Prologue

Sorrowful cries…

Fading shadows…

Icy caresses…

From birth, these occurrences were what made the Whitlock twins rather …particular. Imaginary friends, one might call them, but in fact, they were quite real for these poor children.

One might think these bizarre events might chill them to the bone, but it did not. They found comfort in their innocent bliss, surrounded by the deceased's wallowing, unseen by "normal people".

The twins were arriving from exploring the White Chapel Market, curious as they were, something which both shared besides looks.

Everett and Evelyn Whitlock, the "witch's kids" as people called them, for their birth were surrounded behind a haze of mystery and gossip. Katherine, or Kat as she was known among her clientele, was known for her curvy figure, auburn hair in a tight updo and big stormy grey eyes veiled behind long eyelashes, that seemed to take the breath away of anyone who saw her.

The twins inherited her auburn tresses and grey orbs. The only difference between their gender and clothes was their personality. While Everett was a daring and temperamental boy, his sister Evelyn was gentle and attentive. After running after the poor squirrels in Hyde Park, the twins realised they were late for supper and they knew how much their mother hated when they were late.

It was quite a chilly Autumn evening, something towards which the twins were not dressed. Everett had his dark brown beret atop his dishevelled locks. Dark grey sweater and dark brown trousers graced his malnourished self.

Being poor as they are, shoes are not something they can afford. His sister Eve has one of his mother's old dresses. It was dark brown, and she had a grey sweater underneath, her hair was pleated, and she was being dragged by her brother to their house.

Zigzagging through the carriages and the workers returning to their houses, the younger child had a bad feeling as she tugged on her sibling's hand abruptly: "Wait, Rhett!"

He turned towards his sister and pulled her hand once again: "What is it, Eve? We need to jiffy up! Don't you remember how mad Mum got last time? I don't want another beating." Tears started descending her sickly pale cheeks as she collapsed on her knees: "The voices, they are getting louder! It hurts, it hurts!"

Everett crouched next to his sister and squeezed her to his chest. Even though both had the same ability, his sister always had keener senses and therefore suffered extra: "Eve, I'm here! Focus on my voice, take my hand!"-she took his hand and nodded slowly.

Standing up abruptly, she looked to their surroundings and noticed the increase of shadows enclosing on them. Evelyn pulled her brother's hand: "Rhett, let's go! I have a bad feeling about this!"

The boy nodded and off they went to their house in the slums where they lived with their mother. The usual whispers became louder and now Everett could hear them as well. When they descended the cobblestoned streets, a feminine blood-curdling scream made them stop on their tracks.

"MUM!"-they screamed as they ran faster to their home. Kicking the wooden door open, they settled upon the most gruesome scene they ever have seen. A red horned creature with its hand through their mother's chest, staining her white blouse and blue corset with crimson blood.

At the sound of the door bursting open, the humanoid-like creature turned towards them. For the first time in their life, they tasted fear chilling them to the bone. The creature was dressed in a dark suit with a red shirt underneath and a black tie. Blood red locks, the same shade as his horns, were slicked back.

A smirk full of pointy teeth appeared on its dark charred face, alongside two demonic gleaming red orbs staring through their poor shivering souls. Their mother noticed her children and whispered between bloody coughs: "I-I'm s-sorry..."

Her oldest one ran in its direction, terrifying his mother and sister: "Rhett, don't!"-the demon's smirk increased and he picked the poor boy by the collar, then they heard the most horrifying voice they have ever heard before: "How charming…A shame that you can't protect the ones who matter the most to you. Do not worry, I'll take care of that." He pulled the heart out of their mother's chest making her slid down the wall, leaving a trail of her blood behind.

The twins started wailing their heart out and the demon opened a fiery red portal, knocking out the boy upon his shoulder. His sister started running towards the portal: "Noooooo, give them back!"-the demon turned towards her and placed his bloody glove on her face, smearing her pale face in her mother's blood: "Oh, I can hardly wait to see the chaos you will cause in a few years… Farewell, Evelynn."

He entered the portal, leaving the poor girl drenched in her mother's blood as she walked to her corpse and just stared at it almost like in a trance. This was oddly strange. Evie didn't know how to feel. Her mother had always been negligent and sometimes even threatening. She should feel relieved, in a way, to be free from her grasp, yet why were tears running down her face?

Not even her deserved this fate. Not even her…

They found her in the middle of that carnage muttering the same phrase over and over: "The red-horned demon came…and so he shall once more." Thinking that this was due to the shock of her having her mother killed, they took her to the hospital and there her mother's old friend Nan Sharpe came to take her.

The moment she saw the voluptuous lady, she ran to her arms and wept for all that she had seen and from her losses: "Shh, shh. I'm here, pet. I'm here." Nan lifted her up to her lap and took her to her new house: The Mangled Mermaid.

And this was how her life became weirder than it was.

How do I know this, you ask?

Why that's very simple. Evelynn is me…

And this is my story, or should I say our story...?

Prologue End