The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 33

“Excuse me!” I approached a nun who was snuffing out candles stationed at the end of some aged, wooden pews, and she glanced up in a mild surprise at seeing the six of us enter her periphery. Not having grown up Catholic, I wasn’t sure how to properly talk to a person in her position, but I figured that simply acting politely should suffice. “Can we speak to your… head priest thingy?”

“You’re not regulars here, huh?” the nun surmised.

I kidded, “How’d you guess?” I cringed slightly at that quip due a rising fear that my sarcasm may have offended her.

Luckily, she didn’t seem insulted by my humor! “Can I ask what this is for?”

“Uh…” I wasn’t sure how to explain it without sounding bonkers. Yes, I realized that while discussing the devil wasn’t uncommon in this arena, I doubted very much that many members of their flock had actually contended with an actual resident of Hell! I mean, it wasn’t like going into a repair shop- one couldn’t merely go in and make a request to fix their demon problem!

“We’d like to hire him for his services,” Phoebe jumped in.

The nun responded, “Oh, I see. Well, Father Barbelo is taking confession right now, but Father Squier is available.”

I perked up at the reference of that surname. “Is he related to Billy Squier?”

“Who?” the nun puzzled.

“He’s a rockstar,” Ellie filled her in. “And obviously he’s not ‘cause he most likely would’ve mentioned it by now. But anyways, we really do need to speak to Father Barbelo specifically.”

The nun reacted perplexedly, “Really? A minute ago you didn’t even know who he was!”

Aleck stepped in, “We’ve heard the leader of this congregation has a specific set of skills that we require.”

“I don’t know how you found out about that, but those days are over for him!” the nun raved. “When he left prison, he became a changed man! He entered the seminary, and he never returned to his old lifestyle!”

“What lifestyle?” Fletcher wondered.

The nun blushed at the err of her assumption. “I’ve said too much! He should be wrapping up with confession soon. Feel free to wait by the booths. She instantly went back to her task, and while my curiosity over Father Barbelo’s past piqued, I didn’t want to push our luck since we definitely needed his help- I didn’t want us to get kicked out before we even had a chance to even say hello to him! For that reason, I bit my lip and trailed the others to the back end of the church.

We sat in the benches closest to the confession booths, and a male in there was speaking in Spanish. After a couple of minutes, Ginger whispered to us, “This guy sounds like a square! He’s upset ‘cause he had an extra slice of cake at his mother’s house!”

“Gluttony is a sin,” Aleck pointed out.

“You shouldn’t be listening to that, Ginger!” Phoebe chided her.

Ginger defended herself, “I’m not trying to listen! It’s quiet enough that I can’t help but overhear his whining! Besides, this dork is in there griping about Pastel de Elote while we have a vengeful demon running amok in the city! Terra Belle could get destroyed just because this gillipallas went off his diet! I have half a mind to tell him off when he leaves!”

Fletcher advised her, “Ginger, no!”

“Try and stop me!” Ginger heard him exiting the booth, and her impatience compelled her to meet him face-to-face! She stood there full of steam, but she immediately deflated when their identity was revealed. “Oh hi, Manuel!”

“Hi!” Manuel apprehensively eyeballed us. “What are you doing here?”

Nobody knew what to tell him, and my inclination was to lighten the mood, so I joked, “We were hoping to get a good wine recommendation.”

Manuel accepted that rationale, “Oh, okay! See you at work tomorrow!” He then rather briskly headed out.

“Wait! I wasn’t serious!” I called after him. He departed without indicating that he picked up on my words, so I grumbled, “Oh, great! I just lied in a sacred spot!”

“Ah! I know who’s going next!” a man with a thick, Russian accent chimed out from inside the confession booth.

I strove to correct this misimpression, “Oh, we’re not here to-.”

Father Barbelo invited me, “Come! Tell me in the booth!”

“We really don’t-!” I started to object.

“Come!” Father Barbelo insisted.

I acquiesced, “Fine!”

Father Barbelo canvassed me, “Tell me, my son, how have you sinned?”

“I haven’t sinned,” I stated. “I-.”

