“Why is it glowing?” Sebastian asked, his voice coming out slightly strained at the end.

“Seb?” Edmund called sleepily from the living room. “What’s going on?”

Sebastian felt like he just wanted to scream, because, really, he had no idea what was going on and how had this become his life? From one terrifying night of barely escaping death at the hands of deranged werewolves to a morning where his co-worker, their boss, and her wife, showed up on his doorstep looking like they might have literally been dragged through hell, with what could very well be a cursed glowing necklace that he’d found not even a week ago in his best friend’s attic. If he didn’t feel so lost with how everything seemed to be piling up, he might have made a joke about how good a TV show it would make.

“Can we come in?” Hayden asked. “We can explain everything, more or less. But it would be better to do so with both of you.”

“Or all three? Who is with Edmund?” Persephone asked, likely hearing the second heartbeat in the living room.

“Right, we really do need to talk,” Sebastian sighed. “That thing isn’t going to curse us or some shit if you bring it inside, right?”

Lydia glanced at the artefact then shook their head. “No, it should be fine.”

Seb nodded and motioned for the ladies and Lydia to follow him inside. Bruce seemed to decide his presence was also required for this meeting if the way he was sticking close by Sebastian’s side was anything to go by. They found Ed and Luke sitting up on the couch now half awake. Seb wondered briefly how both werewolves had managed to sleep through the persistent knocking at the door.

“Luke, you know Hayden and Persephone, and this is Lydia – they work at Persephone’s Emporium.” Sebastian introduced when he noticed the younger teen tense up at the sight of new people.

“Luke, oh my goddess, you’re growing up too fast these days. You look more like your mother every time I see you.” Hayden gushed.

Luke looked decently flustered at the remark, but seemed to relax all the same. “Thank you, Miss Hayden.”

“Why is it glowing?” Edmund asked, pulling everyone’s attention back to the artefact.

“Why does it smell like you three slept on the couch? Isn’t your father strict about curfew, Luke?” Persephone asked and Luke tensed up again.

Sebastian sighed. “This is going to be a lot of explaining. Anyone else want a drink?”

While he went to fetch refreshments, Ed filled the ladies and Lydia in on their side of the story. When he returned, Lydia looked sick, Hayden was pale with fright, and Persephone seemed angry; not at them of course, but rather with Lance.

“That fucking piece of shit, if he even steps near the border, I’ll snap his fucking neck.” she growled, fangs appearing and eyes darkening as she did so.

“I know Lance has never been... forgiving, but this is a whole other level of messed up.” Hayden declared with a shaky breath. “I’m so glad you three are safe.”

Edmund nodded. “We are, for now, but it looks like you guys have another mess for us to get into?”

Lydia looked down at the glowing pendant and sighed. “Yeah, this is why we weren’t able to get in contact with you for a while. It threw a fit and partially destroyed the Emporium.”

“Destroyed?” Sebastian echoed with wide eyes.

“Only a bit on the inside, but yeah, it was pissed.”

“At what?”

“Us, I think,” Hayden answered. “It- well, it began glowing yesterday, while releasing a clearly frustrated aura and we freaked out. Lydia was trying to find out why it was upset but that only seemed to frustrate it further as we kept asking questions and then bam! We were hit with a surge of magical energy and the entire place was caught in a storm of flying objects.”

“We got knocked unconscious at some point and when we woke up it was still glowing but defiantly less angry.” Persephone added.

“Then you guys decided to bring it to my very destroyable house?” Seb questioned, his voice cracking a bit at the end.

“It promised to behave,” Lydia rushed to explain. “We were trying to get our bearings and discussing what to do next, when Hayden brought up calling you and it seemed to have a positive reaction. So, we asked if it wanted to see you, and after it confirmed that, we made it promise not to throw a tantrum like that if we brought it here.”

Sebastian put his head in his hands and groaned. “Why the hell am I even questioning this shit anymore.”

“I think we haven’t questioned it enough. What does that thing want with Bas?” Edmund asked, narrowing his eyes at the offending object.

Lydia bit their lip. “Ah, we didn’t get that far in our interrogation...”

Edmund looked at them like they had lost their mind. “Do you three have head trauma or something? It could be dangerous!”

“Shit, maybe I shout have checked us all for concussions.” Hayden realised, and Persephone gave her an incredulous look.

“Babe, none of us can get concussions. Well, not any that wouldn’t heal overnight.”

“As the one between us who’s studied medicine, for regular and magical-beings, I beg to disagree.”

“Uh, I’m like ninety percent sure I can’t get any injuries seeing as I’m already dead.” Lydia interjected.

“How’d you end up unconscious then?” Sebastian asked.

They winced. “The blast of magic was... weird.”

“You’re saying this thing was powerful enough to overwhelm you, despite you being practically indestructible?” Edmund seethed.

Sebastian put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, and maybe keep him from lunging off the couch to destroy the artefact. He understood that Ed was just being protective but until the thing was proved to actually be a danger, he felt it would be better to just treat it with caution.

His thoughts drifted back to that last dream he’d had where he’d been wearing the necklace. How it had glowed the same way in his dream, except he and the wolves –their pack?– had been in danger, and it was at night, under a full moon. It was still three days to go before the moon was full and they weren’t in active danger. Not anymore at least...

“Around what time did the artefact act up?” He asked.

Persephone frowned. “Early evening? It was before sunset, I know that.”

“So, it was possibly triggered at the time when Luke, Ed and I were in danger?”

Lydia glanced down at the box and furrowed their eyebrows. “It’s giving a positive response.”

Sebastian nodded. “Okay, may as well ask it directly. Was it sensing the danger we were in?”

“Yes.”

Edmund looked between Seb and the artefact. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“I don’t even know where this is going. Mind giving us a hint over here?” Hayden inquired.

Sebastian didn’t offer any explanation however, and kept his eyes on the box. “Does the artefact want me to touch it?”

There was a beat of silence before Lydia looked up. “Positive.”