Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 16

   Shane lays in his bed at Charlene's house. He stares at the ceiling, thinking about what to do about Frollo. "If I kill him, he'll just find some way to revive himself again. And he's got voodoo powers now, so I really need to be careful." He grabs his spellbook from underneath his bed and flips through it. "There must be something in here about taking away someone's voodoo powers if they didn't inherit it." He stumbles across a page titled, "The Power of Words". "Ah! This should help!" He places a bookmark at the page's location. "I'll read you later," he says. Shane grabs his cane and leaves his room.

   Charlene and Big Daddy sit at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Charlene sits with a fork in her mouth. "Charlene, you gonna finish breakfast, or am I gonna have to do it?" Big Daddy jokes. Charlene sets her fork down on her plate and sighs. "When's mom coming back?" she asks. Big Daddy smirks. "Well, your mother, she's very busy with her clothing line. But don't worry. She called me recently, and she said that she'd be home soon. She can't wait to see her little girl again," he says. Charlene's face beams with excitement. "That's good to know," she says.

   Shane appears behind Charlene. "Boo," he says. Charlene yelps and impulsively punches Shane's chest. She then gasps and immediately kisses Shane. "Oh, Darling! I'm so sorry! That was an impulse!" she says. Shane chuckles. "It's fine. I kinda saw it coming," he says. He pulls up a chair and sits at the table. "Looks like I missed breakfast," he says. "Sadly, you did, Shane," says Big Daddy. "But it looks like Charlene isn't all that hungry. She barely touched her pancakes." Charlene passes her plate to Shane. "Here," she says. "You can have the rest. We've got some powdered sugar, cinnamon, and honey in the cupboard just next to the fridge." Charlene walks upstairs and into her room.

   "What's up with her?" Shane asks. "Oh, she's just missing her mother, is all. She's been gone since Charlene was ten. I miss her, too," says Big Daddy. Shane starts eating the pancakes. "Eight whole years? Sheesh. Has she ever called or sent a letter?" he says, his mouth full. Big Daddy rises from his chair and walks into the living room. "She's a busy woman. She makes all of the clothes by hand, you know. She wants to be able to pay all of her workers equally, too." He laughs haughtily. "Ah, I raised a good one." Shane finishes the last of his pancakes. "Char must be bummed out about it. Tina spends every day with Tiana, I've only just recently got back in contact with my mother, and I brought Clara's mom back, too. I can understand why she's so bummed. Especially since her dad's passing," he says. "I'm gonna go and see if I can cheer her up." Shane walks over to Charlene's room door and knocks. "Come in, Shane," she answers through the door.

   Shane enters Charlene's room, then closes the door behind him. He sees Charlene sitting on her bed, looking at a picture of herself as a baby, being held by her mother, Charlotte. "Hey, Char," says Shane. Charlene looks at Shane with a slight smile on her face. "I can tell you really love your mother, huh?" Charlene nods. "Aww, don't worry. I know you have your doubts about her return," says Shane, lifting her head up. "Luckily, I have a way of checking on her." He pulls out his mirror from his coat pocket. He hands it to Charlene. "Here. Just focus on your mom, and you'll be able to see her. Charlene kisses Shane. She stares at the mirror. A blonde woman in a pink suit appears on it. Charlene gasps with delight. Shane chuckles and wraps his arm around her. "So that's her. Charlotte 'Lottie' LaBouff. Your mother," he says. "She... she's packing up," Charlene says quietly. "She's actually on her way here! I'm gonna see her again!" Charlene cries tears of joy. "Oh, thank you, Shane! I've never been so happy to be your girlfriend!" she exclaims. "You can keep that until she gets back, okay? I've got somewhere to be," says Shane. "Okay! See you later!" shouts Charlene. Shane sinks into the shadow cast by Charlene's wardrobe.

   Shane arrives in Paris, by the cabin. Claytin was pacing right outside the door. He didn't notice Shane. He was talking to himself. "I should have let her contact Shane! How could have I been so stupid?! This is all my fault!"Shane rushes over to Claytin. "Hey, what's wrong? Where's Clara?" he asks, already worrying. "Shane! As Clara would say, thank the lord! I didn't know! I shouldn't have made her go to the court! She didn't want to go yet but I let Roma talk me into it! Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and Phoebus attacked her verbally! Roma tried to help but she mentioned the words, 'Clara isn't evil...' and we both know how she feels about evil and good not to mention her being a proud villain..." Claytin started to explain. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down, Claytin," says Shane. "So I assume she ran away. Typical Clara. But what happened after that?" "No, not ran away, she went back here. She was going to text Char to ask you to come down, even considered calling off the marriage, she was crying, not typical Clara. But I got her to agree to stay at least until the next day. It was stupid! I should have let her contact you! I got her to agree to perform that day! I shouldn't have! I should have just let her decide! I should have looked before she got on stage!" Claytin's hands were shaking now. "I really didn't wanna have to do this, buddy," says Shane, "but you need to relax." Shane places two fingers under Claytin's chin, relaxing him. "Now, tell me what happened to Clara." Claytin sighed, "I didn't check the crowd... he shouldn't have been on this side of Paris. We didn't even know he reported her missing and kidnapped. He was probably going after you but then... I took her by the waist, kissed her and next thing I knew I was in handcuffs. Clara told the cops everything to get me free, We didn't see him..." Shane's mind begins to kick into high gear. "Him? Claytin must be referring to..." He goes wide-eyed with fear. "Frollo!" he says. "He heard everything, Shane! He knows about the engagement, he knows she's been coming here for years. Clara made me run while she attacked but... she didn't make it. Someone found me later and gave me this," Claytin pulled out Clara's silver dagger. "They said after Frollo's guard grabbed her, he took her dagger and threw it away on the ground. She is dagger-less, defenseless, you know how much she hates that! I should have checked the crowd before we started! This is all my fault!" Shane consoles Claytin. "Don't blame yourself, Claytin. She did her best to defend herself, and she wanted you safe," he says. "I don't know what he is doing to her! She has no way of contacting anyone, she told me to take her phone and not to contact you or Charlene until you came here. She is afraid. I'd go and get her but I don't have power and if I get caught, if I get caught what will Clara do to keep me alive?" Claytin put his back to the cabin wall. "Don't beat yourself up, Claytin," says Shane. You stay and watch the Court. I've got Tina and Charlene practicing their sword fighting back in New Orleans, and I can give you a small fraction of my powers. Just enough to make you feel more confident about taking on Frollo." "You get her back here Shane Facilier or I will find a way to kill you..." Claytin muttered. He was only half being serious and half not. He didn't know what he'd do if Clara didn't make it back here ever again. "I doubt you'll ever get a chance to kill me,". says Shane. "If I fail to get Clara back, I've already died. If Clara returns without me, then I've killed Frollo, but died soon after. And if Clara and I both return, you won't kill me." He puts his hand on Claytin's shoulder. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's never make promises you can't keep. Point is, I'll get Clara back, even if it kills me."