Flames of Delight "Your tea is re...ady...." Victoria glanced around her café in shock. The circus performers had managed to repair all of the damages in the time it took her to prepare tea for the ringmaster. She starred in astonishment at the newly refinished front of her shop as she made her way over to where the ringmaster sat, "Here... you... go..." She set the tea down upon the table, not able to take her eyes off the repairs. The entire front half looked exactly as it used too. They even managed to restore the tables and chairs, having them arranged as if nothing had even happened to the little café. "Impressed I see." Morbius grinned and took a sip of his tea, "Splendid! I somehow knew when I saw this place that it would be perfect. Even the tea is the finest I have ever drank." He took another long sip of the tea then patted the seat next to himself, "Please take a see, young lady." Victoria sat down, still in a daze, "Th.... thank you..." She replied in bewilderment, "Is my tea all that brought you here?" She inquired curiously. "Jacob, could you come here for a moment." Morbius called out across the café. "One moment." The werewolf replied, "I just need to hang Markus up first." He stated as he tossed a rope over one of the ceiling beams in the corner and tied it tight, "Is that alright, Markus?" He inquired stepping away from his handy work. A man hung by a noose at the end of the rope. "This is perfect." The man said, his neck was broken to the side and a guitar was draped over his shoulders. He glanced around the room as he slowly turned at the end of the rope and smiled, "This place really sings to me. Makes me really want to play." He then strummed his guitar a few times and began to play a soft melody that drifted through the entire café. Jacob nodded to then walked over to the ringmasters table, "You call for me Mr. Morbray?" He inquired when he got to the table. "Victoria, this is Jacob." Morbius introduced, "He is a werewolf mystic." "There is a man hanging in the corner playing the guitar..." Victoria stated still in a daze. "That would be Markus." Morbius explained, "As you can tell we are not of this world. We are in search of something." "Mr. Morbray," The werewolf interrupted, "I do not think she can hear you." Jacob could not have been more right. Victoria suddenly broke into maniacally giggles that made everyone in the café stop and stare, "There is a man hanging in the corner of my café singing!!!" She laughed. ***** "You are sure the book will still be in your room?" Maria inquired impatiently as she pulled a dark cloak over her head and stepped through a servant's entrance on her way to an awaiting carriage. "If The Raven's Keep is still there." Jamie remarked anxiously from between Maria's arms, "Has your mother been planning to make a living teddy bear for a long time?" She inquired looking over the little cloak that Anita had a fixed around her neck only moments before. "Hard to tell." Maria replied, "But knowing mother she probably had an entire wardrobe specially made just for you." Jamie let out a sigh, "I thought as much." "It is very cute." Amanda stated smiling at the teddy bear as she pulled her cloak over her head, "I wish my teddies had so many clothes to choose from." "I still can not believe she had a cloak for your body." Maria commented with a shudder as she turned to look upon the headless corpse. The cloak in reference appeared like any other, however it had wires around the edge of the hood that held it up to make it seem as if there was a head within and a porcelain mask hung over the front so no one would peer within, "She seems to be prepared for every eventuality." She remarked with a shake of her head. "My ladies." Anita opened the carriage door for the group of girls, "The driver has been informed of the situation. We should make haste before we are noticed." The driver took a bow, "It will be an honour to escort you young ladies and I will ensure that you make it to town unharmed." He stated confidently. "Please try to not harm the townsfolk either if you please." Maria politely ordered as she climbed into the carriage. "I will be sure of it, my lady." The driver replied with a bow. "I will make sure he does them no harm." Anita informed her mistress as she helped Maria into the coach. Anita helped everyone inside and when they were all seated she closing the door and climbing up into her spot beside the driver above the transport and with a crack of the reins the group were on their way. As planned Clara invited the townsfolk into their home to search for any living dead that were rumoured to be there, meanwhile the girls circled around the back and headed to town while everyone was too busy searching the castle. The girls peeked out as the carriage as it wove its way through the town's street. "I have to be imagining this." Maria commented as they passed a small group of undead sipping tea on a restaurant patio and yet another discussing the town's newspaper, "I