside she tore off his boots and cut a slit in the back of each ankle. With ease she forced the hooks from a single tree into the space between the bones and Achilles tendons before hoisting the body up in the air to hang upside-down. She cut off the clothes, tossing them aside. Ventina placed a large basin