The Sorceress (12 page)

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA

N
ot only did Kali sleep in bed with her parents, but handicapped by fear, she refused to even go to the bathroom alone at night. She didn't mind being in her own bedroom during daylight hours and right now, with the sun still shining brightly, she felt safe and carefree.

In the midst of a tea party, Kali and her dolls were gathered around a small table, set with cloth napkins and a porcelain tea set. She poured fruit punch from a miniature teapot for each “guest” and then settled back in her seat.

Holding her favorite baby doll in her arms, she said, “Don't worry, Mommy's going to feed you.” She picked up a toy bottle. Something caught her eye, startling her.

There was a flutter of movement in the vicinity of her toy chest. Frozen in fear, Kali held the toy bottle in midair. With shuddering dread, she forced herself to put the bottle down. Too frightened to turn around and confront her fear, she rotated her neck only slightly and gasped at what she saw.

Sitting in its place atop a bright pink toy chest, Mr. Bear, Kali's favorite stuffed animal, held its right arm extended upward.

Stunned silent, Kali stared unbelievingly as it slowly lowered its arm. It repeated the up-and-down motion with its left arm.

“Oh, no!” Kali muttered when the stuffed animal began to flutter-kick, excitedly testing the movement of its legs.

Using its rounded plush paws to grip the edge of the toy chest, Mr. Bear hopped off the toy chest, making a wobbly landing on the floor. Arms stretched out at its side, the panda steadied its balance.

Kali drew back in fear.

Mr. Bear, a once cuddly and adorable plaything, now seemed an animated menace. Swinging its arms, the jumbo-sized, black-and-white panda stepped aggressively toward her. It seemed agitated and intent on disrupting the tea party.

Expecting to be assaulted with a barrage of flying cups and saucers, Kali closed her eyes. Ducking her head, she clutched her baby doll closely.

The giant panda approached, but there was no onslaught of colorful porcelain.

Instead of being pummeled with a teapot, she felt the brush of Mr. Bear's fake fur against her arm. Kali was not soothed by the soft touch. Scared out of her wits, goose bumps prickled her flesh.

“You're…in…danger,” Mr. Bear said in a mechanical-sounding voice. The faltering words were spoken through lips sewn into a smiling curve.

Kali gasped, and then whipped around, gawking suspiciously at the TV. Surely the witch had a hand in Mr. Bear's unnatural ability to walk and talk.

The TV screen was dark. No spooky images.

Kali listened for strange sounds but there were no shrieks or hair-raising screams from that foggy place where Eris lived.

She let out a breath of relief, but then gazed warily at the black-and-white panda.

Mr. Bear stared at her with unblinking marble eyes. A sound, like the hum of a motor, emerged from its stitched lip. The
humming revved as the panda seemed to struggle to produce coherent speech.

This time the panda's curved mouth twitched, breaking stitches, and replacing the happy smile with a lopsided sneer. “The… evil…one—”

The baby doll slipped from Kali's arms. Frozen and scared speechless, she didn't retrieve the doll. She couldn't move or make a sound.

“She…will…harm…you.”

It occurred to her to get up and run, but her limbs felt paralyzed. “Who wants to harm me?” Kali asked shakily, surprised that she'd recovered her voice.

The motorized humming went into high gear and Mr. Bear began speaking without hesitation. “You have a ring—a possession that is extremely valuable. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

As if overcome with spasms, the bear's broken-stitched mouth zigzagged in various directions. It was a frightening sight.

“I don't have the ring.”

“Eris will stop at nothing to get that ring from you. She intends to destroy you. Your parents, too.”

“But I don't have her ring,” Kali insisted, frowning with fear and distress.

“There will be blood shed inside these walls.”

“I'm scared.” Kali's squeaked, terror-stricken.

“You must protect yourself with the goddess ring.”

Kali picked up her doll and began rocking it frantically, as though the doll was wailing and demanding comfort.