“None of us is perfect!” Father Barbelo interrupted. “Is one of those beautiful, young ladies in there your girlfriend?”

I told him, “Well, yeah! My fiancé is out there. But-.”

Father Barbelo concluded, “Ah-ha! So, you’ve probably had some lustful thoughts of her!”

“I… Alright, I’ll give you that!” I admitted. I could tell he was going to interrogate me some more, so I rattled off our request before he could get it out, “But we didn’t visit your cathedral to do any atonement! We read a blog saying that the leader from this establishment performed an exorcism, and we need help getting rid of a demon! You see, he-.”

“Shh!” Father Barbelo cautioned me. “Not so loud! We must discuss such matters in private.”

Fletcher pondered, “Aren’t these things supposed to be private?”

Father Barbelo shot back, “What? You imagine we have the budget to make them soundproof?” A stout but somewhat frail old man with wispy, white hair and a bushy mustache lumbered out, and he beckoned us, “Follow me, folks!” He moved in a pretty slow shuffle, but we trailed him nonetheless.

It stunned me how ordinary his office seemed! I don’t know what I was expecting, but I suppose since the building sort of had a medieval appearance, I pictured furniture and decor from the Middle Ages! Father Barbelo had a very large desk, but otherwise, it didn’t differ too much from the principal’s office at Rosemary King High! The computer baffled me the most- it looked the most out of place in such an antique building! I realized that Pennsylvania doesn’t have any structures fifteen hundred years old, but the chapel gave off that sort of aura! I was still marveling over the newness of my current surroundings as we pulled up a chair, and then Father Barbelo posed to us, “How did you all discover that I perform this function?”

“We’re teachers- we’re adept at doing homework!” Phoebe proudly proclaimed. “What we don’t understand is why it’s so hard to locate an exorcist! Why wouldn’t you post about that?”

“Are you kidding? We can’t advertise that!” Father Barbelo exclaimed. He leaned in closer to us, and then he winced. “Ugh! My back! I seriously need to get that checked!” Once he absorbed this pain, he elaborated, “If the community knew there were individuals who had these skills, they’d bug us to do it left and right! Do you realize how exhausting the process is? I wouldn’t have the energy to sermonize on the sabbath! And that’s not an exaggeration! It takes a lot of energy, and if the public knew I did this, they’d be calling me night and day for it! Not that there are so many demonic spirits roaming around out there- it’s just that everyone will believe every rude jerk is possessed! Ask Rabbi Zadkiel in Jersey City- he had to retire early! Do I look like I’m ready to retire?”

Aleck uttered, “Uh… no?”

Ellie asked, “But you can do it if somebody really needed it, couldn’t you?”

“Of course!” Father Barbelo confirmed. “So, describe to me your demon experience.”

“Well, he’s an arrogant moron who wants to destroy our school ‘cause his mistress dumped him!” I relayed to him. “And we strongly suspect his neighbors doublecrossed him in some way ‘cause he’s aiming to annihilate the entire town!”

Father Barbelo blinked in astonishment. “Wow! That’s awfully specific! How do you know so much about him?”

Ginger narrated, “He was a student of ours, but he lied about his identity to get into the school. He’s returned in another form, and now he shows up in puddles and stuff to warn us about monsters he’s gonna unleash. I threw away that necklace, by the way! It’s not the necklace’s fault, but I don’t like knowing he was in there!”

“He unleashes monsters?” Father Barbelo incredulously questioned.

“Not him personally, but he has a conduit somewhere in the region, and the conduit transmits a message to the youngsters buying these cursed wands. And he… You’re not buying any of this, are you?” Aleck probed.

Father Barbelo’s visage contorted in confusion, but then he assured us, “No, no! You seem like honest souls, but… Well, usually an evil spirit will inhabit a human body and force them to do their bidding. I’ve never heard of behavior such as this! It sounds overly complicated!”

Fletcher commented, “We said he was evil, not smart!”

“I see…” Father Barbelo rubbed his chin contemplatively, and then he petitioned us, “You say he appears in random objects?”

“Shiny or reflective surfaces close to where we are,” I elucidated.

Father Barbelo challenged, “So, what precisely do you want me to exorcise? The conduit?”

