As the stars stared down at us from the sky, the night air carried a strong chill. The breeze brushed against my shoulder as if it were walking beside me. It was more than familiar to me, something I'd probably never escape.
Part of me silently prayed that the freezing gust wasn't my brother, but the faint scent of lavender told me my hopes were in vain. As much as I missed my twin, I was planning to do something he wouldn't like. I know he would want revenge for what Tibbles did to Luz and her friends, but that would probably come in the form of a prank war. I was planning something a little darker. Something he'd probably consider going too far.
I pulled the hood of my shroud down a bit farther, but it didn't chase the cold away. Though they no longer existed I could feel my brother's golden eyes glance at me in shame. But I had to do this. If I didn't then Tibbles could've gone after them a second time. He could kill one of them like he nearly did Willow.
"He should just be glad I'm not going with mom's idea".
She didn't want to kill him, thank titan. No, instead she wanted to infest his stand with black-footed ticks. You know, the ones that swim through your veins. Not only would it infect him and make him sick, but his customers would also be affected, tarnishing his reputation. As angry as I was with the hog demon, I didn't want to hurt him physically. I drew a line that mom could never make me cross.
When I arrived at his stand, Tibbles was talking to another demon. They were asking him about some necklaces made from crystals found near the skull. I peered down at them from behind.
"You can find those for twenty snails cheaper up the road" I told him.
"Really?" he hmmed before walking away. "Thanks".
"Hey" Tibbles snapped. "I nearly had hi–".
Tibbles froze at the sight of my Blight gold eyes. His breathing grew shallow as bad memories from his carnival resurfaced.
"Hello, there" he welcomed in a much nicer tone. "How are you to–".
"Shut it!" I spat like a snake. "You know why I'm here, don't you?".
"I'm guessing you're here about the altercation between me and your sister the other day".
"If you call that an "altercation", then let's call what I'm about to do "petty theft".
"There's no need to do anything rash," the masked saleswitch nervously chuckled. "Your sister already handled it".
"She saved Willow's life, by injuring herself, nonetheless. Pretty selfless, right?".
"Yes, yes. Brings a tear to a dem–".
"Don't play coy with me" I huffed. "No matter how much you try to seem innocent, that won't change why I'm here".
"Isn't what that little brat did to my face enough?".
"Apparently not. And I'm sure what Amity did wasn't enough either". I showed my fangs with a sneer. A growl threatened to spill from my throat, but my words shoved it back down. "If my mother were here, she would have someone hack off your head and leave it at Luz's doorstep. Lucky for you, I'm not my mother, but I'm afraid you still have to be punished for what you've done".
"What do you have in mind?" he changed, his fear being pushed to the wayside. Hearing that I wasn't planning on hurting him made the witch under-estimate me. That was a giant mistake.
With my pinkie, I lightly touched the ring around my finger. The purple stone in the middle shone brightly, power welling inside of it.
"Phantom rise".
With a fiery flash of light, a flaming shadow rose from the ring and hovered over Tibbles's stand. Just like she had promised, mom hid her appearance masterfully.
"Phantom attack!".
My mother circled the stand like a swarm of fire bees, lighting everything ablaze just by grazing it. Within seconds all of Tibbles' nightly shop had gone up in smoke, melting like eye-scream. The raging fire made his wide eyes shimmer like a bright star. His devastation rendered him speechless for a few moments, his mouth so wide open you could practically see down his throat.
"No! What have you done?! You're destroying generations of Grimhammer history".
"Be glad I didn't destroy you with it" I responded as I fought to ignore his anguish. "Next time you decide to hurt one of Amity's friends, just remember how much it will cost you".
With that, I called my mother back into the stone and slunk away. Despite the heat from the still raging fire, I still felt that familiar chill. The wind howled as if my brother was trying his best to shout at me. I tried to drown it out with my thoughts, but it clung to my attention as if it were a rope.
"I'm sorry, Ed," I told him silently. "I did it for Mittens".
Like a buzzing scroll, the ring on my finger flickered. I groaned internally as I slowed to a stop. I scanned my surroundings with a scowl then ducking into the nearest alley. It seems mom wanted to grace me with her opinion again.
"What do you want, mom?" I snarled.
"I still say you should've ruined his reputation".
"Like I said, all we needed to do was teach him to not mess with the family. Destroying his stand should be enough to do that".
"He nearly killed your sister's friend".
"Oh" I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. "You mean the friend you didn't want my sister to have, the one you were going to get banned from Hexide if Amity ever talked to her again?".
"Please, Emira" my mother hmphed back. "It's you who said protecting the family is much more important than bygones, remember".
"Whatever. I've still got to get to the cemetery tonight, so try not to bother me anymore".
