The Darkness of Bones Read Online Free Page B

back, your lovely Judith?” The slits were now lines of manipulation.
    Resigned, Jeremiah simply sighed and nodded. “Over on the book shelf …”
    Cautiously—her eyes never leaving her husband—Judithstepped backwards, her left hand reaching towards the shelf, tearing frantically at the books, causing them to tumble to the ground, their pages flapping like startled doves.
    It was the penultimate book that revealed the hidden treasure. “
The Power and the Glory?
How original,” said Judith, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Shouldn’t it be
The Powder and the Glory?
”
    “Having those packages brought to the shop is dangerous. Someone could alert the police. That weasel-faced youth had the audacity to bring the package to the shop in broad daylight.” Jeremiah sighed wearily. “Joe is getting suspicious. You can stop this. You’re a strong woman. Addiction is for the weak.”
    “Fuck that little insect, Joe!” She made a snorting sound with her nose, forcing snot down her nostrils. “You have the cheek to talk about weakness! You were addicted to religion and gods before I came along, before I taught you how fucking irrelevant they
all
are. Besides, I
am
weak—willingly weak—because the weak are cruel—
very
fucking cruel.” Wiping the snot with her bare arm, she left a snail trail on the skin.
    Jeremiah hated when she spoke like that, and felt a tiny bubble of anger threatening to surface. But he struggled to contain it, knowing she was capable of something he would not like. Resigned, he sat back in the chair.
    “It’s okay. I’m not going to stop you,” he mumbled.
    “Stop
me?
Could you? We both doubt that, don’t we?” Tearing at the parcel’s brown skin, Judith fumbled for the village of syringes and powder contained within, her eyes watching Jeremiah’s face.
    Within seconds, the powder and needles were in her hand, and she worked them expertly, giggling nervously to herself. “Heroin is a heroine. It was devised by men to destroy andenslave women. But not this woman. I do everything willingly.”
    Her movements made Jeremiah think of a tricoteuse clacking her needles, sitting at the guillotine, thriving on pain and suffering, throwing her head back with laughter as each head departed from its body.
    Ignoring Jeremiah’s accusing glare, Judith quickly attended to the task at hand, easing the needle into a pale vein. Normally, she would inject into a muscle, prolonging the rush for up to eight minutes; but he had annoyed her, the fucking sanctimonious hypocrite with his judgmental eye, and she went straight for the vein—a guaranteed instantaneous feeling of euphoria.
    Licking her lips greedily, Judith felt the surge begin, flowing steadily and gaining speed, as waves of incredible comfort flooded in. The intensity of the rush caused a reddening of her skin, bringing false life and empty promise to it. Her breathing slowed severely, almost near-death in its nothingness, while the pupils of her eyes constricted to mere pinpoints, her body going limp, relaxing for the first time in hours.
    Jeremiah relaxed also, knowing that the confrontation was over—at least for the next three to four hours, until the magic wore off.
    Walking towards Jeremiah, Judith stopped abruptly at his back, studying him with her slow-blinking eyes.
    Jeremiah could feel her shadow on the back of his neck. He imagined the bloody redness of her eyes drilling deep into his soul, searching for oily lies.
    Placing her hands gently on his shoulders, Judith squeezed, massaging his aching shoulders, almost lovingly. Jeremiah’s face relaxed, his back loosened. He felt tiny buzzes of electricity touch his skin. They were delicious, like a battery rejuvenating.
    Now was the time to tell her.
    “There was an article in today’s newspaper.”
    He felt her hands slip from his shoulders—a specific shift in interest.
    “Newspaper?” Judith turned to face him, her lips pinched, her brow wrinkling severely. She gave him