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The Puppet Master

“I’m so pretty. Oh so pretty. I’m so pretty and witty and…briiiight!” Ok, I was bored. And it is the only song that popped into my mind for some strange reason. Probably has something to do with my overly inflated ego.

So sue me.

Davis had been successfully diverted to the library, but he had been scowling something fierce about it. Being forced down a hallway by moving suits of armor swinging battle axes would do that to someone I guess. I darned near pissed myself. As if the house was weird enough!

And it was really weird. After I looked over my shoulder to see if there was anyone with a “Harbringer” name tag nearby, we were let into this absolutely bizarre place. There were stairs that climbed into the ceiling or even moved like in Harry Potter, and I spotted a couple of doors that went nowhere.

Just a blank wall behind them and, let me tell you, it was creeping me out! I had heard about houses like this, of course. Normal homes that ended up being haunted by ghosts, driving the owners insane enough to listen to any instructions their haunters gave them.

Ghosts were not very good architects or interior designers apparently.

“Harbringer?”

“Don’t call me that.” I said automatically. I’d been sitting here for an hour and every single maid this place had (except for one, blond, HUGE cans slipped up and called me Than-something. She told me her name but I can’t remember it…) insisted that my name was “Harbringer.”

The girl shrugged, a brown haired one this time. “We are sorry that Mistress made you wait but you must understand,” I got up off the lumpy, overstuffed chair… “She is not safe to be around at certain times.” And froze.

Holy hell…wasn’t that a nice bit of information to hear?

I just nodded, not trusting my mouth to keep the stupid things in check and followed her out. It was down this hallway that ran in the opposite direction of the library, making me nervous. Have you ever seen a house, or a room, that looked bigger on the inside than it had any right to be?

That’s what I was feeling, because this hallway had a tiled floor that literally spiraled across the walls, to the ceiling, then back again. My eyes kept trying to tell me that the hallway got smaller but it didn’t. It made me nauseous.

The end had a door that opened horizontally (which made me blink a couple of times) made out of this creamy white material. Ivory? Marble?

Pearl? Whatever.

“Are you going to just stand there?” I jumped at the sudden voice but managed to restrain the girly scream. I would never live it down.

It was some kind of study…but it sure as hell didn’t look like the study of anyone sane. There were bookshelves, filled with books but some were on their side, some upright and there was even one perched diagonally upside down in the corner. Seven writing desks overflowing with papers and one massive glass globe in the center of the room.

There was a woman there, studying it.

“So, the undead seer has sent you to me…” She’s talking about Nightshade…

“How’d you know?”

I got a sharp look. “She called me,” was stated in a dry tone that I was instantly jealous of. It wasn’t fair!

I shuffled my feet. “So…what do I do about the Puppet Master?” And damn it, if I wasn’t tired of people giving me odd looks.

“So she has chosen another?” I nodded even though I have NO idea what I am supposedly being chosen for… “It’s a simple matter, really.” I perked up. Good news! “The Puppet Master creates her puppets by interrupting their journey into the afterlife after she has killed them.”

My short lived happiness was rapidly fading. “What does that have to do with getting her off my back?”

“If she is unable to get a hold on the soul, she can’t do anything to you.”

“How do I make she can’t get a hold on my soul.” Honestly, it was like a game of twenty questions. I ain’t asking for much here!

“Make her unable to kill you. Become immortal and everything else falls into place.”

I stared. No, I mean stared. Then I started to laugh. Couldn’t help it. This was some kind of wild goose chase…become immortal, yeah right!

“Are you trying to tell me that you…” She turned towards me and bile rose in my throat. There are some things that you just know will haunt you. No wonder she looked so interested in the damn globe.

The top right side of her head was caved in. And it was visibly healing.

“What…are you?”

“Have you ever heard of liches, Harbringer?” That damn name again. I shook my head. “They’re the result of a dark ritual. Once mortal, their souls are placed into an object or objects, in my case, and are turned therefore immortal.” She said this like she was talking about the fucking weather or something.

“It’s painful and takes a long time to prepare; it’s a waste of time trying to teach the process to a human.” She gave me a look. “How lucky for you that, even now, there isn’t a single human in my house.”

“You’re pretty.” She forced a smile on her face, trying to keep her trembling down. She was hungry, having not eaten since he started to run, but she needed to hold it in for a little longer.