“My daddy gave all my jewelry to charity,” Kali uttered helplessly. So many scary things had occurred lately, this bizarre conversation with a stuffed toy was beginning to feel…almost
normal. It was Mr. Bear's dire warning about blood being shed that had Kali's heart thumping.

“The goddess ring is here. and it remains inside the box. Keep it with you. It is the ring of eternal life, and it is yours…a gift from the goddess Kali.”

“The goddess Kali? That's my name!”

“You were named for her…your godmother, the protector of children. The ring will keep you safe from harm,” Mr. Bear explained, voice lowered, the threads that served as its mouth beginning to tangle in a series of disturbing knots.

Keeping her focus away from Mr. Bear's sad mouth, she whispered, “Where does my godmother live? How come I've never met her?”

“She…rests. On…the Goddess…Realm. Watches…over… you.” The panda's words were slow. Muffled. And so terribly slurred, Kali felt guilty for asking questions, but she really wanted to know more.

“Is the Goddess Realm near Roanoke?”

Mr. Bear went silent. Looking worn down, the panda's knotted lip hung down in a sad loop.

“Are you, tired, Mr. Bear?” Kali stood up. The stuffed toy flopped down into her chair, its cotton-stuffed body slumped to the side, and then became still.

Kali sighed, realizing that Mr. Bear, once again inanimate, had nothing more to say. She paced to her baby doll's wooden cradle and carefully placed the doll inside. Now irresistibly drawn to the toy chest, Kali crossed the bedroom.

The jewelry and Kali's music box were donated to charity, but the original crudely made wood box that had contained the buried jewels was mixed in with her playthings inside the toy chest.

She found the box, removed the top, and scanned the roughened bottom. Wedged in a corner was a glimmer of silver. Kali tugged on the object, splintering the aged wood as she pulled an ancient-looking ring out of the deep groove. The ring bore an unusual design: a cross with an odd, hooplike top.

Balling her fist around the ancient treasure that would protect her, Kali felt a jolt of energy surging through her. Along with the energy came a feeling of immense peace…an inner knowing that her worries were over.

Then she heard these comforting words inside her head:
“There's nothing to fear. The ring will protect you.”

Her mother came into her bedroom. “Having fun, sweetie? I see you let Mr. Bear join the tea party,” Ajali said, laughing. Then she scowled at the stuffed animal. “Mr. Bear may need to get spruced up. He sure looks pooped.”

As she slipped the ring inside the pocket of her jeans, Kali glanced at Mr. Bear. Slumped like a drunk, the stuffed toy looked out of place at the tea party with the smartly dressed, shiny dolls. “He's sick; his mouth fell down,” she explained, without telling the whole story.

“I'll take him to the toy doctor and get his mouth fixed; he'll look good as new,” her mother said, smiling. “I bet you're going to have a good time at Marley's house today.”

Distracted by the goddess ring, which seemed to pulse inside her pocket, Kali didn't answer.

“Did you forget about your play date with Marley?”

“No, I didn't forget,” Kali said absently, her mind on the ring and the mysterious Goddess Realm where her godmother lived.

Regarding her closely, her mother frowned worriedly. “Are you okay, Kali?”

“Uh-huh.”

“It's okay to cancel if you're not up to it.”

Kali stuck a hand inside her pocket, fondling the wonderful treasure. She really wanted to cancel. She preferred to stay in her room and gaze at her ring all day. Maybe Mr. Bear would come back to life and tell her everything she wanted to know. But when she glanced up, she noticed that mother looked troubled. Her eyes were unbearably sad.

Reluctantly, Kali removed her hand from her pocket. “I don't want to cancel the play date,” Kali spoke up, her tone suddenly perky. “Marley has a gerbil, a parrot, and a new kitten. I'm going to help her take care of her pets,” she said exuberantly.

