Burning Angels
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, but Phaedra Snow and the plot bunny belong to me.
Hidden Night
Little did I know, but others were aware of the outward changes I was exhibiting. Some more than others suspected the truth.
I rudely woken up at 2 am by Skulker and Ember who, true to form, tied me up and gagged me with ectoplasm. What the hell? I shot them an angry and confused look.
"This will only take a minute, dipstick," Ember said, turning to her boyfriend. "Look at his palms."
Skulker's eyes narrowed as I clenched my hands into a fist. Prying them loose with a bit of pressure, he spread them wide, while Ember softly traced a pattern in the palms. It tickled; I tried not to laugh, but a titter escaped. Her eyes twinkled a bit, but were dark and serious as she finished tracing the pattern.
"It is the child," Skulker confirmed. "He has the patterns of the moon's phases on his palms."
"And you thought I was lying," she said. "With his sudden wardrobe change and his slowly lack of eating, I would say he's has begun to taste Yakar juice again. The Clockwork Chronos must be informed of this."
I looked at her curiously. What did they have to tell Clockwork about?
"Dipstick, we will save you from her, we promise," Ember said, kissing me on the forehead.
"What she said, whelp," Skulker added. "How did Hecate manage to find the child so soon? The Clockwork Chronos ensured he would remain safely hidden until the last of the trees which bore the human blood fruit was dead."
Ember and Skulker were both glowing a mesh of colors, so I couldn't ascertain which emotions were prevailent. Ember snapped her fingers and my limbs were free. I glared at them and told them to get out.
"Going," she teased, "but we'll be back."
"Joy," I sarcastically quipped, just as my parents burst through the bedroom door.
"Dang, they're gone, Maddie," my father said, scowling at his rotten timing, I was still rubbing my sore wrists, when he grabbed one of them and turned it over. I could make out the faint outlines of the previous cuts I'd made during my nightly forays into the realm of night.
"Danny, how long have you been doing this to yourself, son?" he asked, worry lacing his voice. He was glowing blue, where the orange that had been surrounding him was fading fast.
"For three nights," I mumbled. "I couldn't sleep, so I snuck out of the house and went to the park. I met a woman there with a white apple, whose juice is human blood. I was taken into her world and ate of her food and drink. She says my soul was sold to her and stolen away and that I am the caretaker of the tree of life. I water it with my blood. I swear I don't know what is happening to me!"
"And of the ghosts who were here?" Mom asked, examining my palms. "You have some strange marks on your palms Danny. Is this some occultic ritual Sam is trying to talk you into?"
"What marks are you guys talking about?" I demanded, looking at my palms myself. I couldn't see anything. "Skulker and Ember were talking about the same thing just before you guys burst in here."
"Who are Skulker and Ember?" Dad wanted to know.
"Two of the ghosts who are always escaping from the Ghost Zone; I'm forever having to fight them and send them back," I grumbled, not noting my words. "There are times when I hate being a half-ghost."
Mom's eyes widened. "Half-ghost, but that's not possible."
"How?" Dad demanded. "Danny, this isn't something to be joking about."
"Your son is telling the truth," I turned my head to see the Clockwork Chronos appear behind me. "Daniel, I am sorry."
"Explain," I stated. By my tone of voice, he knew I meant business.
A white aura surrounded Clockwork as he used his staff to open up a viewing window into the past.