“Thank you.” But it was so hard! The child literally reeked of a tainted soul and it was making her edgy.

“Daddy said not to talk to strangers because they might hurt me. You won’t right?”

“Of course not.” Not yet. The girl beamed, obviously thinking she had made a new friend.

“That’s good, all the kids at school pick on me and push me down at recess. No one likes me.” She ignored the sad tone, thinking of a way to turn the conversation where she wanted it to go.

“Not even your father?” The girl’s face abruptly shut down.

“Daddy doesn’t like me, he loves me.” Then in a whisper: “He says so.” And he is apparently a chronic liar.

“You live in that building, right?” She pointed down the street at a very unassuming, blocky, yellow apartment building. He had once lived there.

“Yeah! How’d you know?” It’s why I chose you.

“I have a…friend that used to live there. I think he moved not to long ago.”

The girl nodded. “Jamie, right? He was nice but he was sometimes a big meanie.” The sudden roar of feeling, the need to defend him startled her. It was different and it made her desire to have him even stronger.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she lied easily. “It’s just that James didn’t tell me where he was going…” On cue the girl let out a horrified gasp.

“But you’re friends! You’re supposed to share everything!” There was a heartbeat of silence. “He went with his friend, Davis. He’s the really nice one, funny too.” Davis? A sudden memory…

“Davis will worry about me. People are….nosy.”

She directed her attention at the building again. Yes…yes, there was something else different about it…James had been living in the same building as a Keeper…

She choked off an angry hiss before the girl noticed, smoothing her expression into a nervous smile. “You’ve been a great help, why don’t I take you out for lunch somewhere?”

She let the girl follow her a little ways, weaving the air with subtle suggestions to ignore the two of them. It wouldn’t do to be interrupted. About a block away, she stopped.

“Where are we going?”

“We?” Her voice was trembling with the effort to keep it human sounding. “I don’t know but…” she lost control. “You really should have listened to your father.”

She had forgotten how much age changed the taste of things. Unclogged by fat, and not made tough by years of hard work, the heart of a child was a wonderful thing.

She could only wish that he was there to share it with her. Then it would have been perfect.

I came to with the feeling of someone slapping my face. “Ow…”

“James! Are you ok?” I was about to answer: “Just peachy” when I remembered how I got on the floor.

I sat upright. “That’s how you knew about all that stuff!” Davis gave me a weird look but I was on a roll, baby, and not stopping for anyone! “That’s how you knew about the vamp bar, the fae, the ghost, the Puppet Master!” I ended up hissing at the end somehow.

Dave started rubbing at his temples. “Yes and no.”

I paused. “Yes and no what, Dae-vis?” I got a glare but I just crossed my arms and stared him down. While sitting on the floor. Shut up.

“I know about most of the other stuff because, believe it or not, I really do read.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right, like what? Dante’s Inferno?”

“No, Idiot’s Guide to the Paranormal.” I stared at him for a moment, trying to will him to say “I’m kidding” but as far as I could tell he was dead serious.

“You’re kidding.” I said for him since the bastard didn’t look like he was going to.

“I’m not.” Damn.

“Alright, and the yes part?”

He winced. “Well, I kind of have to know about everything “strange” that is going to happen to you.” He even made the quotation fingers at the word strange.

“Why…you a stalker or something?”

“No, you idiot! I’m your Keeper!” I figured that by now I must be looking pretty blank.

“Like in “my brother’s keeper?”

An eyebrow was raised. “Bible reference?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice.”

“I know.” Sister Whats-her-face had a habit of telling me to quote scripture in front of my “heathen acquaintance” but I never actually did it until now…twelve years later. A little late, yeah, but whatever.

“So spill, what’s a Keeper?” You could almost hear the capital letter.

“It’s a guardian, kinda.”

“A guardian kinda.” I sized him up. Let’s see, weighs about 130 pounds, 5’7”, moppy brown hair, glasses and nerdy clothes (you know, khakis and button shirt). I’m almost sure I could bench press him and I know I could knock him out easily. What the hell could he possibly guard me from!?

He must have seen the look on my face because he suddenly got this scary gleam in his eyes. “I’m not here to protect you from anything else; I’m here to protect you from yourself.”

