Magic Souls

CHAPTER 1: The Promotion Commotion-2

“You and revenge! What makes you think I want payback?”

“I’m giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you’re going to ignore it? Hmph. Go ahead and add this moment to your list of greatest regrets. Farewell.”

Ladouche began to dematerialize, but something deep inside me wanted him to stay. I was too upset to think clearly, and I gave in to my emotions.

“Wait,” I said. “Do I really have immunity?”

He rematerialized and nodded.

“I’m not a vengeful person,” I said. “I just . . . I just don’t understand how she got away with it.”

Ladouche leaned in. “It’s not your job to understand.”

I stared at the frosted glass and tried to ignore my conscience—it was surprisingly easy. “I accept.”

He disappeared, but his laughter lingered as the windshield defrosted.

My mind kept settling back on Annette and her smug smile. Embarrassment welled up in the base of my stomach and gushed into my mouth; I wanted to hold it in, but I couldn’t. I screamed long and loud, and when I stopped, I was shaking. I had never let my feelings out like this before, and it scared me.

What was I going to do? I had to make a decision.

~ I went to Annette’s house.

~ I decided to wreak havoc from afar.

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I drove to Annette’s subdivision, a quiet suburb on the north side of town, and I parked at the beginning of her street. I cased the area: houses were lit up here and there, and families were watching TV in their living rooms and eating dinner at their kitchen tables.

I reached into the backseat of my coupe, grabbed my black hoodie, and pulled it on. It was baggy and broke up my shape. When I pulled the hood over my head and checked myself in the rearview mirror, my face was so shadowed that I could hardly see my eyes.

I got out and started walking. With every house I passed, a streetlight flickered on, and a few stars twinkled into the dark blue sky.

I passed a lawn where the sprinklers were running. A woman walking a dachshund waved at me from the corner, but I stuffed my fists inside my hoodie and turned away, trying not to think.

Annette’s ranch was on the dead end, lit up like a gingerbread house. Her silver SUV was parked in the driveway, and the garage was open and empty.

I rested against a streetlight and wondered what to do next. Through the kitchen window I spied Annette, who was dancing around in her pajamas with a wooden spoon in her hand. She stirred a pot of boiling water, then spun about the kitchen and sang into her spoon as if it were a microphone.

Seeing her made me clench my fists and close my eyes. There was harshness in my throat that I couldn’t swallow down. I skulked away from the streetlight and crouched behind Annette’s SUV. I remembered that I had a pen in my pocket; I pulled it out, twirled it between my fingers, and—with a strength I didn’t know I had—stabbed the rear passenger tire several times, until air whistled out.

The street was still dark, and no one was around. I eyed my handiwork with satisfaction, but then my thoughts kicked back in.

That’s it, Bebe? Anyone can s***h her tires.

I felt pangs in my stomach and knew that I had to do something else—something worse. I wanted to call her, but I didn’t want to use my phone.

I heard a chirp coming from inside my pocket; I reached down and pulled out a cheap cell phone. It was the pay-as-you-go type, the kind that gave detectives headaches because it was untraceable. I flipped the cover up and saw a text message on the screen that said, Happy calling! –L.

It was creepy how Ladouche could read my thoughts, but convenient.

I dialed Annette’s number, and her cell phone vibrated across the kitchen table. After several rings, she wiped her hands with a dishtowel, screwed her eyes at the screen, and answered, irritated. “Hello?”

I spoke in a squeaky voice. “Mrs. Farwell, this is Glenda from Hanover Hospital. Your husband has been involved in a car accident.”

Annette screamed so loud that I had to rip the phone away from my ear.

“What happened?”

“He was struck by a drunk driver. We’re not sure if he’ll make it. Please hurry.”

Click.

Annette stood in the kitchen as music swelled around her, and after a moment, she frowned and began to call someone on her phone.

No, she thinks it’s a prank. She’ll call her husband, and then she’ll know.

I did the only thing I could think of; I kicked over a trashcan.

Annette was outside immediately with a chef’s knife in her hand. “Who’s there?”

I saw her phone screen; the connection was almost complete. Then, it was as if I were watching myself: I felt my hand on a large rock, watched it trail through the air and strike Annette on the forehead. Her phone shattered on the asphalt.

Annette screamed, but the street remained dark; no one had heard her. She scrambled into the kitchen and ran out with her car keys, whispering, “Oh my God.” When she noticed the flat tire, she fell to her knees and cried.

I came from around the SUV and stood over her. My voice came out low and strong, nothing like my usual mousy tone. “This moment is an indicator of your fate.”

Annette crawled backward, but I kept stepping toward her. “There’s no one to protect you now, no one to shield you from the horrible things you’ve done.”

“Who are you?”

“Who aren’t I?” I asked, stomping my foot. “I speak for all the people you’ve ever taken advantage of. I feel so sorry for you.”

Annette wiped a thin line of blood from her forehead. “You don’t know me.”

“Fark you and your arrogance,” I cried. “I know you better than you know yourself—there’s not much to know.”

Annette withdrew; she collapsed onto her back, as if my words had been roundhouse kicks. She stared at the stars and breathed rapidly.

I hovered over her and shook my fist. “We’re even, you evil birch.” I backed away, and then I ran, slipped into the night as darkness protected me like a jacket. As I made it to my car, I heard sirens wailing, and I felt comforted that the police would never find me.

