A pale morning had come to Forest West. The light arrived slowly, leaving bands of violet and pink as it climbed over the mountains, hills, and trees and pushed back the fingers of dewy fog. Against the sunlight, the old mansion struck a dark, proud silhouette. On its roof, a patinaed weathervane creaked softly as it turned in the wind, adding to the gentle rustle of the budding lilacs and towering pine and oak trees on the manor grounds. Standing outside the black wrought-iron gates Charlie stared up at the abandoned building, waiting for Ignis to join her.

The place had once been the main home for the family line, but a massacre in 1833 ended its use. The last of Moonfall's goddess bloodline—a woman named Cadence—had been murdered along with her children. Why, or by whom, was scrubbed from every entry in that old leather journal, but it had always been a point of curiosity since Charlie first read about it.

The manor had been off limits as a child, and as such, it wasn’t familiar in the same way the rest of the sprawling forest was. Charlie knew all the old paths, what secrets they led to—like the old training grounds to the south or the hidden sprite spring to the northwest at the end of the mushroom path. Being off limits the old mansion had held a certain fascination and mystery for her as a child—and all the villagers, really. Rumors and ghost stories were always plentiful, and there was often speculation of buried former Guardians and Trusted that swirled around the place.

The odd quiet and stillness of the place had only increased and encouraged the tales. Big enough to house four families, the massive estate sat mostly vacant, unattended, with only the whispers of bygone times to keep it somewhat alive. But even now it held its silence in the morning light, shrouded in as much mystery as it ever had been.

Ignis hadn't wanted to go anywhere near it, but of course, Fate did so love laughing at their expense the past few weeks. They'd gotten a little too close to an abandoned sprite hut—or what they thought was abandoned—and offended the little guy that had taken refuge within. The explosion of magic in their direction caused them both to stumble into each other. Charlie dropped her bag, and naturally, the sprite grabbed it and took off.

"Of all places," Ignis groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Do we really need to enter the phoenix house?" He wasn't asking seriously, but more like as a quip to the Astrals themselves.

"I need that book, Ignis. It's got so much stuff in it that I don't even think Reiem knows."

He rolled his eyes with a groan. "Well, it's whatever. Not like I can stop you, right? So, anything I should know before going in?"

"Uh, well…the last of the bloodline here in Moonfall was murdered in there."

"…Great. Any monsters inside or…?"

Charlie shrugged. "I really don't know. We've all heard ghost stories, but nothing tangible." Looking over to him, she gave a gentle nudge with her elbow. "You can just keep me safe with your magic, right?"

Ignis sent her a questioning glance but remained silent. With how she watched his jaw tense, she knew it was something he still wasn’t ready to talk about. And she wouldn't push it further than that.

To Charlie's surprise, Ignis said, "I don't trust it yet."

She raised a brow, but let the comment go. Looking back to the building, she asked, "You ready?"

"No. But you're stubborn."

"More like determined." She swallowed her growing fear, rambling. "Like some adventurer on a fantastical fetch quest, driven with the promise of great riches upon return of a stolen treasure. C'mon, don't you wanna help the hero reclaim the stolen treasure?"

Ignis blinked, staring at her like he'd discovered the lowest lifeform on the planet. The look made a small laugh burst of Charlie. And despite the completely done look on his face, Ignis really did want to help her.

"Just answer something for me, then."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Why did that little shit have to go here? I mean, the Sprite Spring's literally down there." He jabbed a finger south, where the forest grew the thickest.

"Reiem did warn me they were little mischief makers."

"But he didn’t say anything about the hut."

Charlie shrugged. "Why would he?"

Ignis stared up at the house as if waiting for something to happen. "Do you even have a weapon on you?"

"Yeah. Always." Ignis raised a pale brow in her direction. Charlie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Fine, here. Look." She extended her hand, and with a shimmer of magic, her training sword materialized in her hand. She sent it away in the same manner. "Since Reiem and I are connected, both to each other and to the goddess, we can summon our weapons at will. Kinda like a Bag of Holding."

