by Jenna Grey
There was an intercom on the door of the main building and she pressed the bell with some apprehension, expecting Crichter to appear and send her packing. Lily was still trying to decide on the best curse to place on her, wanting it to be something worthy of her wickedness. In the meantime she had thought of a very satisfying curse to keep her away from Connor. It wasn’t Crichter that answered, but the squeaky, pleasant voice of Minnie Crumb that came on the other end. Lily stated her business and Minnie came and answered the door. She smiled when she saw Lily, but looked a little anxious. Lily suspected that was her habitual expression – having to work with Crichter was enough to make anyone rush for the valium.
“You said you were here to pick up a key?” Minnie asked, leading her through to the large reception area. It smelt of new carpets and air freshener, scrupulously clean, but very bland and sterile, apart from a couple of artfully placed rubber plants and generic, buy-by-the-metre art prints – a characterless wilderness of plastic, bright lights and gleaming metal.
“Yes, the key to 1 Hawthorn Flats. I’m moving in over the next few days and wanted to check it out.”
Minnie looked relieved, obviously fearing that Lily had come for the threatened visit and was going to cause yet more havoc. She had the distinct impression that Crichter had had quite a bit to say about ‘interfering kids who think they know it all’, when she got back to the home. Lily just hoped that Connor hadn’t got into too much trouble for coming to see her yesterday, although knowing what she did about Crichter made Lily fear the worst. Minnie went behind the desk to rummage for the key and was obviously having problems finding it. Lily was beginning to get very bad fairy vibes.
“Oh, they said that someone was moving in there. That’s nice, I’m glad it’s you. You never know what you’re going to get these days... there are only a couple of other tenants so far, but they seem nice as well,” she mumbled, her head buried in a drawer. Lily had the feeling that Minnie found practically every person she met ‘nice’, unless they were actually coming at her wielding an axe and foaming at the mouth, and even then she would probably put it down to youthful high spirits.
Lily drew in a breath, pulled her courage from her boots, and said:
“While I’m here, I wondered if it would be possible for me to just say hello to Connor? I promised I’d stop in and see him sometime, and as I’m here...”
Minnie’s head bobbed up. The nervous expression had set into Minnie’s face with a vengeance and was rapidly morphing into a very troubled frown.
“Oh, I am sorry, dear, but that won’t be possible, well, not today, anyway. I’m afraid Connor has been showing off a bit and we’ve had to keep him in his room for the time being, until he’s cooled down a bit.”
Minnie looked decidedly uncomfortable. Lily’s fairy sense wasn’t just tingling now, it was sending great pulses of electric current through her, warning her that something was very wrong.
“What do you mean, showing off?” she asked.
Minnie fidgeted, looking everywhere but at Lily.
“Well, he disappeared yesterday afternoon, just took off and we had to call the police out – we still don’t know where he got to, but he got out somehow, even though all of the doors were locked. Then last night he went totally berserk, screaming and trying to get out; he went for one of the male night attendants and knocked him for six – no serious damage, but he’s got a right shiner. That’s the second night running – the night before he was carrying on something wicked. I honestly don’t know what’s got into him – he’s usually such a good lad. The doctor had to restrain him and keep him sedated, until we find out what's going on with him.”
Lily knew exactly what was going on with him, he had been trying to get to her to protect her. She had to see him now, just to let him know she was all right – to lie to him at least. Lily grabbed for some persuasive argument to be allowed to see him, but nothing came. In desperation she said:
“Well, I’ll only stay a moment, just so that he knows I’ve kept my promise, just poke my head in the door – thirty seconds. I wouldn’t want him to think that I haven’t bothered. Please.”
Minnie looked distraught, wringing the hem of her cardigan, her pinched little face now a blotchy raspberry ripple.
“I’m sorry, dear, it’s more than my job’s worth.”
Lily had no choice, she would have to use her power on Minnie again and force her to let her see Connor. Then she realised she couldn’t do that, she couldn’t risk Minnie losing her job over this.
