A Horrific Fantasy

Chapter 17

Just as Charlie had suspected, Vaggie was very worried about her and had asked her why she had wondered off.

"I didn't mean to." Charlie explained. "But I saw the owl. The one who visits me at my window. I wanted to know where he came from."

"Owl?" Levana said with a raised eyebrow. "An owl visits you, you say?"

"Yes." Charlie confirmed.

"And just what does this owl do when he visits you?"

"He just leaves me little gifts and leaves. I don't know why he does it or where he's getting them from. But Vaggie you're not going to believe this, the owl talks."

"It talks?" Vaggie asked skeptically. "What do you mean it talks?"

"I mean it speaks like you and me do. It actually talked to me."

"Charlie I think you have your birds mixed up. Parrots are the ones who can talk, not owls."

"Vaggie I swear, I know it was an owl and I know it spoke to me. It was so bizarre, and when I followed him, these...These people...I think they were thugs and they shot me out of the sky."

"They what?!" Vaggie gasped in horror. "Ay dios mio! Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

"No. You're not going to believe this either Vaggie, but someone saved me from the fall. He just came out of nowhere and caught me."

"He?" Vaggie said.

"Yes I heard about that." Levana said. "You finally met Alastor. Someone saw you talking with him and told me."

She remained composed but you could somehow tell she was irritated at the same time.

"It's so infuriating, I try, and try to keep that predator away from the children. I fix all my doors and windows, I tighten my security, and he still manages to slip through the cracks."

"Predator?" Charlie said confused.

"What kind of predator?" Vaggie asked.

"The kind that you two should never be around." Levana answered with disgust in her tone. "He was once one of my favorite servants, very charming, polite, and a great performer. That's why I kept him employed for so long. But later I found out that he much preferred to entertain girls more than boys. If you know what I mean."

"Eww! Gross!" Vaggie gagged. "You mean he's a pervert!"

"A dirty old one." Levana said. "Disgraceful creature he is, forty years old, and preying on girls as young as fifteen."

"Really?" Charlie said. "I mean it was obvious there was something off about him but I didn't get the vibe that he was a pervert."

"Charlie very few perverts give off the vibe of one." Vaggie said. "At least that's what my mother says."

"Fair point. But he saved my life, so he can't be that bad."

"Oh I'm afraid he's much worse." Levana said. "That's the curse of being pretty Charlie, you attract men and boys who act like your friends so they can get you close. Close enough for them to hurt you. Alastor is the worst case of them all, he acts like a gentleman but he's far from it. If only he wasn't so slippery, then I could catch him and make sure he'd never pose a threat to anyone again. But until that happens, stay away from him."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Vaggie said.

"Now that we have that mattered settled, shall we go back to admiring your new garden Charlie? Or maybe you would like to paint a new mural, Vaggie?"