Free Blood and Bone: A Smattering of Unease by Shannon Rae Noble

before school were their picnic plans at Lake Forshee on the last Saturday before school started.
    Katie and Darce had discussed the picnic after Chelsea’s birthday party, when Katie picked up her daughter, Tamara. But Darce and Katie did not show up for the picnic. Neither had Darce returned Katie’s phone calls during the time period between the birthday party and the day of the picnic, nor was Katie able to contact Darce afterward.
    Darce’s car was gone, but all of her and Chelsea’s belongings had been left behind, including Darce’s cell phone. The birthday party dishes were still dirty, and the television set had been left on. There were no packed bags and no notice to anyone that they were leaving. Police found no clues as to where the two could have gone, and the car was never found.
    Seems suspicious to me, Carol thought.
    She sat back in her chair and stretched.
    Could it be true? A woman trapped inside of a doll, courtesy, no doubt, of the “witch” that Becky had mentioned, who had supposedly kidnapped Darce O’Neil’s daughter?
    Tomorrow morning, she would ask Becky to tell her a story. One with a lot more details.
    But right now, Carol was tired. All this fairytale stuff would have to wait until morning.
     
    * * *
    There. That dress.
    Carol was once again perusing the photo album. She had wandered into the living room with her coffee and seen it, and the little journal, still lying on the side table where she had left them the day before. She sat and sipped her coffee while she flipped the pages. And stopped when she saw the blue satin dress.
    No wings. Same dress.
    But that didn’t prove anything. Couldn’t a custom doll be made with copies of the model’s clothing? The doll could have been a gift from a loved one.
    Then she picked up the journal. The pages were so old that she had to handle the book with great care; one corner of a page crumbled between her fingers when she grasped it to turn it. She closed the book. This time, she just let it fall open.
    She hadn’t seen the grungy old ribbon that marked the page, but that’s where the book opened to. She had to squint her eyes to make out some of the handwriting.
    “The transition will be made through the Power of Nine: Three words to activate the transition, repeated three times; and three souls: one to articulate the three words, one to be used as sacrifice to release the trapped soul from the Vessel, and one to be retrieved from the Vessel. The sacrificed soul will take the place of the soul released from the Vessel.”
     
    * * *
    “And she’s been inside the doll ever since.”
    Becky ate a spoonful of her Lucky Charms as she finished telling Darce's story.
    "And Darce told you this in your head, with her thoughts."
    "Yup!" Becky smiled brightly, a drop of milk dribbling down her chin.
    Carol took a sip from her fresh cup of coffee and gazed at Darce, who sat beside Becky's plate on the table.
    I'm going to feel like a real idiot if I believe her and it's just a fairytale.
    "Darce says it's not a fairytale, Mommy!"
    Startled, Carol almost dropped her cup. "Ummm . . . what? "
    "Darce says you think her story isn't true, that it's just a fairytale, but it isn't!"
    "How would she know that?"
    "She heard you think it!"
    “So . . . not only can she think thoughts at you that you can hear, but she can hear your thoughts without you saying them out loud?”
    “Yup!” Said Becky.
    “Okaaaaay,” said Carol. She looked at the doll and thought, Darce, do you know how to get changed back?
    “No, she doesn’t know how,” Becky said.
    Carol tried again. Do you have any idea how you got transformed in the first place?
    “She doesn’t know that, either. The witch cast a spell on her. But she says that you know something.”
    Carol raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”
    “She says you found something. A book! A magic book! You found it in the attic! And something about a powder – a powder of mine.” Becky wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know