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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Chapter 16 Part 3

    Gertie ran up the stairs as everything exploded beneath her in the kitchen. She didn't make it too far before she had to slow down to a crawl to catch her breath. Old women like her didn't run anymore and she needed to remember that. She stopped a few feet from the top while she swallowed thick pockets of air to listen to the sounds around her. The screaming had stopped and that was a good thing and although she didn't know who had stopped Georgia she had heard the slap of skin on skin and knew it must have been someone strong enough to shut her up. In that case it wasn't the smaller mouthy one and although she didn't approve of the assault on her Mistress she couldn't help but smile that the Vessel would feel the pain when she woke up.

     After a few breaths things stayed quiet so she continued up the rest of the stairs only to stop at the top and crouch down behind the railing that would not have hidden her in any way if they had chosen to look up.

    She watched all of the Guardians and the boy shuffle into the front room. The largest one walked by carrying the sleeping vessel. Only briefly did Dominic halt in the foyer causing Gertie to hold her breath and pray. If she moved now he would see her immediately, but all he did was cock his head slightly before he continued into the room. She could feel that her Mistress was no longer in control and that was not a bad thing at this point because with them distracted they weren't focusing on her. She was free to roam even if it was only for a few minutes. She had to find the energies she was feeling in the house. One felt good and the other felt dark...very, very dark. As they moved into the room she remained unnoticed.

      She straightened, her body stiff and opened her mind only to feel the energies she was seeking coming from two different directions. From where she stood she could feel the pull of the dark energy to the left and the good energy was above her. The pull from the left was so strong that before she knew it she was taking involuntary steps in that direction, the energy tugging at her mind and her body. Gertie felt the dark energy pulsate like a heartbeat and with every beat her feet moved forward. She fought it, only barely restrained herself but it was enough that her feet moved mere inches at a time so she didn't move very quickly.

    The energy felt wrong on all levels. It felt thick like she was moving through mud but also enveloped her like smoke that wrapped itself around her whole body pulling her towards the door at the end of the hall. She started to panic when she tried to plant her feet and pull backwards, away from the horrible feeling that was smothering her every inch of her. Her mind screamed for her to stop and to run but her body wouldn't listen, the screaming in her head got louder as she tried to harder will her legs to stop and turn around.

     Horrible images sprang into her mind of screaming misshapen mouths, contorted faces and abnormally large hands that turned in to claws as they grabbed and pawed at her. The result of the images only strengthening her resolve to break free of the hold the energy had on her but she was too weak and her panic took a firm hold. Her body continued to only move forward but her eyes were wide with fear. The door ahead was covered in shadows writhing in and out of the doorway, caressing the frame and walls. Until a sound from above her snapped the hold briefly and she could breathe again. Not that she had been aware that she wasn't breathing and she stumbled backwards a few steps panting as her gaze rose to the ceiling at the scraping noises above.

    The noise stopped and before she knew it once again the beating and pulsating resumed taking a hold on her body, once again moving her forward to shadows. In her mind she begged for something to break the hold again. No sound would come from her like her voice had taken a vacation the only noises she could make were small shallow rasping breaths . 

    Tears lined her eyes as she began to think the worst. The energy was malevolent and soaked with darkness, feeding off of her fear and then once again the scraping noise from above broke the hold it had on her. Whatever it was couldn't seem to concentrate, like it was distracted by the noises itself. Gertie had the brief thought that if it could be distracted then it was taking a hell of a lot of concentration and control to hang on to her. It seemed to her that the shadow didn’t like being interrupted as the hold was cleanly broken and she slumped to the floor, gasping for breath as a violent shudder coursed through her body.

    She felt rather than saw the dark energy crawl up the wall behind her and float along the ceiling carefully before it retreated back into the bedroom at the end of the hall and then she didn’t feel it at all anymore. She leaned her head against the wall and let the tears fall freely from her eyes.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Chapter 16 Part 2

      Carol Anne laid stock still in her bed with her hands resting on her stomach, her eyes looking at the wall mounted TV but not registering what was playing. She had some vague recollection of some infomercial about some BB cream that would take 5 years off the looks of your skin if you used it. Passing pictures of women with various facial discolouration’s and imperfections spreading the cream all over themselves and granted Carol Anne thought the transformation was amazing, at the same time it looked like they we slathering mud on their faces. After about five or so minutes of watching the insanity and pearly white happy smiles, her mind started to wander. Wandering to a place where she was free and one of those happy smiling people. With that thought wedged into her brain she began to plan her escape and hopefully leave nothing to chance.

    It shouldn’t be that hard, she thought to herself. She could wait until he went to work and call a cab or even a car service, by the time he found out she was gone she could be anywhere, but where would she go and with what? No using credit cards on top of that for the cash she would need, Carol Anne would need a bank at some point and since he had all of her passwords and pin numbers he could track her that way. Thinking back she questioned why she never kept anything to herself. He even held the key to her safety deposit box stating that she would lose it. Why had she been so stupid?

    Even as she hated herself for staying this long the one thing she would never let him have was the inheritance that her parents left her. Sure he had control of it but on paper it was still all hers. The house, the money all of it except what he made and thanks to the prenup before the wedding those things would never be his and she was not giving any of it up.

    He would have to kill her to get it.


    The flickering light of the TV did nothing to calm her down or distract her, if fact she almost wished she would have a seizure and end it all. Her mind continued to turn with possible ways to pull this off. He went through all of the phone records, banking even the shopping receipts so he knew where she was or what she was doing at any given moment.

    Most of the time she would have the groceries delivered if he couldn’t take her into town and the cameras in the house recorded exactly how long the delivery person was there. The only places there were no cameras were in the bathrooms, the attic and the basement and only because Robert didn’t want a record of the two latter areas. Carol Anne always wondered if he really was sincere when he apologized after punishing her but now she didn’t care. She felt cold and was done caring, now was the time to get it together and play this all very carefully.

    Thankfully Robert didn’t know about the incognito window on her Chrome account and she knew how to delete internet files but what she had to figure out was how to go about scrambling the computer and possibly taking out the cameras and getting access to her accounts. He would have to take her into town so she could get anything she needed and even then he would take note of everything she bought. Maybe there was a place to hide it? There was some cash that she had been stowing away thanks to him leaving change and even bills in his pants that she would find when she did laundry but not nearly enough. Even discouraged, she valued the little things and knew with growing certainty that she was getting out of this.