never thought dead people would act like this." "How did you think they would act?" Jamie inquired curiously, "I mean we are acting just like we normally would..." She glanced at herself then to her body, "Well sort of anyway..." "Mother taught me all about death when I was very young." Maria explained, not able to turn from the window, "The body starts to stiffen and rot over time. Their brains should be decayed and nonexistent so how are they able to move or talk?" She nodded out at an undead man reading a book, "That man is almost skeletal. He probably does not even have eyes. None of this makes any sense at all." "What ever happened to your interest in the supernatural and the unexplained?" Amanda inquired apprehensively. "I do not know." Maria sighed and sat back in her seat, "When it was just the three of us it was interesting and unique. It sort of made me feel kind of special and now..." Jamie glanced into her lover's eyes, "You are still special. You will always be the girl I love." She remarked. "Thank you." Maria rubbed at her eyes, "But what will happen when we stop all of this? Will you and Amanda disappear? Will I remain alone or will I die along with you? Are we really doing the right thing by stopping all of this?" Jamie thought for a moment, "I have thought about that too since I realize that it might have been that book that brought us all back to life. For now I think we just try to find out what this cloud is about and figure out the rest later." Amanda nodded, "I feel there is a reason that I was brought to be with you today." She stated firmly, "I do not think anything will separate us. It is destiny that brought us together on this day and she is not one to separate us so quickly after we were brought together." "Well, I hope you are correct." Maria remarked with dismal sigh. ***** Across town Mrs. Olaf sat upon her favourite rocking chair on the porch. A grin spread across her withered old face as she watched the dark clouds circling overhead. Macbeth lazily flopped his tail against the hard wood porch as Mrs. Olaf stroked the top of his head. She was certain that her plans had succeeded and soon she would rise to her rightful spot as Lady of Holland-Greystoke again. No, not Holland-Greystoke, the town's name would have to change, it would be the Olaf Township. Her grin broadened at the prospect when she was jarred from her dreams by the voice of her niece. "Auntie!!!" Alice called out as she leapt out of the forest and sprinted across the field with her friend in tow. "Alice?" The old woman stood up, "Alice where have you bee-" All of a sudden Cecil stumbled out of the forest. "Come back here." He snarls. Bits of the flesh around his wounded eye had been pulled away by tree branches as he plowed through the forest after the girls and he was holding a hand over the gaping hole in his side as his internal organ tried to free themselves from their confides. Already part of his intestine was dangling against his leg, bouncing with every step the boy made, "I will kill all of you." He hissed angrily as he staggered across the field. "Will you just give up?" Alice demanded, "Go back to where you came from would you?" She pleaded. "Cecil?" Mrs. Olaf squinted at the boy, "What happened to you? You look like you have been to hell and back boy." "No thanks to these girl." Cecil pointed the stub of his hand at the three girls who were now hiding behind Mrs. Olaf, "I have returned to get my revenge on them. If they would only stay still for a moment." "You expect us to let you kill us?" Alexandra inquired dumbfounded by the idea, "You must be daff if you think we are just going to lay there and let you stab us or whatever you intended to do. How did you plan to kill us anyway? I have not noticed any weapons on you since you appeared." Cecil stopped in the middle of the field and thought, "Well... that is..." "I told you he was stupid." Alice remarked with a giggle, "He could not even stop three little girls from killing him." "Alice!!" Mrs. Olaf glared down at her niece, "What did I tell you about killing relatives?" "Only to do it upon your orders." Alice recited indifferently, "But I did not kill him. I just... helped bury him..." She explained shyly. "Oh, I see." Mrs. Olaf patted the girl on the head, "I'm glad to hear that." "What?!?" Cecil exclaimed in astonishment of his aunt's reaction to his death, "Aren't you going to punish her? Or call for the police or something?" He inquired futilely. "I never liked you much to begin with Cecil." Mrs. Olaf stated coldly, "So why not return to your grave where you belong and leave these girls alone." Cecil snarled with rage, "I am murdered and you expect me to just walk away?" He screamed in fury, "I will kill you all if I have to. Maybe then you will finally respect me." He rushed at the porch with all his strength. Abruptly Macbeth sprung to life and leapt over the patio railing at the boy, "Macbeth wait!! Stop it!!!" The dog landed hard upon Cecil