Phoebe chirped, “We would love that! If we knew who he was…”

“My children, I would love to assist you in your hour of need, but I can’t purge evil from the entire county! That’d be nice, but it’s fairly impossible!” Father Barbelo leveled with us. “Can you narrow it down at all?”

“Probably not,” I dismally confessed. “I guess we were hoping you could do everything all at once somehow so we don’t have to go into work on Monday and fight more mythical creatures!”

Father Barbelo pointed a knobby finger at me and cried out, “That’s it!”

I furrowed my brows. “It is? What is? Mythical creatures? They haven’t been very beneficial so far!”

“No! You mentioned that this demon had a grudge against your school, so we purge the school!” Father Barbelo propositioned.

“He does have an affinity for Rosemary King!” I considered this notion. “It’d make sense to do it there so the conduit doesn’t frequent the campus anymore. The purge could flush him out!”

Ellie debated this, “And what if it doesn’t? What if the conduit isn’t anywhere near the school?”

Phoebe countered her, “It couldn’t hurt to expel all the evil from our campus! … Could it?”

“Well, it’d waste my energy and effort, but it wouldn’t do any harm to your kids… unless one of them was possessed! They’d become significantly ill once it left their vessel…” Father Barbelo articulated. “I’ll contact your principal to arrange for an appointment.”

“He just left here! Damn! I mean darn!” Aleck glanced down shamefully.

Father Barbelo waved that of, “Eh! It’s God’s job to judge, so do you think I’m going to bother wasting my time obsessing over trivial matters!”

I slid a business card to Father Barbelo and instructed, “Let me know when you’re booked! Ignore the pharmaceutical sales junk- my number hasn’t changed!”

There was a knock on his door, and Father Barbelo addressed the visitor, “You may enter!”

“Father Barbelo, there’s a disturbance outside!” the nun we spoke to previously briefed him. The six of us in the Demon League panicked and prepared ourselves to do battle, but then she added, “Technically, the perpetrators are off our grounds, but they’re frightening some of our congregants…”

“Was one of them a ditzy blonde and the other a wimpy dude?” Phoebe quizzed her.

The nun inquired, “How did you know?”

Ginger replied, “We have non-demonic figures haunting us too!”

“Feel free to purge the annoyingness out of them!” Fletcher half-truthfully wisecracked.

“I’ll pray for them,” Father Barbelo affirmed.

Fletcher opined, “A purge would be better…”

Prior to Father Barbelo responding to that, I graciously expressed, “Thank you, Father!” I extended my hand, but then I anxiously retracted it. “Oh! Sorry if that’s not cool! Do we bow or something?”

Father Barbelo grabbed my palm, and he bade us, “Go in peace! And don’t overthink everything!”

I wanted to argue with that, but Phoebe’s expression warned me against that. We all communicated our appreciation to him and exited his chambers.

 As we traveled back to our cars, Roxy hollered to us, “Whatever you’re plotting, you’ll fail! My pookie bear has a winning scheme, and you’re destined to lose!”

“Do any of you have jumper cables?” Brantley gazed at us sheepishly. We ignored them both, and as we entered into our vehicles, I beseeched the universe to prove Roxy wrong!

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 32

he shouting prompted me to race to the fence with the intention of scoping out the action! Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one! I nearly commanded them to retreat to a safe space so they’d avoid whatever peril that petty fiend set loose in the neighborhood, but it was lucky I didn’t because the hubbub turned out to be less of a threat and more of an annoyance really…

“No! No! No! You don’t understand! I’m here to join you!” Mara attempted to allay the agitation of the three protestors across the street.

“You’re gonna join us?” Lilith gazed at her skeptically. “Aren’t you related to the future bride?”

Mara explained, “I’m not here cause of my sister! Connor is a jerk, and the world needs to know it!”

Roxy warily aired, “This feels like a trap!”

“No, really! I’m on your side! Besides, the quality of the men over here is a lot better…” Mara stroked Brantley’s arm.

“Oh, I see! You’re here ‘cause Connor rejected you too!” Brantley yanked his limb out of her reach.