    She thought of her brother and how he might be able to help her, but Robert wouldn’t even let her talk to him anymore let alone tell him where they lived and they really weren’t far from him at all. Their trips into town always made her hope that she would see him coincidentally while she sat in the park with her expensive latte that she didn’t even like. She took a deep breath and winced as her ribs protested slightly and she promised herself she wouldn’t cry over the sibling she was so desperate to see.

    Robert stepped into the room with a tray of Tuna sandwiches on Sourdough bread just like they used to eat in their cramped studio apartment they shared while they were in college. A blue teapot sat on the green tray as well with only 1 teacup and a tiny bowl of sugar.

    “Hey, you’re up…good.” His voice was gentle, almost like he hadn’t just used her as a punching bag less than 24 hours earlier. When she didn’t reply he tilted his head and stared at her. Carol Anne saw that his eyes were about to glaze over so in a sweet soft voice she replied. “I’m sorry.” It was barely a whisper and she chose her words carefully. “When I talk or breathe in too deeply, it hurts.” She drew out the last words and he came back online placing the tray stand over her legs and easing himself down onto the bed as gently as he could. The anger that was bubbling inside of her started to boil and despite the rolling of her stomach when he placed a monogrammed napkin under her chin, she was able to keep herself in check.

    He reached over and pointed at the food on the tray arranged so nicely. “I made you a sandwich…just the way you like it.” She smiled like an innocent waif at him. “I brought you tea, I know you like Chai but I figured Chamomile would help you rest.” As he sat beside her and pointed out the things that she liked and reminded her again of the man that he used to be; the feelings changed and as she watched his profile, his words became soundless and the anger boiling up…and turned to rage.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Chapter 16 Part 1


    In the dark… yet again… Skye felt light as a cloud. When she opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was the dense fog in front of her briefly panicking before she quickly came to a logical realization that she must be sleeping. With a slow groggy shift she reached out in front of her to feel for a wall and stopped when she could barely make out the shape of her hands or fingers in the mist. She wiggled her digits just to be sure that something was normal and when her eyes drifted down to her feet, she realized she couldn’t feel the ground let alone see it.

    She wiggled her toes and felt nothing like her pain receptors were on the fritz. Her eyes went everywhere trying to make out some kind of familiarity, something to grasp onto in this dream that she had no idea of what was in store for her. Her heart began to pound in her chest as the panic started to build up, her lungs were burning and breathing got harder. That’s when she noticed that she wasn’t breathing but instead holding her breath, not  that she needed to breathe in her dream but that moment of clarity could stop her from going through the freak out she was having.

    Laughter bubbled up from what she thought would be the corner of the room if it had walls and the evil tones swam in circles around her. Skye stepped in the initial direction that the sound had come from, something telling her to go that way even though the sense of a warning was telling her to run away…fast. Her feet didn’t seem to be touching the floor and she moved with no effort at all, almost gliding. As she got closer to the laughter it began to falter and then stopped abruptly. Moving forward, the fog began to lift and clear until she saw two chairs sitting opposite each other, on the edges of an ornate golden rug. At first they looked like simple wooden dining chairs with the padded cushions and she made a face at how 80’s they looked. Once the thought was in her head they slowly warped and changed into a couple of cushy leather Lazy Boy’s.

    “Have a seat…” Skye heard echoed from behind her and she didn’t hesitate, she spun around ready to defend herself. When she noticed nothing behind her she shook of the sense of foreboding and stepped around the chair. For all of the intense feelings though she wasn’t scared because she knew this was a dream and she was not going to wake herself up. She would stay and wake up naturally while hopefully satisfying her sense of curiosity. Already having accepted the weirdness that was going on, it felt easier in a way not to question what was happening to her but to go with it and see where it led her. It seemed not to mess with her head as much. She moved herself over and sat down, scooting her rear end all the way back and placed her hands in her lap while she waited for god knew what.

    As if reading her mind the disembodied voice was all around her again. “God?” it questioned “God has nothing to do with me.” Skye rolled her eyes; she knew that this was just posturing somehow.

    Resigned to waiting patiently for what seemed like forever, she finally caught movement across from her heading in her direction. Brief flashes of colour in-between the wisps of fog that still skirted the outer edges of the chairs caught her gaze as the flow of a deep purple gown with gold sequins criss-crossing across the bodice of the strapless fabric moved like a calm slow running stream as the goddess in question stepped forward. At first Skye was taken by surprise because the face staring back at her was her own, the only difference besides the way she dressed was that her hair was swept up away from her face and held in place by golden combs and ribbons.

    Skye felt the power coming off of her and swallowed hard. “So to what do I owe this pleasure?” She said in a voice that surprised her at being strong. That was when she realized that this was no dream. That this was going to be another person/soul trying to make her do something she didn’t want to do. Trying to keep her composure was tough and fear was not what was driving her emotions at all despite everything she was scared of, it was the frustration of feeling like she was being toyed with and commanded. Even though she didn’t know exactly what was going on right now in this moment, she was well aware now that this was not a dream cooked up by the stories that Dom and Maury had told her. This unrealistic vision for all intents and purposes felt very real in the marrow of her bones and she knew now beyond a shadow of a doubt while she looked into her own face that she was going to have a fight on her hands because she wasn’t going anywhere.

    Georgia looked over Skye with a cynical eye as she came and sat down in the chair opposite her. She fussed lovingly with the skirt of her dress until it fanned out and revealed the golden sandals on her feet. “We meet for the first time Skye, officially.” There was no shock at seeing her own face across from her in humble clothes because she knew what the score was. She knew all about Skye in the way that she was fully aware of. Soul swapping was always part of the progression and if she could only stop the Guardians from taking it upon themselves the dispose of her whenever they disliked her methods her soul would have more time in their shared body, and even though the having children situation was a cold blast in the face, she had recovered and already had her wheels turning that the Guardians could take care of them once she reclaimed what was hers. She could feel Skye though, her discontent as well as her strength. The energy pulsating out of her body in waves was completely full of displeasure.

