Calista Player surveyed her prey with excitement. It had been far too long since she'd had the chance to wander Jubilant Accosts. Everything was going according to plan, including Xexys' tantrum. He was always so predictable.
The old woman she'd been waiting for emerged from the house to water her flowers and Calista saw her chance to strike.
"Mom? Is that you?"
Delicia Lingren dropped the watering can in her hand in shock and stared with disbelief at the sight before her.
"Guthini? Is that you? Has the Watcher returned you to me?"
Delicia had given her son to the Watcher when the Proxy had decreed that Guthini was needed. He was resting with the hallowed dead in the sacred grounds of the Jacobean faith, not standing on the road in front of her.
But it was impossible to deny what she saw. The clothes were a little strange, but it was the same hair, the same eyes...it was a miracle.
"Mom, do what the lady says. You have to-the Watcher needs your help."
Guthini's voice was just how Delicia remembered it. He had always been quieter than the other boys his age, and more sensitive. Perhaps that was why the Watcher had needed him in the first place.
"Lady?" Delicia turned her head in the direction her son was facing. "Oh! I didn't see you there. Hello."
Her words felt awkward, but she was still processing her dead son speaking with her again. Whoever this girl was, she would have to wait for Delicia's brain to catch up. Why was this girl with Guthini anyway? How was any of this happening?
"Hello," Calista replied cheerfully. "I've come to make you an offer. You know how things have changed around here since Xexys decided to throw a tantrum. The Proxy is gone, and outsiders are crossing the border to save their own realm. Men are giving birth, there's a blood demon hybrid down the street-things are changing fast!"
Delicia tried to nod politely, but there was something eerie about this teen. The way she spoke, the way she moved...there was just something off about her. She didn't feel real, though Delicia was conversing with her dead son at the moment, so who knew what was real anymore.
"What's a blood demon hybrid?" Delicia asked curiously. "Is it like the Demon of Nightmares, but with blood? I've never heard of a demon outside of Xexys."
"Ha! I suppose it is a little like Xexys if he was concerned with blood," the girl laughed. The mere sound of her laughter sent a chill into Delicia's bones. "Anyway, your family has served the Watcher faithfully, even giving up your child to him when he asked. What if I told you that the Watcher was willing to reward your devotion? Is there anything that you would want from him? Wealth? Power? Youth?"
"The Watcher couldn't grant a woman as old as I am with youth," Delicia scoffed. This conversation didn't feel real, so why even pretend that such a miracle could happen.
"The Watcher can do whatever he wants. If you want to be a teen again, it can be done. If you want to be a an infant again, sure, why not?"
Delicia's eyes flickered to Guthini. Calista caught this glance and smiled.
"If you want your son back, I can do that. Hell, I can bring anyone back. I could turn your dog into a goat or your baby into a countertop. I just need one little favour from you. The Watcher has a plan for Yacothia."
Lea Lindgren watched her mother in law converse with the air for at least ten minutes. Delicia had gone out to garden, only to hallucinate. Hopefully, their neighbour, Jakobina, wasn't around to witness this moment of weakness. They would never hear the end of it if she had.
"Delicia?" Lea asked gently, walking up behind the older woman. "Are you okay? Who are you talking to?"
Delicia beamed, her face an expression of pure joy Lea never thought she'd see on a woman who had suffered so much.
"The Watcher is going to return Guthini," she exclaimed. "It's a miracle! All I have to do is trust in the Watcher, and do as he asks when the time comes!"
Lea pulled away from her mother in law, searching her face for any sign of fever or delirium.
"The Watcher told you this just now? Delicia, you were talking to the air! There was no one there. Besides, the Proxy is gone and the Jacobeans are in shambles. Perhaps this was just a trick of the Demon of Nightmares meant to lead you into his web of lies. Come inside, and I'll make you some tea. We can try to talk through this."
Delicia shook her head adamantly.
"This was real," she promised Lea. "Guthini is coming back. The Watcher is going to destroy Yacothia and remake it as he pleases, and then Guthini will come back. All I have to do is accept his plan, and follow the commands of someone called the Dream Guardian."
