Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore #1) - K.A. Merikan Page 0,138

he could take in the entirety of his sanctuary, Adam looked around with a new set of eyes. Mr. Nowak was a grub crawling at his feet until it found the dagger. He scrambled back to his feet and dashed for the altar. He raised his hand to strike the blade into Emil’s chest.

“Here is your offering! Take it and let us prosper!”

It was as if time slowed down again. Adam breathed in the scent of life booming around him despite the murky color of the dead leaves. Everything, from the worms under his feet to the humans kneeling before him, was subject to his will. Far off, a group of deer watched him through the trees, ready to bow to their master and, unlike the people so intent on bringing him back for their selfish gain, they didn’t expect anything in return.

Those four bugs did not deserve a place in his green cathedral.

Adam fell forward, protectively bowing his body. He ripped off Nowak’s arm with a single snap of his jaws.

Red, vital blood flooded his tongue, and as he crunched down the bone and swallowed the whole thing along with the dagger the world around him became rich with color.

Nowak screamed, falling back as Mrs. Golonko stumbled in her efforts to run from the clutches of the god she claimed to worship.

The fat morsel whetted Chort’s appetite, making Emil’s scent so potent hunger became like spikes drilled into his innards. He couldn’t have him though. Not yet, at least, but the flesh and blood of the wastrels who’d for years benefitted from all their misfortune falling on Adam’s beloved was his to take.

“Please, no! I just did what my father told me to!” Koterski yelled, but Chort knew that this man’s heart had no conscience or morals. He’d been the one to set Emil’s house on fire, and so Chort wouldn’t have mercy for him either.

He blocked Koterski’s way in a single leap and drove a horn through his midsection, digging claws into the soft, delicious insides. The maggot who’d deceived Adam just to drive him away from his lover and cause strife did not deserve to prosper.

Koterski’s scream was cut short when Chort ripped him off the horn and crushed his head between his jaws before digging into the torso. The young meat was a treat on his tongue, and he threw the lower part of Koterski’s body into the air before swallowing it in one gulp when it fell into his wide open mouth.

He went for Nowak next, tearing into the plump flesh before sinking his teeth into meat marbled with fat. And his soul? Delightfully corrupt with bribery and blackmail as it sizzled into nothingness in the pit of Adam’s fiery belly.

He wouldn’t let the women go either, but was struck by Mrs. Golonko’s vile nature when he saw her pushing Mrs. Janina over to get ahead. The older lady fell, but even in the mud, Mrs. Janina still screamed with fury and grabbed Mrs. Golonko’s ankle to bring her down as well.

Adam used to see Mrs. Janina as a bitter but decent enough woman, but no amount of cake or occasional support could make up for the fact that she’d been ready to make a human sacrifice out of Emil. Chort tore her in two pieces, and as the fragrant blood splashed Emil’s chest and the altar, Adam sucked more out of her juicy flesh before satisfying his hunger with the meat too.

Mrs. Golonko had already made it out of the sanctuary, but he took his time chewing through ligaments and bones before leaping above the thuyas, out of the sacred grove. The withered leaves cushioned his landing, and once he caught the fugitive’s scent—nauseatingly sweet with perfume—no amount of offerings and prayer could save her.

She was just past a nearby hill, cowering under a fallen tree in the hope that he might miss her presence. The pathetic wretch had no idea that Chort could hear her every breath. Every heartbeat.

The expensive things she used to elevate her station in the eyes of other people meant nothing to him, and they wouldn’t help her once he’d decided on her fate. He couldn’t help himself though and intended to play with his food. Pretending he’d been duped, he looked the other way at first but spun around when she tried to crawl away, and dragged her through the mud as soon as he reached the pathetic hideout.

“No! Please! I never wanted to participate in any of