The Marigold Killer

They reminded her of fireflies.

She watched them twist and turn, plunging to the ground before exploding outward in an array of colors.

She sat there on the stool and watched, it was beautiful, the way the souls ripped themselves from their bodies.

Chaotic.

She licked her lips and leaned back against the wall, the corners lifting upwards into a smile as she gazed down at the ground. The broken bodies littered the floor, blood seeping from the lacerations made upon their skin. Broken glass covered the floor, the light from the sun caused them to glitter like diamonds. The smell of death and decaying bodies always brought her back home.

Breathing in roughly through her nose, she got up and stretched, her body cracking as she bent this way and that. Bending down she grabbed the small bag of teeth and fingernails and stepped over the bodies. It was currently 11 in the morning, the shop of which she broke into lay in the middle of the town square, by the time the people of this quaint little town woke up, she would be long gone, the only evidence of her stay would be the marigolds she petaled over their bodies.

The marigold killer they called her. Was it so bad that after she was done with the mutilation of her victims and the soul snatching she wanted to honor their lives by laying down the flowers of her goddess and her island. Hailing from the northern parts of Wantanobe, her island lay in the hidden parts of the jungle, seperated by the body of water called obitus. The black rushing water had tourists curious and the others scared, it's a known fact that humans fear the unknown, the need to make everything logical a core part of their making.

She smiled as she got into her car, 1935 auburn 851, the car was old and worn, rust appeared sporadically on the exterior. The burgundy paint chipped in some places but she loved it anyway. Running her thumbs across the steering wheel, she waiting until dust begin to pick up before shooting off down the road. She thought about the people left behind, her tongue poking out from her lips as she absent mindely began bouncing in her seat.

2 old ladies, 5 young teenagers, and a pregnant woman with an unborn baby. She stalked them all. The old ladies souls were sluggish and old, withered in color as they lay on the ground of the glass bottled they were kept in. The young teenager's souls were vibrant, bouncing off of the walls in hopes of getting away, not yet knowing that they died. Her eyes took on a darker color, as she eyed the last one. Dimming and brightening over and over again like a flashlight, the soul of the mother stayed in the corner, mourning the loss of her baby.

Babies didn't have souls yet, not until they reached 5 months, until then, they're just husks, bodies empty until a soul perfectly tailored to the mothers liking was fit. The human world was just a cog, a simple toy machine that played its part perfectly, when the leaching day has come, these pitiful people would have no clue. Smirking she turned left veering off of the road and onto the sand-packed ground of the desert.

Stopping among a dead tree, she got out and grabbed the jar of souls. The graying tree sat surrounded by pebbles and bones. Dropping to her knees, she placed her hand upon her thighs and bowed, parting her lips she murmured her prayer "Deam mihi cara, venire me ad te in sempiternum, spero, hoc satis esse contenta, ut benedicat mihi anima tua ut perdat permanere in hoc mundo." Lifting her head, she reached into her boot and pulled out her knife, slicing a line across her palm, she shifted forward and placed her hand upon the bark. With her eyes closed, she focused all of her energy into her palm, a golden glow emitted from her hand transferred to her blood, the red liquid now glowing golden with power. Taking her hand away from the tree, she watched as blood moved upwards, spreading out between the cracks of the tree before disappearing completely from her sight.

Slowly the tree grew, the gray color disappearing as branches sprouted from its trunk. She closed her eyes and relished in the warmth the oozed from the air around them before opening her eyes. Standing tall and proud, a giant oak tree stood before her, marigold petals falling softly. Eyes glowing with pride, she quickly uncorked the bottle and let the souls drift out. Now she would wait, and luckily she did not have to wait long.

Black vultures launched themselves from the shadows of the trees, their beaks opened as they captured the wayward souls in their mouths, eyes glowing red as they all disappeared behind the marigolds.

Standing tall and proud, she did not let her anxiety show. It seems as if time has slowed, her heart pounding inside of her chest, if her goddess did not accept her sacrifice, she would be slain here, her body torn open by her lady's vultures and picked apart like roadkill. Slowly losing hope, she started to succumb to her ill devised death, it wasn't until she was upon her knees that she heard a small whisper in her ear.

"Tu mihi benedictionem meam illud de puero et cum viribus meis."

Smiling she felt a kiss upon her cheek, eyes still closed she opened her arms and welcomed the icy chill that washed over her body, she welcomed the spasms that came and she welcomed the shifting of her bones beneath her skin. Hours passed as the pain slowly faded. Rising, she wiped the dust and sweat from her palms before opening her eyes, appearance-wise nothing seems to have changed, her eyes remained the same color of brown, her skin the same mocha brown it was before, her hair the same curly ringlets of black.

Looking down at her hand, she watched as her fingers bent and grew, fur sprouted from her skin as her nails grew and hooked into talons before seemingly disappearing at will.

"Yes, this will do nicely" she whispered before looking back at the tree. Back to the dying grey oak that it was before, bowing and pressing a kiss against the bark, she turned and walked back to her car, a sadistic grin making its way to her black-painted lips.

The humans better prepare themselves.

The marigold killer has just gotten an upgrade, and she can't wait to show the world what has changed.