The Woman Who Came from Smoke Part 8

Azrael’s Circus of the Bizarre

The Woman Who Came from Smoke

Draft 3

By: Chase L. Currie

Charon orders a round of beers for them, even Lucille who didn’t protest. “Time to tell us a story,” Charon said when the beers were placed on the table.

                The Butcher down the beer and then quickly order another one. “You didn’t hear any of this from me, alright?”

                “Right,” Charon said, and Lucille nodded.

The Butcher told the story with little zeal in his tone like he was reading it from a book, he couldn’t be bothered with reading out loud. Lucille yawned a few times during the slow story about the woman who she still didn’t trust. It was not a new story, and for the most part, Charon could have put it together himself. Daisy was from a rich family, it explained her classy clothes, and married the wrong man. The husband’s name the Butcher forgot to say or didn’t care to say it all. All he called the man was, “An asshole to the highest order,” and from what he told them about the man it was an understatement.

The husband would get Daisy drunk letting his friends have their way with her after they paid him for it. “From what was gathered,” The Butcher explained, “he didn’t like her family nor did he like her. He married her to fuck them over. It was a bastard of a plan.”

Unknown to the fool Daisy went to her grandmother. The grandmother no one ever talked or showed up to family events, she was the outcast of the family. Mostly rightful so because she was a witch and a powerful one to the luck of Daisy. She begged her grandmother for help, she wanted out of the married, but the husband wouldn’t give her a way out. He wanted all the money from Daisy’s father when he was pushing up daisies.

“And the witch help?” Lucille asked leading in for the story was getting good.

“She did, but she didn’t know what the cost of asking a witch for her help was.”

“Even if it was her grandmother?” Lucilla asked.

“Witches are bitches of the Devil,” The Butcher told him.

And the witch did help with causing the husband to crash his car into a lake where he couldn’t get out in time. It was a perfect spell, and Daisy was overjoyed at the “asshole’s” death and life was going up for her, until the shadows started to talk to her. She quickly found out the cost of the spell was to have them follow her away like a gang of demons. The shadows started to drive her mad, picking and dancing around her all night.

“Her grandmother did nothing to help?” Lucilla asked.

“A price must be played for magic,” Charon said, and Lucilla couldn’t help but wonder what price he paid for his magic, but he wouldn’t let her ask it now.

“She went back to her grandmother,” The Butcher went back to his story, but the grandmother didn’t help. She couldn’t help Daisy and told her to leave because the family had found out what she did. Daisy went back home to her father, but she was banished from the family. She knew the cost of going to see her grandmother and paid to get from under her “asshole husband.”

“And she got to the city,” Charon said, “and got mixed with Frank, right?”

“Right,” The Butcher said wanting to add more to the story, but Charon stood up. “There is a little more to it.”

“Not as much as I care,” Charon said tossing down a few more bucks for another round for beers. “For your drinks and to tell no one about this, aye?”

“Yeah, got you,” the Butcher said snatching up the money.

“Let’s go,” Charon said pulling on Lucilla shoulder who wanted to hear the rest of the story. They stepped out into the small alleyway with dirty snow everywhere. “Trust her now?” He asked.

Lucilla shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Who hasn’t had a hard life.”

Charon rolled his eyes at the statement mostly because she was right. They started heading down the alleyway with Charon wanting to hug the girl. It was a sad tale already if she knew how hard life could be for anyone. He knew her story, it broke his heart, but there was nothing he could do to make it right. She was safe now at the Circus, except for being here in the city with the mob out looking for them.

Charon rubbed his hands together and said, “Well, orders are orders.”

“So, I have been told,” Lucilla said as they walked to a street where they could catch a ride, but it was late at night and was hard to find one, or it could have been the part of town they were in. They started walking down the sidewalk trying to find their way back.

“We should go home,” Lucilla said letting Stanley down in the snow. “We could tell Azrael we couldn’t get her.”

“Do you really want to leave this lady in this Hell?” Charon asked glancing down at her. “You think Azrael should have done the same for you if anyone of us didn’t trust you?”

“No,” Lucilla said not looking up at him. “You are right, let’s help her.”

“Look, clown,” he said, “we could free her from Frank and then she could go back her merry way.”

“She could,” Lucilla agreed with him but doubted it.

“And,” Charon said stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. She did the same as Stanley glanced back ready to get out of the cold, “if something goes wrong I want you to get out of here and get back to Azrael.”

“Leave you?” She asked shaking her head no.

“If you have too,” Charon told her grabbing her chin, “but you come back for me with the others.”

“It won’t come to that,” Lucilla protested to him. “We are going to be okay, and you won’t get stab again.”

Charon stood right up sticking his hands into his pocket. “Yeah, that wasn’t the best idea I had,” he said moving to start walking again with Stanley meowing for to come on. “Should’ve thought it out a little more.”