Lea smiled weakly, while ushering her mother in law towards the house where her words wouldn't be overheard by the neighbours.
"Okay. That sounds very interesting, Delicia. Did the Watcher give you a time when this will happen? A couple of months? A year or two?"
"No, the girl was very clear. This will all happen soon. Very soon."
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The Lindgrens have lived in Yacothia—no, they're calling it Jubilant Accosts now—for longer than anyone, especially the Jakobssons, no matter what anyone says. In fact, their family descends matrilineally from Jacob himself. They have the magic to prove it, and it's even manifested physically in their most powerful family members.Â
Delicia Deering wants only for her son to become the heir he's meant to be. Really it should have been his brother, but Guthini joined the Watcher instead, so she's stuck with Jakob as her heir. At least she's made him a good match with Lea. If nothing else, the two of them should be able to foster another generation of Lindgrens to make sure they keep their social power, and aren't unseated by the Jacobsson family.Â
As the best business woman in the community, Delicia has kept her family on good terms with the Proxy by earning her keep with her economic knowhow. Which is certainly for the best, since she's heard rumours that he doubts the claims that magickal markings—and especially the horns—are truly a gift from Jacob to show someone's magickal ability. Likely the work of the Jakobssons, as their questionable behaviour can't possibly be seen as proper in the eyes of the Watcher, and yet Jakobina and her pack of ne'erdowells still sport the same horns and marks as the Lindgrens! Delicia is sure she's up to something nefarious in order to keep them.Â
Adam peered into the dark night that had fallen over Jubilant Accosts. He heard the distant howl of wolves and a shiver ran down his spine. He was immensely grateful that he, Theo, Abercius, and Despina had found shelter before it got dark. There were things in the night that he desperately didn't want to run into.
This house had been assigned to Adam and Theo's mission by Mita, who hadn't disclosed to the teens how it came to be available for them. The entire house was covered in ash with suspicious patches of what looked just like blood sprinkled around it. Adam couldn't be sure if this house was empty because of its condition or if every house in Jubilant Accosts was like this and this had just been in Mita's family or something. Either way, Adam was desperately hoping that there had been some horrible mistake and their real base of operations would be announced at any moment. There was a creepy statue in the back of the yard with ground that had clearly been disturbed all around it. Was it a grave? A warning? A tribute to those lost in whatever fire had clearly happened inside? Adam wasn't sure that he wanted those questions answered.
"Adam, stop staring outside like you're about to be devoured by werewolves," Despina ordered, noting her cousin's fearful fascination with the backyard. She was too busy trying to copy the hairstyle of the blue woman on the wall to pay direct attention to her cousin, but he had been quiet enough for the past few minutes for Despina to assume that his anxiety was spiraling out of control. "Do you think this looks right? I think it looks right."
"Who cares about your hair when we don't have any defenses against all the things we were warned about!" Adam snapped. "The doors lock, but what good will that do against Xexys? Coby Wall isn't going to see a locked door and just walk away! Plus, I'm eighty percent sure that there's a mass grave in the backyard. No, ninety percent. What if there are zombies that come out of their grave at night? I've seen pictures of Theo's grandfather and I can't die like that!"
Instead of being fearful and focused on what might be, Theo took a moment to celebrate what actually was.
"I just realized that we're all alone here," he said excitedly. "There's no adults aside from Mita and his wife who, let's face it, didn't seem to be interested in whatever's going on here. My dads would die if they knew I was completely unsupervised, especially with Adam. We can eat or do whatever we want! We can have pancakes for dinner and ice cream for breakfast."
Adam took a break from his paranoid watching to roll his eyes at his ex.
"You're always so mature, Theo," he sighed. "No wonder you still sleep in dinosaur pajamas. Ice cream for breakfast? The fate of our realm is at stake, and all you care about is being away from your parents' rules?"
"You remember how strict they are," Theo replied, still celebrating this win even if Adam was right about the severity of their situation. "They'd be inspecting the gear Mita gave us for contraband and making us sleep in separate rooms."
