Carnival Souls

Permission Granted

           

Genzel knocked on the mirror, his knuckles leaving a few dusty smudges on the glass. He glanced over his shoulder and flinched at his own weathered face staring back at him from a dozen different angles. He hated this god-damn funhouse.

He didn't appreciate the reminder of how old he looked either.

He knocked again, a little more loudly this time.

"Come in," said a cool voice.

Genzel stepped through, goosebumps rising along his arms as the cold glass rippled around him. He wiped his boots off on the mat, paused to brush a few wayward wood shavings from his sleeves, and looked around. It had been a while since he had been in this sitting room though not much had changed. The thick oriental rug thrown under the faded couch and footstool all watched over by a deep, elaborate bookcase. The curtains, drawn shut at the moment, were new and a fire crackled in the grate when last time it had been bare and full of ash the color of powdered bones.

Genzel swallowed. He hated this room even more than the funhouse with all its painful memories.

"What can I do for you?" asked Bebinn, who was sitting behind her desk scribbling notes into the margin of a heavy book.

Genzel twisted his cap around in his hands, fiddling with a loose thread on the inside seam.

"The horses are just abou' ready," he said.

"Horses as in more than one?"

"Yes. The boy is a quick learner."

Bebinn stopped writing and glanced up through narrowed eyes. "Imagine how much quicker he would be if his focus was singular."

Genzel set his jaw. "Come now. He's been a right sight better since the incident with the crow."

Bebinn pursed her red lips and made a noise in her throat that may have been part agreement, part contempt. He always hated it when she did that.

"Did you really have to go and kill the thing?" added Genzel, gruffly. He had heard the spirit shrieking as it was carried over his house.

"She is still alive," Bebinn said with an indifferent flick of her hand. "She is merely being held until I decide if and what use she is to me. Now you were saying—the horses are nearly done?"

Genzel studied her for a moment, not sure if he believed her, but decided it wasn't worth it to stick his neck out more than he already was. "Yes."

"And I suppose you'll be taking the boy with you?"

Genzel nodded. "I'll be needing the extra pair of hands if we are catchin' two of them."

"Very well," she said. She picked up her pen once more and ran her forefinger down the length of the page to find where she left off. "But you are responsible for keeping an eye on him."

"Yes, but there's something else I want to ask." He took another step forward, tugging at his collar. The heat was getting to him.

"Go on," said Bebinn, peering at him over the edge of her raised book when he didn't continue.

"I want to bring the girl along too."

"Atlas?"

"No, the other one. The violin player."

Bebinn's gaze grew hard with suspicion. "And why is that? You've never asked to bring her before."

"I've been thinking the music might make things a bit easier. It calms the kids, why not the kelpies?" Genzel forced himself to still his fingers, which were turning his cap over and over. Keep it together now.

Bebinn considered him for a moment. Her head titled just slightly to left as though all her thoughts were literally turning in her mind. "You may have a point. Fine, she can go. But I want her to wear Lileth." She stroked the yellow snake coiled on the desk like a fanged paper weight.

Genzel furrowed his bushy eyebrows, attempting to hide his agitation. He hated that blasted reptile too.

"Don't you think it might spook 'em? The horses I mean. You know how long it takes for Jacks to get them use to it. Is it worth the risk of losing two good horses?"

Bebinn closed her black book entirely and folder her hands on top of its cover. Genzel swallowed again. She always linked her hands together when she thought she was being deceived. The seconds seem to stretch longer and longer until he feared they would snap and the backlash would knock him over. Finally, she spoke.

"Very well," she said, her voice dangerously soft. "But Genzel," she added as the old man turned to leave, "There will be consequences if anything or anyone were to go amiss. For all of you."

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So Genzel has kept his promise, but Bebinn seems suspicious. Predictions, anyone? :)
Thanks for reading!!