Pitch slipped back into the darkened record store through the open front doors. He could hear the commotion from outside the mall echoing through the empty, evacuated building.
He permitted himself a smile at the remains of the commotion he had caused inside.
Streamers lay trampled on the floor along with abandoned, cracked CD cases. Balloons had escaped their moorings and fled into the recesses of the ceiling. Some lightbulbs seemed to have withstood the vocal assault and the remains of those that hadn't sympathetically reflected the lights of their former fellows.
The only person left inside was Candy, ranting to herself in the gloom.
Sitting cross legged on her stage beneath some intact lights the would-be idol seemed content to sit on the stage erected for her and have a private breakdown in peace. The light above her cast a comedic spotlight on the sorry scene: as if she was performing some form of tragic monologue rather than feeling sorry for herself in a wrecked establishment.
'They always spoil everything!' she cried, slamming her fists on the wooden surface, 'Stupid Guardians!'
She jammed a fistful of animal crackers into her mouth and chewed savagely, cherub cheeks working like an infernal machine. She swallowed and gulped down a dose of strawberry milk. It was so pink in colour Pitch assumed a real strawberry would've been insulted to have been associated with it.
Regardless it seemed to have a calming effect on Candy. She wiped her mouth delicately with a silky handkerchief and stood up.
'But you know what?' she announced to the empty room, dusting her dress down, 'I'm not gonna let it get me down. No sir!'
Pitch grimaced as he crept closer. What was coming next? A song?
This was what Tooth was worried about? An overgrown Shirley Temple?!
Pitch's plan was simple. Whereas Tooth had talked to understand, he talked to scare. He would reduce Cupid or Candy or whatever she chose to call herself to a quivering wreck.
'I'm a big girl. I'll just work harder, keep smiling and crush them where they stand', Candy beamed giving a twirl.
'Your optimism is refreshing', Pitch stated.
Candy jumped from fright and swivelled dramatically, hands cupped to her mouth. Pitch stayed carefully out of the circle of light. No reason to make it fair on her.
'You're him aren't you?' Candy stammered, eyes widening, 'The big bad boogeyman'.
'I'm certainly not Santa Claus', Pitch said, 'Do you enjoy one sided conversations? I suppose it's the only way you get answers you like'.
'That was just a little pep talk!' Candy said, a little louder, 'Nothing wrong with that! After you wrecked my signing!'
'I'd apologize but you know how it is: not being sorry and all that', Pitch shrugged and was gratified to see Candy bristle.
'Why are you helping Tooth?' Candy asked, trying to peer into the darkness beyond her spotlight to pick him out, 'You into older women?'
'A combination of boredom and self-interest', Pitch said, moving slowly behind her. For some reason the 'older women' statement had rankled him.
As Candy strained to pick him out from the darkness, his voice whispered into her ear.
'Probably the same reasons you're doing what you're doing'.
Candy jumped again.
Pitch could see her hands shaking and smiled. This wouldn't take long at all. He wouldn't destroy her but he would make sure Candy's ego would be kept firmly in check from this point onwards. Only he was permitted to make fools of the Guardians.
'I'm helping people', Candy said stubbornly.
'You don't really think that', Pitch said, stepping around her.
Candy wheeled around at the sound of his voice and surprised Pitch by stepping in front of him. Though she only came up to his chest, he took a step back at the sudden rush of movement. It was enough to let her know where he was.
'Shut up!' Candy jammed her fists over her ears, eyes bright as she stared up at him, 'I know what you do. Sneaky sneaky! You crawl inside people's heads and mess everything up'.
'Sound familiar?'
'You tell me!' she declared.
She suddenly grabbed his face with her delicate fingers. Pitch was startled but scoffed when he realised she was singing to him. Placing a long finger on her lips, Pitch tilted his head mockingly as she stopped.
'Pretty. But it doesn't work on the heartless'.
He caught a glimpse of thwarted anger from Candy before it was buried beneath the usual truckload of sweetness and light.
'But surely there's something you want?' Candy asked, fluttering her long eyelashes at him.
'Nothing from you', Pitch deadpanned.
