Free Fallen by James Somers Page A

many
questions…dangerous questions. I’ve told you once, don’t cross
Sinister. For now, that’s all you need to know to survive.”
    I was just about to ask Tom what he meant by
the Fallen, when a horrible sight entered my peripheral vision. I
looked past Tom to the person crossing the street behind him,
walking toward The Lazy Lad .
    What had only a moment ago appeared to be an
average man, bearing two-day-old stubble and the thinning hair of a
man past his prime, had transformed into a terrifying sack doll
exactly like those made within the sweat shop at Sinister’s
tenement. The sack man turned toward me, hissing and wailing like a
banshee.
    At once, I felt as though my soul was being
sucked from my body, dragged toward a horrible darkness that
refused to let me go. I screamed, trying to turn and run for my
life. Tom had just noticed what I saw. I heard the sound of glass
shattering as windows in the buildings around us burst. A flame,
coming from nowhere, erupted toward the sack man, consuming the
creature as I turned to lay my eyes on my escape. My legs turned to
jelly, and my head swam. The street spun in my vision. Then
blackness overtook me.
     
     
     

Unforeseen
     
    Tom turned as Brody’s eyes grew wide, terror
written all over him. Behind him, one of Sinister’s dolls took
notice of Brody, hissing and rising up defensively like a cobra.
The boy screamed, causing the windows in nearby buildings to
explode. His power, more considerable than Tom might have
suspected, had been loosed uncontrolled through the boy’s reaction
to seeing the doll.
    Tom turned back to stop Brody’s sudden
flight, finding a blossom of flame mushrooming toward him. He threw
himself out of the way just in time, unfortunately forgetting about
Peter and Bill who remained dumb behind him. The flame flew between
them, singeing eyebrows and bangs, before engulfing the doll. The
creature screamed madly for only a moment before the inferno
incinerated its burlap skin and sawdust innards, leaving nothing
but ash upon the cool breeze.
    The enchantment upon Peter and Bill fell
away as the boys reacted to the sudden heat that had left them both
smoldering. They leaped about, slapping themselves wildly, swearing
until every tiny ember was extinguished. They stood gulping at the
air with soot-stained expressions of bewilderment, looking to Tom
for some explanation. He gave them none, instead examining the
damage Brody had caused.
    He grinned as his eyes fell upon the
unconscious boy. “Took a bit out of you, but not bad old boy, not
bad.”
    Tom gazed upward as a familiar shadow swept
over him, crossing the street. His grin fell away immediately when
he spotted Mr. Sinister standing atop of The Lazy Lad .
    The stern glare Sinister shared with Tom
told him that his master had seen what had happened between Brody
and the doll. He was not pleased. Tom held his gaze a moment longer
until he felt Sinister release him. He turned back to Brody lying
facedown upon the street.
    No one had reacted to the commotion the boy
had caused, not even when the doll burst into flames and
disintegrated. Tom had weaved a glamour about them in order to hide
the matter from mortal eyes. Pedestrians continued past, seeing
only what they supposed they should see, giving Tom and Brody a
wide birth even without realizing they were doing so.
     
     
     
    Hours later, upon one of the high parapets
of an unfinished Tower Bridge, a cloaked figure stood overlooking
the Thames coursing beneath. The bridge had been under construction
for nearly two years now with most of the work still unfinished.
Though it carried no traffic yet, the location still made for a
most appropriate meeting place when matters of the darkest nature
needed discussing away from prying eyes and ears.
    A raven, silhouetted against the bright full
moon, sailed on toward the castle-like structures rising from the
waters, knowing exactly where he should find his master waiting.
The cloaked figure, finely