"It does feel weird that no one is watching over us," Despina admitted. "Even the orphanage did better with the staff they could afford. I know that Mita was the contact to the coven, but who supplied all of our sleeping bags and food? What factions benefit from our being here? What if Coby Wall wants us here for some scheme or is poisoning the food? The coven was in a rush to end the plague threat, they may have fallen for a trap without realizing it."
"We're here to stop Xexys. He's the main enemy," Adam pointed out. "There's threats everywhere we look in this realm, but we need to focus on him. He's the answer to saving my family."
"Are they supplying the food for as long as we're here or do we have to ration this?" Theo asked. He thought of all the ways his father had shown him to make food last longer and was suddenly grateful for the lesson. "I saw a fridge on the main floor and we have electricity in the house, so we can store stuff safely. We can protect the property as much as we can with magic. I'm pretty sure that our sigils will work the same here as they do at home."
"Is there a way to communicate with your coven?" Abercius asked hopefully. His face fell when his companions all shook their heads. "This wasn't a very well planned mission. Despina and I just joined without permission, and none of us have a clue what to do next."
"You can't blame Master Maricourt-Toyonaga," Adam insisted, looking distressed at the criticism. "My dad ran everything for years, and usually had my mom there to help. Now the coven doesn't have either of my parents and it's being run by someone who has spent most of the last few years in Arkhelios. There's so many different factions that make up the coven and my dad complains all the time about how hard it is to make them agree. That's why my nephews were born, to unite the coven. Master Maricourt-Toyonaga isn't from the right bloodline either, so some people are probably giving her the same crap my dad gets."
"Master Maricourt-Toyonaga sent her own brother to open the portal," Despina revealed. "He said that he studied dream magic a little, but couldn't wield it, so it's not like she's not putting her own family at risk too. I'm sure that once the coven can decide on a plan of action, we'll have a message from them. Until then, we just have to learn as much as we can."
"There's been a lot of panic ever since the plague began," Abercius stated. "There's a lot of people who fled our settlement after we stopped hearing from the Proxy. If we need to find a new base camp, there's a lot of empty houses. That's probably how Mita gave us this one. I saw that Shadowvale was closed when I stepped out of the portal. All the schools were closed in that area. With no Proxy and no schools open, I don't know what else is left. We need to find out who is still here and what's actually being done. There are still families other than mine that could be saved. Maybe some of them are fighting back and we could help them."
"That would be great if we could find someone who actually knew what they were doing," Despina sighed. "To find anyone or to know if they're trustworthy, we need to know what happened here." Her eyes narrowed at Abercius. "You need to tell us what happened to you here. Everything."
"Brion and I told you everything," Abercius insisted. "My sister got her girlfriend pregnant, my parents went to see the Proxy, my parents caught the dream plague, and we had to escape before we did too. That's it."
Despina shook her head quickly. She could hear the nervousness in his voice. He wasn't telling them everything.
"What happened to your little brother you mentioned or the friend who's not your girlfriend? We can't make this mission work if we don't know what we're up against, so spill."
Abercius' face flushed with emotion, but he eventually nodded in agreement despite his feelings.
"Okay. I know. It's...it's just hard to think about, plus I don't know a lot about the politics. Kids don't exactly have adult things explained to them in great detail here."
"Adult things?" Theo asked, suddenly tuning back into the conversation. "Does no one give you the talk here? Sebastian knew a lot about sex and I'm sure Coby Wall didn't ever talk to him about it. Your schools must teach you something about it."
Both Darktide cousins stared at Theo in astonishment.
"We're talking about adult subjects like murder, Theo," Despina replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't know how you manage to remember spells with your limited attention span and a mind that's always in the gutter."
"Anyway," Adam interrupted before Theo could defend himself. "Abercius, just do your best to remember what you can. Even if you don't know why the adults were doing something, it's good to at least have an idea of what to look out for."
Abercius sat on the floor and the other teens followed.
"Well, you know about why we left," he said slowly, trying to think about what memories might have been important. "Truthfully though, things were already getting bad before Helena's baby. There's a reason we knew things were hopeless with the adults and that it was dangerous for Phuong to stay in Jubilant Accosts. There...there was something that I witnessed before all that happened that made me realize that my sister wasn't safe here."
