Three days went by and still no one had been able to find Vaggie or any clues to where she was or what could have happened to her. The cops managed to track down her father but he claimed that he hadn't seen or heard from her since the divorce, and no evidence was found in his apartment to indicate her presence so they had to let him go. Charlie kept trying to call Vaggie but she never picked up and she kept trying to see Angel for answers but he started to avoid her. After three days of this, she became convinced that Mystique Hollow had something to do with this. She wondered why she didn't suspect it from the start. After all Levana had attempted to try to get Charlie to stay there, why wouldn't she give Vaggie the same offer?
On the fourth day of Vaggie's disappearance, Charlie made plans to look for her in Mystique Hollow after dark but unfortunately, Stolas had another late night meeting with his ex. He insisted that she stay home and watched Octavia that night.
"Why can't you just get Gina to watch her? You've done it several times." She complained to him.
"That poor woman has her own issues to deal with right now. Apparently your friend Angel is having some sort of a break down." Stolas said. "Nothing serious, he's just a little spooked and need some time."
"But Stolas this is an emergency. I have to find Vaggie."
"I understand the situation, I truly do. But the police and her mother and all of our other neighbors are looking for her tonight. You not being there won't make much a disappearance."
"But Stolas-"
"Not buts, now I promise you can look for tomorrow night and maybe every other night after but tonight I need you to stay home and watch Via. This meeting is very important, Stella believes she's found evidence pointing to whoever has stolen her money."
"Does it point to you?"
"If it's legitimate evidence? No. If it's evidence she falsified to frame me? Then yes. And that's why I'm going down there, to make sure she's not trying to set me up."
"You really think she would do that? I mean I know she hates your gutts and all but she knows that if she ever put you away on false charges, Octavia would never forgive her and she wouldn't want that."
"Maybe not but when it comes to that woman, I'm taking no chances."
"You know this all could have been avoided if you had gotten a prenup."
"Oh no, that would have made things worse. If we had gotten a prenup, she would have never agreed to the divorce. In fact she probably would have poisoned me for the money." He said.
"Is she really that evil?"
"She's a woman with a lot of demons and she absolutely refuses to get any help, so that makes her very dangerous, and I have to be very careful." Stolas said. "That's why meetings like these can't be avoided. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Good. I'll be home late, there are leftovers you can heat up for dinner, keep all the doors and windows locked. It's a school night so make sure Octavia is in bed at eight-thirty. And the emergency numbers are hanging on the fridge door."
"I know, I know, I know."
"See you in the morning."
After Stolas left, Charlie played a few board games with Octavia, she fixed their dinner, ran Octavia a bath, and the two watched some television until eight-thirty. Then she tucked Octavia into bed and went on to her own room to do a little reading.
Once again she chose to read the book Gina had given her and curiously, she found a marked page that led to more words and illustrations that she had missed from the last time she had read from it.
Many times, a child would suddenly disappear from this town without a trace and no matter where their parents looked, they never found their son or daughter again. For once a child willingly barters away their eyes and their hearts to this monster, they are doomed. All children that it preyed upon, to this day, still remain a prisoner, a slave to it.
All except one...
"That wasn't there before." She began to read on.
One child, a boy who was ensnared by this tyrant, lost his eye but was clever enough to see through all the treachery before giving up his heart. As punishment for refusing to surrender his heart, the boy was locked away and tortured until he would submit.
She looked at the illustration on that page. It depicted a tall, dark, figure hovering a fright little boy who clutched the part of his face where his eye used to be while his remaining eye now shed tears. And in another it depicted the boy sitting alone in a dudgeon, his appearance vastly altered. He looked older, like a teenager and his skin had turned a familiar shade of beige, his hair a familiar shade of red, and he now had a familiar pair of horns on his head. All the while still crying and keeping a hand over his mouth.
Charlie turned the page.
However he never did, his spirit remained strong and one day he managed to escape his prison with the aid of an old adversary of this land's ruler. But when he tried to go back home, when he tried to go back across the bridge, he couldn't.
In the next illustration the boy was running away, his hand still over his mouth, following an owl to the bridge. But in another he stopped at the bridge and couldn't get through as if there was a sheet of unbreakable glass there to keep him inside that world.
She turned to the next page.
Without his eye he could never cross the bridge and was doomed to remain in this world always. Though he still had his heart and that prevented him from being controlled by the monster who had trapped him. So he spent the next eight years using his free will to warn any other potential victims who were lured away to Mystique Hollow.
