by K E O'Connor
“You won’t hurt her. I must keep her safe. I failed her before.” He held out his hands, pain and bewilderment clear on his face.
“I’m sorry, Olympus, but it’s for the best.” I smashed Mary-Sue into the fireplace, and she shattered into a dozen pieces.
Olympus raced over and grabbed the sharp pieces of porcelain and torn dress. “Why? Why did you do that?”
“Because Mary-Sue was making you act like an idiot. That thing wasn’t going to tell us anything. She was being controlled by magic, and it was getting to you.”
“She’s... dead,” Olympus roared. He reared up and grabbed me around the throat. “Why do you always have to cause trouble? Wherever you go, you’re always destroying things. You destroyed Bloom.”
Hilda leaped off my shoulder and sank her fangs into Olympus’ hand. Russell continued to dive-bomb him, squawking and scratching his face, but neither attack had any effect.
“Stop! You’re hurting me.” I formed a fireball in my hand and held it over my head. “Don’t make me use this on you.”
His gaze met mine. He dropped his hands, and his shoulders sank as he backed away.
I gasped in a breath and closed my hand, extinguishing the fireball. “Olympus, what’s the matter? The second the doll said the name Bloom, you fell apart.”
He turned away, his back to me as he stared at the fireplace. Several seconds ticked by. “My daughter’s name is Bloom.”
“Oh! I didn’t know you had any children.”
“Just the one. She’s eight years old. She... she disappeared three years ago.”
My breath whooshed out of me. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. What happened to her?”
“Bloom was stolen. I’m no longer with her mother, and it was my turn to look after her. As usual, my work interfered. I was dealing with a complicated case and working on new evidence. I had to visit a crime scene, so I took Bloom with me.”
“What kind of crime are we talking about?” I had no kids, but even I baulked at the idea of taking a little one to somewhere dangerous.
“It was nothing bad. A robbery at a country house. I thought she’d enjoy taking a ride and seeing a new place. The owner had horses, which she loves.” He hunched forward. “I turned my back for no more than twenty seconds, and she was gone.”
I had the urge to hug him, but remained where I was. “That’s a terrible thing to happen. But you can’t think that doll contained the spirit of your daughter? Is Bloom... is she dead?”
Olympus turned back, and the haunted look on his face made my heart ache. “I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. That could have been her. It sounded like her. It sounded like my Bloom. I had a chance to speak to her, but that’s gone because you destroyed the doll. That was the vessel she was using to communicate with me.”
“No, that wasn’t your daughter. That was the hex messing with you. It exploited your weakness. Some magic preys on weakness. You know this. Don’t let it trick you.”
“You don’t know that wasn’t Bloom. You didn’t give me a chance to speak to her. You took that opportunity away from me.” He pointed at the fragments of doll.
I walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I know this will be hard to hear, but your daughter was never in Mary-Sue. It was just a creepy doll.”
Olympus shrugged off my hand and stepped away. “You know nothing about me or my life. It was a mistake trying to work with you. You bring nothing but chaos and trouble.” He headed to the door, yanked it open, and walked out.
I stared after him, helplessness running through my veins like a ruined spell on all Hallows Eve.
What the heck was I supposed to do now?
Chapter 13
I jerked awake and wiped the back of my hand against my mouth.
“Don’t move.” Nugget’s butt was an inch from my face, his tail raised and bushy.
I took a very shallow breath and moved my gaze from side to side. We were back in the creepy dolls room. It was the only room in this house I’d been able to find a bed, and I’d been exhausted after my confrontation with Mary-Sue, and then having to deal with Olympus going off the rails.
I didn’t think I’d sleep once I settled in, but I must have dozed off. Now, with a cat butt in my face, I was deeply regretting it.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
There was a squeak, a thump, and something shattered.
Nugget flipped around and head-butted me hard on the forehead. “We’ve been standing guard ever since you decided to witch nap. You’re lucky to be alive. These dolls are on the attack.”
