{"id":253248,"date":"2026-07-13T02:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-taste-for-blood-jason-p-crawford\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T02:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:41:17","slug":"a-taste-for-blood-jason-p-crawford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/a-taste-for-blood-jason-p-crawford\/","title":{"rendered":"A Taste For Blood – Jason P Crawford"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The great dining space had transformed into a staging area, with a half- dozen stations holding different problems that needed to be addressed. \u201cAre we still agreed to have the ceremony outdoors?\u201d Alaric passed over a document, a letter signed with a flowery hand. \u201cMadame Vivienne insists that she repay you for your work on the Glass case. She wants us in her establishment.\u201d Millie shook her head and tucked her skirts underneath her.<\/p>\n

\u201cVivienne\u2019s lovely, but there is no world in which I subject myself to the kind of over- perfumed, deafening performances she hosts. I can\u2019t.\u201d \u201cI thought as much.\u201d He tapped the signature. \u201cBut you\u2019ll have to write to decline or else she\u2019ll feel slighted.\u201d \u201cHow many letters is that I need to write?\u201d Alaric\u2019s lips pursed and moved as he counted to himself. \u201cHmm. Twelve? I think it\u2019s twelve, so far.\u201d \u201cTwelve.\u201d Millie rubbed her eyes. \u201cI just woke up and I\u2019m already set to go back to sleep.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t hit me with that so early.\u201d \u201cApologies, love. There\u2019s just a lot of letters to go through. I didn\u2019t want to do it by myself.\u201d She favored him with a warm smile and squeezed his arm. Such a kind way of saying that he\u2019d been waiting for her to be ready for a long time. \u201cIt\u2019ll be fine.\u201d He let go and picked up the next envelope. \u201cOh. Tatianna is willing to sell us pastries at cost, as long as we let her hang her storefront-\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re not eating Tatianna\u2019s pastries at our wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millie tapped the table. \u201cIf we don\u2019t engage Margot for this, we\u2019re not getting married.\u201d He laughed and put up his hands. \u201cPeace! You don\u2019t need to threaten me! But can Margot handle the order size? Thirty-two people\u2014not counting any extras they might drag along\u2014is quite a bit for an older woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll do it and she\u2019ll love every moment of it.\u201d Millie smiled, imagining the fierce lines of Margot\u2019s face as she worked on dough and batter. \u201cAnd she\u2019d never let me live it down if I didn\u2019t ask her.\u201d \u201cThat can be your mission for the morning.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019ll you be doing?\u201d He nodded to the next pile of letters. \u201cPayment requests that need fulfilling. I\u2019ll have to go to the bank.\u201d \u201cPayment requests?\u201d Millie tilted her head, frowning. What had he already bought?<\/p>\n

He seemed to sense the follow-up question before she asked it.<\/p>\n

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ater dripped from the gutters into the rain barrel outside, a persistent, repetitive drone that dug its way into Millie\u2019s ears. She pulled her hat down in the back, putting the felt between her head and the offending noise. Her thin gloves whispered against the fabric and her skin, something that brought her comfort even in the midst of such grotesquerie. In one corner, a soggy stray cat bristled, hissing in defense of its newly claimed territory. The bloated pig corpse on the table in front of her smelled of internal rot and putrescence.<\/p>\n

Her nostrils flared behind the handkerchief tied to her face and her eyes sought out any indicator, any clue as to what caused the creature\u2019s death. No wounds. No bruising. She poked a finger at the pig\u2019s side, feeling the loss of elasticity. Normal decay. Behind her, near the farmstead door, Theodore and Cassius mumbled to one another. The two rancher brothers stood at the threshold, seemingly unwilling to come any closer to Millie\u2019s operation, exchanging glances every time she moved or did something new.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said five?\u201d She didn\u2019t look at them, instead pulling back the swine\u2019s lips and examining its teeth. The gums had only started to retreat, but the infection was obvious, with bits of slop stuck between gum and enamel. \u201cFive dead?\u201d \u201cMmm.\u201d That was Cassius; the cleft in his mouth made his voice high and nasal, more unpleasant than the drip-drip-drip. \u201cFive. That\u2019s right, lady.\u201d \u201cDoctor.\u201d She pulled out the pig\u2019s tongue.<\/p>\n

Small sores decorated the thick membranes, the beginnings of rot showing. Maggots squirmed inside the dimpled skin. \u201cDoctor Colburn.\u201d When no one answered, she paused, turning her eyes on the two men. Cassius shifted in place and glanced at his older brother Theodore, a burly man with a greying beard and sharp eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard her.\u201d Theodore\u2019s voice rumbled in his chest. \u201cYou call the lady \u2018Doctor,\u2019 like she expects. Deserves. Understand?\u201d After Cassius\u2019s nod, Millie turned back to her examination. The insect whines made her skin crawl, but she didn\u2019t show the discomfort\u2014better to keep it hidden until she could deal with it later. She glanced at the hissing cat and snarled at it, sending the creature scrabbling to find cover. Then, before the farmers could remark on that, she tossed them another observation. \u201cThey died six days ago.<\/p>\n

You found them collapsed at the trough.\u201d This time, Theodore responded. \u201cAyuh, doctor. How\u2019d you know?\u201d She didn\u2019t answer. It wouldn\u2019t matter, anyway; these two would never remember. Moving to the animal\u2019s haunch, she lifted a leg, tilting her head to hear the tissues moving. Cassius couldn\u2019t help himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you listening for?\u201d She ignored him and raised her eyebrow at Theodore. \u201cWho\u2019ve you made angry lately?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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