    Georgia continued to play with the material of her skirt twirling the edge between her fingers while she looked Skye in the eye wondering how this encounter was going to progress. She quickly decided that there was only one way this was going to go. “You know it’s my time, correct?” she paused only for effect to make it look like she was giving Skye a chance to speak but when nothing came from her she shrugged and continued, “This is my body, first and foremost…it is mine.”  Georgia crossed her legs at the ankles and sat calmly as she waited for a response from her mirror image.

    She watched as Skye sat forward until she was on the edge of the leather chair and rested her elbows on her knees with her wrists crossed while she looked Georgia up and down. She knew where Skye’s thoughts were and at one point she was noting how insane it was that she was looking at a carbon copy of herself dressed like a Greek goddess and now…well now she was getting very angry. Georgia smiled in spite of herself, just waiting for Skye to concede at then she felt the shift from anger to clarity and relief.

    Skye while trying to keep everything in check in her brain was just about to lose her mind when the thought struck her that in fact, she had the upper hand. She had heard what was said about the incantation and without her saying it there was no way out for the woman in front of her unless…

   She would have to figure out if only she had to say it or if anyone could. All that swam around in her mind was hope that this was true and seeing as it had never happened before that it was possible. With the knowledge she had right now if it turns out that she might have the power to keep Georgia right where she was then she would do whatever she had to, except that Georgia had already punched her way through once already and clearly had no real control over how long she stayed in possession of their shared space but could probably do considerable damage in the time she had it.

   Now was her chance to assess the goddess carefully. “Can I ask you something?”
   Georgia frowned, “I’m not usually one to answer questions.”
    “Humour me then. I mean it’s the least you can do since you want me to vacate the premises right?”
    Georgia seemed to think about that and decide she had nothing to lose.

    “What did you do?” Skye’s eyes roamed the fog before settling back on Georgia’s face. “What did you do to be cursed to half an existence and does that mean I’m not real?”


    Georgia fiddled with her skirting again but didn’t answer, her lips were pressed tightly together and her brows low as she seemed to be remembering the past and not looking happy about it at all. When she did look at Skye again there was confusion and a hint of fear. Georgia stood quickly and with grace before Skye noticed that her hands that were still crossed at the wrists were fading, fast. Georgia was up and running towards her but she wasn’t fast enough, by the time she got to the other Lazy Boy… Skye was gone.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Chapter 15 Part 3

    When Maury returned to the rest of the household he had in his hands the leather journal that Cyrus had been looking for before all of the lunacy of the morning took over. As he stepped into the kitchen he could see by the looks on Dominic and Chases faces that something bad had happened. Cyrus looked concerned but the witch looked positively glowing and that…was not a good thing. To confirm his fears as Skye turned to look at him he could see clearly in her eyes the gold rims around the irises.

    Skye was not Skye anymore, they had lost her, they had failed already and they still had no answers. He cursed under his breath and thought about returning the journal upstairs when Cy caught the man’s gaze.

    “Is that my dad’s journal?” He asked sounding so much younger than he was. Maury looked down at the book in his hands and nodded.

    “Can I see it? Please?” Maury couldn’t deny the look in the poor boys eyes and was about to hand it over when he caught Dominic looking at him with a slight shake of his head. Maury cleared his throat. “Hang on kid, let’s assess this situation first OK?” Although Cyrus looked defeated he didn’t fight logic presented to him and settled in a seat beside his mother. Dom held out a hand and Maury obediently walked over and placed it in his Alpha’s hands before he stepped into place opposite of Chase flanking Dom’s left side.

   He watched Gertie smile from ear to ear and his eyes returned to Skye…or not Skye but Georgia. He couldn’t hold the silence any longer. “Boss, how is this possible? The incantation has not been said. She’s barely touched the thing!” Dom’s silence and furrowed brow was enough for Maury to see that he didn’t know either but before he had time to say more…she spoke.

    “Oh gentlemen…not that you have ever been gentle with me,” she paused pulling at her sleeves. “Fortunately for you I seem to only be partially here at the moment.” She looked back over at Gertie and gave her a warm smile. “My Gertie…you are always so kind to me and I never get to see you like this.” She extended her hand to the old woman as a growl bubbled up from Chase’s throat. Georgia’s eyes narrowed as she looked into his. Her golden rings around green eyes seemed to be revolving. “Down boy,” she hissed dripping of hatred.

Really though wouldn’t you if you were killed by these people repeatedly? Would you be full of the warm and fuzzies?

    Maury was more than ready to go toe to toe with her already. As he stepped forward Dominic’s voice boomed out and yet only Cyrus and Gertie jumped. Considering how transfixed Gertie was with Cyrus, Maury was surprised she heard anything at all. Like she was sensing his thoughts Georgia turned towards Cy and searched his face but not knowing for what. “Curious…” she said softly before returning her attention to Dominic.

   “Guardian…” her voice held a melody in it that could sway any man or beast but these men knew her better than to believe there was any softness in her. “Your—um what is he exactly?” Pointing to Maury who bared his teeth without hesitation. With a lazy hand she swatted at him like he was a drunken fly that was barely a nuisance. “Anyway, he is correct that the incantation has not been completed and truly I have no answers for why I am here right now.” She thought hard for a moment. “Partially here.” She corrected and began to slowly walk the kitchen floor as she tried to piece together what was happening. It wasn’t until Cyrus spoke up that she had a possible idea of what was going on. “If you are someone else then… where’s my mom?” Cy had unshed tears in his eyes as he tried to stay strong in front of the men in his family.

    “You’re…Mom?” She blinked at the question and offered up some cynical laughter until she noticed the sheen in his eyes. She stopped moving and searched his face again for something and realized that he felt familiar. That the very essence of him was what resonated in her.  “You mean you mother… is the vessel I am… in?” As the question was asked, all three men moved to Cyrus as if they were expecting a battle right here in the kitchen. Georgia began to pace again. At first she was mumbling to herself and her voice got louder and louder as she circled.

    Without warning she spun and slammed her hands down on the table in front of Gertie making the old woman white as a ghost and scared shitless. “A…son…a child! How is this possible? This vessel does not breed, it is to be barren!”

