Most of the time it’s nothing to worry about, though. When a person’s life force flashes into another dimension, it’s usually only for second or two; no time at all for a krabber to take hold. The person’s life force tends to return back to his dream almost immediately.
On the very rare occasion a puppeteer is able to grab and hold on to a life force that quickly, the unlucky victim’s body goes into a coma-like state. He remains this way until the physical body dies or his life force is released. A puppeteer cannot control a body if the life force was captured during a person’s sleep, seeing as how the body will always remain unconscious.
Addel finished the chant and leaned back in her chair. The milky fog in the globe had dissipated, and everything in the room seemed quiet—too quiet! She folded her hands on the table as her eyes swept around the room. Addel’s anxiety was barely under control as she tried to gather up as much courage as she could. “I know you’re here. Show yourself,” she commanded in a quiet voice. Given how silent the room was anyway, it seemed as if she was shouting.
Then, ever so slowly, like sand dripping through an hourglass, the being began to take shape. Faint at first, the thin mist hovered in the air, like a kitten that feared the strangers in the house, not wanting to come out of hiding. Then, becoming a bit bolder, the steamy figure began to gain in strength and density.
Human-like expressions pressed hard against the fog, as if its steamy, shapeless body were a plastic bag full of people pushing their faces against the rubbery surface, trying to escape. No two looked alike either, as a completely different face formed each time.
Dragot drifted back into the room dragging by a leash a naked human male who whimpered as his eyes darted around the room wildly. No doubt he had been watching. The timing was a little too perfect to be coincidence. Dragot stood there for a moment, wearing that grotesque smile with his tusks elevated higher than usual. Yellow cat eyes the size of saucers rested on the living gray mist as the shifting expressions changed constantly.
“Do you know who I am?” Dragot stated with even more calm than usual, holding out his hand toward the floating specter. The mist just hovered there like a kite made of vapor as the shifting expressions seemed to slow down a bit. “I see. Let me explain to you how this is going to work.” Dragot fearlessly marched right up to the mist as he towed his reluctant pet along. “I offer the very thing you want most in this world,” he said while pulling lightly on the leashed man.
The kite-shaped being seemed to have caught a gust of wind for a moment, as the edges of the mist began to flutter with excitement. “Now, in exchange for my gift, you will animate the bodies from your realm, and have them do exactly as I say,” said Dragot in a voice that sounded more like he was talking to a child than to an extremely dangerous life form. “You can start with this one,” he said, pulling hard on the leash as the frightened human stumbled forward, falling down right in front of the mist. The man locked his hands behind his head as he rolled up into a ball, trembling like a leaf on a windy day. It was not really all that easy for a puppeteer to take a life force that didn’t want to be taken, but factors like having a weak mind to begin with, combined with being completely terrified, helped tremendously.
As the man quivered on the ground like a frightened child, the gray mist methodically settled on top of the poor soul. Addel watched uneasily, not sure what to expect. She wasn’t sure this was something she wanted to see. As the mist closed in around the helpless man, he began to make gurgling noises, as if he were drowning.
Then the vaporous mist slowly lifted from the man’s back, but a bit remained in the form of two transparent gray arms with ghostly hands that slid up his body. As the misty arms found their way to his shoulders, the man was lifted onto his feet, still whimpering but not appearing to be in any pain. When the misty arms slid off his shoulders, thin golden strings attached all over the man’s body remained. The arms floated away into the ceiling, still grasping the tiny golden threads.
Suddenly the man’s head drooped deeply, as if he were trying to place his mouth on his own chest. Then it snapped back up violently with his eyes wide open. The disturbing sight was the stuff of nightmares, as his eyes were now blank and completely white. Between that and the white foam bubbling from his mouth, he appeared dead. The man was still standing, but deathly quiet.