I struggled upright, and my mouth fell open as I took in the scene around the bed. I counted at least thirty destroyed dolls. Their clothing was ripped, their porcelain heads smashed in, and hair was strewn all over the place.
Sitting at the end of my bed were two very proud looking familiars. Russell had what looked like a shredded dress across his shoulders, like a superhero cape.
Nugget jumped up and curled around my neck.
“You dealt with all these dolls while I was asleep?” I said. “You should have woken me. I could have helped.”
He wriggled around on my shoulders until he was comfortable and coiled his tail around me. “We figured you needed the rest after the whole Olympus being weird thing.”
Hilda scuttled over. She sat on the back of my hand, since her usual place on my shoulder was occupied by Nugget. “I’ve enjoyed myself. I don’t like the dolls’ teeth, though. At least two of them had real human teeth in their evil little heads, and they’d been sharpened to points.”
I shuddered to think where those teeth had come from. “I appreciate the multiple saves. I owe all of you for this. Breakfast is on me.”
“For the next week,” Nugget said. “And none of that lousy tinned cat food you keep trying to give me. I keep telling you, I like fresh fish. A lightly poached piece of sea bass in a warm truffle oil will do.”
“Dream on. You know I can’t cook. But I’ll find you something nice in the tinned aisle.” My thoughts went to Olympus. I hadn’t seen him for the rest of the night. I’d looked around outside for a while, and had expected him to come back, but he didn’t show.
There was a guy in serious amounts of pain, and I didn’t like to see that. We may have our issues, but he didn’t deserve to be hurting. It saddened me that he’d lost his daughter, and I imagined he felt responsible for her disappearance.
Bloom Duke was another name to go on my list of weird things happening in Witch Haven. This darkness had to be stopped.
There was a light tap on the door.
“Uh, oh! I smell a decaying old maid with a dolly obsession and bad manners,” Nugget said.
I grimaced as I looked around at the mess. Ursa would throw a fit if she saw this. I dashed over to the door and opened it an inch.
“Oh! Hello.” Ursa’s top lip curled. “I see you survived the night.”
“I’m happy to say, we all did.”
“And my dolls were no trouble? I thought they may have played with you a little too roughly.” She tried to peer over my shoulder.
“Everything’s good.” I eased the door closed a fraction. “I was thinking about breakfast, actually. I’m starving after working all night.”
“Very well. I suppose you’ve earned it. Be downstairs in the dining room in ten minutes. Don’t expect anything much, though. I never have an appetite first thing.”
“Great. Looking forward to it. See you in a few minutes.” I shut the door before she could see any shredded dolls and turned back to my familiars. “We have to hide this carnage.”
“I don’t see why we should,” Nugget said. “This is evidence that the dolls are out of control. They should be destroyed. Even the ones that didn’t attack us last night. It’s only a matter of time before they do something evil.”
There were several angry, high-pitched squeaks from the shelves around us.
“He’s joking,” I said to the dolls.
; “No, I’m not,” Nugget muttered.
I studied the remaining dolls. I’d hoped they’d quieten down after I destroyed Mary-Sue. I figured she was the conduit toward their mischief making. Perhaps now they’d had a taste of freedom, they’d decided they didn’t want to be stuck on a shelf in a soulless room any longer. I couldn’t blame them.
“We aren’t spending another night stuck in this room,” Nugget said. “I need my cat naps. I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“And you need your sleep, or you get grumpy,” Hilda said.
“We can all catch up on our sleep another time. Let’s clear up this mess and then go down and face Ursa.” I hunted out a couple of large boxes from another room and stuffed the remains of the destroyed dolls in them.
I placed the boxes back in the room where I found them and piled a load of blankets on top. Ursa would have to understand that there were always losses in every battle, and my familiars were only defending themselves when they destroyed the dolls. Although all the shredded clothing and pulled out hair made it look like they’d had great fun doing it.
I found a bathroom, had a quick freshen up, and then headed down the stairs with my familiars. I walked into the dining room to discover a huge, dark wood antique table that sat twenty people.
