Sun Kissed Innsmouth
Part 144
Felecia was ready to let the older woman have her fit and stay quiet until that name was spoken out loud. The word Jaquo ripped through Felecia’s mind like a knife. She couldn’t stop herself as her filthy body stumbled awkwardly toward the old wardrobe doors. She forbid her dirt encrusted hands from rising up and watched in horror as they disobeyed her and fumbled with the latch for the doors.
Without the small latch in the way the doors to the cave always leaned in, not entirely open but enough so that those standing outside would see in well enough. Felecia was right there, in the way of the opening and letting the awful light from outside show her off for all to see.
The girl gasped and recoiled at the site of Felecia, trying to hide behind her grandmother. She was stick thin and ten, maybe eleven years old if she was a day, but she couldn’t hide all of her. The girl’s belly hung out distended and stuck out no matter how much she tried to hide.
The older woman hadn’t recoiled though, or even flinched, she stood proud and grabbed her grand daughters hand all the harder, refusing to let the girl flee the filthy apparition.
Felecia waited for the monster out in the waves to continue to use her, would it force her to speak too? When she didn’t find her mouth opening and a line of hollow words falling out, she ignored the vile villagers standing before her and tried for the first time in nearly a year to commune with the monster out in the waves instead.
Well, stealing my arms and feet isn’t enough? Use my voice you bastard, this is a rape after all because I am most assuredly not willing. I never gave in, never offered myself to you! Come on! Use me, you sick thing! Make me speak, make me shake, force me to roll over, so that I can stick myself in the neck with a knife the first chance I get!
Felecia was so busy howling inside the empty confines of her head, she never noticed closing her eyes, much less screwing them shut until tears leaked out of them. Not until the older woman took a brave step forward and finally spoke up. “The hermit who lived here, they were older than me, long ago, are you their child, or grandchild?”
Felecia only opened her eyes for a second to acknowledge the village woman before shutting her eyes tight once more and repeating her demand to the monster out in the waves with a caveat. I didn’t open the doors; I won’t speak to them. You do what you’re going to do, you filthy monster, that or you make them leave. Make them leave and let me have peace, you owe me that much!
Still nothing.
The older woman spoke and fell silent and waited while Felecia didn’t speak, didn’t move, didn’t twitch. Any saint available would have been tested by the amount of time that Felecia screwed her eyes shut and howled at herself and refused to acknowledge the two people in front of her and still the older woman was calm and forgiving when she finally chose to look the two of them fully in the eye.
Felecia knew it was time to say something, anything, past time even. The older woman kept her calm look painted on her face while she gripped tight the fidgeting girl held in her grasp. Between the two of them Felecia had no doubt who would give first.
And yet…what was there left to say. Felecia hadn’t lied of held anything back. The old witch was dead, any help the two of them came for, died with her. There was nothing left to say that wouldn’t be redundant or insulting and well, the girl didn’t look like she would be up to any insult, worthy or otherwise.
“The hermit died, awhile ago. I’ve come to live here but I’m no relation. There’s nothing here to help anybody. You should go.”
The older woman stood while Felecia spoke and seemed not to hear a word she said as she pulled the girl around until she was in front of her. “This is Emeh, she was hurt by my sisters boy some months back. Same as I was hurt by my Pa. I came here when I was Emeh’s age because I knew I could get help here. We’ve come now for the same reason. I can pay, plenty, for both of us.”
Felecia shook her head and kept her eyes away from the young girl pinned into the foreground. “I’m no relation to the hermit, I’m squatting here. There is nothing I can do for either of you, you need to go.”
The older women stopped holding her smile up and stopped trying to pull and hold her grand daughter up ahead of her. She let go of the girls arm and the girl vanished behind her once more, as best as her frame would allow.
“You’re the brat from the Big House, the one Phillip took in. You left after the men folk went wild and then you came out here. You’re Shell Conway’s right down to them shiny silver scales along your neck. If you’re going to push us out for the wolves, young lady, the least you can do is acknowledge us before you do it.”
Felecia found herself humbled, and for at least the time being, forgetting how her own body had betrayed her commands. “I was the great niece of the one who lived here, their magic died with them though. There is nothing I can do for either of you, no lies there.”