     Gertie had no answers and sank into herself. Not wanting to be too close to Gerogia’s anger and knew it was going to get worse when she figured out that there wasn’t just one child… but three, then decided that when that little tidbit came out she was going to take shelter behind the big men in the room with her. When she saw, Georgia’s hands move up to stroke her hair she figured that she was going to be doing exactly that. Running…quickly. In a quick change of the direction of her thoughts she remembered the sense she had of something or someone upstairs.

    As Georgia paced back and forth, her mouth moved rapidly as her brain tried to process the existence of a blood child. Not only would he be the child of her vessel but also a child with a guardian as well? The implications of that alone had her enraged. The dogs who had up until now had stayed pretty quiet began to bark and snarl in the direction of the irate goddess. At that moment, Georgia stopped pacing and her hands flew up into her hair, she grabbed large chunks and pulled as a scream ripped from her throat and hit the airwaves long and high pitched.

    Cyrus had moved to take a hold of angel by the collar as Maury held Kona between his thighs trying to turn the big husky towards the door to the backyard and they both stopped immediately. The energy in the room made the hairs on Cy’s neck stand on end as Georgia’s scream pierced the air. The dogs cowered and pawed frantically at their ears letting out whimpers that couldn’t be heard by the others in the room. As the scream raged on Cy on some level in the middle of the chaos noticed that first of all, the three men in the room didn’t flinch. They stood firm, patient, like this was something they had been through before, and second Gertie had bolted heading for the foyer and the front staircase.

    He wasn’t sure exactly what to do about that and having that thought in his head made him realize that although he could hear the screaming, his ears didn’t hurt and the only physical annoyance was the hair on his neck vibrating. He thought about his mother and as much as he wanted her back right this minute, he was terrified of the next step.

    Georgia’s screaming cut off abruptly and she focused back onto Cyrus. Her hair flowed out behind her on a wind that wasn’t there and her eyes contained death. Cy searched for Skye in her eyes and as much as he tried the look on Georgia’s face prevented him from finding her. Georgia launched herself at the boy but without her full strength she was caught by Chase easily before she could latch on to Cy’s neck. She thrashed against him as Maury grabbed Cy by the arm hard and escorted him from the room. Angel nipped him on the way by with her sharp teeth in warning as he pushed Cy forward.

    “Jesus dog!” Maury yelped. He sat Cy on a bench in the hall. “Stay here, she can’t see you right now.” Without another word he turned back to the kitchen and strode off. Once he stepped back in he saw Chase holding Georgia under the arms and Dom was holding her face, angrier than he had ever seen him before. From his belt he pulled out a bone dagger and for the first time ever... Maury stepped in front of Georgia, to protect her.

    “You can’t boss!” he yelled with his hand Dom’s chest he enunciated his words so they all understood loud and clear. “You can’t…Skye is still in there and that boy in the hall would be broken forever.” Dominic was quick on the uptake though and lowered his hand but the smile on Georgia’s face made him raise it again. Chase turned her around to face him and her satisfied grin pissed him off.

“Well how do we get her back Mo?”
“I... I don’t know Boss.” Just as Maury spoke the words he heard the slap of skin on skin and when he turned around Skye’s body was limp in the big man’s arms.

   Chase simply shrugged and said softly. “I couldn’t take the smug look in her eyes, one second longer.”


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Chapter 15 Part 2

  Upstairs in the attic the dark figure stood completely still and completely naked as he listened to the commotion that was going on two floors down. Thanks to his exceptional hearing he heard every word as the whole thing went down. He was glad the witch didn't get up here because he could only use the transforming spell one more time and he had to find what he was looking for first so leaving was not an option until he had it. He hadn't moved since the children left and he heard Skye's unexpected guest arrive, careful not to, not only because they might hear him but because the dogs that were perched underneath the trap door to the attic would bark and alert the house to his presence.

  And still now after the argument with the witch on the stairs and Dominic showing up with his boys in tow he stood perfectly still, barely breathing and gauging everything. He almost bolted once already when he heard the yelling downstairs, his muscles twitching and fighting the commands from his brain to stay still. His brain won finally and he was going to resume the search when he felt the panic of the others in the house. 

  Still frozen he battled with himself about abandoning his mission or continuing forward until he felt the energy shift from fear and concern to confusion and anger. Everything seemed calmer now and he had to complete his task... the faster the better.

  He had wasted too much time.

  Moving silently across the wooden floor his feet moved swiftly as he rounded to the left of the 
couch that he had crouched behind. As he walked, he stepped carefully over the boxes and stray objects in his path that Cyrus had been throwing around and he headed to the corner where the boy had been searching. The boxes were all labelled neatly with the contents of each one written in black marker. The writing was definitely female judging by the swoops and delicate script done neatly in the top left hand corner of each box.

  Six feet away from where he was standing was a loose panel in the wall but his path was filled with obstacles. None of which deterred him in the least. He read each label as he picked up the boxes marked with soft contents that would make little or no noise when being moved and he had to make sure he put them back exactly where they had been before. Cyrus had not made it easy. He picked up the closest one marked WEDDING LINENS and placed it on top of one marked X-MAS DECORATIONS. When he put the box down Jingle Bells started to play from inside and the melody consisted of muffled notes escaping the cardboard but he was confident the people downstairs couldn't hear it.

  Reminding himself that he needed to be quick about this he set back to work and now his hands moved without hesitation. Before he knew it he was right where he wanted to be. The panel he was looking for was right in front of him and as he slide his fingers along the top of the pale wood it slid over quietly, just like it was meant to. He put his arm through the one foot by one foot hole and reached down, searching until he felt the soft, worn material under his finger tips. Stretching his arm in further he wasn't paying attention when Maury stepped up behind him. His sense of smell was keen to smell the Brut 33 wafting off the guy though and at that moment his hand closed around the object of his mission and he knew who was behind him.

  He stood slowly extracting the journal from the wall space and slid the panel back into place before turned to face Maury.

“Well, well, well fancy meeting you here” Maury drawled crossing his arms across his chest unconcerned about the guy in front of him in his birthday suit. The naked man lifted the corner of his mouth in a sly smile and put out his hand. As Maury clasped it in his own he laughed. “What took you so long?”