”It’s okay. I understand,” Lily said.
Minnie looked as if she had cancer of the puppy, her face a little moue of misery.
“I really am sorry. Perhaps another day,” she said.
“Sorry for what?” came the voice from behind. Lily turned to see Critcher, glowering at her. Lily glanced down at her lapel label and read, ‘Senior Care Officer,’ so she was in a superior position to poor little Minnie – no wonder the woman was a bundle of nerves. Lily hadn’t really taken a great deal of notice of her before in the library. She had been more concerned with getting Connor to go back to his seat and not cause trouble, but now that she could get a proper look at the woman, she could take better stock of her enemy. She was in her mid fifties and had that ‘I’ve lost all interest in sex’, hair style – a salt and pepper grey brown mix, cut short in a manly style, to suit her manly face. It was a face that had seen years of frowns and scowls, and probably no more than a few days of smiles. Deep lines had set in on her forehead and at the corners of her mouth, her eyes like two milky marbles peering from permanently narrowed eyes. Lily registered all of it, and felt the bile rise in her throat, her hatred for this woman almost consuming her.
“I just asked if I could say hello to Connor, but I’ve been told that’s not possible,” Lily said, her voice pleasant, thinking that it was probably a good idea to at least try the diplomatic route before she got the grenade launcher out, even though her immediate impulse was to turn Crichter into something slimy and then step on her. Images of what she had seen Crichter doing to Connor resurfaced with terrible force and it took every inch of her willpower not to retaliate.
“Too right, it’s not possible. He’s being punished,” Crichter said, with some relish, her face taking on the look that Lily had seen on Claire’s face a thousand times – ‘I have spoken, let no mortal challenge my indomitable will or feel my dreadful wrath’.
Lily felt the full weight of her malice tingle through her and she went into full attack mode – still disguising it beneath a veneer of civility.
“Punished? That’s a strange word to use for someone suffering with behavioural problems. You punish naughty children for stealing sweets, for picking their nose in public and flicking it at the vicar – you don’t punish people with mental health issues for having mental health issues.”
She managed to keep the smile in place, even though the effort was making her jaw ache.
“That’s not what I meant,” Crichter said, flushing a little and obviously realising she’d said the wrong thing. “I just misspoke, that’s all, a slip of the tongue.”
Lily didn’t allow her a chance to regain her composure – when a wounded animal was down you went for the jugular.
“Tongue’s can be tricky things,” Lily said, already thinking up a curse that would leave Ms Crichter wishing she never had a tongue. Her smile was now burning through her face like acid. Her muscles tightened, jaw clenched, preparing for battle.
Crichter, unfortunately, was a survivor – she was already back in the fight, fists balled and teeth bared.
“Connor was seen by the doctor and the prescribed treatment carried out for dealing with aggressive behaviour. He was restrained for his own and other’s safety. Not that it’s any of your business!”
“Perhaps I’m making it my business,” Lily said.
Critcher pulled her square, padded shoulders back and said:
“I think it’s time you left, young lady. Conno
r isn’t going to be able to have visitors in the foreseeable future. It was probably you that started him off in the first place. He’s never caused any trouble before, and then suddenly after meeting you at the library, he’s started acting up. You can’t tell me that’s a coincidence. I know a troublemaker when I see one.
“And I know when someone is covering up something they really don’t want anyone to know about.”
Lily said, giving Crichter a look that would have sheared through concrete. Crichter suddenly went very pale, the colour literally draining from her face, forehead down to chin and then disappearing out of sight below her neckline.
“What’s that supposed to mean, are you accusing me of something?”
Lily drew herself up to her full height, which truthfully wasn’t that impressive, but did put her a couple of inches above her opponent, and said:
“I think that we’re both aware our own sins and don’t need anyone else to point them out to us. Besides which, you aren’t going to be able to stop me seeing Connor indefinitely, anyway. I’m moving into Hawthorn Flats right next door and I’ll be seeing him all the time as he goes in and out.”