Ignis blinked. "That's…actually pretty awesome."

They settled into silence and turned back to the house.

"Let's get this over with."

The path leading up to the mansion seemed to stretch forever and yet it was only moments before the pair was standing on the grand porch, the elaborate door in front of them. Unsurprisingly it was open and shrieked on its hinges as Charlie pushed it open enough for them to peek inside. The sound made her toes curl and Ignis visibly shudder beside her.

"I swear to the Seven if something jumps out at us…"

Charlie shushed him, glaring at him and hissing, "Don't jinx it!" Ignis only groaned more.

The inside foyer was expansive and dusty but not at all overgrown or broken like the outside had been. If anything, it looked almost new, like someone had taken time to rebuild what she knew should have been burned down and utterly destroyed. And the place smelled. Of what Charlie could place almost immediately: Magic. It lingered in the air; slightly earthy and somewhat burnt. Ignis smelled it, too, for he threw a sharp look her way as if to say, 'Is that what I think it is?'

With a furrow of her brow, she moved ahead of him, her shoulders straight and stiff. Ignis didn’t seem to notice the slight hesitation in her steps as she moved.

What is all this?

Everything they passed was of finest quality and expensive taste. It was all just decoration, Charlie mused as they took in the house. A beauty patch to cover the ugly truth of the place. During her readings she hadn't overlooked the fact that this place had been destroyed in a blazing inferno the day Cadence and her family were hunted down and murdered in cold blood. In the entries that followed the event, a name had been given to the place: Death House. Of course, she hadn’t felt comfortable passing this information to Ignis. If she had, there was no way he would have let her go anywhere near it.

In fact, the place had been burned down many times, only to rise from the ashes again and again like some specter forced to relive its traumatic moment of death. But whether it was the will of the place itself or by that of the devils who'd condemned them, Charlie didn't know. Perhaps that was part of the curiosity that drew her in and fueled her morbid desire to investigate.

‡ † ‡

Charlie was nearly a nervous wreck by the time they'd finished searching the ground floor. Ignis hadn't had any luck either, and she was beginning to suspect that the thief had disappeared with her bag into whatever dimension it called home. She knew there was more to this building than just a manor—a sprawling underground area or even some secret rooms. If that little bastard sprite took her belongings down there it was definitely a goner.

She was half a breath away from giving up when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Turning towards the grand staircase, she slowly crept up them, crouching the higher she went.

Gotcha.

"Hi, you thieving little—"

She froze, falling silent as the sprite flinched and turned its large, black eyes her way. The way it just stared with its beady eyes seemed to be mocking her. The little shit knew what it was doing.

"You find it?" Ignis whispered, silently following her lead.

"Here little sprite," she tried, holding her hand out as she crept closer to the top step. If she was smart, she would have brought some offerings with her in case she ran into any sprites. Instead, she was just going to have to snatch the bag up, and not let go when the sprite inevitably bombarded her with its magic for the offense.

Charlie was inches away from the strap of her bag when the sprite bolted across the landing, speeding up the righthand steps.

"Get back here!" she shouted.

Ignis bolted past her, hot on the thing's heels. Clambering up the small set of stairs after the tiny blur of color, they skidded at the opening to the hall. Looking quickly in both directions, they tried to see which way the thief sprite went.

"There!"

Charlie pointed to the right just as the sprite began moving again. Ignis saw it, and the chase was on. He was faster than the sprite, but he had a height disadvantage where he couldn’t get down low enough to grab the bag before the little thief burst out of reach again. Cursing, he pushed himself to go faster. He got close enough to snatch it up, then the sprite turned on a dime and bolted into the last room on the left side of the hall, leaving Ignis scrambling against his own momentum. Unfortunately, the dusty floor was just as slippery as a wet floor, sending him skidding forward before his foot slid out from under him and he fell directly on his ass.

