Blood Runs Gold

I vomited. Into the bowl of stew. I was fighting the urge to plop my face into it. Sex makes me hungry. My appetite vanished when Eudora suggested they hang me.

“Dora. The girl is promiscuous—not murderous. Ease.” The tall, scary one said. I couldn’t remember their names. Im not good at those as you’d recall.

Eudora scowled like I was the filthiest criminal she’d ever judged. I might be. Yet—a sex addiction didn’t seem to warrant death. The one at the head of the table eyed me—like she could hear my thoughts.

She stood. Grabbed the bowl without wincing and I watched it vanish before my eyes. I imagined it materializing and hitting some poor unfortunate soul in the head. That made me less queasy.

She summoned another bowl—made of bark. Little white flowers and pieces of moss jutted from its cracks. The stew seemed to grow more enticing in this bowl. Potatoes and rosemary. My belly growled.

“I added something for your nausea.” She said, gingerly. Like I was breakable. I scoffed, but swallowed it as her eyes softened to liquid amber.

“Drink.”

I did, so fast I almost choked.

“She is filth.” Eudora said as the tall one sat.

She eyed Eudora now, almost growling.

“Watch your tongue.” She said, baring the knives she called teeth.

Meanwhile—I was waiting for the emergency room. Clearly I’d been a victim of the date rape drug. In a few hours—I’d wake up lost. Dry throated and sore. Bruised. Probably horny.

I’d limp home. I’d find another hookup. Back like I never left. This hallucination would be just that—a hazy memory. A side effect of a power grab gone awry.

The woman looked at me—smirking now.

“Maeven Karina Leslie. You are not in a hallucination. Your crimes against your body and blood have caused a desperation in the Faye. We have come to judge you. Moreover, stop you.” She said.

I choked. Gagged. To my surprise, it was the cat like one that responded. She was lithe, like water. She smelled of—nighttime. Lavender and—and…

“Jasmine.” The leader said. How. Is she doing that?

The Queen was smug. Grinning as she uttered my entire government. Eudora eyed me—brooding and judging. I would’ve rolled my eyes but I was fighting for my life. The feline like creature curled back into her wings when I stopped hacking.

“How do you know my name?” I asked.

She eyed me.

“The girl is clearly alone in the world.” She said.

I stared at her, wincing at the jab. The floor and I locked eyes as I tried to count the blades of grass. Suddenly, I was cold. She stood, flourished her hand, and a fur coat appeared. She draped it around me and Eudora lost her mind.

The bang startled me. The bowls on the table, the table, and the hotel shook. I nearly pissed myself. The feline one cinched her wings.

“This-this girl! This creature! She desecrates her blood. She is filth—yet you drape her in royal garments for warmth? Kill her and be done with it! Or I will!”

A scrape of metal. Then, the biggest knife I’d ever seen.

“You’ll do no such thing.”

A whisper. The Queen prodded at her sharp nails like she was watching a commercial. Her eyes were honey colored—blazing. Yet- she didn’t move.

“Watch me.”

Then Eudora was running at me.

She hadn’t even reached the middle of the table. The Queens claws were prepared, all I felt was the rush of wind. I heard the thudding of dishes. The quick rip of flesh tearing. The murderous howl of my executioner. The metallic clattering of a dropped blade.

The Queen stood tall. Features serene. Voice hushed. Daring.

“You’ll do. No such thing.”

My pants needed changing. I sat there, shivering in royal robes. Gold blood had splattered everywhere. Eudora held her gushing cheek. She looked like an arts project from fourth grade. Covered in glitter.

“You would strike me?! To save that? Are you mad?” Eudora’s timbre could’ve disintegrated the Motel 6.

“My Queen. Your pardon, yet. This is a matter of quickness. Most cases of this kind are snuffed out swiftly. This one—you linger. Why?” The feline one asked.

I wondered what “snuffed out,” meant until pain seared through my wrist. I looked down at the cut. Glittery gold trickling from my veins.

“Maeven Karina Leslie—Dearest. My abomination. Mine to judge.”

---