The Renfield Syndrome Ch. 12

*****

Lori's sudden screams snapped David out of his state of blissful adoration. She collapsed at Angelique's feet with her face a mask of horror, letting out a nerve-shredding wail of despair as she stared at her unblemished hands. All other conversation ceased, and a hush fell over the gathered chosen as they stared at the two women on the stage. Nobody seemed willing to speak or make a move toward them, and they hung back shamefully like children watching one of their peers get punished.

David leaped to his feet, and a few heads turned in his direction. He had no idea what had happened to Lori, and he had less idea of what he was going to do to help her, but her heart wrenching screams demanded some kind of action. He opened his mouth to plead for mercy on her behalf, but Angelique raised her head to glance coolly in his direction and his voice died in his throat.

David couldn't move.

As his eyes met Angelique's, David's muscles froze in place, immovable as stone. Even from this distance, her violet eyes pierced him and held him in place like a pin jammed through a mounted insect. David's mouth hung open, his entreaty half formed on his paralyzed lips. He tried to close it, tried to turn his head and look away, but it was as if his body was buried in wet cement, and he didn't have the physical strength to move an inch. Angelique's eyes seem to grow to encompass the whole of his vision and all he could do was stare back at her and listen to Lori's screams that grew louder and louder until her voice might break.

*****

As suddenly as it had come over her, the vision in Lori's head evaporated as if it were never there. She lay on the floor at Angelique's feet in a fetal position, her heart hammering in her chest and her body drenched with terror-sweat. She held her hands before her and saw they were free of the gangrenous rot that had reduced them to blackened sticks at the ends of her arms. Her breath still whooping in her chest, she looked up at Angelique to see her gazing down at her with a slight smile on her lips.

You bitch...! Lori thought, or rather began to think. As soon as the word was half formed in her head, Lori forcibly cut it off. Apparently, this bitch could read minds, and Lori instinctively buried her thoughts as deep as they would go. She groped around for something to fill her head with and crazily thought of flowers. Good enough. Straining to keep her mind as clear of rebellion as possible, she forced herself to close her eyes and nod submissively at Angelique. Lesson learned.

"Get up, girl," Angelique ordered, and then turned her attention purposefully away from her and back toward the heavyset woman in pink who was wide eyed and biting her lip. "As you can see, the challenge with this one was to avoid piercing any fatal piercing of the vital organs..."

Roses, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, lilies. Lori struggled to keep her mind blank of anything but flowers as she shakily got to her knees. Her nerveless legs didn't want to support her, but she forced them under her and rose to her feet. She looked around at the audience that was nervously picking up their conversations again and saw David standing at his table with an expression of helplessness on his face. Dahlias, carnations, what the fuck have you gotten me into, daffodils, peonies, motherfucking daisies. David looked miserable and silently mouthed the words "I'm sorry" before dropping his eyes and retaking his seat. His expression was one of defeat. Lori had seen it on his face many times before tonight, but this was the first time it filled her with dread. Her mind tried to flash on the fire exit through the kitchen again and she immediately snuffed the thought out. Orchids, periwinkles, marigolds, begonias. Trying to steady herself, Lori meekly took her place behind Angelique again, making sure to keep her eyes downcast.

Once more, now that Angelique's attention was diverted away from Lori, the bizarre effect she radiated that made knees weak and hearts flutter lessened somewhat. Perhaps now that focus was off her, it was diffused among the many people crowding the dinner club, or maybe the most profound effects required eye contact. Thinking of flowers as hard as she could, Lori positioned herself a respectful three steps behind Angelique and a bit to the left. Right in what she hoped was the bitch's blind spot. From here she watched the woman entertain her simpering cultists and waited for an opportunity to present itself.