Kylie’s heart raced, still unsure if what she had seen was real. A witch, floating on a broom in the night. She had heard about the others, but didn’t believe—it was Mischief Night, after all—but she ran, pushing Evelyn out of the way when she bumped into her. Kylie looked over her shoulders to see Evelyn suddenly transformed into a plush doll and ran even harder. Her legs burned like they would fall off, but she had to get out of the residential parts of town and didn’t slow to a fast walk until she hit the small downtown where shops advertised “No Mischief” signs.
She frowned as she moved; her typical prank on Mrs. Siemens was out, as that’s where she saw the witch. But Kylie knew she had to do something, had to, or she would lose points, and then…and then she would belong to her.
Still planning her next move, she looked through the windows of the old consignment shop, its dusty shelves begging for some Mischief, when she felt it. A rush of caressing air wrapping around her, full of wind, and magic, and something more.
She had been found.
“Noo!” Kylie shouted as she was snatched from the sidewalk and remade, and the next thing she knew, she was inside the consignment shop. Perched on a shelf, with creepy porcelain dolls as her closest companions. She wore a costume that matched theirs, yellow and cute with felt doll shoes. While she could move her arms, kick her legs, whenever she tried to jump from the shelf she sat on, her body froze and she fell into a daze of confusion.
That’s when she saw the hat, bobbing taller than the store shelves, a curling witch’s hat with stars and moons.
“Oh, you’re positively adorable, Kylie. Wonderfully made. This suits you much better.” The witch said, her eyes alight as she adjusted a tag that Kylie wore, a certification that she was not just a doll, but a haunted doll. “I’m surprised, but quite glad, that you mischief makers have continued your game. I would have thought after the third transformation, you would have all gone into hiding.”
“You don’t understand, we have to!” Kylie blurted.
The witch tilted her head, her amused grin softening and turning thoughtful. “Have to? Tell me more.”
This was her chance, and Kylie shook her head. “No, turn me back, then I’ll tell you everything.”
The witch cocked an eyebrow and made a beckoning gesture with her fingers, drawing breath and a story from Kylie.
“A few years ago, we—Chris, Paige, and a few others—pulled a really big prank on Mr. Carter. Afterward, we hid in the woods. And that’s when we met…her.” Kylie managed to gulp. “I can’t say her name, because it might attract…her.”
“Tell me about this…her, lovely doll.” The witch said, enraptured. “Is she a demon? A witch? What manner of night creature are we discussing?”
Kylie fought down the compulsion to speak, which felt like a pressure building in her throat, and she redirected it. “She’s sworn us to secrecy. She’ll punish us for revealing this much.”
“My dear doll, you’re under my aegis. You and all those I’ve transformed this week.” She drew a possessive touch down Kylie’s now-plush arm. “And woe to those who harm a witch’s things.”
It wasn’t a lot, and Kylie didn’t particularly like the idea of belonging to a witch. “She’s a pixie. A couple inches tall, but entitled like she was a dragon.”
“Sounds accurate for their lot. And she makes you cause mischief?”
“She rewards us with luck, or money. But the loser…every year, the loser becomes hers. A servant, or slave, or I’m not sure what word she used. I was next. Probably.”
“Well, you needn’t worry about that. All that must occupy your mind is being the best doll you can be, so you can be bought and haunt your Owner’s home.”
“Do I have to?”
The witch thought for a moment. “Well, the haunting is technically not required. But yes, I insist you must get the full doll experience, which means you must be purchased. I’ll decide with your Owner your exact fate once that occurs.”
Kylie felt a queasiness in her belly. “What about…her?”
“Oh, you needn’t worry about such beings, pretty doll. I’ll have words with this…her.”