The Poet of her Dark Heart

The Poet of her Dark Heart

by the Anchorite

 

 

 

Cadbury Cadsworth chuckled as he read yet another story of the London Butcher, the mysterious serial killer that terrorized the city. The constabulary had no leads on the identity of the brutal murderer so named because he used meat cleavers, carving knives, and other butcher’s tools to coammit his ghastly crimes.

 

Cadsworth took satisfaction in the thought that the clueless authorities would never apprehend him as he ventured on his killing sprees at leisure. He began his path by eliminating his parents. He killed Dad to inherit the Cadsworth estate and he killed Mum for naming him Cadbury.

 

He preferred the shortened name Cad and his place in society as an idle young gentleman living his life after the tragic death of his parents. Subsequent deaths grew easier after those first two and just last night, Cad killed and scalped a redhead in the East End.  He finished his morning tea and resolved to prowl the streets at night after enjoying the beautiful spring day.

Sister Charlotte held the man down so that Sister Nora could slash their victim’s throat and then drain his blood to offer in sacrifice to the Death Goddess. The Church of England attempted to suppress pagan practices, but they could not shut down the Coven. Sister Nora recited the ritual incantation that Sister Charlotte echoed. They both carved the sacred runes into the corpse consecrating this gift to their dark mistress. The Coven committed ritual murders all over England and, just like the mysterious London Butcher; the authorities had no leads on what they erroneously described as satanic slayings by a killer dubbed the Devil’s Assassin. The police’s public statements and newspaper stories described their handiwork as if it were the work of a single killer rather than a Coven. Sister Charlotte supposed that is why they focused their investigation in the wrong direction. After completing their night’s work, the Coven leader Sister Lilith assigned Sister Charlotte to the next target that they identified. She was to seduce the young, wealthy bachelor Cadbury Cadsworth to gain his confidence and then slay him when the Death Goddess’s star shone brightest at mid-month.

Cad Cadsworth thought he would remain a confirmed bachelor for life, as he had far more interest in killing women than in developing relationships with them. He never thought he would see the day, but he had fallen in love with this enchanting woman Charlotte. She captivated his attention so strongly that he had not engaged in any nocturnal activities all month. The city newspapers ran reports conveying relief that the London Butcher lay dormant, but expressed unease at how long he would remain quiet. With the additional free time, Cad returned to his creative roots. As a wealthy lord’s scion, Cad attended the most elite schools and studied drama and poetry. For the first time since secondary education, Cad wrote poems inspired by his muse Charlotte. She enjoyed his affection and always asked Cad to read his latest compositions in his dramatic voice.

Charlotte spent half the night walking arm-in-arm with Cad. She looked up at the stars and the large, bright spot that signaled that tonight was the night to do the deed for the Coven and their beloved Death Goddess. Charlotte placed a free hand on the hilt of her knife and had second thoughts of her mission, as she never expected to develop genuine affection for her mark. Cadbury Cadsworth was supposed to be an arrogant, idle young nobleman who no one would miss but Sister Charlotte found that he had a genuine poetic soul that resonated in her dark heart. She dedicated herself to bringing their dark goddess to earth to begin a new age, but now she felt conflicted. Sister Charlotte pushed aside those feelings because she could not afford to fail in her mission. She knew that if she did not do the deed then any other one of her Coven sisters would gladly step in.

Cad Cadsworth hesitated for a moment when he saw Charlotte’s free arm move in a way with which he had intimate familiarity. She had a knife hidden in her dress and he had a moment to act. The London Butcher may have been inactive for weeks, but no one could match his skill with a knife and he doubted that she could dual wield them like he did. He always carried his butcher’s tools, even when out with Charlotte. He felt a moment of anger at her betrayal and for not seeing this outcome sooner when Charlotte seemed too good to be true. She clearly did not know that she chose the worst possible victim. Cadsworth drew a knife with his left hand that he shoved into her left eye before she had time to react. He drew a second knife with his right hand that he intended to use to slash her throat, but she turned at the last second so that he only cut the side of her neck. Blood spewed from Charlotte’s wounds, but they were not immediately fatal.

