"So what now?" Cleo asked. She sat slumped against the wall of the room, a huge map of the monster world on the wall across from her. Considering the circumstances, the mummy ghoul would be infuriated. Besides all the worldly chaos, being trapped in her sister's body was just icing on the misery cake—she had never been comfortable with being in a body that wasn't rightfully hers. But, right this second, it didn't really matter.
Deuce looked down at her with a tender smile. Cleo imagined his eyes just as gentle behind his sunglasses. "We wait, I guess."
"Do you really think she'll come back?" The mummy ghoul reluctantly tore her gaze away from her boyfriend to see Venus approaching the couple. "What happens if we have to go looking for her?"
Deuce shrugged. "Then we look for her."
Cleo felt her eyes moisten. Deuce hadn't changed a bit. So relaxed. Even after everything that's happened. Frankie convinced the two to talk things over earlier in the night. Cleo was glad to break the ice between them but she was repulsed at the thought of holding him—touching her boyfriend in a body that wasn't hers. When she woke up after passing out she had found herself in Deuce's arms, like a dream, yet Cleo had scrambled away immediately. She could tell by his smile that he understood, but all it did was make her heart ache.
How did Frankie do it? And for over a week! It amazed her that the young ghoul could adapt so well, not to mention the amnesia and pretending to have been someone else the whole time. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
Cleo heard Venus and trudge back to scour file cabinets alongside Toralei and Twyla. The tabby werecat prowled about the room while Twyla sporadically popped in and out of shadows.
"I think that's it," the blue-hued ghoul said. Venus moved beside her and nodded her head in agreement.
"Are you sure?" Toralei looked uncertain. "Maybe we can just try looking a little closer..." She reached out her hands towards a drawer handle but stopped suddenly, and her pointed ears twitched. The werecat laughed under her breath.
Cleo's brows furrowed. Before she could ask, someone came bounding through the entrance.
"Frankie!" she cried out. "You're back!" Cleo sprung up to greet her friend but stopped short when she noticed a glimmer of gold in the ghoul's hand. "Where did you get that?"
"Long story. I'll explain later," she dismissed. "Point is, it can return you to your rightful body, Cleo." Frankie spread out her arms and grinned. "Then you can be stuck in it," she joked.
A faint smile crossed the lips of Cleo's borrowed form. "It'll do more than that. You can be in your own body again, too, Frankie." Then she looked down at herself, her face contorting in disgust. "And so will Nefera."
Twyla spoke up first. "Wait, seriously?"
"What does it even do?" Venus asked.
Cleo reached out for the gold figurine, and Frankie let her take it. "This is the idol representing the Egyptian god of magic, Heka." Then she gasped. "Someone carved into it!"
"Weren't you explaining something?" Toralei cut in, her tail swaying with annoyance.
Cleo rolled her eyes but continued with a soft exhale. "This idol is meant to cleanse magic from a living being's essence. Powerful amulets and charms backfire with strong curses, but this idol's purpose is to rid of any inflicted magic from an outside source. Like whatever caused our body-swap."
"Whisp," Frankie mumbled. "She swapped us. It's why we're stuck like this."
"Whisp?" Cleo remembered Whisp, Gigi's shadow sister. She remembered the day Nefera and the genie had walked into her room unannounced and cast her into a presumably eternal slumber. Cleo shook her head as if discarding the memory. She looked down at the idol.
"This should do it for us, Frankie." She didn't take her eyes off the golden god of magic and the two snakes held in its hands. "It's very likely that this is the most powerful idol in my father's collection."
"So what's the catch?"
Cleo glanced over her shoulder. Deuce was slowly moving toward her. He looked tense. "There's gotta be a catch, right?"
Cleo sighed. "From what I remember, the curse explanation was very vague. Something about wandering in darkness..." She scoffed. "It's clearly a metaphor of sorts. Although..." She turned toward her boyfriend. "Ridding magic is a high price to pay, so whoever uses this idol will be cursed... permanently." Her voice cracked at the word.
Cleo forced herself to look up at Deuce. Don't, she tried to convey. It's not worth it. Please.
Deuce's jaw clenched and she could tell the Gorgon understood her. But no matter how much she pleaded, she knew what the outcome would be. Much of the Deuce she knew in high school remained but he'd changed these past years. Cleo couldn't sway him this time.
His hand wrapped around the idol's head and Cleo's grip loosened, leaving nothing but air between her palms. "Are you sure?"
"I'll do it, Cleo. I'll help make this right." He gave her a small yet somewhat sad smile. Deuce was never one of many words but, through that tiny smile, Cleo knew exactly what he was saying.
She felt like screaming. Cleo wanted to command him to stop, to worry about himself not her. But she held her tongue. This is what he wants. Cleo's voice resembled a faint echo, "Thank you." She let her gaze drop to the ground as her vision blurred with unshed tears. "All you have to do is rub the back of its head and you'll activate it."
"Whoa wait, you're gonna let him do this?" Venus broke in.
"Yeah," Twyla said. "Didn't you say something about 'wandering in darkness'?"
Cleo took a deep breath, her eyes still facing downward. "If Deuce thinks this is the best way to help me, then there's no reason for me to stop him." She finally raised her head and stared harshly at Deuce, past his shades and into his reptile-green eyes. She gave a small, confident nod.
Deuce didn't hesitate.
Light seeped from the idol with a quick brush of his thumb, its blinding brilliance briefly flooding the room.
What was seconds felt like hours, and Cleo dropped to the floor in an exhausted heap. After a few moments, she rose to her feet. Twyla materialized from a shadow beside her.
"Did it work?" she asked. "Is that you, Cleo?"
