Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery

Chapter Six

Unafraid and indifferent to the sight ahead, Ænus motioned with his ebony cane to the group to stand back.  He needn't have worried – they were each fixed rigidly to the spot.

Like a black widow spider, Ænus set one pointed toe in front of the other and deftly sidled his way towards the mordant fondant.

As he approached the stinking sweetmeat, Ænus was shocked to find that the morning light had no part whatsoever to play in the vision that was laid out before him.  Neither did his dancing with the green fairy the night before.

From twelve feet away, which was as close as he could get without burning from the roasting heat, Ænus could now see what appeared to his now smarting eyes to be; a pile of bones sticking out like a game of jacks.  Femurs, tibias, patellae - all manner of vertebrae - were emerging from the melted metal that looked like it had once, most probably, have been a stove.

"It's a body," said Ænus, making the sign of the cross in the air, "God rest their soul."

"Who was it, Sir?" asked Savant Poe, assuming that his boss Ænus, had the answer to everything. 

"I don't know, Poe, "said Ænus, "but I intend to find out." 

Hoisting his hat, he slowly scratched his head for a minute.  "Ire, have you any idea of who lived out here? Your family have been in the area for generations, haven't they?"

Ire looked puzzled and replied, "Aye, Sir, they have, but I've never heard mention of anyone living this deep into the woods.  Well, not for real, like.  My mother, God rest her soul, used to tell us young 'uns not to stray far in case the wicked witch got us.  She'd point across the forest to here. But we never saw a living soul."

"Pah," spat Ænus, turning on his heel and making as if to head back to Mortal End.  He stopped in his tracks and turned once more to face the men.

"Until I have thought about what is to be done, I want this place kept safe.  No one, and I mean no one, is to come anywhere near.  Do you hear me?" Ænus P. Wordsworth looked at each man individually, as if assessing their capabilities, "There may be clues hereabouts of who this person, " he gestured across at the big bony bonbon, "might once have been.  It is only then that I shall know whether or not to give them a decent burial.  Come, Poe!"

© 2003 Toula Mavridou-Messer All rights reserved. ***Mortal End, Too is the second novel in the Mortal End series. There is an excerpt available on Wattpad to give you a taste of the storyline. I will post chapters regularly, but there are as yet unknown chapters, so this may take a while. You can sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter (Princess Toula), or like my Facebook page. For more information, see my Amazon author page Author.to/ToulaMavridouMesser. Your support is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! Toula Xx