Page 13 of Cherry Moon

“Want to bake me a cake?” She chuckled again, something taking shape in her right hand. “I love your cakes, cakes, cakes, cakes, cakes.” Thick globules of drool slithered down her chin. “Give me cakes. Give me cakes.” She sucked the drool in as a huge chunk of glass solidified in her hand.

I backed away, bumping into the table on my side of the bed. “I… I…”

Pick up the damn katana!

Mama Rita held up the glass. “But first, I take the other arm.” She bared her teeth for a moment, two of them falling out.

My stomach roiled, my brain screaming at me to do something other than wait to be attacked. But my synapses were lost in wet mud. Unable to fire, confused, scared, fucked up. All the old traumas came rushing back, memories of what she did to me, of what I went through. What I lost.

My left arm ached in memory of the pain from her…hacking.

First, she’d kill me, then she’d take G. That should spur me into action, but nope. It only made me sit down shakily on the table, knocking the lamp and my baking book to the floor.

“Fuck…” I rasped, gripping the pine edge with both hands.

Too much happiness. Too much peace. This is what I got, right? There had to be a yanking of the rug moment. People like me didn’t get to have peace. After all, I’d killed for money, I’d done my fair share of fucked up shit. Why should I get to be happy and married?

I’m gonna lose him…

I’m gonna lose everything.

Tears broke free, hot and frustrating. I didn’t want to sob in front of this monster, but there I went, beginning to lose control, sniffling and making a fool of myself.

“Aw, sweets. Poor you. Don’t be scared. You’re the rot to be cleansed. When you’re gone, there will no more worries for you.” Mama Rita took a step forward, her sandal deadly close to the tip of my katana. She noticed, hissing at the blade.

That choked off my sobs.

“Wretched thing!” she spat. “Soon you will fade away, soon the path will be clear.” She closed her eyes, sniffing at the air. “The cherries. Oh, the cherries. Do you smell them? Fruits and blossoms and the pretty moon. Who knew? Who knew? Who knew?”

What the hell did that mean?

Take the katana.

Take her down.

I wiped my eyes, anguish taking a back seat. One stab and her essence would be mine, the rest of her dead.

My weapons were in retirement for the most part, training aside. They didn’t do much of the energy-sucking nowadays. The Christmas Wanyūdō was the last time they had been seriously put to work.

Until now, I guess.

“Fruits and blossoms and the pretty moon for all.” Her eyes shot open, locked onto me, flooded with shadow. “And your arm. Chew the bone, suck the marrow, bathe in the blood.”

With a terrifying howl, she charged, glass held above her head.

Running on my base survival instincts, I hit the floor, landing on my side. I didn’t give her a chance to lay a finger on me, snatching the katana off the carpet.

“The Taker dies!” she screamed.

Yeah, I was The Taker. The name made total sense.

I drove the blade into her stomach, twisting it. “Bye, bitch.”

Her screaming choked off, her eyes wide with shock. The glass slipped from her grasp, landing on my bed.

“Taker…” she whispered, staring down at me.

My blade shimmered with a white glow. Three pulses of the white light followed, a twinkle of gold in the tip. Essence taken, it gleamed in the steel, the teal hilt humming.