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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Long</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Storied</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jose</strong> <strong>Montoya</strong> 75For almost three days <strong>Jose</strong> could think <strong>of</strong> nothing but those stolen kisses. It was Saturdaybefore he realized that Eudora might not be Catholic. He had heard terrible stories growing up aboutthe strange rituals <strong>of</strong> heretics, about how much they hated Catholics, <strong>and</strong> about the degradations <strong>and</strong>tortures that they inflicted on any Catholic they could lay their h<strong>and</strong>s upon. <strong>Jose</strong> at first thought itimpossible that Eudora could be such a bloodthirsty heretic, but then slight doubts began to grow. Sheadmitted to a fascination with bodies, <strong>and</strong> wanted every gruesome detail <strong>of</strong> his injury; perhaps nursingwas just a convenient cover for her. And her eyes were otherworldly, he admitted to himself.Perhaps she was possessed with a demon <strong>of</strong> some sort.He found this thought strangely arousing, <strong>and</strong> decided that even if she was a demon or abloodthirsty heretic, he wouldn't care. Being eviscerated on some strange altar would be worth it, if hecould just have another kiss. This led him to one bizarre scene after another as he imagined thecountless ways in which she might torture him. As the scenes grew ever more graphic, each morehorridly fascinating than the last, another detail began to emerge in <strong>Jose</strong>'s mind: At the end <strong>of</strong> everyscenario, La Catrina stood waiting for him.Finally <strong>Jose</strong> found himself caught in a scene from which he could not escape. Eudora led himinto a room lit by fifty c<strong>and</strong>les, <strong>and</strong> he allowed her to tie him spread-eagled against a wooden X setagainst a bare stone wall. Everything in the room seemed draped in red satin, shimmering in thec<strong>and</strong>lelight until it disappeared into the dark shadows that made the walls disappear. Eudora wassmiling at him, her lips as red as the satin, her blue eyes holding him hypnotized as they always did. Along knife appeared in her h<strong>and</strong>, curved <strong>and</strong> sinister, reflecting so much c<strong>and</strong>lelight that the bladeappeared to be made <strong>of</strong> flame.She cut away his clothing with quick slashes, leaving him naked, <strong>and</strong> stepped back to admirehim. Her smile <strong>and</strong> her eyes both grew wider as she once again approached <strong>Jose</strong>. He was afraid, <strong>and</strong>
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