She wasn't as intimidated as he thought she had been, he had to give her that. It made sense after all for Cupid to be a good liar. How many relationships started based on half-truths and faint inklings that people may be compatible?
'Why's that?' Candy asked.
'Because you're a liar who can't even be honest about why she lies'.
'Now you've hurt my feelings', Candy gave an impressive pout complete with tears gathering in her eyes, 'You're a big meanie!'
'Spare me', Pitch snarled.
Candy sniffed and wiped her eyes. Just like that the 'cute little girl' act was gone. She stood straighter, eyes focused and fixed her hair so it was out of her face. She cleared her throat and her voice was more measured. Older.
'Fair enough', she said, 'I'm a businesswoman Mr Black. I know an opportunity when I see one'.
She sat up on the stage, one leg over the other, fingers steepled professionally. Pitch rolled his eyes but tolerated the persona change. This ought to be good.
'I truly admire you-no please don't scoff like that I'm serious- because it doesn't matter to you who you scare: rich, poor, young or old and you're not ashamed of what you are. All the Guardians care about is bribing good kids and ignoring ones that misbehave'.
Candy stood up and began to walk towards him, entreating him with an outstretched hand. Pitch remained impassive. It was a good performance and might have worked: if he hadn't used the same trick himself a hundred times.
'Tell me Mr Black, what's a 'good' kid? If a kid talks back to their mother because they're had a bad day, does that make them naughty? Who has the right to decide that?!'
'North does', Pitch said bluntly, 'He has very detailed lists'.
The similarity between their styles of manipulation was starting to grate on him. Was he this annoyingly grandstanding when he talked to people?!
'Ha ha no', Candy said, holding up a negative finger, 'It's like a driving license: it's a privilege, not a right. My point is, you and I are the only ones who treat everyone fairly. Everyone gets scared. Everyone wants to be loved. Why are we treated as outsiders because we don't believe in 'good' and 'bad' people? They're all just people right?'
'Yes, they are all idiotic, self-destructive people', Pitch said, feigning a puzzled expression, 'Let me guess: you think we should protect them. Not the Guardians'.
'Exactly! How would you like to be believed in? Picture it!'
Candy was beside him now, holding up two fingers in a square shape.
'Thousands of people hanging on our every word! I could make them adore you so much that no matter how scared they were, they would always come crawling back'.
'How does that benefit me when I love to see them run?' Pitch smirked, allowing his eyes to glow for effect.
Candy seemed unfazed and winked at him.
'Trust me darling, there's nothing better than a captive audience. Speaking of which…'
She clicked her fingers and after a moment, a figure emerged from an adjacent room. He flicked the lights on as he entered. Pitch was temporarily dazed but recognised the newcomer's aura easily enough. Jack Frost was eyeing him with a distinctly blank eyed expression as he walked towards them.
Candy skipped over to him and tickled his chin. Jack didn't seem to notice she was there.
'Have you met my new bodyguard? Saw him hanging around with some kids outside and thought I'd introduce myself', she said gleefully.
Pitch did not like the idea of fighting Jack Frost. Especially not outnumbered in a well-lit open room. It was time to step things up. Stopping Candy would stop Jack. It was time to stop playing.
'Charmed. Literally I see', Pitch said, 'Where are the other Guardians?'
He began to focus his power but slowly enough that Candy wouldn't pick up on what he was doing. He didn't have enough power in him for another shriek but he could render Candy unconscious and bring her to his lair if he was quick enough. A couple of hours in the iron cages would teach her a valuable lesson.
'Well, North is in the middle of making the props for Friday's show, Bunny's doing the catering and Sandy's just dropping a little reminder into all the heads of the sleeping folks at home to tune in', Candy laughed, ticking off her fingers.
'And I suppose thanks to your magic nobody notices a six foot rabbit?' Pitch asked.
'Even if they did, the fairytale theme I got going keeps me covered', she shrugged.
'Clever', Pitch conceded sourly.
'So sweet of you to say. So what's it gonna be boogeyman? Wanna join the winning team?'
Pitch pretended to consider the offer, moving into position. With the lights on, the shadows had been diminished but there was still a lovely long patch of darkness being cast by the stage itself.
