Third in the Jonathon Coulton series. Do not own Dresden Files or Creepy Doll. This one has some swears, including the F word.
I walked in on Marcone burning a sack of money. No, really.
This was worse than I thought.
He was being cursed by a small time practitioner. Her daughter died of an overdose, and she blamed the supplier. She's worked her way up the chain all the way to Gentleman 'Johnny' Marcone. I'd failed to save most of them. I hadn't even realised what was happening until Sigrun came to me. She'd noticed all the deaths, and connected them. They were all suicides, or weird accidents.
As little as I liked Marcone, I didn't want him dead. As much as I hate to admit, he's necessary. And he isn't as bad as he could be. He always makes sure his drugs are 'safe'. Well, as safe as drugs ever are. And he never lets any of his people hurt kids. He has a bit of a complex about that actually. In different circumstances, me and Marcone might even have been friends.
Or more, a little voice at the back of my head chimes in. I ignore it, it reminds me a little too much of Lash, and a little too much of my evil subconscious twin.
"John, what are you doing?"
"I have to make it stop!" He lit a match and dropped it onto the money.
"Have to make what stop?"
"It won't leave me alone!"
He was terrified. I knew because he was dishevelled. The only times I've seen Marcone in a mess is when he's been captured, or tortured, or both. The rest of the time, he's painfully neat and tidy. I wonder why he feels the need to be so uptight and controlled. It felt wrong seeing him like this, intrusive. He looked... vulnerable. He isn't supposed to look vulnerable. It's so much harder to hate him when he looks like that.
"What won't leave you alone? Talk to me John, maybe I can help."
"Harry?" His voice was so small and afraid that I had to go to him. I put a hand on his arm. He carefully opened the drawer to his desk, and sitting there was the creepiest fucking thing I'd ever seen.
"Mama," it said.
It was a creepy doll, with only one eye open. It sat up, and looked at me.
"Mama." I shuddered. It was wearing a tattered dress, it had blonde hair, and a pretty rosebud mouth.
"It's following me! It's everywhere!"
"Where did you get it?" I needed to be sure.
"I got it from a man with a withered hand. He had a box with it in, and the key had my name carved into it."
"And that didn't give you a clue that there was something spooky going on?" I shook my head. Although, that isn't fair. I have a ruined hand myself, burned, not withered, but I shouldn't lump all people with withered hands together. Most of them are probably pretty normal. But John must have eaten stupid flakes for breakfast if his weird-shit-o-meter didn't go off at the whole 'name carved into the key' thing.
I'm getting a little off point.
"Harry, make it stop."
Normally, I'd tell him not to call me Harry. But I don't kick a man when he's down. I grabbed the doll, and it clawed at me with its blunt little fingers. I threw it as hard as I could across the room.
"Fuego! Pyrofuego!" I shouted. The doll was surrounded by flame, and I watched as the tattered dress burned up. Its face was melting, and its hair was singed, but then it walked out of the fire towards us.
"Mama!" It held its flame covered arms up to Marcone.
"Stars and stones!" I groaned. I had to break the curse before I could destroy the cursed object. Wonderful. I drew a quick circle on the floor around Marcone and put a small burst of effort into it.
"Mister Dresden?" Marcone rocked a little on his feet and looked around him confused. Confused was better than afraid and vulnerable. My guess is the circle cut him off from the doll's influence.
"John, stay in the circle, okay? You'll be safe in there."
"Safe? I don't..." He saw the baby doll walking towards him on her little plastic feet. "What the fuck?"
I rarely hear Marcone swear. I carefully didn't think about the shot of electricity that went through me at the sound of the word 'fuck' from his mouth.
"Just stay in the circle. I'm going to get the bitch that sent it. I'll be back as soon as I can. Just stay in there, alright?"
I had a hair from the woman, courtesy of Sigrun. It was the work of a moment to track her down. I got to her apartment and found her with her brother. Who had a withered arm. They were sitting in front of an alter, in a circle. If I can destroy the alter...
I threw fireball after fireball, weakening their defences, until the circle popped like a bubble, and they were vulnerable. I could have thrown another and killed them in a second. They were amateurs playing out of their league. But, I didn't want to hurt them. They were just trying to get justice for their little girl. I understand that. They cowered before me, and I can only imagine how I must have looked, full of righteous anger, and clutching my staff with my burned hand.
"Fuego." I barely whispered it, and the alter goes up. I wasn't expecting the woman to burn as well. It took me a moment to react. I didn't do that, did I?
Oh.
Oh no.
The spell she was using. Basically, she was putting a portion of her soul into the doll, and controlling it through that. Mixed with a bad luck spell. Not clever. She'd been dead since the doll burned, and didn't even know it. Her brother held her, crying and screaming as the flames overtook him as well.
I tried to save him. I know how much it hurts to be burned alive. He wouldn't let her go.
I had to leave them.
They died.
Marcone was pale and upset when I got back. He was still in the circle though, and the doll was so much melted plastic.
"You okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
"Good. You can come out of the circle now." I wanted to ask what the doll had done while I was gone, but he looked so disturbed... I figured it was better left alone.
When he didn't ask me any questions about what I'd done, I wondered how bad I must look.
Reviews are nice. And go listen to JoCo's songs and read Jim's books. :)