The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

A Fearful Fate for Two Siblings

Previously: "The Stellae Errantes" 

"Maybe I should go back with you to meet Frank," you tell Joe. "If it's something to do with Cindy, well, I go to school with her, and maybe you'll need my help with whatever it is."

"That's a point," Joe says. "If we don't need you we can send you out later." He pulls out his wallet, extracts a piece of paper, and scribbles on it. "This is Dad's address and phone number," he says, handing it to you. "You're practically in now, so you might as well have his contact info."

* * * * *

You're surprised that he doesn't drive back to the house he shares with Frank, but instead goes over to Blackwell's. Frank greets you at the door. "Run an errand for me, Prescott," he says brusquely. "I found out where our truck is. You can go pick it up."

"Do I need to give him a ride," Joe asks.

"No," Frank says. He turns back to you. "Take the car you guys rented. Leave it there, bring the truck out here. We'll pick up the rental later."

Joe shifts uncomfortably on his feet, and this almost gives you the courage to object. But Frank shoots his brother a meaningful glance, and you realize he wants to speak with him privately and without embarrassing you by using their private language again in front of you. He tells you where you need to go, and you leave.

It's on the other side of town, parked in front of some apartments, with the keys under one of the floor mats. Before you can return to Blackwell's, though, Frank calls and asks you to swing by their house and pick up a couple of books. So it is nearly ninety minutes before you can rejoin them in Blackwell's library.

You find them both perched grimly on the edges of his desk. Joe hops to the floor, jerks his chin wordlessly, and leads you upstairs to one of the bedrooms. "Brace yourself," he says.

There are two figures laying on the floor: the naked forms of Lucy and Cindy Vredenburg. They are cold, white and lifeless. You peer at them closely, and are startled to see that their pallor is not a trick of the light. It looks almost as if--

"He turned them into golems," Joe says. "It's one of the spells in the Libra. We were looking through it while you were gone, looking for a cure. Fucker."

You take a couple of deep breaths. You were pretty sure Blackwell could be cold and vicious, but to turn these innocent girls into statues ... "What are we going to do?"

"Aye, there's the rub," he says dryly.

"There isn't a cure?"

"We don't know if there is or not," he says. "Maybe the book has a cure and maybe it doesn't. But there's something wrong with it. The rest of the book is inaccessible."

"What do you mean? Did Blackwell put a lock on it or something?"

Joe pulls at his ear. "Maybe. We can't ask him. There's nothing left of him. Not even a body. Frank is very thorough when he wants to be."

This chills you further, as it seems even worse than what Blackwell did to Lucy and Cindy. You search Joe's expression for signs of disapproval, but he is being very businesslike.

"There is a temporary solution, maybe," he continues. "As near as we can tell from looking over the spells, if we put their masks back on them, they will return to normal. Golems are supposed to obey a master, but there is no master for them now. Maybe they won't work. Or maybe they will just act normally like the girls would."

Well, that would work, wouldn't it? "And that's only a temporary solution because ...?"

"Well, it's a great solution if the girls' friends and family only need some convincing impostors to fill some Lucy- and Cindy-shaped holes," Joe says in a very acidic tone. "But it's not a solution for them, is it? It would be best if they were actually returned to a normal state."

"Is that something your dad can do?"

"Dad's not a miracle worker," he snaps. "Asking him to fix this is like asking a rocket scientist to perform brain surgery. Only the book--maybe--can fix it."

"It still sounds like something to tell your dad."

He gets a peevish look. "Suddenly you're like our little brother. 'Let's tell Dad, let's tell Dad!'" You flush. "It's not a bad instinct, but Frank and me are in charge of this operation, and Dad won't be happy with us running back to him every time there's a kink. In fact, now that I think about it, gimme that piece of paper back. I don't want you getting any bright ideas about bothering him."

You bite your tongue and return the paper he'd given you. You don't mention that while you were out you put the contact info into your cell phone. "So what are you going to do?"

That draws another look. "And now it's 'what're you going to do,' like you've nothing to do with it. Look, Prescott, I told you you're basically in. You just need to know your place. Follow orders and don't ask stupid questions. We need your help."

You fold your arms and lower your head. You liked it more when he was being charming.

"I told you the book was a thing of Uranus and Neptune. One of those is a planet you share with it, which means you've got a connection to it that me and Frank lack. If we get it unlocked, we're going to go thru it methodically, looking for that cure, and we'll get through it quicker if you're helping us."

"I don't really know anything about it," you say. "I gave it to Blackwell, and he never shared much about it with me."

"That's where we can help you," he says, as though speaking to an idiot child. "I told you Blackwell was just a plodding old amateur, and the beauty of that is that I basically know everything he knew, so I can give you everything he didn't. I can give you more, in fact. We can call this the start of your training as a member of the Stellae. We get through the book, master it, return the girls to normal, you prove your trustworthiness, and when we take you back to Dad, everything is copasetic."

"This is what you and Frank were talking about while I was gone?" you ask, and Joe nods. "So he's on board with this?"

"It was his idea." He steps up close to you. "Look," he says in a low voice, "I know I'm being hard with you. But I'm being nicer than Frank would be. He's actually the one in charge. Stay out of his way and stick with me. I'm just relaying his decisions. Be nice to me and don't argue, because it puts me in a hard spot when you do."

"Alright," you say, taking a deep breath. He claps you on the arm.

"Okay, first thing is that we need to send the girls home," he says. "Since we're not totally sure what will happen when we put their masks on, we need to roll it out slowly. That mask you're wearing, of yourself--" He points. "You put it on a golem and it gives you control of them, right?"

You nod.

"Then I want you to put it onto Cindy. Your personality will dominate the golem, and that way we won't have to worry about it causing weird problems. Then we'll only have the golem he made of Lucy to worry about."

"What will you do with her?"

"You mean the golem? Take it someplace quiet, put a mask on it, and see what happens. You won't have to worry about that."

"What will I be doing?"

"Well, because your mask will be on Cindy, 'Will Prescott' will be in circulation. So you should take over for Cindy or Lucy. Lucy's a college student, so she can probably disappear for a day or two without raising too many eyebrows. That would argue for your playing Cindy.

"On the other hand, there's been some funny business back at Westside, hasn't there? Maybe you'd feel better playing Lucy, at least until we figure out whether the golems are going to cause problems.

"Doesn't make a lot of difference to us, as long as we know where you are."

Next: "Repairing Cindy" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 3)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)"