'I don't like the spotlight; much less sharing it. And I refuse to be part of any band that includes Vanilla Ice here', he said, gesturing to Jack Frost.
His foot touched the shadow as Candy looked crestfallen.
'That's okay', she said sadly, 'I understand. Well if you're not with me then-'
She trailed off and Pitch pounced.
'I'm against you!' he declared and willed himself into the floor.
His body became ghostlike and sinuous, circling around Candy before emerging once again like a surfacing sea predator. He became solid again behind her and grabbed for her, preparing to make a quick exit.
And found that his feet were frozen to the floor.
Jack glared at Pitch, his face illuminated by the blue glow of his magic. The tip of his staff was touching the pool of shadow and locking the boogeyman solidly in place.
Feeling the cold creeping up his legs and frosting over his fingers, Pitch cursed at Jack and tried to grab Candy. As she moved back, he realised she was hovering off the floor.
A pair of ghostly silver wings shimmered at her back as she lightly drifted away from his grasping fingers.
'Nice try', she smirked, 'Jack told me all about that little trick of yours. Give me some credit'.
As Pitch thrashed, wrenching his ankles painfully as he tried to free himself, Candy summoned her bow. She gently adjusted the string as she coolly regarded her new prisoner.
'Despite how rude you've been, I do think we have a lot in common Mr Black. Ambition, a dislike of people telling us what to do, disdain for the Tsars of fashion-'
'Passion for long winded speeches that go nowhere?' Pitch snarled.
Candy blinked and paid no further attention to the remark.
'I can't hypnotise you but I can make sure you no longer get in my way. You see, Sandy and I had a little chat about you'.
'I find that hard to believe', Pitch laughed humourlessly, 'It's more likely to have been a game of Pictionary'.
'You and he have quite the history don't you?' she asked, hovering irritatingly out of reach.
Pitch gritted his teeth in anger as he stomped the memories down as unbidden, they began to surface. Bad memories were an ill-timed distraction he could not afford.
'Ancient history', Pitch stressed.
'Well I heard that you used to care about somebody very much. A very special girl wasn't she?'
'Key words: 'wasn't she'. Past tense', Pitch snarled, his teeth aching from the pressure of his jaws.
He had no idea what Candy was doing.
He knew who she was talking about. How could he not?!
Was it purely psychological damage she was after? If so, why choose to mention someone who meant nothing to him? Less than nothing!
He wasn't that person. He didn't even remember him!
What did he care about a woman that someone else had loved?!
And that damn song was back in his head!
That infernal lullaby that wormed its way between his ears! The same one he often woke to in the dark of night with unexplained tears on his cheeks.
'Doesn't keep you from wishing they were still here', Candy said, all too aware of the conflicting feelings running through Pitch, 'Wishing that things had been different'.
'I am incapable of love', Pitch tried to calm his breathing, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Was this feeling some kind of buried emotional turmoil? Or a side effect of Candy's powers?
Either way, he could feel himself losing control. The thought enraged and confused him.
'That's so very sad. Tell me', Candy continued, 'do you know what happens when dreamsand and my magic are mixed together?'
'A big mess?' Pitch snapped. He thought he could feel his fingers moving slightly. He homed in on the sensation, willing his powers to move as he desired.
'I can make dreams come true', Candy said majestically.
'Nobody can do that', Pitch said savagely.
'You once told her different', Candy taunted, 'All she had to do was 'believe' and she could achieve anything. Ha! Looks like I'm not the only liar in the room. Too bad, so sad'.
That was it. Pitch snapped.
Growling, he threw a shadowy spear at Candy's head. She ducked in the nick of time: only a couple of golden hairs paid the price for enraging the boogeyman. Jack tightened his grip and Pitch's teeth chattered from the intense cold infecting his body.
'It doesn't matter what I told her!' he yelled, 'She is gone and she is never coming back!'
'No she's not. But I'm curious about you'.
An arrow was pulled back in the bow. Pitch could see it was not like the other arrows Candy normally used. This one was a glass shaft with golden runes shining on the surface. The tip was cold looking iron dusted with fine granules of dream sand. Pitch could smell the magic from it and it made his spine tingle.