"My brother and I were over at the Dean house," Abercius began. "I don't have a ton of friends, and James had even less-has even less. I'm choosing to believe that he's still alive somewhere. My mom would arrange playdates for him to socialize with other kids, and I had to go as his chaperone to make sure that he wasn't being mean to the other kids. Helena refused to do it, and Brion was adopted, so Mom made me watch him. She was getting really cagey around Brion just before we left, and she kept mentioning his adoption in conversation. I think she was starting to realize that he was different in a way that was dangerous to the family. Dad was oblivious, of course, as he always was."
"The Deans are nice people. Mr and Mrs Dean had a friend from school named Andre who lived with them. He helped out with the kids and around the house and was generally well liked. The Proxy was intent on matching Andre with a faithful wife, but he would always decline the offer. He was always so good with kids that even the Proxy began to consider if a marriage was the right choice for Andre. He thought that perhaps Andre's calling might be in ministry as a teacher because Andre never showed an interest in marriage or dating; he was just content to live with his married friends and care for children."
"James' playdates would usually include Jason, the Dean's surviving son, and other kids from the neighbourhood, and their older friends or siblings often came to hang out too. There were some people that I really thought of as friends...and then there was Tiffany."
"Tiffany Dean is a jerk who made it her mission to be mean to me. She made fun of me in school and said I was too girly to fit in. That she'd never known a single boy who looked and acted as much like a girl as I did."
"We got in trouble a bunch of times at school growing up. Eventually, we were placed in different classes as we got older and grew into our future roles. I didn't see her much at school, just at the Dean house for James' visits. She never had a boyfriend or even a really close friend. Her family preferred their privacy, though I didn't know why that was until later."
"Mrs. Lindgren lived down the street from our house and would sometimes bring her young son along with her to introduce him to the other kids. Truthfully, I think she was just lonely. My mother often said that Mr. Lindgren was a wicked man with an unholy wandering eye even though his wife was faithful to him. Poor Mrs. Lindgren married into a volatile family with a bitter rivalry with their neighbours across the street. Both families are related to each other in complicated ways that I never bothered to learn. To be honest, outside of Mrs. Lindgren and maybe her mother in law, I try to avoid those families if I can. There's something not quite right about them."
"Are they demons or vampires?" Despina asked curiously. "Maybe lizard people disguising themselves as humans? Do we have to investigate them as part of Xexys' plot?"
Despina tried to hide her disappointment when Abercius shook his head.
"No, I think even Xexys wouldn't want to deal with them if he didn't have to," he replied. "It's something to keep in mind, I guess. They may have figured out a way to deal with the plague. That or they've already killed each other."
Abercius stared at the worried faces of his companions and frantically began to backtrack before they began to panic about another warring section of Jubilant Accosts.
"I'm sure they haven't killed anyone," he lied. "They're probably just as worried and scared as the rest of us. We'll probably run into them and they'll be fine. Better than fine."
"If they were lizards, they'd have scales, right?" Theo interjected before Abercius could ramble about anything else. "Do they have scales or like razor sharp teeth and fangs? I've never seen anything like that before. They sound awesome."
"That does sound awesome," Despina agreed. Beside her, Adam groaned at her fascination.
"I'm sure they're not giant, talking, magic using lizards. That's ridiculous. Either way, Abercius was about to tell us something actually important, right?"
"I think lizard people are important," Theo scoffed. "Especially if Xexys doesn't like them. They may have an idea of how to defeat him. We should investigate everyone we can just in case."
"They're not lizard people!" Adam snapped. "Do you ever take anything seriously, Theo? Don't you want Sebastian and the rest of my family to wake up? Why is everything a joke to you?"
"You called Sebastian a part of our family," Despina interrupted before Theo could snap back at his ex. "I'm proud of you, Adam. When he wakes up, Sebastian will be so happy to hear that you've accepted him after all of your jealousy towards him."
Adam opened his mouth, only to have Abercius jump in before a fight broke out.
