The Marionette

Chapter Thirteen - The Switch

Chapter Thirteen - The Switch

He clapped slowly, intently, and stood, making his way down the aisle with his hands clasped behind his back. He walked slow - with purpose. He was intimidating, dark and sexy...

No, no. Not now.

"Ah, hello. I don't believe we have been introduced. My name is Vladimir Volkov. Your friend Cara did stop here. I must say, she was very sweet. She tasted like purity. What a beautiful soul she has."

He was positioned at the front of the stage; we were looking down at him. It's happening. Heat begun to stir as his glacier eyes locked on mine, his lips quirking into that dark, sinister smile as he offered his hand for me to take. I was absolutely powerless to stop myself from accepting.

I took his hand as I jumped down off the stage to stand in front of him. His hands was splayed on my hips, his evil gaze slid from me to Jenna and Cleo. He had us exactly where he wanted us. He led us in every direction he needed to place us in his path time and time again until we were positioned where he needed us; in this theater, right here right now.

"I am in control of your fate, her fate, and ultimately, Cara's. This will end only one way and it won't be a happy ending for the three of you. I will harvest your essence' and make your existence on this planet vanish without a trace as if you were never born. I'll take everything from you, strip you of every aspect of your life until your left broken, frightened, and utterly alone. Then once you're mere nothing, I'll eat your souls again and again, savoring every last drop until you are no more; until you're left with naught but a wooden body — a Puppet.

"What are you? What did you do to Cara?"

Cleo was holding her ground but I knew better, she was filled to the brim with unadulterated trepidation. Her eyes were glistening with tears that she was holding back, her hands were trembling and her expression was a combination of angst, pain, and just a spark of fire to keep her on her toes to fight for her life, for all our lives. Jenna was standing behind Cleo, almost as if she were using Cleo as a human body shield, her entire body was shaking as if she was weathering harsh wintery weather. It was obvious that she was horrified — frightened. And she had every right to be.

What do I do?

"Two amateur Witches messed with dark magic without realizing that all magic – even light magic – comes with severe repercussions. While the Witches were trying to raise a lost child from a dreadfully cold grave, some part of the ritual or the incantation - or possibly both - was done wrong. Out of their foolish mistake — even though they didn't successfully raise the child from its grave — I was brought to manifestation. Their magic acted as a sword, piercing through a thin veil that separates my world from yours. The magic they used in the ritual had to go somewhere and that's when it found me and allowed me to step through.

"I can get inside your minds, your bodies, the deep depths of your very souls and control everything you do, say and think. Just as I made Cara meet me here the previous night, and as I have controlled Cassandra's every waking move to bring her here, to break off her friendships with her friends and family. I can do anything I want to you, to her, to poor little cara and no one would bat an eye in my direction. Poor, defenseless Cara didn't even try to fight me in the end, because she knew there was no point in fighting the inevitable. She succumbed so very easily."

I could hear the smirk in his voice, his cunning and manipulative taunts to try and goad Cleo into lashing out so that he could move forward with his dreadful plan to feed on the three of us. I still didn't understand why Jenna wasn't saying anything. I mean, yeah, I get she may be in shock but she was so damn determined to find and kill the person (or persons) responsible for abducting Cara. We all had our suspicions, it's just my suspicion was right. Even though I desperately prayed it wasn't correct.