by Mac Flynn
Magnus leaned down and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the cat. "You're in cahoots with that Witch Curie, aren't you? Trying to give all my dolls away and end up in the poor house," he accused Mo. I couldn't imagine the poor house looking any worse than his own place.
Mo smiled and chuckled. "No, but that sounds like an amusing idea. I may try it some day."
"Don't you dare go picking sides on me! That isn't fair with your abilities!" Magnus protested.
Mo shrugged and curled his tail around his front paws. "It was your suggestion."
"Don't start putting words into my mouth, either!" Magnus growled.
"Um, could I get my doll?" I spoke up.
Magnus turned to me with his horrible scowl, but Mo frowned and the tip of his tail twitched as a warning. Magnus sighed and his shoulders drooped. "All right, all right. I'll give you a better one this time, but don't go losing it again."
"I promise I won't lose it if it works," I replied.
"Damn kids losing things all the time. No sense of keeping care of what they own," Magnus grumbled as he walked over to his shelf of dolls.
"I didn't lose it because I'm stupid, I lost it because it didn't work," I argued.
"Well, this one will work, so keep your britches on," he growled. He snatched a large doll, about a foot tall by eight inches wide, from the shelf and walked over to the table. The largest needle was removed from the box, and he turned toward me with a devilish grin on his face. "This one's going to take a lot more of your blood, and it'll hurt a lot more during the stabbing, too."
I cringed and stepped back. "And you're sure this is going to work this time? I don't want to go through this without a guarantee."
He held out the doll. It was a black-button eyed creature with blue-yarn hair and a pale-white fabric for its skin. The yarn mouth was turned down in a frown, and her clothes were as primitive as the rest. "This is my strongest doll. If this doesn't work then nothing will. I'll guarantee that."
I looked past Magnus and at Mo. He returned the stare, but didn't move a muscle to show me what I needed to do. That was all right. This was my time to choose my fate and not look back second-guessing myself. I returned my attention to Magnus and held out one arm palm upward. "I'm ready."
Chapter 3
Magnus stepped within reach of me and jabbed the needle into my wrist. I winced and blood flowed freely from the vein he stabbed. Magnus pulled the needle out and the red liquid of life covered the tip with its sticky warmth. The crazy witch doctor held the doll out in front of him and jabbed the needle into the toy's chest.
"Ah!" I cried out.
It was as though a red-hot poker was shoved into my chest. I clutched my throbbing heart as my ears pounded with the beat of my organ drum. The room spun around me and I fell to the floor to keep from throwing up. My mind whirled with pain and nausea, and I shut my eyes to keep out the swirling world. I felt Mo rub against me, but I didn't dare open my eyes.
Just like before, as quickly as the pain came so did it leave me. I blinked open my eyes and saw Magnus clean the needle and place it back in its box. Mo sat beside me staring at me with worried eyes.
I gave a weak smile at him. "I'm all right. I think."
"Of course you're all right, it was just a little bonding," Magnus spoke up. He knelt down and held out the doll toward me.
I was amazed by the transformation. Gone was the pale skin, black eyes, and blue hair. In their places were my own skin color, eyes, and brown hair. The frown was turned upside down to a teasing smile. I took the doll in one hand and saw even the fur clothing was gone, replaced by soft cloth of the like I wore.
"What happened to it?" I asked Magnus.
"A perfect bonding," he told me. He stood and puffed out his scrawny chest. "Nobody can do a bonding like mine, and I guarantee this will work."
"We can only hope none other does the bonding like the last you gave to Liz," Mo teased.
Magnus whipped his head to Mo and glared at the cat. "Quiet, fiendish feline. You'll see, this one will work for sure. I'll stake my reputation as a witch doctor on it."
"There's only one way to truly find out," Mo pointed out.
I stood and clutched the doll to my chest. "I'll test it tomorrow at work," I promised them.