Suddenly Charlie gasped and dropped the book in frightened shock. The illustration on that page showed the boy looking older, old enough to be Stolas's age, looking through a mirror with something to replace his missing eye. And a scarf now covered his mouth and at once Charlie realized why he looked so familiar to her.
"Alastor!" She cried. "That's Alastor! Oh my God! He really is just a boy, and he really was trying to warn us!"
And that meant that if Vaggie really was in Mystique Hollow just as Charlie suspected, she was probably in great danger.
"I have to get over there!" She declared in a panic.
Charlie was so scared and worried for her friend that she acted in haste. She just slipped on her shoes and ran out of the house, not at all noticing that her speedy actions had awakened Octavia. The little girl sat up in bed and sleepily walked over to the window where she saw her foster sister rushing off in the middle of the night.
"Now where is she going?" She wondered.
Curious and knowing that she wasn't allowed to be left home alone, Octavia went downstairs and followed after her. But because she was so much smaller than Charlie, she trailed behind and Charlie didn't see her coming. But Octavia was able to keep up enough to see where her foster sister was going. Right across that bridge.
"Uh-oh." She thought when she finally arrived at the starting end. She paused and once again felt that feeling that all obedient children get when they don't know exactly what something is but they somehow know that whatever it is, their parents wouldn't like it one little bit.
"I really shouldn't cross this bridge." She thought. "I should probably go home."
But Charlie had gone across the bridge and that meant she could be in trouble, and family always had to look out for each other. So despite her fear and uncertainty, Octavia slowly walked across.
"I'll never understand why Daddy always leaves her in charge." She thought. "I'm the one who always does what I'm told. I don't ever break the rules and sneak out like she does. Well except for this one time but I've got good reason. It should be me who's left in charge, not her. Why is she even over here anyway? This place is dark and creepy. Doesn't she know to stay away from dark and creepy places? Oh just wait til Daddy finds out about this."
She was trying to distract herself from getting scared, and that became easier once she reached the other end of the bridge. She was soon stepping into something that was like a forest, but it wasn't like any she had ever seen before. The sky was the color of cast iron and the plants looked shriveled, as though the sun had never shown on them since their first day on earth. The trees had trunks like tight fists, the roots were huge and gnarled, fallen branches and dead leaves covered the ground.
"Curiouser and curiouser." She wondered out loud. "Charlie! Charlie are you out here?! Come on Charlie! You know you're not supposed to leave me alone! You're going to get in big trouble for this!"
No one answered.
"Charlie!" She called again. "What's going on here?"
Suddenly a terrifying, bright, and savage figure leaped out in front of her. It resembled a dodo-bird but it was huge, about the size of an ostrich. Startled, Octavia screamed and stepped back.
"What do you want?"
"We're just having a good time!"
Suddenly more figures that were scary to her started popping up. One resembled a hippopotamus, another looked like a mouse, a hare, and a duck. But again, they were so much bigger than they were supposed to be except for the hippo thing of course. And they all wore clothes and had fingers and hands like people. One had struck a finger and ignited a flame like a match, and it lit a bonfire. Then they all started using tree stumps like drums and dancing around the fire.
Octavia didn't like this. She wanted to run but she wasn't sure if she could get away. They were all around her and she couldn't really a spot a place to run to. Next thing she knew they were plucking out their eyes, shaking them like dice, and throwing them.
"Oh gross!" She cried.
But they were just hooting and clapping. Then as if it couldn't get anymore frightening, now they were taking off their heads and tossing them around like a volleyball.
"This is crazy! I'm getting out of here!"
"You can't leave yet!" The oversized mouse protested. "The game isn't over!"
Then the duck tried to pull her head off her shoulders.
"Hey! Ow! Stop that!" Octavia demanded.
"Hey it don't come off!" The duck exclaimed.
"What?" The rest were astonished at the very notion.
"Well of course it doesn't!" Octavia snapped.
"Let's all try to pull it off." The hare suggested.
They all gathered around in an attempt to decapitate her. Octavia got scared, she bolted. Pandemonium broke out.
"Hey! Come back!" They called.
"What do you think you're doing little girl? We still gotta take off your head!" The dodo called.
"Stop her somebody! Stop her!" The hippo ordered.
They gave chase and gained on her.
"Off with her head!"
"Get a saw!"
"Let's get her eyes too!"
"And her ears!"
"Leave me alone! Go away!" Octavia shouted at them. "Somebody help me! Daddy!"
And just when they had her cornered, a tall shadow fell over them. They all became overcome with fear, trembling in the presence of the shadow as it approached Octavia