The only reason Charlie wasn’t howling with laughter was that she didn’t want to distract herself from where the sprite had gone. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide the smile pulling at her lips. She came to a stop before Ignis and lost herself to laughter at his expression. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes as the sprite casually bumbled about inside the room, chirping as though laughing in its own way.

Ignis lost it. His face went red, and any sense of composure he had broke. He clenched his fists, slamming them into the floor. Around the spots of impact, crackling plumes of black energy burst up, coiling up his arms. Though she couldn't stop the barrage of giggles coming out of her, Charlie still felt bad enough to offer him a hand up. Ignis considered her hand for a moment, and then heaved a sigh.

"That little bastard is dead," he muttered, throwing a scathing look into the room.

"Don't you dare kill my sprite."

Before he could hurl abuse her way, a heavy grinding drew their attention, followed by a loud, echoing thud. Ignis took Charlie's hand and scrambled to his feet, both rushing into the room.

It looked to be a bedroom, but with how many books were piled onto the bed and around it told of how little it might have been used. In the far back corner they both watched in surprise as an angel statue turned around in its alcove, hiding from sight what they thought to be a secret passage. Charlie rushed forward but slowed to a stop as the statue clicked into place and fell still. She grumbled a few choice curses about the sprite, the house and its secrets.

"I guess we look for a switch," she breathed. "Or lever or keypad or…whatever. The journals mentioned something, so it's gotta be here."

She turned, darting her eyes around the room. Like back in Reiem's home, she moved the books, searching the backs of the shelves for anything out of place. She found nothing.

Ignis circled around the bed at the center of the small bedroom, stepping over fallen books that seemed to have been dumped from the broken shelves in the wall.

"Nothing like a switch here, either. Maybe those journals lied?"

Charlie let out a heavy sigh, her mind trying to piece together too much at once. "With how adamant Grandma and Reiem both seemed to keep anyone away from this place, there has to be something more than just some building," she muttered, crossing the room and making her way towards the aforementioned statue.

As she drew close, she could smell the burning petrichor stronger than before. Like with the shelf in Reiem's house, it came from thin, nearly invisible cracks around the statue's edges. There was also a strong smell of copper. While Ignis shifted books and checked the other shelves for any hint of a button or lever, Charlie kept her gaze firm on the statue.

The woman's hands were held out as if holding something. Oddly enough, the hands were empty. On an untouched shelf beside the alcove were a set of fine, fragile wine glasses. Years' worth of dust coated them, but squinting in the faint light revealed traces of fingerprints on only one of them. She turned her head to check the hands, noticing it seemed big enough for a glass to fit. Picking one up, she carefully placed it into the statue's hands.

As soon as her fingers left the cup, the statue's arms rotated downward several degrees, and with starling swiftness the statue receded into the wall and rotated, revealing a secret passage. Beyond was a murky black staircase lit by electrical lights.

"Of course," Charlie groaned.

"And this is the part where we go home and forget about this place, right?" Ignis asked as the secret passage was revealed. Charlie shook slightly as she stepped inside, peering down the series of steps that spiraled into the darkness.

"If…" She swallowed thickly at the lump in her throat. "If I was just a normal person, yeah. We could leave. But this place isn't normal, Ignis. It shouldn't exist, but it does. And if there's something down there keeping it coming back…"

She trailed off, turning to look at whatever expression filled her friend's face. It wasn't what she expected. She'd expected him to be angry, worried like he had been the night Reiem awoke. Instead, she found a quiet contemplation, his ice blue eyes locked onto the steps as…something played across his features. If she didn’t know any better, she'd even go so far as to say he was remembering something. And not a pleasant something, by any means.

"Ignis." His name snapped his head up and he found green eyes simmering with emotions staring at him. Charlie's expression was soft, full of concern, as she spoke. "I know I'm the one who dragged us in here, but if you're that worried, we can leave."

Surprisingly, he shook his head.