“I’m not suicidal, I don’t think…”

He waved a hand to cut me off. “You can’t awaken too early.” Excuse me?

Before I could ask: why the hell I couldn’t wake up any damn time I wanted to, the door (pretty sure its ivory, which must be expensive) sort of fell open. The lich lady was back.

“If you are both quite done bonding…” I let out a snarl before hopping to my feet. Immortal or not, the bitch was getting on my nerves.

“He’ll need more than three lich pieces.” Dave volunteered before I could say anything, making me roll my eyes. Suck up.

“I am well aware of that, however the process would take a minimum of ten years.”

“Wait,” I all but yelped. “I can’t avoid her for ten years!”

“You can’t avoid her at all, Mr. Park.” She said snidely. If it wasn’t for my “don’t hit girls” policy she’d be on her ass right now. “If she wants to find you, she will. She is a bit more emotionally involved with this chase, no doubt, but she will come again.”

“How do I stop her from coming after me?”

“There are quite a few ways to gain immortality; you’ll have to find them on your own.” I gritted my teeth, really starting to hate my damn morals. “Until then, you’ll have to hurt her.”

This time Dave answered. “She’s also immortal and the fae have always healed pretty quick. I doubt she’ll let him get close with iron on him.”

The evil woman just shrugged. “He’s got quite the mouth on him, does he not?”

I wasn’t even out of that house before I exploded. “He’s got quite the mouth on him, argh! Who does she think she is!?”

Dave snickered. “Someone I can imagine being the mother of your hell spawn.”

I swear if looks could kill…

“That isn’t funny.”

“Oh but it is! Can you imagine what kind of ankle biters you two could make?”

“Don’t want to hear it.” And I didn’t, oh god! I didn’t want to hear it. Dave kept going anyway.

“I mean, with your mouth and her attitude…her brains and maybe your animal magnetism…”

“WHAT?” I nearly had a seizure because THAT sounded really gay. I’m not homophobe or anything (especially not with girls, hehe) but DAVE? Ewww….

“I say something wrong?” He tried to pull off the “I’m-so-innocent-you-are-a-horrible-person-for-accusing-me-of-murder” look but I wasn’t falling for it.

“Non-humans off the sidewalk.”

“You aren’t human either.” I froze for a second then kept on walking like the trooper I am.

“I was trying to forget about that, thanks.”

“You can’t keep denying it.”

“Yes I can!” I shouted, feeling the urge to hit something.

“No you can’t!” He shouted back, louder than me. “Just face it, James. You’re not normal and you never will be!” He flinched then, as if expecting to be hit.

And just like that all the fight went out of me. Dave wasn’t the type to raise his voice. The loudest he got was when we’re busy poking fun at each other, but never in a real argument.

His mother would hit him every time he did, up until the day he moved out. I remembered…

“Just haul out and smack! She won’t try it again.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why? Cause she’s your mother? Fuck that!” The other boy went quiet for a while.

“You don’t know what it’s like to hit someone like that. You fight, James. To hit someone with no chance to defend themselves, you know you’re stronger and they can’t do a thing about it…”

“Davis…I didn’t mean…”

“You get scared of breaking them so Davis just takes it.” He didn’t seem to notice that he switched from second to third person.

I used to think that he meant the fact that he was male and naturally stronger than his aging mother. Now?

I’m your Keeper! Now I wasn’t so sure…

We were almost to the apartment when Dave interrupted my thoughts.

“James. Look at me.”

I turned, glaring. “Why?”

“She’s here.” On instinct I tried to turn back around and found myself frozen like every other stinking time she showed up.

“Keeper.” The word was said in a strange sibilant hiss and I knew, somehow, that it was how she usually sounded like. Apparently the word “Keeper” didn’t sit too well with her either.

“How’d you find out?” That was Dave, with the little boy warble in his voice that meant he was a couple of words away from crying.

“Your taint was not hidden very well.” Davis cursed and I broke out in a cold sweat. Dave, cursing? Armageddon! “You won’t try to take James away from me, will you?”

He brushed my shoulder and suddenly, I could move. I spun around (I should get a score for it, seriously) and stopped dead.

Now I know that I thought Nightshade was hot. Sorry to say she is now second best. I expected some devil horns, barbed wire whip, glowing evil eyes, tentacles or something when Dave had said that "she" was here. You know, the Puppet Master, evil incarnate.