Mara became indignant about his attitude towards her. “You’re still gonna be like that? We’re both single now…”

Brantley argued, “Yeah, but you’re a skank who’s always after relationships you can’t have! I’m not interested in that sort of garbage! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta watch Phoebe’s every move!”

He pulled out a pair of binoculars, and a couple of our engagement partygoers waved at him. Mara bore a look of hurt after absorbing his harsh words, and she gazed at Lilith and Roxy as though she was lost and sought their guidance. They simply shrugged at her, so she concluded, “Okay… I guess I’ll go over there then!”

The onlookers hastily returned to their original positions to act as if they hadn’t witnessed that uncomfortable interaction, and the event planner rather artlessly fumbled the microphone. “Um… Alright! I see their love is so great that others envy it, and I can’t say that I blame them! Hey, since we have one of the guests of honor in the vicinity why don’t have him kick off our speeches? Connor, can you say a couple things?”

I hesitated. That disturbance may not have been the onset of Damon’s plot, but something was lurking out there that promised to interrupt the festivities at any moment! I disliked the premise of getting myself involved with more trivial matters when a serious catastrophe could appear at any minute! I wouldn’t have done much to protect my family if I let myself get distracted! I briefly glanced over at the puddle I saw that vengeful lunatic in, but i didn’t want to linger there in case it drew attention to him. Phoebe caught my eye, and she urged me to take the stage. I recalled that my closest friends were now aware of the paranormal problem that currently plagued Terra Belle, and while they weren’t aware of that demented devil’s presence on the property today, I felt confident that they would maintain a vigilant watch for spooky occurrences! Especially since this soirée wasn’t all that interesting and their minds were likely to wander! As I dashed to the small dais, I hoped I could make this quick and finish prior to drastic action taking place!

“Don’t you dare repeat that phrase!” my mother warned me.

“Well, there goes my opening line!” I muttered. The crowd laughed, but I meant that! I didn’t have any other ideas swirling around in my thoughts! My mom requested that I have something prepared for this eventuality, and I vaguely remembered promising to furnish something, but between all the stalkers and the monsters, I plum forgot! I crossed my fingers and willed my weary brain to manufacture something substantial…

I cleared my throat, and I addressed the attendees, “Hey! So, you’ve all heard the three rings of marriage joke, right? There’s the engagement ring…” I espied Jett approaching the puddle, and I watched her sniff it cautiously. “… The wedding ring…” Jett emitted a very audible growl, so I raised my volume to drown her out, “… And the suffer-ring!” Jett circled the puddle and hissed, and some of the invitees started to catch on to her pursuit, so I flamboyantly moved my arms around to renew their focus to me. “But the two of us are so happy together, I don’t plan on having that last ring!” Fletcher hobbled over to the puddle and strove to convince Jett to cool it. “She is the most motivating person in my life, so I plan on renaming the last ring the inspire-ring!” Fletcher was more visibly arguing with Jett, so I concluded my segment by yelling, “Thank you for agreeing to tie the knot with me, Phoebe!”

Once my oration finished, the congregation blankly stared in my direction, but not for long. Fletcher not so quietly scolded the cat, “You’re not helping!” Everyone swiveled to glean what Fletcher was referring to, and Fletcher instinctively hopped into the puddle. I was grateful that he was able to block Damon from everyone’s view, but I felt a little bit of pity for him since he had to concoct an excuse for his behavior. “I was just… Uh… Ah, screw you! It’s a free country- I’ll do what I want!”

“Uh-huh…” The event planner raised an eyebrow to that cryptic oddity, but he eventually decided to dismiss it and go forward with his gig, “Connor Fenmore, ladies and gentlemen!”

“Not exactly his A-game!” my father commented as the others politely applauded. My mother criticizingly elbowed him, but he did not budge on his opinion. “What?”

I felt a wave of relief to sit down, and I eagerly studied my surroundings as the event planner petitioned the lot, “Who’s next?”

Mara, who entered into the area from the garden gate, volunteered, “Me!”

“Weren’t you just protesting this shindig?” the event planner probed.