"That's tempting, but whatever I felt earlier is…changed now. I've been thinking…" He looked around the room briefly before settling his gaze back on her. "What if whatever keeps this place coming back gets out? What if Reiem being asleep so long caused whatever kept this place gone broke and now it's trying to…I don’t know, get revenge or something?" He shifted, crossing his arms across his and letting out a deep, long breath. "We really should have Reiem here… Or even Mom."

Blinking, Charlie shifted her weight from foot to foot. A cold sensation was beginning to creep into her gut. "I'm sorry."

Ignis made a sound, then looked away. "Don't be. I know it's your job or whatever to do things like this. I just didn't want you to be underprepared when you did it. Is that so bad?"

Her heart warmed. "Not at all. You'll help keep me safe, right?"

A faint blush crept onto his face. "Wouldn't be here if I didn't care."

Charlie smiled, playfully shoving him. "Gods, don't be so sappy."

"I can be worse," he chuckled. "Like… Whatever happens, I'm right here with you. No matter what. Good enough?"

She made a fake sick face, turning away. Both turned their gazes back to the dark stairwell, all humor falling away.

‡ † ‡

As she drew closer to the bottom, Charlie could smell copper stronger than ever, finding a trail of it in the cobbled underground hall she and Ignis found themselves in. It came out of one of the closed rooms on the hall's left, going down to a clinical-looking door at the end. The smell nearly burnt her nose as she drew closer to the first door.

"Looks like a body was dragged from here…and I really don't think it was a sprite that did it." Charlie examined the large bloody imprints of cleated boots, leading from the blood's source.

"It smells recent," Ignis mumbled, following the trail with his eyes. "Looks it, too. Charlie, I really think we need to tell Reiem or Mom."

"You just said you were sticking with me on this."

"Well, yeah, but I didn’t realize we were going to potentially find a fucking body down here!"

The bloody trail had drag marks through it, most likely from the thieving sprite dragging the bag. Facing the door where the trail originated from, Charlie cautiously pushed it open. Inside, multiple coffins sat stacked against the walls with a few lying open—and thankfully empty—throughout the room. A solitary coffin sat closed in the room's center, and around it pooled a crazy amount of blood.

"This isn't what we're here for," Ignis whispered. "We can report it later. Come on."

She stood there for a few seconds, gathering herself and her thoughts. At Ignis's repeated urging, she left.

The door at the end of the hall was slightly cracked open, allowing curls of smoke to seep out. At Charlie's approach, Ignis held out a hand, pointing silently. The 'smoke' moved at they drew closer, seeming to make tiny grabbing motions. It was silent on the other side of the door, not even the sounds of the home settling, no noises from the horrors they feared hid within; though, there was a ringing beginning deep in Charlie's ears from the utter silence that hung them.

At Ignis's nod, she pushed the door open, noticing the sprite sat staring at them with bright, glowing eyes. Its little round body shifted side to side, its gaze curious and judging.

"Where's my bag, you little—"

The ball of light screeched angrily as it barreled towards her, glowing wildly with what could only be magic. Charlie tensed, expecting it to attack. Instead, a soft hissing sound triggered every survival instinct in her to get away. She and Ignis both jumped, dropping their eyes to the floor just in time to see the wispy smoke coalesce and lengthen…and solidify. Blazing red eyes met Charlie's for a split second before the creature attacked, wrapping its dark form around her ankles, dragging her to the ground with a yelp. Another snake formed from the smoke, setting its sights on Ignis, who stood frozen in place. His body went immediately went rigid, his pale eyes wide.

Charlie kicked her feet, struggling against the snake as it coiled up her legs, seeming to grow in length as it went. The hissing grew louder, and she grabbed it by the neck, squeezing hard as she desperately tried to free her legs. Seemingly unphased, the creature just elongated further and looped around her wrists, binding her hands together and moving up her arm.

"Ignis!" she shrieked. "Move! Do something!"

Another hiss tore from the snake's mouth. It dragged Charlie into the room, and the door slammed behind them.

