The Stargazers Read Online Free PDF

it to Oleander to get it right. She had cured him of a quite embarrassing venereal disease from fraternizing in the village brothels behind his wife’s back, and he wasn’t interested in the possibility of it coming back .
    “I told you I needed something from your memory , dear sister . This is how I pla n to get it.”
    “But… but I don’t understand.” Holly had begun to quiver inside her too-baggy dress, but she made no move to escape. She knew better.
    Oleander straddled her sister’s legs and leaned forward, pointing the tip of the needle toward Holly’s eye. “Now it isn’t going to hurt … m uch. I’ve laced your coffee with a tincture of mandrake. And you won’t feel any pain once the needle passes through into your brain. I just need a tiny sample. Now hold still.”
    Holly shrank back against the chair to avoid Oleander’s grip, but it was useless “I don’t want it. Don’ t do this, Oly! I can remember whatever you need me to remember!”
    Oleander brayed harsh laughter in her sister’s face. “You’ve rendered your brain useless with so much weed, you can’t even remember to wipe your own arse half the time. I’ll be lucky if I extract something more useful than oatmeal. Now be quiet and let me do this. If you move or fuss, it will only be worse for you.”
    Holly whimpered for a moment and then stilled herself. Oleander placed her hand on the woman’s forehead, which was still smooth and free of blemishes, for she had been too feeble to mother a child of her own. Just as Oleander was about to pierce the delicate flesh in the corner of her sister’s eye, Holly screamed out. “No!”
    Holly thrust her hands into Oleander’s gut, and Oleander fell backward, landing squarely on her rump with an audible “ Oof !” Holly scrambled out of the chair and shambled toward the stairs, but even while stunned and nearly blind with fury—the nerve of the bitch!—Oleander was faster. She reached out and snagged the barest corner of Holly’s dress as she passed, but it was all that was necessary to trip her up. Holly pitched forward and landed with a thud on the splintery plank floor. Oleander leapt onto her sister’s back before the hag could attempt another escape.
    Holly writhed and screamed, but years of salvia smoke had rendered her voice too hoarse to carry very far. It squeaked like a rusty hinge. Oleander grabbed a handful of Holly’s coarse hair, pulled her head back, and slammed it into the floor. Her struggles ceased almost instantly.
    Oleander checked the pulse on Holly’s neck just to be sure she didn’t do more than knock the daft cunt out. “Isn’t this just a merry fuck?” she muttered under her breath as she turned Holly onto her back. The woman was already snoring. It wasn’t ideal to do this while the person was unconscious, but then Oleander realized there wasn’t much difference between when Holly was awake or asleep. This potion probably wouldn’t work worth a damn , but it would have to do. Holly was the only sister who knew many of Nanny Lily’s secrets, including how to open the wooded path to the Tree of Doors.
    Lily had thought it was good insurance to share her most protected thoughts with the family moron and then access them via hypnosis later. Oleander had never been much for hypnotizing people. She lacked the patience, and frankly it didn’t involve enough manual work for her tastes. But this… this was definitely more her style.
    Oleander sat on her sister’s chest and opened one of her closed eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “Just a quick swipe and out.” Not that she needed to steel herself. Her hands were as steady as ever, and even if she’d slipped a bit too much with the needle and rendered her sister into a permanent state of catatonia, the world wouldn’t really be losing all that much, now would it?
    The tip of the needle slid into the corner of Holly’s eye, meeting little resistance. Holly moaned but remained asleep. Once the steel