The colour returned to Crichter’s face with a vengeance, working its way through the spectrum as if it wasn’t quite sure what colour it preferred; it finally settled on purple.
“We’ll see about that!” she raged.
“Unless you are going to keep him locked in his room permanently?” Lily said, a sweet smile on her face now, knowing that she had won, even though she would have to beat a strategic withdrawal for the time being.
Lily threw one last malicious glance across at her new enemy. One thing was certain, Mavis Critcher was going to be spending a hell of a lot of money on toilet paper in the next few days and this time Lily wouldn’t hold back.
Lily almost forgot to go and see her new flat, her temper finally getting the better of her, but she remembered when she was already half way up the path and she turned back. She was still clutching the key in her sweaty palm and hadn’t even realised that poor, browbeaten Minnie had slipped it to her on the way out.
She peered through the window as she passed, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight and wasn’t very impressed. She was even less impressed when she got inside, but location, location, location made up for everything.
Number One was really just a single room with a tiny bathroom, a toilet, small sink and microscopic shower, all in the most dreary nondescript grey – the same as the main building. The room itself was a bedsit, the bland magnolia walls begging for some sunny colour – which she apparently wasn’t allowed to change, according to the terms and conditions of tenancy. There was a sink and space for a small cooker and fridge in one corner, and barely enough room for the sofa bed, small table, built in wardrobe and hard backed chair. It had said in the letter that it was furnished – that was stretching the term to its limit. The small sofa pulled out to a bed at night. Terrific. It was a room for losers. Still it was all hers and it was right next door to Connor. That made up for all of its multitudinous failings.
Now all she had to do was get to see him and make sure that he was all right. She’d calmed down considerably, and could think more rationally, now that she’d had time to think it through. At least he was safe from Crichter for the time being – once Lily had laid the curse, Crichter was going to be far too preoccupied with keeping her bowels in check to even think about molesting Connor. All she had to do really was try and find out where Connor was in the building and go to him – she could go into stealth mode and just walk past any obstructions.
Lily walked up to the front door, full stealth mode operational, and peered into the lobby. Critcher was there but her back was to the door.
The security lock would present no problem to Lily, of course – one of her kind could get through any lock without breaking into a light sweat. She was never actually quite sure how it worked, but merely thinking of the lock opening seemed to coax the mechanism into clicking open. She supposed that she was using some form of telekinesis, but never really understood it. She could move most small items easily simply by willing it – it was one of the first lessons that Maggie had taught her – getting her to float her teddy bears in mid air, and opening and closing the bathroom door using just her mind. Larger objects presented problems; she’d never been able to move anything larger than a TV set, and that only with serious effort. She’d never tried it with an electronic lock before, though. She supposed it would be the same, wouldn’t it? There were parts inside that moved back to open the door – if they moved, she could move them. She tried willing it to open, and... nothing, not a click or a clack. Not good.
If it had been Minnie inside, Lily could have solved the problem easily by bending Minnie’s less than formidable will to her own, and simply ordering her to let Lily in, but she really wouldn’t want to try it with Crichter – she was far too strong willed for it to be an easy job. But she had to see Connor, she just had to.
As Critcher turned to face the door, Lily drew in a breath, thinking that she’d sensed Lily’s presence, but the evil little toad was staring right through her. Critcher shook her head as if she were trying to get rid of a nuisance fly, and Lily knew that she’d somehow sensed her standing at the door, but just dismissed it as her imagination when she saw that no-one was there. Then to Lily’s delight, Crichter moved away and into another room and little Minnie Crumb appeared. Lily closed her eyes and used every ounce of her will, urging Minnie to walk towards the door. The woman hesitated for a moment, then turned and began to walk towards Lily, a strange and vacant smile on her bird-like face. She raised her hand to the lock and pressed four keys. Lily saw them pictured in her mind. 2413. She made a mental note and breathed a sigh of relief as Minnie opened the door and let her in, walking back to the desk and carrying on as if nothing had happened. Crichter came back almost the second Minnie had got back behind the counter.