‡ † ‡

He couldn't move. It was like his mind just stopped working—shattering into a million pieces that he couldn’t reach for. Nothing made sense in that moment. All he could see was a pair of blood red eyes burning into his core.

Ignis!

Charlie's voice echoed through him. The serpent coiled up around his legs, his hips, his waist. Still, he couldn't bring himself to move.

Move! Do something!

Breathing became nearly impossible as the snake wrapped tightly around his chest, then his shoulders. Somewhere on the dark edges of his vision he watched Charlie disappear into the room. The door slammed, and he felt it rip through him. She was gone.

Just like then…

As the cold, slender body of the serpent began to curl around his throat, the darkness bled through what little he could see until he could see no more. His eyelids became so heavy, drooping closed. He fought, but death was far closer than he thought, writhing in wait as the world vanished around him.

M̥͙͉̙͍̐̈́͗͑̉ỷ̠̪͆ son͍͚͋̂…̞̻̐͠

Burning through the darkness was a solitary eye—blue and weeping blood.

C̱̯͍͖͈̃̒͒͊̊a̡̤̬̺̓̾͛̈ń͍ ̝͞y̬͞o̚͢ü̟̦̹̞̾̚͘ ̝̊ḣ̳̪̼̍͠e͕͕͂͛â̛̠̦̥͚̮̇͂͛r ̛̠í̤̙͞t̏ͅ?̹̮̀̽ ͎́

Somewhere, Ignis could hear bells. They tolled like the sounds of madness ringing in the back of his mind. They held within their myriad tones a scratching song, one that cut away his primal fear. And he listened close. An ancient choir sang, all consuming, calling to him.

The burning reflected in his own eyes, banishing the darkness. The snake hissed again, but it came out almost as a whisper—weak, strangled, even. A malleable darkness seeped from Ignis's body, and wherever it touched, the snake dissolved into a fine dust. Curling his fingers, he cupped a black flame and shot it towards the door. The solid wooden barrier swirled inwards upon itself, cracking and splintering to the tune of the ancient song thrumming through his soul until it was no more.

Bookcases lined the room's small entry, abruptly ending at a corner that went off into a part he couldn't see. What he could see, however, left him cold. There, feet beyond the empty doorway, lay the first snake, its head separated from its body. Both its eyes were gone, as if burned away, and a thick, black-purple substance oozed from its parts. Crouched just before the corner was Charlie. The dark substance spattered her clothes, face, and arms.

Upon seeing Ignis, she raised a hand as if to motion him to be quiet, yet as he drew up to her, her eyes went slightly wide. She froze briefly but steeled her expression and motioned to him again. Slowly, Ignis crouched behind her. She continued to look at him, but he refused to meet her eyes. Something akin to shame at his own appearance burned through him.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered. He flicked his eyes up, and on seeing her smile—one warm and honest—the tension slowly left his body. He smiled back.

"Glad you are, too."

Something primal echoed just on the edges of his voice.

‡ † ‡

Their eyes shifted as one as they heard a shuffling followed by a peeping sound. Just around the bend, the room continued, lined by endless shelves full of countless books. And at the far back was a reading alcove. A desk sat in its center, piled high with tomes all covered in ages of dust and cobwebs.

"How many years…"

Bent over the desk was a woman—or what the pair assumed was one. Her form glowed faintly with a blackish hue, specks of energy spiraling around her. A triple after image followed her every move, each a different hue than the last. On the desk before her was the aged leather journal Charlie had become so endeared to.

"Young ones, your presence is known to me…"

Charlie's eyes flew to Ignis as she felt a cold tingling in her spine, a nearly indescribable pull that she knew meant they were in the presence of something wicked. She was so drawn to the woman, but the magic in her own veins kept her senses level. But there was something akin to a string connecting them. It yanked her to her feet and forward before she could even register she was moving. Ignis hissed her name but when she failed to stop or turn around, he, too, rose to follow. All the way down that narrow, book-lined hall, to a stop before the woman.