Magnus frowned and glanced at his bare wrist. "What's wrong with today? There's plenty of time-yow!" Magnus hopped on one foot and clutched the other one in his hands. "Damn fiendish evil feline! What'd you bite me for?"
"To shut you up. Can't you see Liz is tired?" Mo hissed at him. I did feel a little bit woozy in the head.
Magnus looked me over and humphed. "All right, try it tomorrow, or the next day, but the longer you wait the stronger that other curse will be. I bet the boys are crawling all over you already with how much you smelled when you came in."
"That's an understatement," I muttered.
"Oh, and another thing. You have to eat more and exercise less. This doll curse of mine is pretty powerful and it'll leave you a little weak until it overcomes the other curse," Magnus told me.
I raised an eyebrow. "How long will it take to remove the other curse."
He shrugged his skinny, skin-covered shoulders. "No telling. Just watch your food intake and if you're tired, sit down."
Mo pushed against my legs and directed me towards the door. "Enough talk. Time to get you home," he insisted.
We walked outside and Mo took the lead on the march towards the path. I followed him, but my mind was elsewhere, or rather, on his back. This 'fiendish feline,' as Magnus called him, was my personal savior, and I couldn't understand why he was doing what he was doing.
When we breached the end of the path and came out on the graveyard, I came up beside him. "Why did you help me back there?" I asked him.
He shrugged and that sly smile slipped onto his feline lips. "Because that witch doctor needed to go down a peg or two."
I slipped in front of him and stopped. "Seriously, I really want to know. You're not just being nice to me because-well, because I'm turning into a succubus, are you?" I asked him.
Mo jumped onto the top of a tombstone and chuckled. "No. I'm helping you because you need it, and because you're a good person. I've watched you grow into a beautiful, kind young woman, and people like that deserve all the help I can give."
I stepped up to him, wrapped my arms around him and pecked a soft kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks. Really," I whispered.
He leaned forward and purred my face. "My pleasure. Now get on out of here and don't be afraid to test that thing out."
"Will do," I promised, and hurried away to my car.
It was mid afternoon when I returned to my apartment building. Ackerman the apartment manager sat behind the front desk with the ever-present newspaper in his hand. He looked up at my coming and raised an eyebrow. The voodoo toy was in my left hand, and I hid it behind my back.
"Isn't it a little too early for you to be here?" he questioned me.
I ignored him until I remembered he was a male of my species. That made him a prime candidate to test out my new doll.
I plastered a smile on my face and walked over to the desk. "I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to come home early," I told him. I leaned over the desk to emphasize my-um, twins, and my left hand tightly grasped the doll.
Ackerman shooed me with his hand. "Off the desk! This isn't a floozy bar!" he growled.
I sheepishly smiled and slid myself off the desk. "Sorry about that, guess I'm feeling a little dizzy from the illness."
"Well, take your illness to your apartment. I don't want to have to clean up the whole apartment building because of you," he ordered me.
I was so happy at his rejection that I could have kissed him. That is, if he hadn't been such a grumpy old geezer. "Sure thing, Mr. Ackerman," I agreed as I went toward the elevator.
"What the hell have you got there?" he questioned me.
I paused and half-turned to follow his eyes. He stared at the strange doll in my hand.
I clutched it to myself. "This? Oh, it's-um, it's just a doll I found."
"You should throw it back where you found it. It's the ugliest thing I've ever seen," he commented.
On a usual day I would have taken insult at his calling my likeness ugly, but that was still further proof I was cured, or the very least that the doll worked on the most curmudgeon of men. "Right you are, Mr. Ackerman. I'll get right on that," I cheerfully replied.
I slipped into the elevator and shocked him by giving him a wave before the doors shut. In a few moments I sprang into my apartment with new life in my step. I tossed my purse on the couch, twirled around and danced with the strange doll.
"You work! You really work!" I shouted to the doll. She stared back at me with an almost concerned expression.
