Yeah...the updates come slow as molasses these days. Sorry 'bout that. Also, I added a bit to the end of chapter one.
The basics of any anyone's life could be gleaned from a distance. Beyond that, The Beldam needed a spy. A silent informant, capable of gaining a child's implicit trust. She made a doll in the Skellington boy's likeness. The construction process took her slightly more effort than usual. She was used to fashioning copies of plump human youngsters. Her well-practiced pattern had to be altered for the spidery little creature now in her sights. There was also the tedium of doing everything with one hand (curse that rotten little girl!). She paused at one point, realizing quite suddenly that the boy didn't exactly have...eyes. Was this a problem? Possibly? Possibly not. In any event, she had no room to pick and choose. She pulled large black buttons from a coat, finding that they stood in nicely for the boy's hollow sockets. The doll complete, she placed it in his bedroom, casually dropped among more familiar toys. She then retreated, curling up between layers of the ether. She'd need to start weaving soon, but first there was the matter of learning what the boy pined for. What would he want most in a perfect world of his own design? The short answer was attention, of course. She knew that even without the doll. They all wanted attention.
Through the plastic disks of the doll's coat button eye sockets, The Beldam saw the child notice the new plaything. She held her breath; an angler with that first tentative tug on the line. The skeleton child stared, blinking twice. He gave the doll a timid poke in its stuffed ribs with a boney finger. Then, he did something most unusual. Something which all of The Beldam's centuries of pursuing humans had never prepared her for. He screamed. Screamed, and leaped forward, clapping his hand over the doll's face. Her view went dark.
A short time later, the toy's vision remained obstructed. It seemed that the doll had been bound with some description of dark ribbon or gauze, wound around its skull. The Beldam could, however, still hear. There seemed to be a quorum of sorts surrounding the toy.
"I'm telling Dad."
"No you are not, Guy! Not right now."
"But..." The voice dissolved into sobs, followed by a scurry of young voices in both argument and support.
One sentence rang out, snapping The Beldam's attention:
"I don't want her to get me!"
He knew? How? How could he have known? No one knew. At least, not until it was past the point of being a help to them.
"Oooh, she won't get you." said a weary voice. One of the older boys.
"She can't, unless you let her. Just don't let her. And don't say anything to our parents right now! It's too close to Halloween. Dad doesn't have time to worry about this too, and Mom will get upset... You're supposed to go out with us for the first time this year, Guy. Don't you want to?"
The question was answered with a sniffley whimper, which The Beldam could only interpret as a "yes".
"Then throw the doll away, and forget about it. If Dad and Mom think something is hunting for you, they might not want you to go to the human world."
"Agree." said the other older boy. "Especially because she's usually there, isn't she? It's a bit weird for her to leave a doll for anyone in Halloweentown. That's going by what I've heard, anyway."
"It's a very cute doll. It's a shame to throw it away..." said a small voice, ringing into the mix for the first time. That must be the girl, thought The Beldam. She wondered if she should have picked the little girl instead. Spoiled and happy or not, if the child had a weakness for dolls...
"Don't touch it!", wailed Guy. "Don't touch it, Hazel! You might knock the ribbon off!"
"Lock it up. Keep it away from Hazel and Arthur." one of the older pair sighed, a touch irritated by now. "They're too little to know better."
The youngest pair registered insult at that proclamation, while the other twin suggested the doll be tossed into the fire.
"Eh, then another one might show up." the first brother said. "Better to just lock it away for now. We'll talk to Dad after the holiday, okay Guy?"
The Beldam heard her chosen child agree. There was rustle, as the doll was laid in a coffin-shaped toy chest. Then, nothing but still silence.