She could feel her mother's relief. “You're good with animals, so you should have lots of fun. Today should be lots of fun. By the way, Daddy and I had a conversation and we're thinking about getting you riding lessons—maybe get you your own pony—”

Finally taking her focus off the ring, Kali responded with genuine delight. “My own pony?”

“Maybe. We'll see.” Her mother winked at her.

“I'm getting my own pony!” Kali shouted.

“I said maybe.”

“But you winked. That means yes! I have to think of a name for my new pony.”

“Riding lessons, first,” her mother insisted, shaking her head and smiling. “We'll have to find the perfect pony for you and then we'll come up with a name.”

“I already have a name for her.”

“Her?” Ajali raised a brow.

“Yes, I want a female pony and I'm going to name her, Goddess.”

Taken aback, her mother looked shocked. “That's a nice name. But…uh…what do you know about goddesses?”

Kali shrugged. “I heard it somewhere. I like the name. When can I start the riding lessons?”

“Very soon.”

“Yea!” Kali cheered.

Ajali closed her eyes as if in thankful prayer. When she opened her eyes, she said, “It's so good to see that cute little grin on your face.”

“Guess what, Mommy?”

“What honey?”

“I'm not scared of that mean ole witch anymore.”

A
bundle of nerves, Jen fidgeted with the security keypad at the gate. Too frazzled to punch in the right numbers, she wiped her muddy palms down the front of her pants and took in a deep breath to calm herself.

She finally got the number combination right, jogged up the long driveway, and pounded on the front door.

Lizzy opened the door and grimaced. “What on earth?”

Jen rushed inside. “Lock the door.”

“Why?”

“You're gonna think I'm crazy.”

Lizzy scowled at Jen. “What happened to you?”

“I fell while I was running,” she responded, breathless, and then leaned forward and peeked through the frosted glass pane; straining to see if a cop car or a naked woman had managed to get past the secured gate.

“Must have been some fall. Look at you. You're covered in mud from head to toe.”

“Yeah.” Jen gave a sigh of relief. The coast looked clear. Hot Cop hadn't followed her home and that crazy naked lady wasn't heading for the front door. Jen was positive that the woman was not a human being.

None of the motorists had noticed her. And how could Jen
account for the same butt-naked woman from Ethan's computer being out in the open—on the bridge. The woman was most definitely an otherworldly entity…with a mean spirit, Jen sensed.

Oh, God. I'm really losing it
. Jen felt like crying again. Maybe she should seek help. She wondered if her chintzy health insurance plan covered a psych visit. Probably not, so she made a decision to never run anywhere near the vicinity of Piper's Bridge.

Never, ever again.

Kicked out of school with a meager income, no real-world job skills…her sanity was all she had left.

“Maybe you should take your running shoes off,” Lizzy suggested, looking down at the dirty shoe prints that Jen had tracked on the polished marble floor. “Your jacket—” She scowled at Jen. “Take off everything. I'll wash your things for you.” Disgust was written all over Lizzy's face.

“No, thanks. I'll wash my own things.” Jen took a final peek out the windowpane, making sure she hadn't been followed.

“Instead of looking out the window, you should take a look at yourself! You're covered in mud. It's in your hair, on your face, and all over your clothes.”

Jen's fingers began an immediate investigation, traveling over her cheeks and colliding into patches of hardened mud. Jen took a breath and continued the blind examination of her face.

There was a big dollop on her forehead and dried sprinkles on her chin. Hot Cop couldn't have been angling for a booty call. He felt sorry for her; found her really pathetic.

Oh, God!
Jen brushed past Lizzy. Mud flakes fell from her jacket.

Lizzy made a grumbling sound. “I'm almost finished for the day. I don't like backtracking. But I'm going to have to go behind you. The last thing I need is for Madam Mayor to make a surprise trip home and find crumbled mud all over the place.”

“I'll clean up behind myself,” Jen said, raising her voice. “Lizzy,” she said, in a hushed tone. “I saw a naked lady on Piper's Bridge.” She gazed at Lizzy, waiting for her reaction.