Partnering Up

Maisie had always adored Tammy. If Jessie was like a younger version of herself and Abigail reminded Maisie of her husband, then Tammy was almost like having a mini Holly around. Maisie had grown up with her older sister looking out for her almost as if she were a third parent and now, with Maisie being an adult, she felt she could pay that forward by indulging the younger version of her elder sibling whenever she got the chance. In fact, Holly had quietly cautioned her about her tendency to spoil Tammy more than once, though her niece was so humble and unassuming that Maisie doubted there was much chance of her being corrupted by a few treats here and there. She had no idea how her niece had managed to see past her disguise, but if anyone had to rumble her, Tammy was probably the person she would have chosen to do so.

"Hey Aunt Maisie!"

With the two of them alone, and Tammy now aware of who Emily really was, she pulled her Aunt into a long and tight hug before checking to determine there was nobody else around to hear their conversation.

"So you are probably wondering how I worked out your true identity" Tammy began "I can't really take credit for it. It was my master who figured there was something about Emily that didn't add up. He gave me the ability to see through your disguise"

"You have a master?" Maisie asked in alarm.

"Yes, but he's a really good guy" Tammy assured her quickly "And I promise he didn't command me to say that. He wants to use the curse to help me help Jessie"

"Really?" Maisie seemed a little sceptical of this "So who is he?"

"Do you remember the coding guys I invited to the party?"

"The nerds?" Maisie reacted without thinking, before attempting to backtrack "I mean, not the nerds..."

"Yeah the nerds" Tammy giggled "Anyway, when Craig was acting like an ass and seemed like he was about to reveal mine, Haley and Kelly's curse to those horrific bullies at the party, I didn't know who you were or that you had it all under control, and I panicked. So I ran and told the coding guys about the three of us to beat Craig to the punch. It felt like a much lesser evil in an emergency"

"You told them about all three of you?" Maisie repeated with concern.

"Yeah, I really messed up. I'm pretty sure Haley and Kelly have both had their curses triggered, they just don't know it yet. But Philip, that's my master, he wants us to work together to try and help them, and Jessie as well. So it's kind of two against three, but Philip is super smart. And obviously with my uncle being your master, the two of you have probably been doing this for years and know how the curse works and how to word commands inside out, right?"

"I'd like to think so" Maisie nodded "Though I'm a little confused as to why, when I was given a command for my disguise not to be seen through by anyone and you were given a command to see through any disguise, yours overpowered mine"

"Maybe it was just down to who worded it better?" Tammy shrugged "Philip's command was like reading a legal document when he texted it to me. He was saying that having the two of us working together would mean we could test stuff like that out. Curse vs curse, master vs master, how that all works. It might come in useful for when we have to go up against Craig or whoever"

"Wow, it sounds like this Philip could be an absolute Godsend" Maisie marvelled "And of course the biggest expert of all time on the curse is probably your Mom. We could bring her in on this too. She knows who I really am already. In fact the whole Emily thing was actually her idea"

"Yeah, that computes" Tammy smirked "I feel like the five of us together can come up with some pretty inventive schemes to get all of this under control. Not that there is much we can do beyond scheming for the moment though, since Craig is still hospitalised and neither Haley nor Kelly have actually been claimed yet"

"Who knows, maybe we'll get really lucky and they never will be" Maisie speculated, a little too optimistically.

---

Haley was making her way home from class when she became aware of someone approaching her from behind. The footsteps were quick, urgent, as if intending to catch her up. She turned her head to check if it was anyone she knew. It wasn't exactly, but she did recognise her apparent pursuer. It was a kid from her college, though not one she knew the name of or was aware of ever having spoken to. It was possible they had been one of Tammy's guests at the party, but it was hard to tell. He just looked like a generic nerd. Scrawny, badly dressed in ill fitting clothes, unflattering glasses and hair that had been neatly trimmed but not styled in any way. Guys like that almost never approached her.

She continued walking, but the footsteps quickened further in a way she found to be unnerving. That was followed by a voice calling out at her.

"Excuse me!"

Haley had no interest in talking to this person under these circumstances and quickened her pace too. But then he called out to her again.

"Haley, stop"

To her surprise, she suddenly found herself standing in place, almost as if she were a statue, waiting for the near stranger to approach. Before long he was standing in front of her, a vaguely smug expression on his face.

"What do you want?" she asked with a neutral expression, hoping to avoid transmitting the increasing sense of unease she was feeling.

Rather than answer, the young man produced a notebook from his pocket, flicked through to the appropriate page, and began reading it's contents out loud to her.

"Haley Davison, I am aware of your curse, and as the first adult male to notify you of this fact, I hereby claim ownership of you and will become your Master going forward. Haley, I command you to stand in silence, unless told to speak, and listen while I give you your first orders, of which you will obey every word. Now indicate you understand and will abide by these terms, referring to me from now on as Master Carl"

"I understand and will do whatever you say, Master Carl" the cursed girl found herself replying, much to her horror.

For once, Haley could not maintain her usual calm and composed demeanour. She had always felt the worst case scenario for the curse would be to get a master she didn't choose, and it seemed that had now come to pass. Of more immediate concern was what he planned to do to her next. That scruffy little notebook may as well have been a mighty tome full of magic spells, such was the power this person's words now had over her. All she could do was wait nervously for her orders while he read his next pre-prepared statement.

"Haley, for now you will carry on as normal and tell nobody about our arrangement under any circumstances, nor will you do or say anything which might indirectly expose me to anyone as your Master. Before you go, you will provide me with your phone number. You will read and respond to ANY texts I send you at any time immediately and as an urgent priority, never switching off your phone or changing your number. Nobody else's words or actions can ever counteract or overpower my commands, including those from any relatives of yours who may be given unnatural talents by their own masters. From this day forward, you will be completely obedient and unflinchingly loyal to me in all circumstances. Effectively, you are my property. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master Carl"

That entire spiel was terrifying for Haley. Worse still was the strange sense of anger with her that she could pick up in his voice. It wasn't difficult to guess that this was someone who had probably been ignored by girls his entire life, and he likely resented the fact she had never spoken to him before and wasn't even really sure who he was. Haley realised she could be in real trouble here.

"We've been in classes together for years and a few minutes ago you didn't even know my name, did you, Haley?" Carl sneered as she scribbled her number down in his notebook, right opposite the command she had just been given that had compelled her to do so "You had better learn it fast. You're going to be saying it a lot from now on"