Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“KAAAAAAAAAGE!” Grandpa screamed so loud, he could hear with the phone set down.
Kage dropped the scorching pieces of gasoline-soaked cloth into the men’s mouths at the same exact time. Taking several steps back, he watched both of them try to scream as they trembled, turning into wailing infernos until their tongues were engulfed by the flames. The quiet of the night was now electrified by their dual glow. The stench of burning flesh imbued the atmosphere.
Kage watched for a few minutes, stroking his beard. After a while, he snatched the phone and added it to the bone and blood bonfire while Grandpa continued to shriek on the other end. When he’d had his fill, he got into his truck and drove a good distance away. Then, he called Grandpa, this time from his own phone.
“KAGE! JESUS! OH MY GOD…” Grandpa screamed in pure panic. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE! YOU KILLED ONE OF SIVERO’S KIN! HIS NEWPHEW! SHIT! GOT DAMN YOU! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU, ROTTEN, FUCKIN’ CRAZY SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!”
The Sivero Family, an Italian dynasty with a small but notable presence in Texas, was not one to play with. Kage assumed they owed Grandpa a favor, and in doing so, they sent someone over to ‘handle’ him. Handle him the Sivero man did not—now, that someone was burnt to a crisp.
“…You got that boy killed. Simple as that. Put the blame at your own feet. Now you’ve got another enemy. Bravo.”
“Oh, no sir!” Grandpa laughed. “You did this! They’re comin’ after you!”
“Grandpa, don’t you worry…everything will work out as it should. See, me and my six cousins that you’re tryna trap and bring into your cult are the worst of the worst of the Wilde family tree. You said it yourself. That’s why you want us so badly. We’re seven fucked up individuals. We are free thinkers, and we do what the fuck we want. We ain’t scared of you, and you hate us for that. Problem is, when you send your attack dogs after us, you don’t tell those dogs that the bones we have for them are laced in arsenic. Poison runs in our blood. You misjudged me.” He seethed. “I’m on your mind all the time, old man.
“I was at your hip most of my childhood. I watched you kill, destroy, then lie and deny. Instead of impressing me, I just studied you. Then I realized you’d done the unthinkable. You had to be eradicated. I was too small. Too young for the job. Now, I’m ready. Here’s a Bible quote for you, sir. 1 Corinthians, 13:11 says, ‘When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.’ Time to put you to bed, Cyrus. You’re an old toy that I don’t want no more.”
“Where the fuck are you?”
“In your obsessions, dreams and nightmares. You’ll find your errand boys’ charred remains in Greens Bayou. Well done. Cooked to motherfuckin’ perfection. Ribs, brisket, and baked beans… lil’ bit of coleslaw. That’s good eatin’! Mmm, mmm mmm! Trigger lickin’ good.”
Then he disconnected the call, wiped his hands with a napkin, and headed home to the sounds of The Jompson Brothers’, ‘On The Run.’ He sang along, feeling damn near delighted. Joy danced in his bones and swam in his blood, taking over all of him from his swaying hair that cloaked his eye, to the work boots on his feet. His enemies were dead, and that made him feel so damn alive…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Secrets in the Ladies Room
“…And then Daniel the duck went fast to sleep. The End.”
The group of children gathered in the museum clapped enthusiastically. Their teachers standing at the front and back of the room joined in. Poet rose from her seat, and pointed to the Blue Winged Teal and Gadwall Duck exhibit.
“Please enjoy our new children’s fowl display, some of which are interactive. Your catered lunches will be delivered in thirty minutes. Enjoy.”
She nodded as children and adults engaged her in conversation, shook hands with some of the little ones, then dismissed herself to head to her office. It was a rather long jaunt, but she enjoyed it, passing under tall ceilings with skylights, a domed theater, and through displays of all sorts that spanned from the beginning of earthly time until modern day. However, the children’s area did have a special place in her heart.
She loved it when her supervisor would occasionally ask for her assistance in educating and helping out with that department. Today, Lennard had called in sick, and she was asked to cover. She enjoyed the innocence of babies and little ones, their eagerness to learn, and found herself drawn to their special and pure magic. As she walked, navigating past the dinosaur bones and ancient man displays, she spotted a little black girl standing by the restroom, looking to be about seven or eight, clad in a red jumper dress with a white shirt beneath it. She wore white stockings and black MaryJane shoes—picture perfect, if it weren’t for the terrified expression on her face: frantic about the eyes. The child was rather quiet as she leaned against the wall, eyes glassy and wide as she looked from left to right, but her silence was screaming.