Now up close, her features were ghastly—a pale, half torn face with eyes reflecting a human mind warped by untold horrors. Her clothes hung loosely on her too-thin frame, holes revealed chunks of missing flesh, bones, and skin withered and cracked. Her straw-like hair stuck out from under a tattered hat. This woman, whoever she was, cracked a smile.

"How many years have passed since I was Guardian?"

Stunned by the question, Charlie blurted out, "I don't even know who you are."

"Cadence, dear. Cadence Roark."

"You were the woman in the book upstairs." Ignis shifted uncomfortably as those dead fish eyes moved onto him. "You and your kids… You were…"

Cadence hummed softly in reply. "I was. It was so unfortunate. Yet I must ask again. How many years? What is the date?"

"Uh, it's…2019," Charlie stammered out.

That smile seemed somewhat sad now. "Ah, it's been so long. My protector—he's forgotten all about me. Please, young miss. Please tell me. Has my protector avenged me? Has he slain the witch that stole my life?"

Sparing a quick glance to Ignis, Charlie shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"My dear," Cadence laughed softly. "He serves you now, doesn't he? As he once did me? Don't tell me a Guardian doesn't know her own servant?"

Something cold dropped into the pit of her stomach at that…but she couldn’t figure out why. More like she didn’t want to think about the fact Reiem and this woman were once lovers? It shouldn't have been surprising, seeing as he was older than the oldest cities on Äerd. He couldn't have always been cooped up in that tiny seaside village. It was only logical to assume he once had someone special to him. With a pang, Charlie realized the ending of their relationship was nowhere near a good one.

But it had ended. And gruesomely, at that. Just who was responsible for her death—and those of her poor children—was not something Charlie wanted to think about at all.

Shaking her mind back to the present, she swallowed around the lump in her throat. "Well," she began. "I'm not the Guardian yet. I'm training."

Cadence cocked her head, a motion that sent copied hues into the same repeated movement. "Training? Dear, how many years have you on this earth?"

"Um…I'm twenty-one."

The ghastly woman hummed again, this time low, contemplative. "Yet you are not Guardian, nine years past your time? Why have you failed?"

Charlie frowned. "I haven't failed," she snapped. "I just… I never got the chance to learn from my grandma. I'm home, now. And I'm trying. Isn't that what matters?"

Another smile crinkled that broken face, but something dark swam within her milky eyes. Charlie couldn't shake the feeling in her spine. Something was definitely wrong here.

"You’re so kind, stranger," Cadence sighed. "You have such a kind soul."

At this, Ignis stiffed at Charlie's side. She heard him shift, watched his fingers curl into fists. She quickly grabbed his hand to stop him raising it. She almost flinched at just how cold his skin was. He trembled. His eyes burned straight into Cadence. But what was his problem?

"I'm not a stranger. My grandma was Guardian, like her own dad and grandfather before her."

"Truly? Who are you, if I may ask?"

"Charlie," she replied, almost forcing a smile. The cold feeling intensified. "Charlie Elburn."

Whatever semblance of happiness—real or forced—drained from Cadence's face. She cocked her head to the side one more time, the colors following. A shaky breath, a tremble in her frail form. The milky whites of her eyes vanished, turning a solid, starless black. Ignis ceased his own trembling. He pulled his hand free.

"El…burn…" The two syllables burned low on Cadence's tongue.

Clouds of choking, black-purple miasma erupted from the wraith-woman's body. The lights of the small room began to flicker, and Charlie could have sworn that she saw multiple forms surrounding them when all went briefly dark. Demons. Eyes glowing red, mouths open and hungry. Her fingers twitched, and she reached out. Her sword appeared in her grip with a shimmer of magic, and Ignis, too, extended his hand. They both knew they had no choice now but to fight if they wanted to get out of that place alive.

Beside them, the shelves exploded, sending books and paper scraps flying in every direction. In front of them, an explosion went off, swirling and consuming all it touched in an inferno of black smoke and raging flame. A shattering crystal sound echoed within their heads. Around them a dome of blue-green light flashed to life, along with a swell of pain from the back of Charlie's neck. Her vision wavered and she stumbled, falling against Ignis, who grabbed her shoulders to help steady her.