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Chapter 15 Part 1

     In the shower Carol Anne washed all of the grime off of her body with shaking hands. The gray-brown specks flowed down the lines of her skin in chaotic swirls mixed with the suds from her beauty bar. The citrus scent that wafted up into her nose made her feel somewhat cleaner on the inside as well as the outside but the inside would take much more than anything Dove could give her. More often than not as she tried to lather up her torso and legs her ribs would protest, loudly. She held in gasps trying to keep them quiet and told herself that she could take it; she didn’t want to provoke the injury unnecessarily so she kept things light and slow.

     After the slow torture of simply trying to clean herself, even the 4 shower heads seemed to only marginally help as she pushed through the pain of simply standing upright and breathing. Carol Anne decided that her hair was only getting a token rinse, the bench in the shower was too far away from the falling water to be of any real use to take a load off and lifting her arms above her head was just not going to happen. As much as she wanted to wash the dirt out of her hair she wasn’t interested in anything other than the body scrub.

    She thought of the Jacuzzi tub opposite the shower. Out the shower door 4 steps and she would have been there. She should have used that seeing as she could step down into it and sit down but she thought the jets might have been too much and the simple fact was that the shower had a barrier. It was glass but that still made her feel like she was separated from the real reason she was in here now. We start over now. She thought to herself.

    The shifting of feet reminded her that she wasn’t alone. As much as she hated the fact that Robert stuck to her like a tick on a deer especially after her ‘Punishment’ had been exercised she knew that in his guilty phase, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her and would actually be surprisingly gentle. So even though she hated him more than anything she could even think of, at this moment he would do anything for her. So if by chance darkness closed in he would stop her from hitting the floor in the marble confines of the shower.

    As if he knew what she was thinking, “Angel?” his soft voice penetrated the sound of water falling.

Cringe…
She forced herself to speak. “Yes?” she knew what was coming next and closed her eyes to wait for it. “Do you need my help?” The sincerity in his voice crushed her. That was a shadow of the man she fell in love with but in their five years together he had done so much to alter and completely destroy that perception of him. At least for her the image was dead and buried. Every now and then though, she would catch a small glimpse of that person he was before he became the hell on her earth that she needed to survive.

    Ugh…she cleared her throat. “Just a towel…please.” As slowly and carefully as she could she reached out and shut off the water. Without the water on she had trouble keeping her balance. It must have been keeping her upright she figured. With her head down and slightly hunched over she rested her palm on the wall taking slow deep steadying breaths while she waiting for Robert to pass her a towel. The tremble in her legs told her that she was going to fall over soon if she didn’t sit down. She eyed the bench at the other end of the shower wondering if she would have the steam to make it there.

   When the glass door opened Robert just stood there, staring at her, soaking in the sight of her wet naked body. Primal need was behind is eyes and barely restrained. Even though he knew she was injured his body didn’t care and she watched him harden in front of her. The front of his pants stretched tight. She froze when he stepped in to wrap the towel around her shoulders. His gentle hands guiding her to step over the lip in the shower stall.

    Once she was out Robert sat her down on the step between the shower and the Jacuzzi where he had been perched while he waited for her and then he ducked out of the bathroom. The chill on her legs had busted out goosebumps and made her shiver. Not so good with the rib situation but there was nothing she could do about that.

    Robert came back with the biggest and fluffiest robe she had ever seen and when he wrapped it around her it was warm. “I popped it in the dryer for you Angel, so it was nice and warm for you.” This was why she had trouble leaving…before. The sincerity he showed her after the damage was all a lie and she knew that now. Even if he did honestly feel badly about the way he abused her, she would never fall for the nice guy routine again. Now it was all about self-preservation. Her brain kicked into high gear and she tried to think of what it was this time that made her finally decide to end it, but she didn’t know where the decision came from only that it was there now. She was finished with this but he wouldn’t let her go easily and there was no way to get clear of this while he was breathing.

But she would try.

    At least there was one good thing she didn’t have to think or worry about.  The house, business, the bank accounts…were all hers.

    He lifted her to her feet and walked step by step with her to her bed. She passed the two walls of floor to ceiling windows and the window seat that looked out over the vast acreage. She wanted to sit there, but didn’t say anything. She always felt at peace looking at the familiar treeline and rolling hills. After lowering her gently on to the edge of the bed, Robert helped her get her legs in and under the covers making sure not to jar her too much. He fluffed her pillows and even found her the remote for the wall mounted TV in her room. He was crazy…he had to be.

    Once he got her all situated in bed he went downstairs to make her breakfast. She let the bed consume her body as she relaxed against the pillows. She slowly let out a deep breath that she was unaware of holding, and the tears that she had stopped herself from shedding in the Pit surfaced again. She had mere days to figure something out and get away from him but only a few days that were not nearly enough time. With a firm mind she gave herself a timeline that wasn’t too long and not too short. “One week.” She whispered to herself.

She solidified her courage. “One more week…and I’m gone.”

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Chapter 14 Part 3

   She opened her eyes and squinted at the brightness that surrounded her and blinded her at the same time. Everything was bright in the way people that had come close to the brink of death said that everything is white and that you should walk into light when you died. She felt something hard and cold through her clothes, the surface she was on felt smooth and she quickly registered that as unusual but didn’t move right away as she tried to get her bearings.

“Am I dead?” she said in a small voice.

   The white borders began to fade away and darken becoming fuzzy at first but gradually growing more vivid as her vision cleared and became more focused. She was starting to make out shapes, other colours and could make out a wooden border and white laminate that was on what looked like doors directly in front of her low lids, the black red and white of the smooth floor beneath her. Sounds were dulled and mumbled reminding her of being underwater but that wasn’t what she cared about.

   She tried blinking hard and fast to help her eyes along but it didn’t seem to help, apparently they would do it in their own time. She squeezed her eyes shut tight as a shooting pain found its way from the base of her skull straight through the back of her head with a destination landing right between her eyes and didn’t that make her want to scream, but she caged it as her hands raced to her head. The pain went from a stabbing piercing pain to a pounding throb that threatened to make her sinuses crack in the blink of an eye. Literally…

   She kept her eye lids shut and held her breathe as the assault on her nerves began quiet down to a dull roar. Since she didn’t trust the light making it worse she stayed where she was, squinting hard every now and then as she tried to look around the room and not having much luck. She could feel the presence of the others around her but all that mattered at this point was trying to breathe through the pain and surprisingly enough a panicked thought coursed through her, how long had she been out?