"We'll go investigate the Lindgrens," he promised, eager to avoid a brawl. "I haven't seen scales on their skin in the past, but you never know. Mrs. Lindgren has always been nice to me, but maybe she's hiding something that will help us."
"Anyway, as I was saying, things were going fine until Andre came home from work. He waved at everyone and started talking to Tiffany, and then...something terrible happened."
"Andre began showing signs of a pregnancy. No one had ever seen a pregnant man before. It was unheard of. Impossible. How did a man even get pregnant? Who was the father?"
"Ezra and Winnie Dean took the news about their friend in stride. It barely seemed to bother them that their impossibly pregnant friend was standing in their driveway in full view of the town. After the shock began to wear off, people started connecting the dots and guessing who the potential father could be. It was impossible, but if it had happened, then it only made sense that the Deans were a part of this mess too."
"Everyone was frightened at the thought of what the Watcher had allowed to happen. Was this a test? Was this an abomination of the Watcher's word or a miracle?
We didn't have to wait long for an answer. The Proxy and his guards soon took over the scene and dispersed the crowd that had gathered. I was standing next to Tiffany and was grabbed with the rest of the Dean family. Tiffany watched as her parents were escorted upstairs with the proxy, and she and I were left alone in the living room with a guard posted at the door."
"As much as we fought before, Tiffany needed someone to stay with her, and I couldn't fight with her, knowing that her family was in trouble. For the first time in her life, Tiffany was actually being vulnerable and my parents raised me to help those in need, even if they were a jerk most of the time. The Watcher demands sacrifice, but He also appreciates mercy. Holding back from attacking an enemy in the name of peace is sometimes a sacrifice in itself. The Watcher was right about this, as Mom says He always is. Tiffany was transformed by the trauma consuming her house and she confided in me. I might be the last person she ever saw alive and she had to confide in someone. She told me...well, I guess it's okay if I tell you since you're trying to help me find her, and your realm is usually more accepting of these things, but...Tiffany told me that her parents weren't the only people in their family to have deviant desires. She didn't want to marry a man one day as the Proxy commanded; she wanted to marry a woman instead. I knew that Helena had similar feelings for Phuong, but Tiffany too? I couldn't believe it. All this time, Tiffany was just like my sister, feeling the same fear she did about expressing her feelings. We all had secrets we were keeping from our neighbours. Who knows what could have happened if we'd all just come forward and recognized that all of us were living in fear of being judged? My sister, Phuong, Tiffany and her parents...."
"Your dad too," Theo interrupted, looking pleased with himself for remembering. "Sebastian called it when he heard about your dad's affair. He definitely hooked up with your uncle, so there's even more queer people in your family. It sounds like half the town isn't straight, so maybe this is a good time to change some stupid laws."
"Theo!" Adam and Despina both hissed the name at once, horrified at Theo's lack of respect. Edana would have punished the teens severely if she caught them speaking like this, and Adam knew that the Bellamys had certainly tried to teach Theo proper manners. The guy was oblivious about other people's feelings if he thought a situation was boring. Adam was seriously considering finding a spray bottle to correct Theo's terrible behavior just like he did when Too scratched his bedpost at school.
A dark look passed over Abercius' face as he considered Theo's words.
"I'm starting to learn so much about the people I once thought I knew so well," he said at last. "I've talked with Helena and Brion, and Sebastian's theory isn't that farfetched. My Uncle Trysten always said that I was like the son he'd never had and that I reminded him so much of himself at my age...I don't know. Helena is more convinced than I am, but for my dad to cheat on my mom with her own brother? That's horrible."
"Not if it's for love," Theo declared. "They got married basically because the Proxy said to. Who you love is a different thing entirely. My parents married for love, even though their families hated their relationship, and I'm going to do the same someday. You can do anything as long as it's for love, even if it pisses people off."
Adam looked worriedly at Despina, only to find her nodding along with Theo.
"Absolutely. Even Jasper's grandfather told him to marry for love like he did, and his mother and grandmother did before him. Anything is okay if it's for your soulmate."
"Anything?" Adam asked wearily. "Like sacrificing children and leaving a kid with a deadly assassin?"
