GYMNOPÉDIE

Chapter 47

"Two . . . two days ago." her eyes screwed shut, the sharp edge grazed side to side along her skin. He chuckled as if it was entertaining.

From the edge of the blade, sticky crimson of her son's body dripped on her skin and she sobbed harder as he pressed it to her pulsating vein. The lady's breath quickened in panic as the devil's advocate asked dryly. "Did she come with a boy?"

"Y-yes..." her voice came with a sob, tears coating her greyish lips while eyes trailing on the blood leaking to her bare feet, her fingers curled feeling the way it was sticking to her prints. She should have shouted, yet it was the reason the boy before her was stabbed to death. Gulping, the lady went on, "A... a girl—and a boy, the—the boy was odd."

"Odd?" Evan scoffed beneath his skull mask, rotating his gaze down to the sweating Inn's lady. Curiosity coated the back of his tongue, fingers pressed firmly to his dagger and the lady winced with a gasp.

The lady's chin motioned a faint nod, while her eyes tried to capture his darkening eyes. Saliva and tears formed strings between her lips, sobbing. "He carried small bottles—lots of them."

Darkness tilted its head to the poor soul, his robe was grazing her violet nightgown, she was drenched in nervous sweat. Thanatos smirked underneath his mask. "Where did they go?"

"The forest."

There was a small pause when she answered, Rosier was taken aback to process it. Still, his firm grip was on his bloodied dagger, he pondered what did they do in a forest. Hearing the lady's whimper once again, the french peered down and patted her shoulder. Rosier heard footsteps from outside the door, climbing the stairs. He leaned to the lady's ear. "Thank you, my dear."

The lady closed her eyes with a fright whimper. He pulled away along with his dagger, but when the lady moved an inch he hurriedly jabbed his dagger on her throat with a loud stab. Windpipe and veins sliced in a swift talented motion, liquid of life spewed out of her split skin, coating the sweaty surface red before staining her nightgown. The lady crawled for air as blood began to block her airways, taste of metal and pain. It covered both palms as she choked for air. Rosier dragged his dagger down to dig deeper with malevolent eyes and stirred to perforate another spot of her neck. He butchered it relentlessly, cut open his victim's esophagus to expose the tendons and fats.

With a devilish grin, he pulled out his dagger as the sticky liquid lingered on his leather glove. The wizard smirked, maneuvered to raise his knee, and kicked the lady to join her son. Her body slumped against the teenage boy with a thump, she flittered like a fish and gasped, breathy and rabid before she was left to choke over her blood and died.

Thanatos reaped two souls that night.

The door creaked open, moonlit hit his shoes as his foot touched ichor. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." groaned another hooded figure, hiding his face under a similar skull mask as the boy peered to his stained shoes. "Muggle's blood, disgusting! Can't you just do it clean. Snap its head or something."

Hazel eyes pierced cold to the bodies before his feet, he smirked proudly. "I like the art of torture, and to watch them suffer." he tilted his head with a bemused look, "You should hear how the son begged for mercy earlier . . . pathetic."

"We should've brought Black with us." Avery suggested with a whiny tone, he shifted away from the corpses in disgust. "He could brew us some veritaserum then we won't have to deal with this."

Silent fell for a split second before Evan replied, "His father is ill." he announced grimly, timbre slightly emphasized. "You certainly wouldn't want to make him commit crime compared to listening to his dear father's last wish would you?"