A Change In The Weather

Chapter 29: Bloody murder

The last image that Scarlet and Thomas’s parents saw before they slipped into unconsciousness from the loss of blood, was Toadflax standing over them with a bloodied scimitar. He surprised himself how quickly he’d managed to dispatch his victims; all he’d done was sneak up on them and slit their throats whilst they stood talking to each other.

But he’d wished the humans hadn’t bled as much as they had; now, the cottage looked more like a slaughterhouse than a home. The police - who earlier had taken statements about the robbery - would no doubt be back to put this down as another violent burglary.

He reached down and grabbed the woman by the hair, and pulled her face to his.

‘Where are the children?’ he screeched.

Great globs of saliva dripped from his mouth as he spoke, but he realised she’d lost too much blood, and let go of her in disgust. Her head slumped back to the floor, with a slight moan.

He sneered at them both as they lay there in a pool of their own blood.

‘Pathetic creatures. How did your kind ever become masters of the world?’ he said, scornfully.

He wiped the blade of his bloody sword on a tea towel and threw it over the bodies.

Annoyingly, there was no sign of the children.

He took a box of matches from the kitchen drawer, and struck a match against the rough surface on the side of the box. It flared brightly as it ignited. The initial smell of sulphur disappeared, as he stared at the hungry flame in front of him.

‘See you both in Hell.’ he hissed, with a thin smile.

Toadflax tossed the match towards the curtains, and walked outside.

From Bracken Wood, he watched almost mesmerised as the flames danced higher and higher into the air, carrying with them bright embers and sparks from the thatched roof as it crackled and spat, merrily feeding the inferno.

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