Punishment Magic

Chapter 1

Tatum Mountains, Alaska, 15 years ago

I didn’t remember a lot.
My memory was ground chuck, pushed through the grinder and coming out mangled on the other side.
But I do remember the bear.
The lumbering grey shape moving through the trees. The happy laughter of children pelting one another with snowballs had gone stagnant in the air. The sound of the creatures labored breath filled the woods in its place. It had taken a while for the sound to sink in, and the bear was already within throwing range of us.
Its name was Cerberus, and it was as much of a legend to us as its namesake.
Their purpose was the same, a guardian to deter wayward travelers. But, as the saying goes, it was not indeed any smarter than the average bear. It couldn’t tell the difference between a nosey hiker and a gaggle of children in the snow.
Its haunches rippled as it approached one feeble, quivering frame. I quickly recognized the shaky silhouette, and let out a long sigh.
Bill.
The only one without the gall to move back, to run, anything. I’d goaded the other kids into baptizing him Opossum Boy for a while, but by then the nickname was used more affectionately than it’s original intended purpose, though it still applied.
The bear stopped, just a few feet in front of him. I could see its black eyes giving him a once over.
The snow was hard packed from where the other children had been running over it, so it didn’t crunch as I approached the pair.
When I was just behind Bill’s shoulder the bear seemed to finally take notice of me.
Up close, I realized how large the creature truly was, it’s skull practically big enough for me to curl up inside and take a nap. It’s inky nose was the size of my palm, and it was so close to Bill that the blooms of most that same from its nostrils hit him square in the face.
I hadn’t thought ahead, so I stared down at my hands, trying to summon up a game plan.
I noticed the cigarette, smoldering between my pudgy, childish fingers. It seemed as good a weapon as any.
I stepped forward, past Bill, and smashed the cherry right into the beast’s nose.
Its head whipped back, shaking from side to side in confusion. And while it was busy, I grabbed Opossum Boy’s collar and tugged him towards the entry to Tatum, where the rest of the children had already fled.

Anchorage, Alaska, Present Day

A tickling sensation on my face stirred me awake. Still mentally stuck in Tatum, my brain began conjuring up images of woolen scarves hand knitted my old women while they gossiped to each other, usually in French or Russian. But as my brain swam into focus I felt my current surroundings solidify around me.
Peeking through my lashes I spotted a swarm of moths buzzing around the nightstand lamp. I’d lived in the house for a few months and had never seen so many of the little beasts manage to get in at the same time.
I sat up, itching my nose. The cartilage tip felt oddly numb, and as I pushed the covers off myself I realized why. Though spring was definitely upon us, the temperature at night still managed to dip dangerously low. But I’d taken every precaution to keep the outside climate at bay all winter, so I didn’t know why it was failing me at that moment. Tatum, the city itself, was climate controlled, and I’d quickly learned that anyone who lived on this side of the planet without it was a fucking masochist.
Sighing inwardly, I pulled on my soft pink robe and went to check if a guard had left a window ajar.
None of the windows in my room had been tampered with, so I went through the adjoining hallway and all subsequent rooms, flipping on every light as I went.
The house was too bare. Granted, I wasn’t really allowed to decorate it, but whosever it had been, their lack of passion was evident. Nothing hung from the walls, though I did spot a handful of pin pricks in the plaster, so I suspected something had taken up residence there in the past.
The house was big and plain and empty. I felt unnervingly like Ms. Havisham wandering around at night, turning every corner and wishing someone would be there. I missed busy, crowded places. I missed the flurry of languages and laugher mixed in the thick cigarette smoke. The hubbub had put me at ease my whole life, lulling me to sleep from under my window. This house was too damn quiet. By that point I would have happy with a ghost or two, because even least rattling chains and mysterious were better than this malarkey. But the only I was the only one who seemed to haunting the place.
My steps didn’t even make any noise on the hardwood. The only sound was the swish of my robe against my plaid pajama pants.
But as I turned the last corner to the main hall I felt something I hadn’t expected.
There was a breeze.
Inside the house.
Walking a bit faster I made my way to the top of the staircase that curled around the foyer.
The double doors were wide open, rattling lightly in the wind. The motion lights were on outside, but I no one seemed to have noticed them.
Had Greg not closed them properly when he left the night before? There were security guards scattered around the property, and they didn’t seem concerned.
I walked down the stairs slowly, listening for an intruder, but the house was as silent as ever.
The security callbox was at the foot of the stairs, so I hit the buzzer and waited.
A golf cart rolled up on the front lawn a minute later and I prepared myself for the game of charades it would take to explain what was going on.
The duo, a burly man and woman, slid out of the seats and walked straight through the open doors.
“What’s the problem, miss?”
I walked up to one of the stained glass doors and lightly smacked my palm against it.
“You want us to close the door?” the woman asked, not even trying to keep the condescension out of her voice.
I shook my head, then pointed up towards my room, followed by pressing my hands together and resting my head on them.
“You were asleep?” the man translated, and I nodded vigorously.
I pinched my thumb and forefinger at the outer corners of my eyes and opened them as I opened my eyes, then quickly rubbed up and down on my biceps
“You woke up cold?” He said, though it sounded like a question.
I nodded, then made my fingers into a set of legs that walked from the direction of my room to the door.
“So you came down here to open the door?”
I shook my head.
“It was already open?”
I nodded.
“Do you think it was an intruder?”
I shrugged.
“Well we didn’t see anyone but we’ll check everything out.”
I smiled appreciatively before heading off to the kitchen to perch on a bar stool and wait while they patrolled the house.
I lit a cigarette to calm myself, and began to sifting through the cupboards. When they got back I had coffee waiting for them. I didn’t see the appeal of the liquid, but everyone who worked on the property seemed to like it, and they outnumbered me greatly.
The gesture seemed to soften their bitterness as they explained, “We didn’t find anything, it was probably the wind.”
I nodded and gave them a thumbs up before putting my cigarette out in the dining room ashtray and heading back to bed.
“Wait,” the male officer said, “You might want to get that checked out.”
He pointed to my neck, where I was absentmindedly scratching. I let my hand drop and waved off his warning.
I’d been playing with it again. The noose.
“My nephew had a necklace like that,” he explained, “Got in on vacation to Huntington Beach, had a shark tooth on it or somethin’. Anyway he wore it swimming and the leather band made his skin all itchy like that too. Best not be showering with it on all the time.”
I nodded to show I understood but made my way past them as quickly as I could. If only he knew how much I wanted to take it off, my life would have been so different of I could.
As I walked back to my room I felt a strange sensation, one I hadn’t experienced in a long time. I felt watched.
It was probably nothing.