An Ultra Violent Fairy Tale by Pete Bertino - HTML preview

24 AN ULTRA VIOLENT FAIRY TALE

Her lower half sat while her spine stretched with rubbery ease though creating a sound like fresh bulks of celery stalks being broken as her spine grew. Her top half came just within a few feet of the light circle then her head began to turn on her neck making that horrible cracking sound, eyes burning into his own turning until her face was upside down on her bizarre elongated neck. The captain’s knees shook and his bladder hurt like he needed to urinate, when The Lady’s head continued turning into a full 360 his bladder let go.

“Come...” she said to the captain.

That was all Paradine heard her say to him and knew you couldn’t say no, she could control men’s minds. The captain stepped towards The Lady who left her face upside down as her ungloved hand touched his right temple. Everything was quiet and still then a breeze picked up and ruffled the cobweb like hair that grew from The Lady’s strange head followed by a smell that made him think of lightning.

Paradine could smell the electricity as a bright green spark came out of The Lady’s finger tips and connect to the captain’s temple. He let out a cat like howl that turned into a sound like he was gargling mouthwash. A heat burned behind the captain’s eyes, so hot he tried to shut his eyelids but they didn’t close so much as melt into his eyes. Paradine watched with a tight stomach as the hollow of the captain’s temple began to glow red like a flashlight was placed against his head.

Then the red light began to show through his eyes that were melted over by his eye lids like they were wax. His mouth opened wide as if about to scream but no sound came out as his eyeballs began to sizzle. Paradine felt his stomach turn over when one of the eyes on the unfortunate captain popped and some of it shot out of his eye socket like hot grease on a skillet. He took shallow breaths as the smell of burning pork and hair surrounded him, keeping still until The Lady was finished cooking everything in the captain’s skull.

The heat was making Paradine sweat, he gave Rance a quick side glimpse and saw he looked green in the face as well. Just when he thought the smell couldn’t get any thicker The Lady finally stopped and the captain collapsed to the ground. The blackened skull struck the ground and shattered like brittle porcelain, releasing a burst of black smoke. He gave Rance a nod, who then proceeded to drag the body outside.

“Paradine...” said The Lady when it was only the two of them.

It took him a second or so to look into her eyes, she could search people’s minds easily if you weren’t careful. He looked into her eyes that were fire and brimstone, he knew The Lady desired fairy wings more than most other things. They could be broke down and used to make very powerful potions, some desired to use them as wings though only another unnatural could do that, and The Lady was certainly 25 AN ULTRA VIOLENT FAIRY TALE

one of the unnatural. Remembering to keep his thoughts in check, Paradine put up his customary mental brick wall while conversing with her.

“...find the fairy, bring me her wings, or I’ll show you how unnatural I really am.”

“My queen.” Paradine said with a deep bow feeling ice flow into his veins realizing she’d heard his thoughts despite his best effort to block them.

Before another second could pass, Paradine left the throne room and vomited the second he was outside again. The breeze cooled his hot face, but that smell of burnt hair and pork was in his clothes, his skin, everywhere, his heart slammed in his chest while his head pounded behind his eyes making them feel like they were trying to bulge out as he finally stopped dry heaving. Rance approached and handed him a canteen filled with water, he nodded and took a swig to rinse out his mouth.

“I have news, sir.” Rance said nodding behind them at another Marshal who arrived on a motorcycle.

“Good news or bad?” he asked taking another swig then handing it back.

“Both. We found a subway station with working autocarts if she went down there she put them all on auto pilot and sent them every which way she could and there are a couple dozen routes.”

“The good news.”

“A couple of prisoners heard the fairy talking with another prisoners just before she broke out.”

“An accomplice?”

“Unlikely, we can’t find the prisoners she was talking with but three or four other inmates who were too afraid to run said they heard the name ‘Crow’s Nest’ come up.”

“Crow’s Nest, eh.” Paradine said feeling some relief.

“Yes, sir. And the fairy was told her lover, Luke, had a new girl friend.”

Paradine heard the name Luke and stood up straight, something resembling a smile showed on his face.