The manor rumbled beneath their feet. Cadence. Echoing through the small confines of the room, they heard a multi-voiced shriek. Growling his own frustration, Ignis opened his hand towards the direction where the sounds came. Sharp pins of red and black light erupted from his hand, drawing in the darkness, the sound, swirling them all until their very substance tore and distorted. All of it swirled into his hand.

The shaking subsided. The shrieks were finally gone. The room grew silent again, save for the soft humming of Ignis's power, glowing darkly around them as he raised his own shield. He stepped forward, looking down at the spot on the floor where scorch marks etched out a strange design. It cut sharp angles, revealing in the whole of it a series of interconnected triangles within a circle.

"That's a valknut," Charlie gasped out. Cracks began to splinter across the dome. "Cadence's bloodline seal."

Blinking through the migraine quickly settling, she focused on the marks. Lying within one of the triangles, almost invisible for the soot that covered it, was the leatherbound journal. It didn’t have a single scorch mark on it. With a pang of anger, Charlie realized the flakes and shreds of blackened cloth that she dusted off of it must have been what remained of her messenger bag. She'd had that thing for nearly six years… She grabbed the book and held it close.

"She can't be gone," Ignis whispered. "I know I didn't kill her. All that build-up seems like a throw off."

"What did you even do?" She looked to him, and he seemed somewhat conflicted.

"It's a spell called Wither," he explained. "It slowly damages my target, causing them to disintegrate and eventually…die."

"Fuck me," Charlie blurted out in a shocked laugh. "This is what you can do?"

"This is why I hid it. The damage it could do…the damage it's already done…"

Charlie gripped her sword tighter, taking a stance and watching the room around them. Something wriggled on the outside of the barrier, worming and weaving like so many maggots. She swallowed thickly. She'd give anything to get out of there as quick as possible.

"Iggy, listen to me." When he glanced at her, she offered a smile. It seemed to put him at ease. To emphasize she was serious and not just saying words to get him to get her out of there, she touched his hand, lacing her fingers through his and squeezing. "I don't care what it's done in the past. You're you. You're here. And we're safe because of what you can do. Keep the barrier up and we can get out of here. I don't know what those—" Her nose wrinkled as she flicked her eyes back to the barrier. "—things are. And I don't wanna find out."

"Disgusting is what they are."

Charlie smiled again, gave his hand one more squeeze—one he returned—and then took her hand away. Ignis took in a breath, held it for a beat, two, then released it. Extending his palm, more black marks covered his exposed skin, and an orb of black burst to life with roiling purple flames above his palm.

They carefully maneuvered through the now dead-black hall. It was as if whatever rage the spirit of Cadence felt towards the Elburn line had destroyed the entire house. For a moment, they feared they'd somehow been thrown into some alternate world. Everything around them smoldered but looked frozen, crumbled to ash which then turned to a swirling snow. Ash kicked up in puffs at their feet but the sound their steps made was of crunching through fresh snow. It was absolutely bizarre.

Reaching the door—or what they thought was the door—it melted away like a thin wax in the presence of the barrier. Outside, the hall was in the same state. Still, Ignis kept the barrier up, not trusting anything they saw, heard, felt, or smelled. They kept their pace steady but cautious. Up the spiral stairs. Into the cluttered bedroom. To the grand staircase. And finally, outside. The land around the manor house was barren and dead, trash littering the grounds and trees twisted, leafless husks.

The phoenix house had reverted back to its destroyed self. How long would it stay like that this time? Looking to one another, they could only share a laugh, a strong embrace, just general relief they weren't dead among the still-smoldering embers that haunted the plot of abandoned, overgrown land. Still clinging to one another, spouting off about what a story they had to tell, Charlie and Ignis stumbled through the weeds and trees back to the orchard.

They had no idea they were being watched…