Several Wolders stood in a barren lot surrounding a large tripod. Dark splatter covered the legs. Silas spotted Leo sitting on the hood of his tiny car. A fold-up table sat off to the side, burdened with refreshments. He had arranged a cheese and charcuterie board and had champers on ice. Like most fae, Leo had a taste for finer things. Silas stretched out and wrapped his arms around him. He had always been petite, much to his annoyance. However, Leo welcomed the affection and draped a quilt over their laps.
"You've honestly outdone yourself."
"It's nothing. Figured we might as well enjoy ourselves." Leo paused, picking. absentmindedly at the hem of his sweater. "Do you think it will be particularly gruesome tonight?"
"I imagine if you asked Aldo to, he would make it his most gruesome slaughter yet." Leo rolled his eyes in response.
"This land is certainly demanding." Leo turned introspective. "Hardly unreasonable given what it has had to endure."
"Polluted in every possible way."
Aldo's green sedan whipped around the corner. An upbeat pop song played on the radio. His typical manic smirk was firmly in place. He relished the wet work. Popping his trunk, Aldo heaved out Hall, who appeared to have a collar around his neck.
Silas chuckled, "Aldo has never been known for his subtly."
Aldo attached a leash to the collar. Aldo pulled on the leather leash; pathetic whimpers were the only resistance Hall offered. Nora stepped up to tie ropes around his feet. Hall was dragged off his feet with a sharp tug and strung upside down. "You lived like a pig, and now you die like a pig." Aldo wielded a long curved knife with casual grace.
He circled Hall's flailing body but turned to address his sparse audience. "Tonight, we drain the evil from this man to fertilize this land."
"He does realize it's the third slaughter this month. I think we all have the hang of it by now." Silas whispered in Leo's ear while Leo topped up his glass of champagne.
"And miss the opportunity to hear his own voice? Not likely." Leo said.
Without further theatrics, Aldo dragged the knife firmly across Hall's throat. Vibrant red blood arched through the air. Wetting the arid ground. Rather than pooling on the surface, the hungry earth quickly consumed the blood.
Aldo swaggered over to Leo and Silas. His eyes looked glassy, intoxicated from the slaughter. He hopped up behind Leo, dragging the smaller man into his lap.
"Any bets on what will come through? I'm hoping for some sort of wildflower, but that may be overly optimistic," Leo mused.
"Hopefully, it will be more interesting than that one weed that came through at Maria Lopez's slaughter. That was anticlimactic as fuck," Aldo said, around a mouthful of cheese. "Admit it. Even you were disappointed, Silas, and you get excited over almost anything green."
Suddenly, a thin dusting of clovers covered the lot.
Leo jumped down to pluck one, looking at it critically. "Technically, still a weed," he said.