Lily cast the curse on Crichter as she walked by, bringing down her full wrath on her – and she knew it had worked, because she felt power drain out of her. She’d had to pay far more for this bit of mischief magic than she usually did, but even before Lily got to the stairs, the evil little toad of a woman was running for the loo. Lily allowed herself a little smile of satisfaction as she made her way up the stairs, following her feet and not really quite sure where she would end up.
She had no idea where Connor might be, but she sent out her thoughts to him, hoping he would hear her and lead her to him. And she realised that she didn’t need to make any conscious effort to find him. Just as Connor knew where she was yesterday, she knew where he was now. Her feet led her straight to him.
His room was in semi darkness, heavy blinds drawn, shutting out the evening sunlight. When she saw where he was, she was heart sick; it was plain and grey, a barren sterile room, the same as the rest of the place – built as storage boxes for those who needed to be tidied away, kept out of sight and out of mind. If she were being charitable she would say that they had only been open a few days and hadn’t had time to personalise the place... but she wasn’t feeling very charitable at the moment.
There were just a couple of hand drawn pictures tacked to the wall, which she supposed were Connor’s work. Even from a distance she could see that they were childlike impressions of trees and flowers, and what looked like a five legged cow. Connor was spread-eagled on the bed, wrists and ankles secured, so that he couldn’t move. His covers had fallen off, leaving him in just white tee-shirt and boxers, and these had slipped down his thighs where he had been struggling to free himself, leaving him exposed, and completing his humiliation. She had to wonder if Crichter had had anything to do with it. If Lily’s anger could have taken form it could have levelled cities. As Lily got closer she could see that there was a large bruise on his face and several scratches and bruises on his arms. She sat on the bed and gently tried to rouse him without alarming him too much. After a few moments he opened his eyes and focused on her, but
he looked addled, his eyes glazed and vacant – they had pumped him full of something. Then he registered Lily’s presence and his face brightened into a smile.
“Lily,” he said, struggling against the restraints. She laid her hand on his chest to stop him from hurting himself.
“I told you I’d come,” she said, fumbling with the restraining straps and finally getting him free. He flung his arms around her and refused to let her go. He was cold, shivering; she pulled the duvet up around him and tucked it around his shoulders. “Did they hurt you? Did Crichter do this to you?” she asked, indicating the bruises. He reached across and took his iPad from the bedside table.
I had a fight with Tom... i did not mean to hurt him... he is nice... i was afraid for u... did smoke people hurt u
All of this took several minutes to write, stabbing the keypad with one hesitant finger, while Lily watched the door anxiously the whole time. She still couldn’t quite understand how it was that even though he had so much trouble communicating verbally, he could use the tablet with reasonable skill. She knew that many of those with autism had remarkable talents, but it still amazed her. Lily got a mental image of a well-built man, trying to restrain Connor as he tried to force his way through the door. The poor man was failing miserably, and it was only when another man joined in the fight that they were able to subdue him. And he had done all of this for her. She looked him straight in the face and gave him her brightest smile.
“No, I’m fine. really. They didn’t touch me, just scared me a bit, that’s all. I’m fine.”
It was obvious that he knew she was lying, not just from his expression, but from the waves of misery coming from him. She knew that she would never be able to lie to him, because he could feel her emotions, sense her thoughts, just as she could sense his. She saw the great black shadow dog leaping towards her, the spiders circling her ankles, and knew that he’d witnessed, felt every moment of it as it was happening. He must have been frantic that he couldn’t help her, couldn’t get out to stop them hurting her. She knew how she would have felt if she’d seen Connor being attacked and had been unable to do anything to stop it.
