Page 38 of Dead End

“Well, isn’t this an interesting development?” Auntie Pip said, coming around the kitchen island. She went right up to Jason and Damon and proceeded to poke him in the cheek. I snorted at the dumbstruck look in those once again yellow eyes as he reared back from Pip’s finger. “A demon familiar. I haven’t seen one in ages.” She sounded amazed. Like a science teacher staring at a completed equation. “Tell me, demon, what’s your name?”

Oh, this was going to be good. We’d refrained from telling the aunties about Damon until he wanted to be known, but it seemed he was done hiding, and Jason had finally decided to embrace him.

“His name is Damon,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Maddie snorted, and Pip outright laughed, placing her hand on her chest. “A demon named Damon... Now I’ve heard everything.” Cupping her mouth with her ring-clad fingers, she winked at me and said, “And I’ve been around for centuries.”

“W-What?!” I sputtered, but she was already talking again.

“Well, Damon,” she said with her hands on her hips, “you’re just going to have to learn how to share that body. Don’t test me.” She wagged a finger at him as if he were a child. “I will spell you if I have to. Now give the poor guy his body back and stop terrorizing my niece.”

“I’m going for a walk,” I said, setting my empty mug down in the sink. “I’ll be back in a while.”

Norman stood up, his chair scraping against the floor as everyone looked at him. “You want me to come with you?” I saw Michael frown at Norman, but Freddy and Jason were smirking.

I finally looked at Norman, our eyes connecting across the dining room. The tension between us was thick, and I suddenly felt like my tongue was swollen. It was hard trying to figure out this new dynamic we seemed to have all of a sudden. Just the other day, he hated me, and now he was staring at me like I meant something more to him.

Shaking my head, I backed towards the door. “I’m good. I’ve got Jessica to keep me company.” I stuck out my open palm and watched as Jessica came skittering over, leaping up into my hand with a shot of her web out of her butt and making her way towards my shoulder.

“We’re going on an adventure!” she squealed in my ear. I grinned at my spider.

Well, all right then,” said Auntie Fe. She turned from her tea kettle and gave me a thin smile. “Whatever you do, please try and avoid the Hangry Forest.”

“Believe me, Auntie, nothing about either word you just said sounds even remotely inviting.” I stood there awkwardly for a second. “Can I actually talk to you two in private for a second? Something’s been on my mind.” I avoided Norman's hot glare at me as my aunties glanced at each other and followed me to the front door.

“What’s on your mind, dear?” Auntie Pip asked curiously, her gaze worried as she grabbed my hand with a small pat on my wrist, a comfortable touch.

“I’ve been hearing voices,” I whispered so low that both of them leaned in closer with their brows wrinkled.

“Oh, child, don’t we all? There, there. Nothing to worry about; they’ll go away in time.” Auntie Fe clicked her tongue and taped her temple.

“Not like…” I sighed dramatically and didn’t miss their eyes connecting with worry. “I mean, ever since we got here, I’ve been hearing the guys’ thoughts,” I said in a rush, knowing how crazy I sounded.

“Ohhhh!” they both said with a relieved breath at the same time with a small giggle. “That is perfectly normal, my sweet girl. It’s just a necromancer’s curse, but it can be a gift if you let it.” Auntie Fe clapped her hands in excitement.

“See, on the night of the accident, you used your gift to bring everyone back. Well, it connected you to those young men's souls because you, well, uh, were already connected on a deeper level from before.” Auntie Pip swiped a white piece of my hair behind my ear, her gaze far away, until she looked back at me with a proud smile. “The heart always knows,” she muttered under her breath, but I was hardly paying attention.

“So you’re telling me I’m actually not making this shit up and can really hear their thoughts?” They both nodded quickly and waited for my reaction of panic and tears.

“This is so cool! Although it’s very jumbled half the time, I’m a freaking mind reader!” I grinned, plotting evil, mad genius revenge with my new superpowers.

“Now that’s what I'm talking about! Let the plotting begin!” My aunties gave me a kiss on both of my cheeks and laughed with a shooing motion.

“Get out of here, silly girl, and maybe keep it a secret for now. You never know when you’ll need to get inside a man’s mind without him knowing.” They giggled and went back to the kitchen, muttering excitedly like proud parents when their kid came home with straight A’s.

Finally, I fled the room, making my way through the house and out the front door before anyone else could try to stop me. I needed to be alone for a little while and have some time to think. Besides, there was a place I really needed to visit. The moons were bright as I walked down the street. Lucky for me, the layout of this town was still the same as it’d always been.

The aunties’ manor was only down the street from town, so I decided to head straight through Main Street. I could have gone the shorter way and skirted the busy shopping area packed with people, but I decided to poke around a little on my way to the cemetery.

I needed to see for myself where my parents were buried. The aunties had told me they’d been buried in a consecrated grave; therefore, they’d be present in both the mortal world and this world. I remembered the day we got here, when I passed the cemetery on that long stretch of country road. It had looked so different, and immediately dread settled in my stomach. I needed to have access to their burial site to be close to them, even if it was just me sitting on their plot for hours on end, talking to them about nothing and everything.

Nobody paid any attention to me as I passed them, not like they had the first time I’d come through here like a fresh tourist. I wondered how many mortals these people saw on a regular basis, or if we’d been the only ones. Well, I supposed that wasn’t true, technically. We weren’t mortals any more, not really. All of the people I cared about died on that bus, including Maddie. If she’d been thrown from the bus, she probably wouldn’t even be here right now. She’d be back in the mortal world, her parents laying her to rest with all of the other passengers who hadn’t made it.

My dark purple cloak made it easy to blend in. People brushed shoulders with me, not batting an eye. I saw all kinds of creatures that I never really had a chance to get a good look at. Just like at school, there were people with oddly colored skin—blues, greens, purples, and swallow grays. I saw a little girl back by the candy shop who had ram’s horns sticking out of her head and cloven feet peeking from beneath her pink dress.

I smiled at two women standing outside Toil and Trouble Tea, wearing long, flowing dresses and witch hats. Apparently, it was the fashion here in Midnight Hollow. One of the women was stirring a huge cauldron that smelled like vanilla as I passed them. No wart hairs in sight. They both gave me sweet smiles, and the one with long gray hair winked. I promised myself I’d hit up that tea shop later, at some point.

The more I walked, the more I saw banners for that festival. Turning to Jessica, who perched on my shoulder, I asked, “So what’s with the festival?”

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