"Why must you go every night? I'm sure your brother could care less how much you visit his grave".
"Unlike you, mom, I actually care about Edric! So, I'll honor his memory as much as I feel like".
"And yet you ignored him while burning down that hog-demons stand. You did notice him there, right?" my mother slyly purred. My ears defensively fell flat.
"Do you want a few holes in your face like Amity? I'll smash this thing to pieces!".
"Will you? Why not use the writhe command instead?". When I said nothing, she simply responded, "whatever. Have fun at the cemetery, princess".
After that, she grew silent, and the glowing stopped. I let out a sigh. Great titan, why did talking to that vile witch have to be so exhausting?
I felt my brother follow me all the way to the cemetery, like he usually did. Though he lay far in the back, his gravesite could be seen from the gates. The tombstone above him was overly extravagant, one of the fanciest snails could buy, just like the one next to it. Like I said he would, he rested beside our younger sister.
Next to it was a patch of flattened grass. Every night I would sit in that same spot as I spoke with my late twin. I know I could speak to him anytime he was near, but it didn't feel right. When he was alive, I spoke to his body, so that's what I did now.
"Hey, Ed" I sighed. "I hope you're doing much better than I am. As dad's new business partner, I've been nothing but busy. Finances are a huge pain and so is mom".
Just then I felt the air grow heavier. Though it couldn't say anything, the whirling wind attempted to speak to me. It didn't need to. I already knew what Edric was thinking.
"I know," I responded. "I'm the one who summoned her. But there was no way I could run the company without her. Dad needs her, and this is the only way for him to get her assistance and not be manipulated. Trust me, everything's gone to shit after you died".
A moment of silence hung in the air like a bat. The wind still brushed past, but the howling momentary fell.
"I suppose you've got a point. Things were pretty bad before you died too, but they've gotten worse since mom died. She'd hurt us really badly over the years, but she helped us too. Go figure".
The wind tore a leaf off of a nearby tree and carried over to me. It flew past my face and landed in front of Amity's tombstone.
"Oh. Mittens? She's been doing great living at the owl house. There was that incident with Tibbles. Breaking the amulet left a pretty large hole in her face near her nose. But it hasn't seemed to affect her. She's more glad that Willow's okay". Pressed my body against the chunk of marble, its smooth surface making me even colder. "It's lonely without you two. The only other witch I see is dad and….I hate to say it, but we aren't as close as either of us want to be right now".
The air grew still, and the smell of Lavender started to fade. I couldn't see it but I knew that was Edric slowly backing away from me, giving me a break from the cold he always brought. My skin thanked him, but my heart hated the thought. The only time we could be together he nearly froze me to death.
"Don't worry, Ed. I'll find a way to help you. I promise".
My mind told my body to get up, but my tired limbs wouldn't listen. Even though Edric left, I was still freezing and the tombstone I rested on didn't help. But my tired self didn't want to make the journey home that night. It wanted to sit there and wait for the energy I lacked to arrive. So, there I laid until my consciousness fell into my dreams.
When I awoke the sky was no longer full of stars. The sun was in the middle of rising, the sky a bright burning orange. Instead of wild pixies calling, birds were chirping loudly. And most of all, it sounded like someone was…singing?
It was beautiful. I don't think I'd ever heard such a full smooth voice before, not even from a bard. It was almost unnatural, angelic even, perfectly fitting with the early morning fog in front of me. Was I…
"You're awake" a timid voice beside me said as the singing stopped. The owner walked his way around, until he was hovering right above me.
He looked reptilian, red scales and bright yellow eyes with a patch of white over the left one. He had three tentacle-like fins on each side of his head, which I guess were his ears, and a fin on top. His fangs were long and tusk like, the longest two reaching for his chin.
He was wearing nothing but a yellow bandanna, some light brown shorts, and a beautiful necklace with a pearl at the end. From the looks of it, he lived close to the boiling sea, either that or he just liked the sailor look.
"I am" I yawned.
"That's a relief. I thought you were–".
"Dead?" I questioned with a small smile. "All the dead people here are underground".
"Right" he sputtered "But you could've been hurt so I wanted to check. But then I didn't want to wake you so…I just…I stayed here to keep an eye on you".
"And you didn't think that would be a bit creepy?".
"I'm sorry. I–". My laughing slowed his panicking to a stop.
"I'm only messing with you".
"Oh". He began to laugh too though it didn't calm his nerves any. "Okay".
"What's your name, cutie?". Just like I expected, his face flushed red, or at least redder than it already was.
"Cutie?".
"That's not your name, is it? I'll go first then" I politely offered the demon my hand. "My name's Emira".
