ILLUSTRATIONS Suzy Bannion, Portrait of a snow white face . . . Frontispiece Torrential rain in Freiburg, Germany . . . . . . 4 The red façade of the Dance Academy . . . . . . 12 A girl runs through the rain, through the forest . . . . 13 Lightning, shadow of an ax raised . . . . . . . 13 Face pressed against a black window . . . . . . 20 Knife tearing heart tissue . . . . . . . . . 21 Hallway draped in red velvet, a flash of dizzying light . . 28 Suzy falls to the floor, blood dripping from her mouth . . 30 Poisoned wine, Suzy sleeps in her little bed . . . . . 36 Suzy and Sara tread water, whisper . . . . . . 37 Black heels crunch writhing larvae . . . . . . 40 Heavy breathing behind the curtain . . . . . . 44 A pulsing light emanates from the secret door . . . . 53 Straight razor lifts the lock . . . . . . . 56 Room full of razor wire, tightening . . . . . . . 58 Poison poured down the sink . . . . . . . . 62 Suzy reaches for the blue Iris . . . . . . . . 65 Hiding behind the velvet curtains . . . . . . . 67 Eyes run through with pins . . . . . . . 69 The coven learns of Suzy’s hiding place . . . . . . 72 The bedroom of Helena Marcos, head of the coven . . . 75 Suzy grabs the crystal plumage from the peacock . . . 76 Lightning flash, the outline of the invisible witch . . . 78 Crystal peacock feather through the neck . . . . . 80 Glass doorknob explodes before Suzy’s hand . . . . 83 The fall of the Dance Academy . . . . . . . 85 MAPS Map of Freiburg, Germany and the nearby Black Forest (inside front cover) Floor map of the Dance Academy, including path to the witches’ quarters (as illustrated by footsteps) . . . . . . 90
Jayme Russell is the author of two chapbooks: PINKification (Dancing Girl Press, 2017) and PINKpoems (forthcoming Adjunct Press, 2017). Her writing can also be found in Black Warrior Review, Diagram, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere. She received her MA in Poetry from Ohio University and her MFA in Poetry from The University of Notre Dame.