There was none of that but there was the girl of my dreams right in front of me! Long black hair and blue eyes I will now say is my favorite combination. I had to check to see if I was drooling. Because, you know, first impressions and all that.

“You’re beautiful.” I said before I could stop my mouth. Ah, well, honesty is the best policy ain’t it?

She turned a bit red and Dave elbowed me. “What?”

“Have you forgotten the tear-out-your-soul thing already?” I blinked. Oh yea…that. Bugger.

“James…” I eyed her warily. Must be some kind of catch-em-off-guard trick. “Please come with me?”

“What do you want?”

She looked around, as if unsure of herself. “I want-I want you. I want us…to be together…” I wanted to turn to Dave and ask: Is she asking me out? But I had the feeling he would just elbow me again.

His arms were bony and hurt like hell. So instead, I just nodded.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere with you.” Her face then…twisted. It was such an ugly expression I was actually surprised to see it. Just a minute ago, you could have knocked me over with a feather she was that perfect.

“I-I’ll make you…”

“Nuh uh!” I whipped out my spork that still occupied my back pocket. She faltered, staring at it, the hateful look fading.

And then, to my horror, her eyes began to tear up.

“Iron?" Her voice had suddenly turned very small and I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. "You would use…iron against me? Wha-what have I done?” A drop fell. “Why?” Crap. Well let me tell you one little thing about myself that I am not proud of: I hate seeing girls cry. It’s like some kind of switch many girlfriends have used to get themselves out of trouble. One minute I’m pissed enough to spit toilet paper and the next I tripping over my feet to get the Kleenex.

Apparently, evil fae creatures trigger that switch too. I was already moving before I brain registered it.

“James!”

“You know where to shove it.” Any other time, I would have been flipping out. The thing that wants my soul is crying into my shirt. Okay. But there was something…everything was a bit fuzzy and dull like something was clouding my senses.

She was hiccupping. “Hey, you got my shirt wet.” Yea, yea, I’m a nice guy. You don’t have to tell me. She said something that came out muffled.

“What was that?”

“I’m sorry…for everything,” she put her hand above my heart. “Forgive me?” And then I felt cold.

Dave was yelling something and the world was turning grey at the edges. I could hear my heart beat pounding in my ears.

It was slowing down.

Her hand was…in my chest like I wasn’t solid and she was pulling something out…Geez, do I need glasses? I’m really cold…Why is everything so-

I saw white, a blinding light that burned and I was….falling sideways, I think. My vision didn’t get any better though just shapes…

“James, you can’t pass on, don’t-“

Then shadows…god, I feel so cold…

“Why does he hate me? How come I can’t understand why…?”

Then nothing.

All puppeteers treasured their hands. It’s no wonder why.

“You have been injured.” The Puppet Master jerked as the voice echoed in her head. So, even the Lord knew. I have…my hand…

After the Keeper took him away, she had found a spot on the curb to sit and assess the damage. Only now was she beginning to see the basics of her palm take shape. Three hours ago, she had been watching her elbow reform.

It had been shredded, her arm. Or maybe burned. It had hurt but she couldn’t find it in herself to hate him for it.

Just the thought of him hating her enough to do this was enough to kill any feelings of ill will. After all, she had hurt him once in that alley. He couldn’t really mean it; he hadn’t used the iron after all…

“This newest obsession of yours is going to get you killed.”

He didn’t mean it…his eyes hadn’t looked the same when it happened. They were a brown turned a stunning molten gold…

“It’ll be just like the others, risking life and soul to stay away from you.”

No, its different…she didn’t feel the same with the others. And he tried to stop the water from her eyes; no one else had ever done that for her before. I feel, I mean I- the word wouldn’t come. She couldn’t find a way to explain and she didn’t know how to even start trying.

“This is foolishness.” A sudden irrational fear took hold of her.

Don’t make me let him go!

“I won’t, for I can always make another puppet.” His presence left her and she continued watching her hand heal. The thumb was coming along nicely…

All puppeteers treasured their hands. It’s no wonder why. For to them, their hands are their most precious possession.

Until, of course, they find something better.

Because I love you all, I decided to crank this one out pretty fast. Fast for me anyways.

Next time on the Puppet Master! Waking up is not all that it's cracked up to be...especially when you are James Park.