Charlotte cursed herself for giving herself away, as she felt shame with herself for betraying Cad like this. She had no idea that he was so skilled with knives and had unbelievable agility. He had already taken out one of her eyes, compromising her field of vision, and almost cut her throat. She felt another slice across her abdomen, but rolled with it to make it merely a shallow cut when she had no doubt that he would have disemboweled her. With her good eye, Charlotte saw a glint of steel in a bush behind Cad. Of course! she thought. Her Coven sisters had come out this night, doubtlessly to ambush Cadsworth in case Sister Charlotte could not or would not do the deed herself. Charlotte finally drew her own knife and despite being weakened by blood loss, shoved it with full force into Cad’s boot. He howled in pain over his impaled foot that pinned him to the ground for a brief moment. Charlotte took the opportunity to run and shout for her Coven sisters to come out of hiding. She heard Cad’s own shout “Why, Charlotte?” She sighed as she did not have an answer for him.

Cad Cadsworth pulled the knife out of his foot, leaving him with an agonized limp. He did not see Charlotte, but a quick scan showed several women coming out of hiding with brandished knives. There were scores of them and deep down he knew that he could not defeat them all, but he vowed to go down fighting these harlots. Who were they? Was this his retribution for his activities as the London Butcher? Cadsworth willed himself to ignore the pain and shouted, “Have at you, then! I’ll take down the bloody lot of you.” Cad would have easily killed any one of these witches individually, but together they posed a threat. He slashed one’s throat as he wanted to do to Charlotte, but another one of the women stuck her knife in his shoulder. He fought valiantly and killed several of them, but there were too many and the outcome was not in doubt. Cad thought back to drama class when he played one of the multitude of Roman senators who stabbed Julius Caesar as he tried to not laugh at the irony. He saw Celtic runes embroidered on the dress that one of his assailants wore as he finally realized that the Devil’s Assassin was not one man, but a group of women. He muttered, “Hardly seems fair, does it?” as he took pride in doing all of his London Butcher work himself. He had previously looked forward to meeting and comparing notes with the Devil’s Assassin, and here he was on his last breath. Cad felt his vision blur with massive blood loss, so he focused his last action on crushing one of the witch’s tracheas with the satisfying snap of a broken neck being the last sound he heard. Cad Cadsworth died with a smile on his face.

Sister Charlotte emerged from her hiding place and brushed aside twigs and leaves that stuck to her dress after the ghastly scene ended. Cad Cadsworth lay dead after an epic struggle that left the entire Coven either dead or with mortal injuries. None of her sisters would survive the night, leading Charlotte to question her beliefs in the Death Goddess. She did not expect Cad to fight like a beast. Where did this ability come from? She needed medical attention herself or she would not be long for this world. Before that, however, Charlotte walked towards Cad’s prone corpse at a cautious pace to make sure that he was actually dead. The gaping chest wound confirmed his death. She knelt by him and wept, repeating “I’m sorry” as she did with the ritual chants during her prior human sacrifices. Just when she started to truly love this man, Charlotte led him to his death and her Coven sisters died with him. She now had nothing left, other than memories of how his poetry brightened her dark heart for a brief moment. She looked up at the Death Goddess’s star and the tears flowed freely.

Cad Cadsworth lay prone covered in multiple knife wounds, with the largest being his heart exposed through a chest cut open. When Charlotte knelt by him in remorseful grief, her blood and tears dripped into the emptied cavity of his heart. At the stroke of midnight, long after the former Sister Charlotte left the scene, the Death Goddess’s star burned at its brightest intensity. Cad Cadsworth stirred and sat up; amazed that he lived after death. He looked at his hands and saw shriveled, desiccated skin. A quick pat of his cheeks confirmed that his face felt the same way. He was no longer dead, but no longer truly alive. Cad Cadsworth was now something else entirely. He could not return to his former life, so he stood and thought about what he would do next. He felt various spots on his body and found that despite his horrific new appearance; he had completely healed from all wounds. At that moment inspiration struck when he saw the multiple corpses scattered around him although, to his dismay, he did not see Charlotte among the dead. Every one of these witches had a knife, so Cad whistled an old country tune as he walked through the killing field collecting all the knives. He planned to use every single one of these knives to commit a murder, which would make for the London Butcher’s glorious return after an extended holiday.