Any other day and I would have been concerned, but this wasn't any other day. It was one of the happiest in recent memory, specifically since Tiffany and I rescued David from the alley. I laughed and spun around until I grew dizzy and plopped my rear onto the couch beside my purse. My heart beat furiously in my chest and I found myself winded, even after such a short amount of exercise.
"Easy there, Liz. You're supposed to be taking the rest of the day off," I scolded myself.
My heart thumping picked up when my phone inside my purse rang. I pulled it out and saw it was Ann. I also saw she'd called a half dozen times already since I left work. "Hello?" I answered the call.
"Liz! Thank god! I thought something happened to you! Where have you been?" Ann scolded me.
"Um, going-um, shopping," I replied as my eyes flickered over the doll. "To make myself feel better."
"Well, I've got some news that won't make you feel any better. Lenin is furious with you for leaving early," she revealed.
I snorted. "So what else is new? He's out the hate the world, remember?"
"Yeah, but I'm talking some serious hate here. I think it's because he couldn't say no to you, or at least argue with you leaving early, not with all those people watching and everyone knowing something really strange was going on with you," she explained.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Great, more guy trouble," I mumbled.
"What was that?" Ann asked me.
"Nothing. So what exactly should I be worried about here?" I wondered.
"I think he's going to be extra mean to you when you get back. You know, extra work and everything," she warned me.
I scowled at the TV in front of me. "But he can't do that. I'm sick, I needed to go home," I insisted.
"You know that and I know that, but he knows that and doesn't care."
I slumped down the couch cushion. "Great, just what I need, more trouble."
"Is everything all right with you, Liz? You seemed, I don't know, out of it today at work. Did something happen over the weekend?" she inquired.
"I just-well, I just kept myself too busy and stayed out too late this weekend." My eyes wandered over to the doll who sat at my side. "I think I'll be fine tomorrow."
"Good. Oh, and all the guys said they hope you'll get better soon. I don't know what's up with them. It's like you've put a spell on them or something," she mused.
"I'm sure whatever it is they'll get over it really soon. Anyway, I need to go lay down. See you tomorrow," I told her.
"See you." Click.
I dropped my hand onto the couch and groaned. "Please, God, whatever you do don't make tomorrow as bad as today."
As I was about to find out tomorrow, God didn't hear my prayers, but somebody heard me.
Chapter 4
I must have been more tired than I thought because I fell asleep on the couch. The next thing I knew it was six in the morning, a full hour before I usually woke up. The reason for the early alarm was the rumble in my stomach. I forgot I hadn't eaten in sixteen hours, but my stomach hadn't let that slip its food-centered mind.
I raided my cupboards for cereal and found myself hungering for more than the usual single bowl. Five bowls and a half carton of milk were devoured before I was satiated. I couldn't recall ever eating that much sugary goodness in one sitting, but the time wouldn't allow me to ponder the significance. There was also the problem of the doll.
I stood in front of the couch and tilted my head to one side as I stared at the toy. Leaving it out in the open was out of the question. I didn't want people asking me uncomfortable questions about where I got it and why it looks so much like me. It was too big to fit into my purse. I remembered there was a foldable Christmas present bag stuffed in one of my closets. The bag was procured, and the doll fit perfectly into its confines. I could stuff the whole thing beneath my desk, and nobody would be the wiser.
The only problem remained on whether the anti-curse would work if I wasn't holding the thing. I'd forgotten to ask Magnus about that part. "Note to self, ask him about that after work. . ." I muttered to myself as I walked out the door. If push came to shove I could always clutch the doll between my legs, leaving my hands free to do my work.
I hadn't forgotten Ann's warning to me about the wrath of Lenin which was why I arrived a little earlier than my usual time. I slipped into my cubicle unnoticed, even by my male colleagues who congregated in packs. Gone was their rapt attention to my being, and I couldn't have been happier when I plopped myself down into my chair.
My perfect morning was ruined as I tried to slip the Christmas bag beneath my desk. Lenin appeared at the entrance to my cubicle, and his eyes immediately spotted the brightly-colored, festive bag.