  “What. Is familiar?”… She mumbled, her speech broken just as she realized she that she really wasn’t alone that there were others with her and she was grateful as the hands on her were trying to lift her up gently, she felt them on her forehead, her arms and her back to steady her. She was comforted by this and yet it felt unfamiliar that there her people touching her although at this moment everything felt unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. The pain in her head was preventing a coherent thought from breaking through.

It was incredibly disconcerting. 

    “Where am I?”…She continued to speak out loud hoping for an answer, any answer but the bodies around her kept talking over each other about doctors and water and taking it easy with her fragile body as well as snarking going on somewhere in the room about whose fault this was. 

    She tried to speak again. “What… happened?” Suddenly all there was around her was silence...for a half a second, then voices exploded, the volume cranked up a whole lot and that sent the pain screaming into her eyes so hard she gasped. It was a matter of everyone trying to speak all at once again so she raised a shaking hand, palm out to silence them all hoping that only one would speak to her and tell her what happened. After a minute of frustrating silence the pain in her head was finally starting to ebb and she felt the tension back off within her neck and shoulders. 

    A palm the size of a baseball mitt came into view of her squinted eyes and she slid her right hand into it without hesitation and tried to pull herself upright. Feeling the resistance and pain in the shoulder she must have landed on froze her for a moment and she sucked in a hiss at the same time. The palm she was holding gripped her firmly as well as waited patiently while she did the breathe in and breathe out thing.

    Trying to gauge her body she started from the bottom and wiggled her toes; once they proved to be mobile she managed little movements travelling up each of her muscles in her legs as she flexed them, then her torso and complete to the dull pounding in her head and yet still as everyone was talking over each other they did it at a quieter decibel this time. all of them talking... except for one. 

    The silence coming from one that was right now holding her hand in his steady grip. She held her breath and bent her legs underneath her rear end and resumed trying to sit up with the help of the big hand only having to pause again. There were too many things going on to the point where she felt the loss of control very unusual, tipping her off balance.

   Her struggle to find something familiar in the room seemed to be the only thing she could focus on but she couldn’t place the things around her. The pain was becoming less and less as it faded and her eyes finally responded by opening wide. She looked around and it was as if she dreamt that she had been here before or had a really bad case of déjà vu. Even though her eyes were back on line her ears didn’t seem to get the memo as the sounds fluctuated with the throbbing weaving in and out. Compared to the other noises in the room the warble in her ears was taking its sweet time going away, but she could hear dogs barking in the background through dense fabric wall the in her ears, like a fish bowl effect.  Yes underwater, her ears felt plugged wreaking havoc on her thoughts and mind as she tried to clear her brain.  

    Silently she begged for it all to stop as she took a bracing breath and finally got to her feet where another palm immediately held on to her elbow and she felt the hand on her back once more. Things didn’t make any sense this is not what she remembered, this isn’t where she remembered being. Fear speared through her that if nothing in this room looked familiar that something had changed.

  With her eyes on her feet, she caught sight of her dark hair and thought that it wasn’t right. Things were moving now squares of black, red and white passing under her bare feet as she was plunked down in a dark wooden chair. From out of nowhere a glass of water appeared in front of her, she gratefully wrapped her hands around it and pulled it to her lips and took a deep draw. When she looked up she was staring into the face of an old woman whose eyes were just as wide as the smile spread across her lips. She recognized her, inclined her head and gave the woman a curt nod before she looked around the room and noticed that the people in the room were in fact very, very familiar to her, except one and when she looked into his young eyes she couldn’t believe what she saw.

    Except for the eye colour he looked like a male version of herself. "I...I...don't understand..." she stuttered. confusion rocked through the bodies in the room. Gertie stood up and clapped her hands, her smile brighter than the sun as she turned to Dominic and hissed. "My Mistress has returned!"

Chase who had said nothing through the whole ordeal only said one thing now at the revelation.

"Fuck..." 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Chapter 14 Part 2

    While Skye was taking her second unwanted nap in 24 hours, Carol Anne was waking up. Her legs protested the movement since they were in a cramped position half underneath her body, all curled up in the tight space. Her eyelids didn’t want to open right away, the silent tears she cried before she fell into an exhausted sleep had stuck them together. She gently rubbed them and feeling the stiffness in her limbs she willed her legs to work. As soon as she tried to put her knees up her stomach and torso screamed its pain into every muscle. Electric jolts that felt like tiny knives were completely unrelenting under her skin. She sucked back a hiss and moved her limbs carefully so that the pain in her lower abdomen was at a minimum.

    Everything around her was dark, only a small glow overhead from the solitary light that was the only modern item in the concrete covered room because 15 feet down was where she was spending her time until Robert decided to let her out of the Pit. The stone that surrounded her in the 5 foot around hole was still damp from the hose that he had turned on her at some point during her punishment, she had no concept of the time that passed and her breath only came after he had turned off the water to end the second part of her punishment. The first part of it was the reason her lower body and torso were throbbing with pain. Being worked over with a pair of fists and then soaked in cold water for part of the night was only the beginning of the three part series of discipline.

    She took shallow breaths as she got to her feet and was almost positive he’d broken one of her ribs in the process although he didn’t like to break things…how nice of him. Robert liked the damage that he did as long as he was the only one that would see it and something broken would keep them out of the social circles for a while and Robert the monster that lives...liked to keep up appearances.

    “It looks like I’m about to have bronchitis…again.” She muttered to herself as she moved her ankles in small circles. They had used that excuse so many times that one of their friends told her to go see a specialist and gave her the contact info of his doctor as well. The coughing that came with bronchitis would explain why her chest and ribs hurt if anyone were to ask.