The mummy ghoul blinked, her eyelids heavy as she processed the question. Cleo looked down at her hands—her hands. The perfect shade of tan she'd grown so accustomed to the past millennia of her unlife.
"Oh, thank Ra!" Her arms dramatically fell to her sides. "I was beginning to think I was going to be trapped in Nefera's body forever. Although I'll admit, Nefera's outfit is much better than what Frankie dressed me in." She looked down at herself and grimaced, a particular amount of disgust directed at the sneakers.
A clatter sounded when Deuce spoke. "Cleo?"
Relief morphed to worry in an instant, and Cleo's stomach rolled with anxiety. "Deuce?"
To her surprise, the Gorgon stood in the same place he was a moment ago, the idol at his feet. Cleo let out a reassured sigh and bounded toward him. She hesitated before holding his hands and gently intertwining her fingers with his.
"You're safe," she said softly.
It took a second, but he smiled, and Cleo once again feared for the worst.
"What's wrong?"
His thumbs traced circles on the back of her hand as if trying to soothe her. "I think I know what this 'wandering in darkness' is about."
"Well, Deuce? What is it?" Cleo looked straight at his sunglasses, imagining the green of his eyes like she always did. He wasn't facing her. "Look at me and speak."
"That's the thing, babe. Unless someone turned out the lights, I don't think I can look." Deuce's hands stiffened in Cleo's grip, and his voice was pained and hoarse. "I think I'm blind."
Cleo felt her hands go limp. "Blind?"
Toralei spoke up, "Not to rain on the already soggy parade, but I think Nefera's starting to come to her senses."
Cleo willed herself to look over her shoulder. Nefera held her head as if she was dizzy. Then she looked down at herself, and her eyes grew round like saucers. "H-how?" A flicker of joy lighted her face, only to be replaced with dread. "No..."
Rapid, panicked breathing overtook Nefera's regal figure. Her gaze flickered upon each of the monsters in the room, all too dumbfounded to react. Then she swiveled around and hastily lumbered across the room toward the map on the wall.
Cleo reluctantly moved away from her boyfriend. "Nefera..."
Her sister frantically reached out for the map, and she tore at its edges until it was nothing but shredded fragments pinned to the wall.
"What's she doing..?" Twyla asked.
Cleo was close enough to touch Nefera when she ripped off another piece of the map and slapped the wall with her hand. Then the room turned red and blaring sirens broke into Cleo's eardrums.
"I guess that's our cue to leave," Twyla remarked over the noise.
Toralei clutched her ears with her hands. "Was that some sort of button or—?"
"No time for questions!" Venus called suddenly. "Let's get out of here!"
Cleo rushed through the room and grabbed Deuce's hand before following the others out. The mummy ghoul's footsteps felt heavy as she hurriedly guided her boyfriend down the red-lit corridor. Then her steps suddenly faltered and she looked to see Deuce had stopped her.
"Deuce we have to move—!"
He wouldn't budge. "We're missing Frankie."
"I know where the Queen's room is," Twyla said, peeling out from a shadow beside them. "Follow me." Twyla began moving the opposite direction, and Cleo dragged Deuce behind her.
"Wait!" Venus ran to catch up with them, Toralei at her side. "We have to go this way. We'll get out sooner."
"We're not leaving without her," Cleo said firmly.
The ghoul's eyes were frantic. "But—"
"There!"
Cleo froze at the sound of her sister's voice, and she tightened her hold on Deuce's hand. The clicking of heels followed by a pair of footsteps resonated in the crimson hall.
A tall figure stood beside Nefera. "So these are the rebels?" The voice's owner stepped closer, revealing a pale-skinned monster with dark hair. His grin unveiled his fangs.
Venus stiffened, and she slowly turned around. "Valentine."
The vampire took a step back. Then he rolled his eyes. "Hi, Venus."
She didn't look back at when she addressed them. "Go, all of you. I can take care of myself."
Cleo couldn't help but scoff. "Out of the question." She moved forward, but Deuce held her back. "But..."
Toralei scampered toward them. "Come on."
Cleo knew there wasn't any use arguing. A pang of guilt sliced through her before she and Deuce followed behind Twyla and Toralei, leaving Venus in the dark.
This had better be worth it.
-.-.-.-
After zigzagging aimlessly around the palace and climbing a long flight of stairs, Cleo was grateful that they had finally stopped moving.
"Where did you say her room was?" she asked.
Twyla hesitated. "I know it's in this hallway..."
Cleo opened her mouth to chide the ghoul until the door beside her swung open. Frankie stood in the doorway. She was dressed in a short teal nightgown and her striped hair was pulled back into a braid.
"I'm guessing we're leaving?"
The rest nodded and scurried back the way they came.
"Where's Venus?" Frankie called as they fled down the stairs.
"We had to leave her behind," Toralei responded.
Cleo heard Frankie gasp. "What? No. We have to go back—"
"It's too late for that," Cleo cut in. "It was her decision."
"Here!" Twyla stopped short and pointed ahead. "The entryway's here. We can just get out through the front."
The others followed as soon as she treaded ahead. Enormous double doors came into view, and Twyla held one open as everyone filed out.
The night sky was starting to fade, but it was barely lit enough to see. A ghoul stood beside the entryway, a startled expression on her face as the group of monsters rushed out of the palace.
Frankie immediately moved toward the ghoul and grabbed her wrist. "Where's Spectra?" she asked her.
"S-she left a while ago," the ghoul said. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"
Frankie's voice was surprisingly calm. "Relax, Whisp, it's safe. But we have to hurry."
Whisp... Cleo barely recognized her. What kind of genie dressed in denim?
They didn't stop running until the city was nothing but a cluster of buildings behind them.