forcing him to the ground. His screams filled the air as the dog began to hungrily tear at the boy's intestine. He struggled against the old dog but Macbeth snapped its jaws around the boy's neck and tore his head off. Cecil's head rolled off to the side and he stared in terror as the dog feasted on his corpse. "Well... that was nasty." Alexandria commented as she tried to ignore Cecil's pleas for the dog to stop. Alison leaned over the edge of the railing to get a better view, "This is so neat. I have never got a chance to see someone torn apart. I wish it was by wild animals but I guess this is alright." Mrs. Olaf started back into the house, "Do any of you girls want some cookies? I just baked a fresh batch." She invited as she opened the door. "That is alright, Thank you." Alexandria declined politely as she followed the old woman into the tiny house, "We came because we wanted to know a few things." "You wished to inquire about the rising dead, am I correct, Lady Alexandria?" The old women asked as she moved around a small table and settled into one of the chairs near the fire, "Are you sure you do not want a cookie?" She picked up a large round cookie off of a platter and held it out to the girl. Alexandria glanced at Alice, who shook her head violently, and then turned back to the old woman, "That is alright." Alex declined once again. Alice had warned them before hand to not accept anything from her Aunt. That the women was known to make many forms of poisonous foods for unwelcome guests and would be very persistent about them eating them, "How did you know my name? Most people can not tell Alison and myself apart." "I know many things." Mrs. Olaf replied with a sinister grin, "I knew that you were going to kill my nephew before you even knew who he was. I only asked Alice here to find out if she would lie to me. I detest liars." She stated taking a bite of the cookie, "These really are tasty you know." "Then you know how to stop all these monsters, Auntie?" Alice inquired eagerly. "Things are finally set in motion and the Olaf family will take its rightful place once again and you wish for me to stop it?" Mrs. Olaf asked in dismay, "I thought I taught you better, Child. Do you not wish to attain the heights of your friends here?" She pointed a bony finger at Alexandria. Alice nervously fidgeted with her dress, "I do but... this seems so wrong..." She replied tensely. Mrs. Olaf raised to her feet, "You ungrateful child." She glared at the girl, causing Alice to back into a corner, "I feed you and cloth you and you tell me everything I do for you is unwanted?" She staggered towards the girl when her face suddenly turned to terror, as if she had suddenly witnessed something truly hideous, worse then a living dead boy being torn apart by a dog. Alice and Alexandria searched the room for what could have caused the woman to be paralysed in such fear, "Is there something wrong, Auntie?" Alice asked cautiously. "The horror!!!" Mrs. Olaf suddenly screamed, "The nightmare of it all!!!" Alexandria staggered backwards as the woman started stumbling about the room clenching her head, "Mrs. Olaf?" She inquired carefully, unsure if she should get to close to woman, "Is there anything we can do to help?" Mrs. Olaf collapsed to the ground near the fire, "Those monsters!" She cried out in panic, for in her mind's eye she could see Jamie, Maria, Amanda and Anita were approaching the Grimoire and they had a chance of ruining all her plans, "They most be stopped." She exclaimed frantically as she reached out to grab something to help her get to her feet. She set her hand on the rim of the large caldron she kept over the fire and screamed out in pain. The caldron tipped over and poured a mess of boiling green goo upon the floor. The mixture rushed around Mrs. Olaf's legs and began to eat away at her clothes, "No!!!" She cried out in terror, "This can not be happening!!!" The goo touched the red-hot coals of the fire and suddenly the concoction caught a blaze and the flamed rushed around the old woman, consuming her. The dazzling flames mesmerized Alice as they danced over her Aunt's body, "Isn't it pretty, Lady Alexandria?" She said with a sigh of delight. Alex shook her head in dismay, "Come on." She dragged her friend out of the burning building to find her sister still watching as the dog gnawed on Cecil's leg, "Let's get out of here." Alexandria commanded her sister, "This place was useless." "Awwww, but sis..." Alison protested as her sister grabbed her hand and started to pull her away from the house, "I want to watch the doggie." She pouted. "Maybe another day." Alexandria promised half-heartedly, "We are going home." The group of girls headed back towards town. "Come back here!!" Cecil cried out, "I will get you!!! You will see." The dog picked up the head and started to take it behind the house, "Wait!!! Where are you taking me!!! HELPPP!!!!" **** To be continued...
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