***

I felt like singing as I skipped into the law firm the next morning. Tucker held the door open for me, and after we passed the secretary’s desk, he hung his gabardine jacket on a coatrack and straightened his cuffs. He saw me staring at him—I couldn’t help it—and he smiled until the skin near his eyes wrinkled. I wanted to throw my arms around him and plant a kiss on his lips. After all, I was going to get fired today anyway.

“Good morning!” I said.

“I assume you didn’t hear about Annette.”

Just what I wanted to hear. “Is she okay?”

“Not really. Her house burned down.”

“Her house burned down?!”

Tucker was taken aback. “She left some salmon in the oven. Someone played a prank on her and she forgot about it. The house went up like a roman candle.”

I punched him on the shoulder. “You’re lying.”

“She’s at the hospital,” he said, looking at me with those caramel eyes.

“Why is she in the hospital?”

“That’s the sad thing,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “She was cooking an anniversary dinner for her husband—he came home just as the fire started. He tried to put it out, but he was burned.”

“Stop it. Just—stop it!” I put my hands on my ears and sang. “La la la la laaaaa—”

“It’s a shame,” he continued. “They just found out they were expecting. Oh, come on, are you going to sing forever?”

When he stopped speaking, I sighed. “Much better.”

He didn’t take his eyes off me. “The news reports say it was a black male, you know.”

I snatched my purse and flew out the door. I stopped in an alley and began to cry. I didn’t want this. I just wanted plain vanilla revenge. With her twelve thousand-dollar raise, Annette could have afforded new tires. And Martin, I never wanted him to get hurt. Gosh, I didn’t even know him.

“I never should have used those powers that Ladouche gave me,” I said. “I wish them away.”

There was a smacking sound, and Ladouche was sitting on a dumpster with his legs crossed, eating an apple. “What’s with the remorse? It’s so out of character compared to last night.”

“I wasn’t myself.”

“Of course you were,” Ladouche said. “You reached deep inside yourself and found a darkness you didn’t know you had. You surprised yourself—hell, you surprised me.”

“I was supposed to get revenge on Annette—not her husband.”

“Oh, yes—Martin,” Ladouche said. He flicked the apple and clucked his tongue. “That’s what happens when you try to be a hero. I hear he’s going to need a skin graft. A skin graft, ha ha!”

I turned and walked away. “We’re done, Ladouche.”

He disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared at my side with his arm resting on my shoulder. He had a contract in the other hand. He pointed to a clause highlighted in red.

I ripped up the contract without reading it. “Don’t talk to me ever again.”

Ladouche shrugged, and the contract rematerialized in his hand. “No, read it. I did something for you—I gave you unlimited power beyond your means, helped you fulfill your darkest desire. Now you’ve got to help me.”

“Let go of me. I’m going to turn myself in.” I dialed 9-1-1, but a machine answered and said, “We’re sorry, but the number you called is no longer in service . . .”

I dialed the police, the fire department, city hall. All were out of service.

“Phone service sucks in this city,” Ladouche said, laughing.

“Ladouche, what do you want?”

“You’re going to help me ruin more lives.” He frowned. “There are three people in this city that I just can’t ruin, curse their little hearts—three people whose light I cannot extinguish.”

“Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“Because I can’t get near them. The purity of their souls repels me. But you . . .”

“I won’t kill anyone on your behalf.”

He appeared by my side and took my elbow. “Who said anything about murder? I simply want their souls, Bebe.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“You’re going to crush their optimism. You see, you’re such a good person that they’ll never see it coming. One act of random cruelty is all you need.”

“Why don’t you do it?”

“Because their souls repel me. I can’t touch them or anything that belongs to them. But you can.”

I tried to shake myself from his grip. “But what about my own salvation?”

“I’m a demon. What do I care about salvation?”

“And if I don’t do it?”

Ladouche shrugged. He pointed to the law firm, and the front wall of the building became invisible so that I could see inside. Tucker was sitting in his office, talking on the phone. “If you do not perform, I will take his soul in exchange for your inaction.”

“I lose either way.”

“Then I suppose you should start preparing for a life without love.”

Ladouche twirled his finger, and white light emanated from Tucker’s body. He twirled his finger faster, and the light pulsed brighter. “You have three seconds before I rip out his soul.”

It wasn’t fair for Tucker to suffer because of me. I imagined Ladouche doing horrible things with his soul, imagined all the things that might never be between us. It was too much.

“Stop. I’ll do it.”

The white light returned to Tucker’s body, and Ladouche clapped his hands together with glee. “I knew you’d do the right thing, Bebe. Really, you’ll find that taking three souls is quite easy.”

“Shut up and tell me who these people are.”

CHAPTER COMPLETE!

~ Continue.

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I drove to Annette’s subdivision, a quiet suburb on the north side of town. I parked outside her house, a ranch on a dead end street, lit up like a gingerbread house. Her silver SUV was parked in the driveway, and the garage was open and empty. I rolled down my window and heard wind chimes singing from the front porch.

I cut off my engine just as a squad car lumbered down the street and passed me. I looked the other way as the officer turned around at the dead end, drove back up the street, and disappeared around a corner.

Through the kitchen window, I spied Annette filling a metal pot with water. She was dancing and singing to herself as she broke spaghetti over the pot.

I tried to think what kind of prank I could play without looking like a dork. I sat in the car for a while until I thought of something. I giggled to myself as I dialed a number.