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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.”

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Chapter 13 Part 2

   Chase woke up ragged, drowsy and full of piss and vinegar to the sound of pounding on the door of his suite. As his eyes opened and focused, he swung his thick thighs over the side of the bed planting his feet on the cold laminate floor. Without looking at the clock he knew it was early, too early.

The pounding came again. “Hey big guy, You up?” the voice penetrating the tired haze.

    Chase knew buy the smell of the Brut 33 that was burning his nasal cavities that it was Maury. What he didn’t know was why he was waking him up now. After a long conversation with Dominic about the events last night at Skye’s, he had only about 3 hours of sleep. Usually with the ongoing revelation and acceptance of the mind and body sharing that Skye had to go through there was typically a lot more screaming, crying and hand holding on the packs part. This time though it was different and they had wondered how she was going to take it when she came across that retched soul again.

She had surprised them all.

    She was much calmer than expected and that must have been because of her kids. Her children were the thing that kept her stable right now, but for how long. She couldn’t hold out forever and Chase knew that, so did Dom but they were in new territory here. Kids were the addition that no one counted on and for 16 years now they had been waiting for the other shoe to drop and now it had, they had no fucking clue what to do.

    Again Maury pounded on the door and Chase let out a low growl. “Chase we gotta go, Skye got in touch with Dom and the Caretaker is in her house.”

    Chase’s head whipped around and in two strides he threw open the door. “She’s in her house?” Maury dipped his head in a quick nod. “How? How did she find her?” Maury shrugged “You know those Caretakers; the vessels they take care of are like a homing beacon. She must have followed it.”

    Chase ran his hand roughly through his thick strawberry blond hair “Ok, I’m on it. Be down in 5.” Maury didn’t wait around just turned and headed down the back stairs to bring the car around. While he threw on his jeans and black t-shirt over his 6 foot 2 muscular frame Chase wondered again how this was going to play out.  Never since he had been around had a Caretaker made any contact with living body of their Mistress except to hand over the vessel.

    Lack of sleep and too many questions made his head spin but as he pulled on his boots he got himself together and became the hard second in command that he was known to be as he put brass knuckles in the pocket of his leather jacket and a 9 mm in his holster in the back of his jeans he stretched his neck. The series of pops up the back of his neck told him he was ready. Dealing with the wicked witch could be a problem.

    When he came out of his room he took a deep breath before he went over and hit the elevator button. He lived in one of only 3 suites on the top floor of the motel behind the Pawn shop. The other 2 belong to Dominic and Deacon. Deacon had only used the suite when Skye was in her other form because the other would have nothing to do with him so it was always on standby. Although on the outside the motel looked run down and bad side of town wrong on the outside, inside it was completely modern with the best security they had access to.

    Not only were there video cameras in the hallways and the elevator. The front door was reinforced with steel doors that were covered with wood and aged to look old. All of the windows were bulletproof and there was an escape tunnel underneath the motel just in case something went terribly wrong. At the front desk is where their in house security team Bass and Tank were parked with 6 computer screens in front of them and on each screen there were 4 split views so they could see everything and anything within a 5 block radius of where they sat.

    Dom’s pawn business was a cover for his real ones and none of them were legal. The pack was tough but bullets still hurt like hell when one of them got shot, steel pipes left bruises if they got hit and they didn’t always deal with the stand-up honorable types. Forget always it was never. They didn’t make a habit of killing humans but putting them in the hospital was not a problem, breaking things was common practice and every now and then someone died.

    The elevator doors finally opened and after the quick ride down 2 floors he was standing in front of Dom who was talking to Tank. Chase stepped up to his Pack leader and took up space just behind and off to the right of him. Dom lifted a chin to him and Chase returned it with a nod. “You ready?” Dominic asked. Chase said nothing as the doors opened and Dom led the way.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Chapter 13 Part 1

    As her hands went to her face she could feel the wetness of the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. When had she started crying? She had no idea why she cried now, this wasn’t the first time he would be disappointed in her behaviour and it wouldn’t be the last no matter how much she wished things were different.

    She hated him for the way he would parade her around in front of others like she was a prize, the perfect wife and host with her luscious red hair, big gray eyes and full lips but behind the closed doors he was not the same person he showed to the outside world around them. Once the doors were locked and the shades were drawn in the old Victorian house the smile that radiated from him in company, left his lips swiftly. If she was good she would be allowed to retreat to her room, separate from his and across the long hallway upstairs, behind a locked door. And it wasn’t locked from the inside.
 
    If she was bad…she had two options depending on what she had done and both options were bad. The rack or the pit; she preferred the rack if only because it was in the attic and there was a small window so that she could get some light. He was more hands on with the rack though the alternative of her being in the pit was damp darkness that was cold the sensory deprivation drove her mad. After the first few times she would scream until her lungs hurt, if she kept going he would sedate her…with his fists. He learned quickly that those sedations left bruises and he didn’t want anyone to see those so instead he would turn the hose on her and fill up the pit until she was straining on the tips of her toes to keep her head above water.

So she played the game. Day in and day out it was always the same.

    Leaving was not an option unless it was in a body bag and until she could find a way for it to be him in the bag she would be the good, loving wife. Talk softly and not ask questions and please him no matter what he asked for.

    She had forgotten she was on the floor in the bathroom. How long had she been in here? Her realization had kick started her senses bringing them back online. She couldn’t feel anything in her feet, they were completely numb but her ankles were on fire because of how she was sitting on the cold linoleum. Her legs tucked underneath her power blue skirt. She tried to move quickly and that was a mistake as the pins and needles rushed through, spread out like tiny little daggers across her skin and protested the hell out of her using them so she stopped and took a deep breath.