It was light magic. Pure anathema to him.
He had been on the unpleasant receiving end of Dreamsand before. It had hurt but like fear, pain was manageable if you understood how it worked.
Pitch didn't know what this magic would do to him but from Candy's sadistic looking smile, it wouldn't be pleasant.
'When we peel away all that icky darkness, what's left?' she asked him, her fingers steady on the bowstring, 'Is there someone we can bring back?'
Pitch lashed out but she was already gone.
Too late, he realised she was behind him.
Then he felt the sickening lurch between his shoulders as she shot him in the back.
'How does it feel when someone sneaks up on you boogeyman?' Candy laughed.
Pitch screamed. He couldn't help it.
The pain was one thing: a creeping cold that somehow burned in the core of him. He writhed as he tried to yank the arrow out. It grated against his bones: a malign, alien tumour that felt alive and kicking in his flesh.
The second sensation was worse and getting worse.
It felt like a spreading weakness: a steady trickling of malignant magic seeping into his core. It felt warm like a fever and he could feel sweat beading on his brow. His hands shook as he sank to his knees. He vomited black liquid onto the floor as he groped for a solid surface in a vain attempt to rise.
It felt as if he was being sucked from his own body.
His thoughts grew heavy and dull and when Candy spoke, it seemed to be from an immense height.
'Jack told me what you did at Halloween. There's a good person in you just begging to be let out'.
Pitch's eyes widened.
She couldn't! That man was dead: eaten alive by shadows until nothing was left except for his face as a convenient costume!
'No…don't', Pitch whispered weakly, trying desperately to see clearly even as he sank lower to the floor.
'Let's see what he looks like', Candy laughed as she saw Pitch collapse into a heap.
She checked his breathing had normalised then brushed some hair from his face.
'Hello', she purred, admiring the view, 'Now that's what I call a perfect Pitch'.
She clicked her fingers and Jack finally let Pitch go, the ice around him dissolving into warm vapour. Candy tossed the crouching figure a hand mirror. It gained a long crack down the middle of the surface as it hit the floor.
The groggy Pitch didn't even notice Candy cackle wildly at her own joke.
He was too busy staring at his reflection in the damaged mirror.
His skin was now a pale though not unhealthy white. His eyes had become hazel though if he focused, he could still see golden flecks trying desperately to shine through. Even his facial structure had changed: his angular cheekbones still present but softer. Thanks to his mouth being agape, he could see that his teeth had lost their sharp edges and were a pearly white.
He jumped up in a panic and his head swam.
It didn't make any sense! He barely recognised himself even though he knew he was looking at his own reflection!
As he staggered slightly, he made another discovery. His heart hammering, he realised his shadow was mimicking his movements perfectly. Human shadows did that: not his! It was no longer a portal or a source of power. Just an insubstantial yet wholly natural phenomenon.
The shadow of Kozmotis Pitchiner.
He numbly realised the arrow was still buried in his back. It pulsed at his attention and looking over his shoulder, he could see the shaft was now stained black from what it had absorbed.
Pitch felt sick.
'What did you do?!' he gasped, 'I'm-'
Candy placed a commanding finger over his mouth.
'So out of here', she smirked and viciously yanked the arrow out.
Pitch cried out in pain as he felt his powers truly ripped from his body. Alone, helpless and, despite himself, afraid, he tried to grab for the arrow.
Candy tittered and held it tauntingly out of reach of the unsteady Pitch.
'Jack, show him the door', Candy commanded dismissively.
'With pleasure', Jack said.
The irony twinned with the rising bile in Pitch's mouth.
It was Antarctica in reverse.
Jack was advancing on him now. The staff glowed with ethereal shards of ice, blue and lethal.
Pitch backed away but realised there was nowhere to go.
He had backed right into the large window facing onto the car park. Five storeys down.
Pitch tried desperately to phase away into the shadows and safety.
Jack was raising his staff, eyes unfocused.
Pitch was reaching for powers that simply weren't there anymore.
Eyes narrowing, he resigned himself to the potentially fatal chain of events about to unfold.
'You're a bloody hypocrite Jack Frost', Pitch spat as Jack unleashed his power and the window exploded.