The Shadowman

Wooooaah! Did it feel good to be outta there!

Doctor Facilier, at your service you lucky folks. How've y'all been without the old shadowman and his tricks? This old city must have been pretty dull without me. How could they kill me off like that? What's a fairy tale without the bad guy? Well don't you worry now, this time I ain't going nowhere, and it's all thanks to this little ragdoll~

A little pathetic, ain't she? At first glance. What in hell's name was she doing bargaining with a bunch of voodoo gods? She didn't look like the kind of girl to be dabbling in the dark arts.

But I was no fool. I knew my old friends wouldn't have made a deal like that with just any old soul. So what was it about this doll that they found so interesting? For the life of me I couldn't begin to guess. She was a scrawny little thing, didn't look like she weighed more than ninety pounds. And her skin, she'd give Snow White a run for her money. She was pale as the moon. With a tone like that something told me that she was new to Louisiana. I got the impression she was from some place up north, somewhere a little cooler like Wisconsin maybe.

I still couldn't believe it. I had this little bag of bones to thank for my freedom? My old friends clearly saw something in her that I couldn't. Perhaps three tarot cards might shed some light on the mystery surrounding this doll, if she would only wake up so she could pick them. Though I'm not surprised she fainted after that soul-snatching fiasco, I know first hand what it feels like to have your soul robbed from your body, it feels a little funny at that.

As much as I wanted to stand there admiring this petite femme fatale I couldn't just leave her lying on the floor like that, what kind of a gentleman would I have been? This girl just gave me my freedom, the least I could do was put her somewhere a little softer until she came round. Over on the chaise should do.

It seemed my shadow had also taken an interest, not so much in the girl but in that shiny toy of hers. A rose made of glass? Glowing like an ember? Now I've seen this somewhere before. I saw him pick up that pretty flower and he brought it to my attention.

"Now what would a darlin' li'l doll like that be doin' playin' around with a death daisy?" A rhetorical question of course, I didn't expect my shadow to answer with nothing more than a shrug. If I wanted real answers I had to wait until this girl came to.

She sure took her time. Just how puny was this kid? She'd already been out for ten damn minutes and I was getting impatient. I wanted answers already. Who was this girl and how the hell did she find me? I was on the other side! What was she doing looking in a place like that? How did she even know I was there? Well, if I wasn't getting any answers from her any time soon then I guess I had to turn to my old friends.

I have to admit, I didn't expect them to be as friendly with me as they were last time, but now my fate was in my own hands once again. I was hoping they might treat me a little nicer this time. I had a pretty deep debt, let me tell ya, and I wanted to know what it was this young lady said (or did) that enticed my friends into letting me go so easily.

"Friends~" I respectfully enquired as to where I now stood with my debt. "We all even now? Huh? Am I right to assume that I'm a free man once again?"

That signature smile of theirs. Ha! It said it all. I was as free as a bird!

"It's good to be back in business with y'all, and thank you for treating me kindly while I served my time. Can't tell ya how much I've missed this old place." True, my old emporium had fallen into a little disrepair. A few cobwebs, dust and some broken merchandise, but the way I saw it I was home again~! "I'm back! Haha! The Shadowman's back from the other side!" I gave a sinister chuckle to satisfy myself. "And it seems I got this little lady to thank for my…"

But when I turned round all I saw was an empty couch. My mystery girl had gone, but she wouldn't have gotten far. Nothing happens here that I don't know about, this is my world and I knew she was still here. I took a little pan around the room and it didn't take me long before I saw something move behind my red curtain.

Who did she think she was hiding from? It was as if she didn't know who she was dealing with here. Did she even know who I was before she saved this poor sinner's soul? If she really knew me then she wouldn't be hiding behind a curtain like some frightened kid.

"You can't hide from me, darlin'. Not here." I knew she was there, I saw those eyes of her's staring at me through the gap in the drapes. I gave her my friendly smile to show I intended no harm. "C'mon. What'cha afraid of? I ain't gonna hurt ya. In fact, I'm indebted to ya."

