Flesh for Flesh (ePub)

"The illness," Agathe tells the creature through gritted teeth, "is an invisible one. You do not see it until you are on the verge of death. And I am alone, inflicted with it. In so much pain. Is that why you called me here? To kill me?" Her voice grows to a rough, tired whisper, tears fall down her round, high cheekbones. She drops to her knees, the cold ground chilling to her tender bones.

The creature does not respond in human words but instead continues to click its tongue, echoing in the night like a flock of cicadas. It watches Agathe she shakes and gargles, her wide, spooked eyes staring back as she breaths ragged gasps.

"Human. The first human I've smelled in ages...you smell...delicious." the creature murmurs, its deep, raspy voice shook her body. Its accents were warm, like the spices of the chai her mother drank, with the coolness of a British autumn. Its words rolling off its tongue with a noble cadence.

"Your scent is bitter, yet sweet. Like the first monsoon rain of after a prolonged drought. Like life clinging on to threads of hope. When has a disease and fear smelled this...intoxicating?"

Slowly, it changes forms, beginning to solidify into something more...human-like. Tall, broad-shoulders, body of a dancer. Small, yet full chest—earthy brown skin. A thick mane of ebony hair falling on its back. Feminine yet masculine. Otherworldly androgyne. The transformation was like...the birth of a night star. Sharp, deep-set hazel eyes glanced down at Agathe—its tower form bends down, now eye level with the young woman.

Eternal life? Optional. Eternal love? Guaranteed.

Thirty-Two-Year-Old Agathe has bought a home to die in. A little pink mobile in the ass—heart, the heart of a small town, Love, North Carolina. A year earlier after the death of her brother from a disease that plagues her as well, she is left to deal with her own coming death in isolation—that is, until Sariel, a creature of cosmic, otherworldly origins finds her, calls out to her. Left with a pain she can't bear and a loneliness that may kill her before the illness with, she makes a deal with the being; her body after death in exchange for the pacification of her chronic through carnal means. As their relationship deepens, Agathe is confronted with her own traumas, fears, grief, and impending death.