    She stopped turning her joints and wrapped her arms around herself, leaning gingerly against the wet stone wall. Closing her eyes she let her head fall back against the cold stone and prayed that she could get out of this somehow. She didn’t have it in her to kill him unless he was trying to kill her and he never was. Robert was purely about proving a point and showing how in control he was. She didn’t have the physical strength over him but she had brains and knew that this was not somewhere she wanted to be any longer and she would not be like one of those women that were too scared or unable by other means to get away.

    Carol Anne was to the point now that she decided that rather be dead than continue to live like this. All she needed was a way out without involving the ‘friends’ they have now. Dragging them into it was not an option. She had to do this on her own; she knew that was the only way to really be free of it. They lived so far outside of town though that for her to walk away when he was at work was not possible. They only had the one car a 2010 blue Ford Focus that she never drove and on top of the trackers plus the alarms he had everywhere she would have to make sure he couldn’t find her. Unfortunately she didn’t know what any of the devices looked like so she didn’t really know what she was looking for. That made it kind of hard to be proactive on that front but her mind was set after almost 5 years of this, she was done with it.

    The wheels started turning in her head now and stood slowly. Once on her feet she began to pace around the small space using the pain to keep her on her mind on track and promising her body that she wasn’t going to be down here much longer or for that matter ever again. She would be the perfect wife while she planned her escape and in a few days Robert would take her into the city so that people could see her, alive, well and happy…well appearing to be happy. She would sit in the little square, on the little bench with a cup of some fancy coffee she didn’t even like and watch the people go by with a fake smile until Robert came back from that little antique store he loved so much. He wouldn’t take her in just in case she got to chatty. New friends to try and fake out were not welcome in Robert’s world. He had enough trouble with the few they had now.

    From the front window of the store he could see right into the park and she knew he watched her from there so she would have to be very careful. Not that she had a plan yet but she would and god help her she would get out of this house. First thing first though…she had to get out of the Pit. And that couldn't happen until her loving husband came to let her out. She had no idea what time it was or how long until he woke up. The only good thing about any of this...or instead useful thing was that he slept up there above her but in the basement with her on a cot in the corner but she didn't dare wake him. He got up on his own when he was ready to and the only reason he did was because didn't like to be away from her, except when he was at work and even then he called her every hour in that work day time frame and sometimes came home early.

    Carol Anne continued to walk in very tight circles, hunched over and her breathing shallow not being able to expand her lungs. Taking another half turn she gave up and slid her ass down the stone wall inch by inch until it hit the dirt. Blinking quickly she realized she was about to cry. “No. I will not do this.”

    As she chanted in her mind 'I will get out of this” over and over again she didn't hear the cot squeak from Robert shifted his weight. She didn't hear him as he shuffled across the concrete floor in his bare feet and she didn't hear him as he leaned his sleek body over the edge of the Pit

    “Angel,” he purred. “you're awake.”




Thursday, August 6, 2015

Chapter 14 Part 1

Gertie hated the way the Guardian spoke to her, with his wide body and dark hair greying at the temples and his piercing grey eyes. Wait…why was she looking at his eyes? She shook off the thought and resumed her hatred of how beneath him he made her feel. She did her job and did it very well over the centuries as far as she was concerned. She took care of the vessel her Mistress was in every time it magically showed up at her door and always made sure it found its way back to where it belonged, alive and in living colour.

    She felt a strong surge of courage and her back straightened in her chair as she opened her mouth to speak. “Guardian…I have long taken care of that which is my assigned duty. I feel her when she is released and in this case I only felt but a shadow of her. Something was wrong with the transition and I only came to help her cross back over into this world.” Her eyes travelled around the table and fell once again on Cyrus who quickly averted his eyes from her direction to stare anywhere else, the cupboards, the sink, and those stupid potholders over the stove. Anywhere that was away from her eyes.

    Snapping fingers appeared in Gerties view which made her less than happy but she continued. “I followed my Mistresses’ trace of an aura to this house and I must say it was quite the journey.” As she recalled the events in her head that led her here she remembered that she had been trying to go upstairs but was interrupted by the boy. She held on to the thought that as soon as this was over she was going to find the Beast residing above her at this very moment no matter what any of them wanted her to do and with that mission in mind she sat back in her chair and shut her mouth.

     As Dominic spoke she tuned everything he was saying out of her head because frankly she didn’t want to hear any of it anyway. She never understood why they felt like they the Guardians were more necessary in the grand scheme of things, especially since the activities they were a part of in order to keep the money flowing was very far from her natural and quiet way of life. The only other difference between them was that they were stronger and more powerful, tasked with doing everything within their means to not control the spirit within but merely keep tabs on her and attempt to circumvent her destructive ways, as in doing some damage control.  As far as Gertie was concerned her Mistress could destroy everything in her path and it was acceptable. Her time was almost up and she had lived for centuries in a lonely void with just her and Jack…well Jack the15th, maybe 16th? She couldn’t remember anymore as the years rolled by.

Her eyes and ears suddenly came back to what was going on in the room. The Guardian was just looking at her, waiting for more of an explanation. Apparently he had asked her a question. She thought he might have, for a moment she wondered why they were just staring at her until Dom so clearly agitated opened his mouth and asked the question she never would have thought to hear from his mouth let anyone else’s.

“Caretaker, we have an unusual situation here.” He took a deep breath and settled himself back into his chair aware that the old woman was now paying attention. “We are trying to tell Skye here exactly what we are to her. As you can see the situation is somewhat different from what we are all used to and yes that includes you.” Immediately she turned to Cyrus. “Yes,” she crooned and Cyrus winced at the intense attention. Dom rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of her again. “Look Caretaker, there are children involved here…Skye’s children with…Deacon.” Gertie recoiled and stared at Skye with hard eyes.

    At the mention of Deacon’s name Skye focused hard on Gertie. Had she known him? How well? The Caretaker stood up suddenly and Chase stepped forward but didn’t try to touch her. Gertie paced back and forth in front of the sliding glass door mumbling to under her breath, hands moving constantly like she was calculating something. Maury started to fidget himself getting antsy he moved closer to Chase who looked at his friend and partner and then shot his eyes to the ceiling. Maury stilled with his head tilted towards the ceiling, listening and gave him short nod back. Skye caught the exchange as she looked over her shoulder and had the impression something else was going on as Maury slipped out of the kitchen but was too tired and still hungover to care at the moment. As he passed the cage in the hall, the bird squawked again.

