Renegotiating

She threw the door open hard enough that it bounced back half closed again, almost hitting her. She barely spared the room a glance. Her eyes were too blurry from lack of sleep to notice much, anyway.

She’d only been here briefly over the last few weeks, but thanks to the cleaning lady, it was in better order than if she’d actually been living in the apartment she’d called home for the past year. Too many people had wanted to do too many unfriendly things to her for her to be easy to find.

That wasn’t why she was here now, though.

“Where are you, you son of a bitch? I know you’re here!” She smelled smoke already. She’d been smelling it so often over the past few weeks, but the last few days there had been almost nothing but the antiseptic smell of the hospital. The sharp smothering smell of burning almost came as a shock.

Immediately, there was a low chuckle from behind her. She whirled around quickly, almost tripping over the coffee table. There was nothing there. Another low laugh from behind her caused her to spin again.

“Alexandra, my dear, I’m always with you, not only ‘here.’” The voice was the same as always. Rich, low, with throaty laughter just below the surface. More than pleasant, almost seductive. It made her break out in chills and feel slightly nauseous.

Though she knew it was futile, she still searched for the source of the voice. Another quiet laugh came from behind her, and she felt hot breath on the back of her neck for a minute.

“Stop playing games,” she demanded.

“Oh, Alexandra, this is far from a game, and I promise you, I am not playing.” There was a sharp edge in the voice. It may have given her pause, but she was past paying attention to small things.

“I know that… that’s you. You’re doing it, and you’re going to stop. Now.”

There was another low chuckle, originating from just behind and to the left of her. She turned, but saw nothing, not even an indentation in the thick carpeting.

“Stop? Would you have me let him die, then? That would suit me. Keeping him alive is quite the effort, you know.” The voice sounded thoughtful, but fake.

“You--” She stopped, the heat that had been building began to dissipate as confusion set in.

“Of course,” the voice said, sounding almost gentle. “Put aside that wonderful fury of yours and think, Alexandra. The doctors did tell you, didn’t they, that your… friend should be dead. That some mysterious force had kept him from death.”

After a hesitation, she regained her momentum. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“No?” The voice questioned.

“You know it wasn’t,” she snapped. The was a quiet noise from the direction of the kitchen. She turned but saw nothing. She couldn’t be sure if the noise had been real, or just her imagination. The air conditioner slightly shifting the air current, possibly.

“And our ‘deal’ didn’t include you playing hero in the Rogue Isles, either,” There was a distinct growl underlying the words now. “Did you think that busting villains in a new locale would be enough to meet our bargain?”

She was silent. She didn’t have a reply, for that was exactly what she’d been doing, and hoping.

“Not hardly,” the voice sneered. She felt the shifting of air around her, maybe something brushed her arm. She turned quickly, succeeding only in flipping her hair into her eyes.

“Alexandra, surely you must realize how important you are to me,” the voice began. The pleasant voice was back. It came from almost directly in front of her. “Your entire life I’ve been following you, watching you. Before that, your mother, though she possessed none of the… fire that you do. You look like her, you know. You have your father’s eyes, though, and his personality, of course. Your mother, she was a quiet little mouse compared to you.”

The scent of burning was overpowering and she’d taken two steps forward before she caught herself. “What do you know about my parents?” She’d meant the question to come out strong, harsh, angry, but it was barely more than a hoarse whisper.

“Why, everything, of course!” The voice replied happily. “Who do you think brought them together? Your mother was from my line,” it said possessively. “She was beautiful, obviously, but her temperament was lacking, and she had practically no magical potential. Your father, on the other hand…. Even then, the power he had! It was astounding, really. If only he’d been more corruptible.” The voice sighed, but quickly regained its cheery tone. “No matter, though. Practically all I had to do was arrange a meeting, and the rest is history!”

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“Oh, no. Alexandra, I’ll never lie to you. You can trust me,” the voice was soothing, almost hypnotic. “I know, you’re tired of the lies, the betrayals. Friends, family. No one you can trust. I’ll never lie to you. I’ll never leave you.”

There was a long pause.

And then she burst out laughing. It was harsh, hoarse laughter, bordering on tears.

The voice sounded as though it was true laughter, though, as if they’d shared a joke. “Well, if you choose not to believe me, I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it.”

She gave another harsh bark of laughter. “You haven’t even kept up your part of this bargain.”

“And what have you done for me?” There was a growl and the hot breath was in her face. She took an involuntary step back and the voice continued. “You’ve gone out of your way to go against what I’ve asked you to do. I would be within my rights to remove my protection from your friend and give him the death he wants.”

“No! You’re wrong, you’re--” The protest was automatic, but the voice continued.

"You're my biggest investment, Alexandra. My favorite project. I have such high hopes for you. That's the only reason I've given you the leeway I have. However, if you want me to do what you've asked, no small thing, then you must do as I've asked as well. Begin living up to your end of the bargain, and I will do my best to complete mine."

The sofa was steps away, and she sank into it now gratefully. "Fine," she replied with a tired sigh.

"Excellent," the voice said. "Begin by retrieving the locket from the... person you've left it with."

She looked up, remembered that she wouldn't see the source of the request. "The locket? What?"

"The locket, Alexandra. The one that belonged to your ancestress."

"You're... joking."

There was a rumble of laughter from just in front of her. Too close for comfort, but it was near pointless to move away. "I assure you, I am not. You don't believe in coincidences, do you, my dear? As I've said, you are my favorite project. However, not my only one. The locket will enable me to more easily keep track of you and your activities. And to... advise you, should you stray from the path that we are creating for you."

"Advise?" She scoffed. "Hardly. That locket gives you entirely too much power over me. No way."

There was a growl and the smell of burning and the heat in the room increased exponentially. "You are my creation and you've made a bargain with me. Break that bargain, and face the consequences."

She flinched back at first reaction but quickly recovered and glared at the spot in the room where the voice seemed to originate.

The voice became softer, almost gentle again. "You are my creation, you know. You're as much my daughter as your biological parents', or the Kellys'. But if you renege on your end of the bargain, I will be forced to do the same. Your friend will be dead within hours."

She swallowed hard and took a breath, willing herself not to cry.

The gentle voice continued. "I can make it easier for you, Alexandra. Don't fight me so hard. Relax your guard. You won't have to suffer."

She shook her head. "No." The word came out soft, not much more than a rough whisper.

"Suit yourself." The voice was flat, gruff. "Get the locket. Follow my instructions. Or your friend dies."

There was a stillness to the room, and she knew the owner of the voice was gone, for now. She knew what she had to do.

She leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes. Exhaustion took over and she slept, but didn't rest. The nightmares were back, and she knew it was only the beginning.