Ursa was at the far end at the head of the table. She gestured to the chair to her right.
I headed over and sat down. Nugget took the seat next to me, while Russell perched on the back of the chair, and Hilda clambered onto my shoulder.
I looked at the disappointing piece of pale toast on the plate in front of me and sighed.
“What happened last night? Did you get to the bottom of my doll problem?” Ursa said.
“I thought I had. In fact, I was certain Mary-Sue was behind all this.”
“Now you’re not so sure? Do you think it could be another one of the dolls?” Ursa took a sip of black coffee. She didn’t offer me any, so my mug remained empty.
I pulled apart my toast, gave some to Russell, left a tiny piece on my shoulder for Hilda, and offered Nugget a bit, which he turned his nose up at.
Only when Ursa gave a loud sigh, did I speak.
“I encountered Mary-Sue again last night, and she was full of energy. She was also talking. Has she ever mentioned the name Bloom to you?”
Ursa pursed her lips. “No, I’ve never heard her say that name. In fact, she’s never spoken much before. What did she say to you?”
“She pretended she was a lost child named Bloom. I think she hoped I’d take pity on her and not question her to find out the truth about what turned her evil.”
“Mary-Sue’s not evil, she’s just misunderstood. You must understand that, given the life you’ve led.” Ursa arched an eyebrow.
“A point well made.” I set my toast crust down. “I’m interested in who sold you the doll. You said you’d never bought from them before. How did you come to hear about Mary-Sue?”
“I’m on numerous forums and chat groups. We love to collect antique and unusual dolls. A message was posted offering Mary-Sue for sale. Of course, I had to have her. My collection is one of the finest around and she made a wonderful addition to it.”
“Until she turned dark and decided to try to kill anyone she came into contact with,” I said.
Ursa set her mug down. “Do you think she’s hexed? I’d hate to let her go, but the troubles in the house intensified when I moved her in. I tried to contact the person I bought her from, but the message had disappeared, and the messages I sent were returned. Whoever it was, they vanished from the forum.”
“Which is suspicious. Could it have been an enemy of yours?” I said. “They posed as a seller and hexed Mary-Sue, knowing she’d cause you problems. Can you think of anyone who’d do that?” I was expecting a long list of names.
“No. I’m well liked, and I’m kind to everyone. I can’t think of anyone who’d do such a terrible thing.”
Ursa hadn’t been all that kind to me. “What about the other collectors who wanted the doll? They must have been angry you got it.”
“Collectors may be ambitious, but we’re not spiteful. No, I don’t have any enemies who’d do this to me.”
“So it was bad luck that you bought Mary-Sue?” I shook my head.
“It must have been. This is the first doll I’ve ever had trouble with.” She chewed on her thin slice of dry toast. “What do you propose to do next? If you believe there is a hex on Mary-Sue, can you remove it?”
“I, um, no. That won’t be possible.” It was far too late for that. There were probably still a few fragments of Mary-Sue left in the fireplace, but that was all. “The best thing to do is get the doll out of the house.”
“I don’t want her gone. She’s a prime collection piece.”
“A killer prime collection piece. And it could be impossible to remove the hex. I don’t know enough about the magic used on the doll, or who did it. It would take months of trial and error before I figure out a spell to reverse it.”
“So what do you suggest I do with her?”
“Get rid of Mary-Sue. Forget you ever met her.”
“I can’t. She cost too much money to give up on her.” Ursa set her hands in her lap. “There must be a way to improve her behavior. I know! I’ll perform cleansing rituals on her. That could neutralize the magic.”
“You’ll need more than a cleansing ritual.” I glanced at the door. “I’ll deal with her today. You won’t ever have to see Mary-Sue again.”
“No! She’s my doll. I’ll try cleansing her and see how that goes. I’m not giving up on her.”
I dabbed up toast crumbs on the pad of my finger. It was confession time. “I have bad news. Mary-Sue attacked me last night. I, um, I had to destroy her.”
