Page 159 of Ash and Poison

“You won’t get away with this,” Ellis spat. “You’re nothing. You deserve to die like all the bitches who died before you.”

Layne punched her again, harder this time, making Ellis scream.

“Well, from where I’m standing, my chances of getting away are higher than yours,” I said, rubbing my hands together.

“Those ugly… useless…”

“Tch. Shut up. Nobody wants to hear what you have to say,” Layne hissed, pressing the knife under Ellis’s eyes, making her cry tears of red. “Your story isn’t important now.”

“Shall we do this then, Ellis?”

I pulled the vial filled with violet flowers from my pocket. “They’re so beautiful, aren’t they? You already know how beautiful poisons can be.

Ellis strained against the chain, shaking her head, cursing, screaming.

“You loved mercury, didn’t you? Now, I’ll do to you what you did to Riley, Millie, and all the other girls.”

I slipped on the gloves Layne had packed along with the poisons. One must be careful when dealing with such delicate flowers.

Ellis’s eyes widened.

“I won’t kill you,” I murmured, rolling the delicate, violet petals between my gloved fingers. “I’ll take something more important from you. Control. Power. He felt powerful when he raped them, and you—” I tilted my head, watching her struggle. “You controlled the powerful predator. You got high off of turning these girls into nothing but a tool. Something to use, something to control and break. And you watched him rape them, destroy them.” I wanted blood too. This time, I wanted more. “Did you watch them from this chair?”

She grunted.

“He wanted them, and I made him kill them.”

“So you’re just a jealous bitch?”

“I am—” Ellis started, and Layne punched her.

“We have heard enough. Like I said, your story is not important. You’re just as pathetic as him.”

“I’m not pathetic. Holland would have killed me at first, you know, but I made him my puppet. How could I match that?” She scoffed, looking derisively at Holland.

Her smile was full of unsaid horror.

Layne choked her, making her smile wider.

I crushed the petals, staining the gloves purple. “Aconitum,” I said. “It’s a neurotoxin. It won’t kill you. Not right away. But it will paralyze you. First, your fingers, then your arms, your legs, until you’re trapped in your own body. Like a fucking statue made of stone.”

Her breathing turned ragged, and her smile fell.

“You like control, Ellis?” I leaned in, my lips just by her ear. “Let’s see how you feel when it’s taken away from you.”

Ellis thrashed, her body twisting against the restraints as Layne pried her lips apart. Screams turned into gurgled gasps.

I shoved the petals past her teeth. She clamped her mouth shut, eyes blazing.

“Swallow it,” I hissed. She spat it. I gave Layne a look as I poured another dose. Layne pinched her nose closed with one hand, and pressed the other against her throat.

Her eyes widened in panic as she couldn’t breathe anymore. She swallowed, her eyes burning with desperation.

I fed her just enough aconitum to keep her trapped, not enough to kill. I wanted her to feel it, to feel the pain, the helplessness. I wanted her conscious, and aware. I wanted her to know exactly how powerless she was.

I wanted her to be afraid.

“That’s for Riley. You might have killed her, but she still won. Riley and Millie unraveled your perfect crime. They did it, one from beyond the grave and the other from the prison you made for her.” I laughed. “This… is justice.”