"What's that?" he snapped in a voice that practically accused me of trying to stuff starving puppies beneath my desk.
"Um, nothing. Just-um, just a present for someone," I told him
He jerked his hand toward me. "Give it to me."
I frowned. "It's not a present for you."
"You're in violation of bringing personal items to work during a time not designated as when the exchange of gifts is allowed, so give it to me," he ordered me.
My face fell and I raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? There can't be a rule like that."
"Bringing personal belongings to work is a distraction, and distractions aren't allowed," he rephrased.
"But this isn't for me, it's for a friend," I argued.
"Nonetheless it's your personal item until you exchange it, and distracts aren't allowed, so give it to me," he insisted.
"But-"
"Give it to me, or I'm immediately putting you under review."
I cringed. Under review meant he would look over my file and, like a police officer who tails you long enough, find something to catch me on. Then he would immediately pass a judgment of 'guilty' on me and that would mean the firing squad, otherwise known as the unemployment line. I reluctantly handed over the bag, and he pulled out the doll. His face twisted into disgust.
"What is this?" he questioned me.
"It's a-um, a toy," I told him.
"Toys are also not allowed. They are a distraction," he reminded me.
"You're a distraction. . ." I mumbled.
He whipped his head to me and his eyes narrowed. "What was that?"
"I said you're right," I rephrased.
"I will confiscate this until further notice." My eyes widened as he stuffed the doll back into the bag and made to leave.
"Wait!" I yelled. The whole floor quieted and Lenin turned back to me.
"What is it?" he growled.
"I-um, I-um, I need that doll. It's for-um, for therapeutic purposes," I told him.
He raised an eyebrow. "You told me it was a gift," he reminded me.
"I-um, I didn't think you'd believe me that it was therapeutic, but I really do need it. It-um, it calms me," I explained. Or more like it calmed the men around me.
A sly smirk slipped onto Lenin's face and he held out his palm to me. "Show me the doctor's note."
I blinked at him. "Doctor's note?"
"Yes. If this really is a therapeutic doll then company policy demands you give your supervisor a doctor's not
e," he explained. "Now where is it?"
I patted myself for pockets that didn't exist. "I-um, I must have left it in my other pair of jeans. Could I get back to you tomorrow with it and keep the doll today?" I didn't expect mercy, and received as much as I expected.
"No. I will hold onto the doll in the meantime and write this in your record as a violation of company policies," he told me. He turned away, paused, and glanced over his shoulder. I swear the smirk grew wider. "Oh, and I expect you to work double-time today. That means you'll be sent twice as much work, and it will be completed before you leave."
I frowned. "What? Why should I have to do double-time?" I shot back.
He held up the bag and jiggled the contents. The kidnapped dolly slid across the slick bottom of the bag and knocked into the sides. "Because you may bring your note tomorrow, but I may choose to follow company policies and throw this doll into the garbage."
My mouth dropped to the floor. I thought Lenin was a sleaze-bag, but I never imagined he would take to blackmail and hostage-taking to cause one of his underlings to squirm. "Now get to work," Lenin ordered me before he stalked down the halls with his hostage.
I slumped down in my chair and ran a hand through my hair. My mind thought frantically for a quick solution to my horrible dilemma, but all the plans I could come up with involved me getting fired for breaking into Lenin's office or dying because I tried to scale the wall outside his office window.
I still sat in my stupor when Ann came around a few minutes later. She leaned against the entrance to the cubicle with a bright smile on her face, but it slipped away when she noticed my face. "What happened? You look like you just lost your best friend, and I'm pretty sure I'm still here," she asked me.
I leaned forward to rest my elbows on my desk and clutched my head in my hands. "Lenin came by," I muttered through my fingers.
She stiffened. "And? Are you fired?"
I shook my head. "No, worse. He's going to blackmail me into doing more work."
Her mouth dropped open like mine had. "He's going to what?"