"Why...should I…be afraid?" Damn, she got a voice like an angel.

"I don't know, maybe 'cos you handed your soul over to my friends on the other side."

I saw her eyes disappear as she backed up into the shadows.

"C'mon now darlin', I didn't mean to scare ya." I could tell already, this doll should be handled with care. She required a delicate touch so I made sure to sound smooth and gentle when I talked to her. "Your shy, aren't ya?"

"I'm afraid." There goes that angelic voice again.

"What'cha afraid of?"

"Them."

I can't say I was surprised. Having the soul sucked outta ya by my good friends is gonna make wish you'd never laid eyes on 'em. But I had more gall than that as I looked them in the eye myself. I couldn't have them scarin' her off like that, I had business with this youngchéri.

"Would you mind?" I raised my brow in their direction. "I'd like to have a moment with the doll if that's alright with y'all."

We had an understanding, them and I, as they went back into their own world and left this little lady in mine.

"It's alright now, they're gone. You ain't gotta hide no more." My friends were gone, but this shy little angel still didn't wanna show herself. So, what? Was it me she was afraid of now? I'm a shrewd shadowman and already I got the impression that I was gonna have to be a little more persuasive if I was gonna convince this doll to show her face.

"Are you scared of me, sweetheart?"

She hesitated before answering me this time. "Not really."

I saw my shadow on my side of the curtain, doing his own thing as he reached out his arm ready to pull back the drapes whether she was ready or not. I had to act fast if I was gonna stop him. I tapped my cane down on the stage to get his attention. "Go on." I dismissed him. "Make yourself scarce." He doesn't always take kindly to my orders but this time he saw that I wasn't too happy with the move he was about to make. This girl couldn't be rushed, all he'd of done was scare her into running off.

With my shadow behind me once again I resumed my…persuasion~ "C'mon, sweetheart. What's wrong?"

I heard her voice tremble as she took a breath in. "I don't know you."

"Well, if ya come out from there you can get to know me a little better, then I won't be a stranger any more. What d'ya say? It's gonna be hard for me to tell ya anythin' with you hidin' behind the drapes the whole time."

I heard soft footsteps walking all the way round to the other side of the stage. It seemed like she didn't wanna come out the same way she went in.

I watch the red curtain wave in the draft as she came closer to the end, and that's when I saw three white fingers wrap around edge of those drapes and pull them back to reveal a snow-white face with pink blushing cheeks, eyes like sapphires and hair as black as night.

She didn't show her whole self, just taking one step out and holding on to the curtain as she stared at me without a smile on her pretty face. I put on my gentleman charm, I had to make her feel comfortable now I had her in my sight. I didn't want her hiding herself away again. "Now, isn't that a whole lot better?" I still didn't get a smile outta her, but at least she was looking at me now. "You got a name, darlin'?"

"Charlie." She managed to squeak out in that quiet angelic voice of hers.

"'Charlie'?" 'Ain't that a boy's name?' I thought to myself.

"My name's Charlotte Crawler." Ah, that makes sense.

Time for me to introduce myself. "Doctor Facilier, my sweet chéri." I tipped my hat to show a little friendliness in my introduction. "Most folks call me the Shadowman."

Just when I thought this doll might never warm up to me I saw this adorable smile just appear out of nowhere. "You're a witchdoctor?"

I grinned as I returned my hat to its rightful place. "Guilty as charged."

"You own all these things, don't you? It's you." She stepped out from behind the drapes, showing herself completely now. "The dolls, the drums. The masks, the amulets." She kept on smiling all the way to my table where the my friends had laid the shattered pieces of my talisman after they dragged me away. "Even the blood talisman. They're all yours."

...What did she just say? "Y'all know this trinket?"