"Puff Adder" he said as he stuck out his claw filled hand. We both stood there with our arms held up for a very long and awkward moment. Didn't he know what to do?
Finally, I decided to grab his hand and shake it. He jumped in surprise and reared to pull back, but I loosened my grip a bit. He relaxed and reluctantly waited for me to let go.
"So…" he drawled. "What are you doing here at this time of morning? Shouldn't you be in your bed".
"I should be," I admitted. "I was visiting my two siblings really late last night and must have fallen asleep".
"Siblings?".
"Yeah. One of them died about a month ago in an accident at school, while the other one…". I had to take a moment to swallow the grief building up in my throat. That wound was still way too fresh. "Our mom poisoned him".
"Poisoned him?! Why would she do that?". I took a deep breath.
"It's a long story".
"Well, we have the whole walk to where you live".
"And who says you get to walk me home?".
"Well since it's so early and you look unwell and…are you joking again?".
"No," I answered sarcastically. When he continued to frantically apologize, I began to chuckle. "Of course, I'm joking".
"You're very…tricky, aren't you".
"I gotta admit, "Tricky" is a new one".
"Should we get going?". Puff Adder questioned. I rose to my feet, wincing as my stiff joints ached. "Are you in pain?".
"I'm fine," I answer, stretching. "Let's go".
As we walked, Puff Adder seemed to struggle. He was very lopsided and had a hard time staying beside me. He didn't favor one leg over the other like one was hurt, but he seemed very…uncomfortable.
"Are YOU okay?" I asked.
"I am. I just don't walk much" he rushed before changing the subject. "So, what happened to your brother".
"Right. Edric. Well, my mother was a very powerful oracle back when she was alive".
"What's that?".
Huh? How had he never heard of oracle magic? The oracle coven was one of the main nine.
"I don't know too much about it, but it has something to do with the power of the beyond. My mother was able to keep my sister's spirit from going to the spirit realm when she died by locking her in an amulet. She wanted her to become an assassin".
"Assassin?!" Puff Adder yelped "What would your mother want with an assassin?".
"To scare people into getting what she wants. Whenever a business deal went wrong, she'd threaten to kill someone's family".
"That sounds terrible".
"It is. Of course, my little sister wanted no part in it, so my brother and I found her a place to hide while we found a way to help her".
"And that's why your mom poisoned your brother" the demon concluded. "Because you guys hid your assassin sister". I solemnly nodded.
At any other time, with any other person, I wouldn't have been able to say what I was about to say next. But there was something about the goofy reptile that made me feel at ease. It felt natural to tell him about my troubles.
"The poison was actually meant for me. Mom thought I did it alone, and even thought I would hurt Edric, so she tried to kill me. But Edric took the poison instead, thinking she just wanted to put me in an amulet like Amity".
"Where is your mother now?" The fear in his voice surprisingly made it sound strong. He seemed desperate to help any way he could. "Is she still after you?".
"No. Now she's dead too".
"That's good but also bad. I'm sorry".
"You know you don't need to apologize for everything" I softly joked. Despite the heavy topic, my heart felt light, like a burden had been raised from it.
"But I am sorry!" Puff Adder argued, making me laugh even more. "I'm glad I don't know my mom".
"You don't know your mom?" I echoed as my smile sank.
"Or my dad. I just hatched and was on my way. I've been traveling ever since".
"You don't have a home either?". No wonder he was at the cemetery that early. He had no bed to rest in. But if he was a wanderer then why did he have such a hard time walking? "Well, you're always welcome at Blight Manor. We have a spare room you could sleep in".
"Really?" He gasped. "You wouldn't mind?".
"Of course not. It's the least I could do for walking me home".
"Thank you! I'll make sure to take you up on the offer sometime".
I looked ahead and saw the manor looming in the distance. "Speaking of which".
"You live there?".
"Yep, that's my place".
"Then…"Puff Adder began sadly as he slowed to a stop. "I guess this is where we part, huh".
"For now" I reminded. "I wouldn't mind hanging out again".
"Me too," he smiled bashfully. "You're really nice".
"You know, there's a dance coming up at my school. Would you like to go with me?".
"Me?". Once again, the demon went red. His eyes were so wide they barely rolled out of his head. "Yes! I'd love to!".
I don't think I'd been so happy in the last month. With all the heartache, Puff Adder was truly a breath of fresh air. He was a dork, for sure, but he was just so sweet. And I don't care that it was odd not to bring a date or a huge friend group to Grom, but it was a reason for the two of us to do something fun together.
"Great! Just come inside with me and I'll draw you a map to Hexide".
My heart swelled like a bee sting. Titan, I had missed this feeling! For once, just this once, things started to look up. I could finally have a break from all of the horrible things surrounding me.