"My mom and Dad weren't soulmates," Despina scoffed. "Maybe they died before they found their soulmates, but Dad says that they haven't even seen each other since they died."
"What??" Adam stared at his cousin, unwilling to continue this ridiculous line of logic. She and Theo seemed to be sharing the same brain cell when it came to relationships. "And if you cheated on your soulmate? Abercius' parents obviously made three kids together to keep up the illusion. But it was all for love, after all. Can you accept cheating when your soulmate does it?"
Adam stared intensely at his ex-boyfriend, curious to see his reaction to the question. If he wanted to drone on about love, then Adam had some follow-up questions.
"If it's your soulmate, then probably," Theo replied, his face flushing with emotion. "Only if it's them though. Any other boyfriend can't be forgiven."
"It sounds like I'm missing something here," Abercius interrupted, looking confused. "I obviously haven't been told much about my parents' relationship, so I can't tell you who's wrong or right in their marriage, only that they did seem happy. My dad cheated, and he's a little oblivious at times, and my mom loves the rules of the Proxy over her own children, but they did seem happy when I was growing up. I don't know what soulmates look like though, and I doubt that I'll ever know. I'm not like most guys my age."
"What does that mean?" Despina asked, kicking her cousin in the leg to make him stop staring at Theo like some kind of creep. "You're a great guy. You're definitely a better guy than these two idiots who haven't matured past the sixth grade."
Theo and Adam each shot Despina a dirty look, but didn't dare get into another squabble with her that they knew they'd lose.
"I...I told Tiffany something about me that might make her feel less afraid," Abercius confessed, looking nervously at the three faces watching him. "She may feel attracted to girls, but...I...I feel like I'm not a guy." Abercius tensed, waiting for the judgment of his peers, but the other teens almost seemed bored with his confession. "I feel like I don't know what I am inside. I sort of feel like a girl, but I also feel like maybe that's wrong too. I'm so confused, but I've never been able to tell anyone about my feelings before. Only Brion and Helena know because they caught me trying one of Helena's dresses on. I thought they'd gone out for the afternoon, and Mom and Dad and James were out at the park. I've never been so scared before in my life, but they were understanding about it. Helena was only mad that I didn't ask her before trying on her clothes, and Brion said that he knew all about having his body not matching what his brain thought about himself."
"Oh, cool. When you figure out how you feel, we'll be here to support you," Despina promised. She almost looked disappointed that Abercius' secret wasn't related to their hunt for Xexys. "Only you can decide how you feel though. Don't let anyone like the Proxy or your parents tell you who you are."
"How did Tiffany take the news?" Theo asked, sensing the potential for drama. "Did she freak out about it?"
Abercius flushed at the memory.
"Well, uh, she sort of kissed me," he replied. "Completely out of nowhere! With our secrets revealed and her family in danger from the Proxy...it just sort of happened. I still think that she's not my biggest fan, but we bonded that day. In all of Jubilant Accosts, we knew that at least we had someone who was different like we were. I promised her that I would help her. I'm still not sure what I can do to help her, but I promised her and I won't break that promise. I had to come back with you guys to keep that promise. Tiffany has to be alive, and she needs to be saved."
"After about an hour, we heard screaming coming from outside the house. The Proxy had made his decision, and Tiffany's parents were killed for their crimes against the Proxy. They were murdered for being different. They were murdered for being just like Helena, Tiffany, and me. I didn't see what happened to Jason, but I hope that he escaped. He wasn't there when the guards came for Tiffany, so I really hope that he's okay somewhere. Maybe I can find him too."
"They took Tiffany away and sent me home to my parents. I honestly thought that she would be murdered too, but my dad...he said that the Proxy hadn't sentenced her to the same punishment as her parents. It was in the paper the next day. Completely sanitized and omitting any mention of the male pregnancy, but the important details were there. The unnamed sins of the Dean family were laid bare for all Jacobeans. Their children weren't mentioned, so there's a chance that they're alive. I promised Tiffany that I'd help her and with your help, I know I can find them."
Despina was the first teen to be able to articulate a response to Abercius' words. Theo and Adam seemed to both be trapped in shared horror over the society they had been sent to save.
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