    As Skye watched him head for the front of the house to the stairs where Maury was going Chase stepped into her view and blocked her line of sight with his crotch in her face. When she looked up at him annoyed he just looked at her with eyes so blue and powerful that she turned back into her seat and with more and more frustration boiling inside her. With every step Gertie took, she felt herself shaking…unraveling. The sudden shift in her mood made two of the three men left in the room cautious.

    Dom cleared his throat and caught Gerties attention wanting to move this along. “How do children change the game Caretaker? What happens to them on the reset?” His words slapped Skye in the face and Dom cringed at the choice of words he had used but they were flying blind and as much as he loves Skye this was too important to pussy foot around.

    Just then a thought struck him. “Skye…did you find the Journal? The leather bound book that Deacon had?” The anger was boiling up around like a rough sea calmed for a moment as her confusion deepened and the lack of answers she was getting was driving her mad he had given her a focus. Her voice steady she replied “No…I’ve been a little busy this morning Dom.”

“I know Skye it’s just very—“ The calm sea turned stormy.

    “I know Dom! It’s very important!” she screamed as she stood suddenly kicking the chair out from behind her into Chases shins and lost it. Waving frantically at the people in the room she continued to freak out. “Everything to you people seems to be but not as fucking important as telling me what I am and apparently how long I’m going to be me!”

    Cyrus paled and took a ragged breath as he stepped away from her until Chase stopped him from moving any further and parked his butt in a chair. As she realized what she had said, she reached for her son to hold him…and passed out.



Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Chapter 13 Part 3

    Gertie didn’t flinch when she saw the two dogs at the top of the stairs but she stood her ground unafraid of them only trying to calculate how she would get around them. Skye was still trying to catch her breath and the static got louder and louder until she couldn’t hear anything but the noise. Her head tilted towards the ceiling again and the static ramped up like it was attached to her anxiousness.

    “Please call them off Miss.” Gertie said softly, she wasn’t pleading just simply asking to remove them from her path and her voice was the only one to cut through the static. The sound was raging through her ears and brain but she heard the old woman clearly. With all of the control she could muster, “No.” Skye bit out as her stomach threatened to betray her and make her throw up on the stairs. Gertie turned to her slowly and her old wise eyes focused on Skye, “I can remove them myself Miss,” she paused and returned her gaze to the canines “but they would not remain in the condition that they are in now.” Skye was just about to tell her where to go when the door opened and Cyrus strode in.

    At first he wasn’t sure what to make of what he was looking at.  He stopped dead taking in the strange woman in his house, his mother was hunched over, pale holding her head in her hands while the dogs were growling furiously. Without the sound or movement it looked like a movie that was paused as he took it all in.

    Gerties eyes went wide when she saw him and she straightened. Her eyes went to his and over the curve of his face, down the length of his body and back up. “Fascinating…” she whispered, “absolutely fascinating.” In what seemed like a trance state she stepped past Skye and as she did so the static stopped abruptly. Skye caught her breath in big gasps as her stomach began to settle, with care she dropped her hands from her ears that now only had a dull ringing in them. The dogs stopped growling and came to their master’s side while Skye registered that Gertie was heading straight for Cyrus.

    Cy had no idea what to think and with each step Gertie took towards him, he took backwards, his eyes shifting from the old woman to his mother. Gertie kept her slow advancement on Cyrus raising her hand and attempted to touch his hair. Skye got her legs back, protectiveness and anger replaced the residual sickness and pain she had felt not even seconds earlier and this sent her into motion. When he hit the wall beside the door his skin started to crawl like there were ants moving all over his arms and neck.

   She was almost on him about to push her hands through his long shaggy hair as Skye came up to grab her but at the same time the front door was pushed open and Chase’s big frame stepped through filling up the doorway. In a flash Gerties face was one of disgust and hatred towards him, suddenly once Dominic stepped through after his she was still holding a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she dropped to her knees and bowed her head before him. Dom didn’t miss a beat as he put his hand out and took hold of Cyrus’ shoulder before he could move to Skye’s side.

    “Caretaker…” he growled as he looked down at her. “Guardian…” she spat back.

    Skye had a pretty certain feeling that even after everything Dominic had told her the night before that there was so much more that she needed to know. More than she would be able to comprehend, like how he and Gertie knew each other, why they referred to each other the way that they did and what the hell it all had to do with her. On top of that the bowing? What was with that? Her headache came roaring back and leaned into the wall, her body had been through so much in what…maybe 24 hours. Maury slipped in behind Dom and came to her instantly urging her to put her weight on him instead of the wall as he directed her carefully to the kitchen. Chase closed the door as he stared sideways down at the old woman on her knees. “Stand up witch and start talking about why you’re here, in this home.” Dominic bellowed. She stood then and Dominic took his hand from Cy’s shoulder only to take Gertie by her arms…he was not gentle with her as he turned her around and shoved her off in the same direction that Maury and Skye had taken.

    As much loathing as Gertie had for Dominic she was much more enthralled with Cyrus whose eyes were wide as questions ran through his own head mirroring Skye’s own but he had no fear of her, only confusion. Now it was Chase that put a hand on Cyrus and gave him a quick pat on the back but said nothing. The moment the two stepped forward to follow the others Chases’ gaze rose to the ceiling and he smiled slightly until he walked past Gerties forgotten luggage and a loud squawk came from beneath the cover. Cy was startled but from ahead they heard Maury let out an exasperated sigh. “You still have that fucking bird?” he said and when Gertie cackled his response shut her up “I can still kill it you know.”

    “Animal…” she muttered shuffling herself to the table so she could sit and as Maury smiled Skye realized that his canines were more prominent that she had remembered. They were larger than she thought; they weren’t longer but still larger than your average human canine teeth.

    Before Maury and Gertie could get into any further argument about the bird Dominic cleared his throat and put a glass of water in front of Skye that she hadn’t even noticed he had gone to get her. Chases large frame filled the kitchen archway as he leaned to the left and rested himself there with his arms crossed over his chest.

   “So Caretaker…” He sat down beside Skye and nodded towards the cage in the foyer. “Spill it or I’ll let my man here have a snack.”

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