"Yes. It's used for shape-shifting and changing one's DNA. Transmogrification spells. I think."

I don't know what I expected of this doll when I first laid eyes on her scrawny little body, but I gotta tell ya, I never expected her to come out with something like that. "How'd you know all that?" She had me curious now.

She took a small pause before giving me an answer. "I'm familiar with talismans."

My shadow was still holding that pretty flower of hers. I placed my hand behind my back out of her sight and I took the opportunity to secretly take it from my shadow's grasp. I didn't want her seeing him and getting spooked or nothing. "Like this one?" I showed her the death daisy that had to belong to her.

At that point her smile vanished, I guess she was worried about seeing her little trinket in a stranger's hands. "Yes." She sounded nervous so I thought I'd best give it back, that is if she'd let me get close enough to her.

I stepped forward, slowly, and tried to make my intentions clear. She shuffled herself around to the opposite side of the table like she was getting all scared so I stopped. "Don't be shy now, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

She was finding it hard to even look at me now, what was she so afraid of?

"Y'all want this back?" I asked the obvious question and she replied with nothing more than a nod. "Then your gonna have to trust me." I tried to be patient with her, although I'll admit I'd never met anybody this timid before. But I'm good at getting folks to like me and I knew I could persuade her to do the same, even if it took a little more effort on my part.

This time she didn't move as I made my way to where she was standing. I wrapped my fingers around her tiny hand and placed that shiny toy of hers safely in her palm. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

After she got her flower back she didn't seem so shy anymore. I was standing right beside her and it was the first time she didn't try to hide away from me. It seemed like she was starting to feel a little safer, especially when she started smiling again.

"So how does a little lady like yourself come to own such a rare and beautiful amulet?" Time to satisfy some of my curiosity. "You a voodoo girl?"

"No." She said to my great surprise. "No, not quite..." She was starting to sound more modest than shy.

"Not quite?" Now things were getting interesting.

She hugged hold of her flower and looked away from me, taking her time before replying to me in a sweet whispered voice. "I'm a witch… Not just in voodoo, but in all forms of magic… I'm an apprentice witch."

...You know, I would have never believed it if it wasn't for that little old flower. When I laid eyes on this doll the outside told me here was a lady of modest. But what about on the inside? Now I knew why my friends were so interested in her soul. She was a goddamn witch and I'd wager she had more magic in those tiny little hands than I had in every bone in my body.

A plan started to form in my mind~ I decided to act like I didn't believe her. "Alright then, I'll bite. You're a witch? Prove it."

She looked at me all confused. "How?"

"Cast one of your spells." I requested a demonstration of this witchcraft. "Go on. Impress me."

She froze. "I… I can't."

I was starting to get pretty damn tired of that shy attitude of hers getting in the way all the time. "What'cha scared of now?"

"I… I'm not scared." She stuttered out her words. "I just… can't. I've never been able to."

"I'm not sure I believe ya." I hid my true intentions behind a devious smile. "You're tellin' me you're witch, but cha don't even have any real magic?"

"I have magic!" It sounded like she was getting all panicky about not being believed. "Apparently. But I'm only an apprentice witch. I've not found my magic yet, but it's still there inside me somewhere. And I have my own ancient magic book to guide me. I even have a master who looks after ghosts in a phantom house…"

She stopped talking. Brought her hands to her lips in mid sentence. Something put her off just when things were getting interesting.

Her body language made a swift change as she turned her back on me. "...I really should be talking about this with you, or with anyone. I don't even know you. I've said too much already."

"That's alright, darlin'." I followed after her, secretly holding something special in my hand. "You don't need to say another word." I wanted to know just what kind of secrets this doll was hiding from me and I had my ways of finding out. "If you do have magic powers pumpin' through your veins...your cards will tell me."

"Cards?" She asked with a worried frown on that sweet little angel face.

With a flash of my hands I fanned out my tarot cards before her eyes. "These cards, my Charlie doll."