Ursa’s eyes bugged wide. “You... killed my precious doll?”
“First off, Mary-Sue can’t be killed. She was an object. Admittedly, a horribly hexed object, but she wasn’t alive. And secondly, she tried to kill me.”
Ursa’s bottom lip wobbled. “What did you do to her? I insist on seeing her body.”
“Oh, you really don’t want to see her. She’s in a bad way. You see, Mary-Sue lunged at me. And she was having a bad effect on Olympus. I had to act quickly to destroy the threat.”
“Olympus Duke was in my house? I don’t allow gentlemen callers in the middle of the night. I hope you and him weren’t—”
“No! I have no interest in Olympus. He was just helping me out. He’d been dealing with the gnomes, and once he was finished with them, he offered me a hand with the dolls. Then he started acting weirdly around Mary-Sue, so I had to smash her. There’s not much left. She’s beyond repair.”
“You smashed her!” Ursa shuddered. “You’re a terrible witch. You’ve destroyed an expensive, precious asset.”
“To help you! Your life was being ruined because of that malicious doll. She could have killed you in your sleep.”
Ursa was silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on her plate. “Was there no other way?”
“Without knowing who hexed her and why, she’d have kept being a problem. I know it’s tough to hear, but destroying her was a kindness. Mary-Sue was suffering, too.”
Nugget stifled a laugh and hid his face behind my head.
Ursa’s expression was glum. “Well, I suppose if this has fixed the problems in my house, that’s the price I’ll have to accept. But no more damaging my dolls.”
I nodded, my thoughts on the ruined heap of dolls I’d woken up to. Something felt wrong about this hexing mystery. If Mary-Sue was the cause of the trouble in this house, then the rest of the dolls shouldn’t have bothered us in the night. Should I tell Ursa her problems weren’t over and there were more ruined dolls to discover?
No, it was just a residual of the hex stirring things up. The dolls would soon settle. And Ursa had so many of them, she wouldn’t miss a few.
Something metallic clattered to the floor outside the dining room.
Ursa jumpe
d out of her seat and stared at the closed door. “Is Olympus still in here?”
“Not that I know of.” I hopped up and followed Ursa to the door.
Russell flew behind us, while Nugget remained on my shoulders, and Hilda balanced on my hand.
Ursa yanked open the door and then leaped back, almost knocking into me.
“Eek!” Hilda said.
“Wow! You don’t see that every day,” Nugget said.
“You sure don’t,” I whispered.
A life-sized suit of armor, complete with sword waving in its hand, was righting itself from the floor. The visor was up, and two glowing red eyes looked at me.
Ursa slammed the door shut. She turned and glared at me. “You destroyed Mary-Sue. You said that would be an end to my problems. That thing out there should not be moving.”
I winced and bit my bottom lip. “Maybe there’s more than one problem in your house. After all, it is built on a burial ground.”
“That’s not an issue. The dead aren’t rising and demanding the house be moved. You can’t blame your failure on the location of Gravesend Manor.”
I wanted to. I doubted very much whether people had been happy about their dearly departed being covered over by this creepy monstrosity.
“Or it could be the residual after-effects of the hex,” I said. “I’ll keep working on the problem.”
Ursa shook her head violently. “No! No more of your lies. You damaged my precious collection of dolls, you destroyed Mary-Sue, and my house is still troubled. You’re a charlatan.”
I repressed a groan. “I’ll figure out why there’s a suit of armor running around. It won’t get in your way.”
A low, clanging bell made me jump. I’d never get used to Ursa’s gothic sounding doorbell.
“Now what? A headless horseman, come to take me away?” Ursa yanked open the door again. She dodged past the wobbling suit of armor and marched to the front door.
I waited until the suit of armor had its back to me and ran past with my familiars. I got to the door and saw Storm and Odessa standing outside.
“These two say they’re friends of yours,” Ursa said, the disdain clear in her voice.