    She tried again this time bracing herself on the vanity for support. Once she got to her feet she caught sight of herself in the mirror and took note if her red puffy eyes and immediately started to panic. Visine thought quickly as she tore open the medicine cabinet and found what she needed. Just as she picked up the bottle she heard a firm knock on the door and everything froze. Her breathe her body…everything.

    “Carol Anne?” he called. He sounded alright but she could hear the small edge of tension in his voice that he was trying very hard to hold back. Quickly she turned on the tap and dropped 2 drops of Visine in each eye. “I’ll be right out, just washing my hands!” she tried to keep her voice level. He paused and it felt like her heart was going to jackhammer out of her chest as the seconds of silence felt like hours.

    “Our guests are waiting…sweetheart.” He replied calmly only under his breath she heard him say fiercely. “Unacceptable.”

    Carol Anne Moore knew at that moment that the pit would be waiting for her tonight after their guests left. Its cold stone and darkness will give her no comfort as she spends a sleepless night trying to remember how she got here in the first place…and how she was going to get out.
  


    Smoothing her hair down with her hand and straightening her skirt she pulled herself together and took one last look at the gray eyes staring back at her. She took a deep breath and steeled herself, stood up straight and opened the bathroom door.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Chapter 12 Part 3

Skye couldn’t hide the look of shock from her face as Gertie stood on her doorstep with a look of certainty in her eyes.

“Ah…hi?” Skye began “Aren’t you the woman that sold me that statue a few days ago?”

Gertie cocked her head and looked deeply into Skye’s green eyes. “Yes,” she said with a low gravelly voice “May I come in?” Before waiting for Skye’s reply she pushed past her and into the house.

Another brief feeling of shock ran through Skye as she felt a twinge of fear and at the same time a sense of familiarity that she could only assume was because she had met this woman before. Never had her emotions been through the roller coaster ride so fierce as the one she had been on over the past few days. Even with Deacon’s death there was only sadness and grief that she had to contend with, now there were so many others that she almost felt distant from herself and still so here.

“By all means, of course.” She said sarcastically as she took stock of the old woman. Her head started to spin as pictures and words remembered swam through her head. Things were happening too fast and they needed to slow down so she could understand what was happening. Then her eyes fell on the semi covered cage and she wondered why the woman traveled with a bird while Gertie was looking the hallway up and down and she realized right then that the only reason she would be travelling with her pet was if she was going to be around for a while.

The thought stopped her cold and the next thing she did was take out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Dominic, letting him know that the woman she had gotten the statue from was in her house and that it didn’t look like she was leaving anytime soon. 

The response was immediate, he was on his way.

Skye tried to keep the tremble from her voice as she headed for the kitchen and her thoughts drifted towards thinking that if anything happened there were more things she could use as weapons. 

“Can I get you anything? A cup of tea perhaps some coffee or a glass of water?” As she waited for the answer she felt like she was going crazy. When did she ever have to think about which room had more weapons in it? Gertie continued to look this way and that ever turning in a slow circle as her gaze shifted suddenly up to the roof.

“Hrumph…” Gertie let out and followed Skye reluctantly down the hall. “Yes, tea would be nice, Miss.” In no way asking for her name just…Miss almost like how a servant would address someone above them. That wouldn’t be strange considering she calls a spirit housed in a statue her Mistress. Somehow that made Skye relax a bit and the reply from Dom that he was on his way had made her feel a whole lot better.

As Gertie stepped into the kitchen and looked around the room Skye asked quietly, “Why are you here and how did you find me?”

Gertie offered an awkward smile. “My Mistress is never far and I can find her if I need to.” 

OK she’s crazy Skye thought to herself. 

“Your Mistress?” She hedged, knowing the answer to her question as soon as it left her mouth but figured it would be safer to play dumb especially since she was having trouble believing this whole thing anyway but maybe the old woman could give her the answers she was beginning to have questions to. 

Gertie stepped forward and placed herself only a few feet away from Skye far enough out of reach but close enough that Skye could feel buzzing in her head like static. As she tried to mentally shake the noise Gertie's features were suddenly twisted into something ugly as she looked like she was trying to control some roiling anger within her, just under the surface.

“Yes…my mistress,” she paused “I put her in a box and gave her to you for only…one…dollar.” 

It was just the answer that Skye thought she was going to hear but before she could open her mouth to ask her what she knew about the Spirit Within the static stopped abruptly and Gertie’s head turned sharply to the ceiling, without a word she walked out of the kitchen so fast all the while watching above her and headed for the stairs. The whole action happened so quickly that Skye had to run to catch up with her in time to stop her from going up the stairs. The bird forgotten cawed frantically in it's covered cage.

Skye stuck out an arm and circled around in front her stopping her in her tracks. She stood on the steps and had moved her hands that her left was on the banister and the right on the wall to stop Gertie from going any farther

“Whoa! Where do you think you’re going?” Skye spat out at her as her blood started to boil and the static came roaring back to life in her ears.

Gertie's eyes left the ceiling only for a moment so she could step closer and look up at Skye. Her breathe was rancid like rotting flesh and her eyes on fire as she looked deep in Skye’s eyes and formed her words carefully and with impact.

“There, is a beast up there Miss…a beast and a shadow. If the 2 meet it will not be good for you, my Mistress or anyone else caught in the middle, so I implore you to get out of my way and let me pass."

    Skye blinked and tried not to throw up as she could feel the bile travelling up her throat. She was 
officially going to be locked up in the loonie bin and the static in her head kicked up another notch. When she put her hands over her ears Gertie took that moment to push her aside and make her way up the staircase only to be greeted and the top by Angel and Kona, teeth bared and low rumbling growls coming from their throats.



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