23. MARAIS
There's a character I did not create in this chapter. That's all
I'm going to say...
Marais took a sip of the brownish water. When he was sure no one
was watching,he spat it into the vase on the table; in the vase was
a cluster of white lilies. He had been trying to remember what they
were supposed to mean. Roses were for love,he knew that much. He
had never liked roses. Poison had been right; every rose really
DID have its thorn and Marais usually wound up puncturing his
flesh with them every time he touched one.
"That's a Billy Joel song," he said to himself. "And every
taaaiiime I've haaaaald a rooooo-hooooose..."
He had been sitting in The Gilded Truffle for the longest time. The
waitress was somewhere in the back; for all he knew,she was giving
the cook a massage. But no,here,she was coming out of the back.
"Excuse me," Marais said. He extended an arm to stop her; she
glanced at the black skull tattoo on his forearm. "Yes?" she asked.
"I am ready to...how do you say it...I am ready to be ordering,
ma'am."
"Are you from France?" she asked.
"France,yes,I am. France." Marais smiled,then spat out nervous
laughter. "Francais,mon cherie."
"Long way from home,huh?"
"I would like a...haaaam. A burger with the ham."
"We don't get many hamburgers here,but I'll see what I can do."
She walked away.
Marais thought about what she'd said. What were the others eating?
There was a quiet couple near the window; baked potatoes and steak
for them. A lone man near the entrance was eating little cubes of
blackened meat.
Then,a woman filled the entranceway. She was at least seven feet
tall,as wide as the doorway,and the most distressing thing about
her was that she...well,if she were on fire,these flames were the
strangest Marais had ever seen. They were blue,black at the edges.
Despite the fire,he could see her wide,staring eyes,and they were
more terrifying than Lord Voldemort's. It wasn't the color that
made him want to scream because he couldn't identify the color,it
was that as soon as they made eye contact,he felt as if she were
inside of him. Worms crawled in and out of her head,spilling at her
feet.
She floated further into the room. Couldn't anyone else SEE this
woman? Everyone just kept eating and laughing, She glided past the
other tables and no one paid the least bit of attention to her.
She saw him.
He tried to move. His legs didn't work.
She raised her left arm and pointed at him,speaking words in a
language he didn't recognize-
*"Du willst bei das Wasser loschen,Mutter Shabubu gesehen..."
Her finger moved to his left hand,which closed around the glass of
water; his jaw convulsed,and before he knew it he was tilting the
glass towards his lips. The water tasted absolutely awful,but he
couldn't break her hold on him.
Then,inside his throat,he felt the liquid...hardening.
In seconds,he was gasping for breath. He staggered to his
feet and danced around the restaurant,clutching at his throat.
He could feel his face turning blue-why weren't they helping him?
Wh-
The patrons saw the tall blonde man collapse to the floor. By the
time someone got to him,he had suffocated,his esophagus blocked
off by a chunk of ice.
There's a character I did not create in this chapter. That's all
I'm going to say...
Marais took a sip of the brownish water. When he was sure no one
was watching,he spat it into the vase on the table; in the vase was
a cluster of white lilies. He had been trying to remember what they
were supposed to mean. Roses were for love,he knew that much. He
had never liked roses. Poison had been right; every rose really
DID have its thorn and Marais usually wound up puncturing his
flesh with them every time he touched one.
"That's a Billy Joel song," he said to himself. "And every
taaaiiime I've haaaaald a rooooo-hooooose..."
He had been sitting in The Gilded Truffle for the longest time. The
waitress was somewhere in the back; for all he knew,she was giving
the cook a massage. But no,here,she was coming out of the back.
"Excuse me," Marais said. He extended an arm to stop her; she
glanced at the black skull tattoo on his forearm. "Yes?" she asked.
"I am ready to...how do you say it...I am ready to be ordering,
ma'am."
"Are you from France?" she asked.
"France,yes,I am. France." Marais smiled,then spat out nervous
laughter. "Francais,mon cherie."
"Long way from home,huh?"
"I would like a...haaaam. A burger with the ham."
"We don't get many hamburgers here,but I'll see what I can do."
She walked away.
Marais thought about what she'd said. What were the others eating?
There was a quiet couple near the window; baked potatoes and steak
for them. A lone man near the entrance was eating little cubes of
blackened meat.
Then,a woman filled the entranceway. She was at least seven feet
tall,as wide as the doorway,and the most distressing thing about
her was that she...well,if she were on fire,these flames were the
strangest Marais had ever seen. They were blue,black at the edges.
Despite the fire,he could see her wide,staring eyes,and they were
more terrifying than Lord Voldemort's. It wasn't the color that
made him want to scream because he couldn't identify the color,it
was that as soon as they made eye contact,he felt as if she were
inside of him. Worms crawled in and out of her head,spilling at her
feet.
She floated further into the room. Couldn't anyone else SEE this
woman? Everyone just kept eating and laughing, She glided past the
other tables and no one paid the least bit of attention to her.
She saw him.
He tried to move. His legs didn't work.
She raised her left arm and pointed at him,speaking words in a
language he didn't recognize-
*"Du willst bei das Wasser loschen,Mutter Shabubu gesehen..."
Her finger moved to his left hand,which closed around the glass of
water; his jaw convulsed,and before he knew it he was tilting the
glass towards his lips. The water tasted absolutely awful,but he
couldn't break her hold on him.
Then,inside his throat,he felt the liquid...hardening.
In seconds,he was gasping for breath. He staggered to his
feet and danced around the restaurant,clutching at his throat.
He could feel his face turning blue-why weren't they helping him?
Wh-
The patrons saw the tall blonde man collapse to the floor. By the
time someone got to him,he had suffocated,his esophagus blocked
off by a chunk of ice.
