LELIA

    

    …inside her the winds blew hot and dry and wild and they were fearsome, awesome, magnificent. Blood sang in her ears. Dogs howled. She did not think, she just pressed on, some great wide hand propelling her through the stricken crowd and they were there together, Dodgson and the other one and the three women, three this time, three of them now, their circle widened by one and the dark one had his lips, she had them for a second, she had his mouth which was Lelia’s not hers and she saw the heads turn and all eyes on her eyes, the eyes of the English whore as well but she knew that the way to kill the Hydra was one head at a time so she walked to the dark one who had put her mouth on his and she jabbed the cigarette into her chin, pushed it into flesh and made it sizzle.