“I promise I’ll be nice!” Mara swore. “Unless you like some roughness…”

The event planner retorted, “I don’t, but my boyfriend does…”

Mara’s face soured, but she accepted this circumstance, “Fine!” She adjusted her clothing slightly, and my aim to survey the scenery got paused out of curiosity of what she might produce here. I had yet to ascertain any conduct from her that would cause me to feel assured that this wasn’t going to generate anything but drama, and the tension throughout the venue signified that we all possessed the same theory. We all held our breath as she began to speak… “I wanna apologize for how I’ve been acting! I’ve been going through a tough period, and I got a tad silly. I’m sorry!”

It stunned us all that she displayed such class! I was ready to seek her forgiveness for my harsh demeanor towards her in the past, and if only she had left it there, it would have given her a pristine impression. Inopportunely for her, she went on, “My fiancé recently dumped me for a younger woman, and if I knew he was going to do that, I wouldn’t have introduced her to our bedroom…” The throng grew appalled at her inappropriate frankness, and the event planner made a furious bid to seize the microphone from her. Nobody wanted her to persist with that sordid tale, but we got spared from it when a loud thump sounded from the road.

I sped back to the fence under the assumption that, at this juncture, that nightmarish ninny’s accomplice finally struck! I would have preferred to hear Mara’s promiscuous escapades instead of a battle with a mythical creature, but I was pleased to get this ordeal stamped out early in the day! I never knew what to anticipate with these entanglements, but what I couldn’t have predicted was…

“Connor! Assistance, please!” Mrithan pled as he cowered on the roof of Ginger’s vehicle while a golden retriever viciously snarled at him.

“I won’t be long!” I resentfully stated.

As I exited the reception, I became resentful not because I got compelled to leave the occasion but because I got stuck doing a frequent duty of my work during my hours at home! I summoned the pooch, “Come here, boy!” The dog bounded over to me and lathered me in kisses, and as he lovingly greeted me, I inquired to Mrithan, “Where did he come from?”

Mrithan replied, “From my worst dreams! I’m deathly afraid of all canines!”

“Angelo!” A fellow with sunglasses and a mobility cane emerged from the thicket at the end of the cul-du-sac. “Where are you, sweetie? We’re gonna miss our bus!”

“Go on, buddy!” I encouraged Angelo, who glanced back at Mrithan menacingly. Mrithan apparently believed his tracksuit would camouflage him into Ginger’s car, and I shook my head at his ineptitude preceding me telling the bowwow, “Don’t worry about him! Go!” Angelo seemed reluctant to depart, but he obliged and rejoined his owner. When the pair was gone, I quizzed Mrithan, “What the F did you do to piss off a golden retriever?”

Mrithan avidly claimed, “Nothing! They can sense my phobia, and they flock to me!” He slid off of his perch, and he fretfully expressed, “Do you have any scary mongrels nearby?”

I informed him, “No, but my kitty can get pretty mean if you get on her bad side!” Mrithan did a nervous twitch, and when he faced the sidewalk ahead of him, he fainted! “It was just a joke! Why did you-?” I beheld what he saw, and I knew that his potential feline adversary hadn’t caused him to pass out after all…

A black, robust hound with upright, pointy ears, red irises, sharp fangs, and a height that towered above our abodes glowered at me, and I nearly fell unconscious myself! It uttered a sinister growl, and I heard my mother remark, “Oh! Sounds like we’re getting thunder!” The hound inched closer to me, and as the ground shook, my mom added, “… Wow! Earthquakes too?”

To my immense alleviation, the other five members of the Demon League knew that those tremors didn’t stem from seismic activity! “Is that a Hell Hound?” Ellie wondered.

“Probably! Evidently, my ex is no longer the biggest bitch on the block!” I skittishly kidded.

“Hey!” Lilith objected from behind a tree that didn’t fully hide Brantley’s shaking and tears.

Roxy hurried to the hound’s forefront and spread herself out as if her puny stature could effectively shield the beast, and she roared, “You’re not gonna harm her as long as I’m around!”

The hound punted her across the woods, and seconds later, I heard the blind fellow bellow, “Angelo, no!”

“Angelo is having quite the afternoon!” I observed.

“If you haven’t noticed, we’re not doing so great ourselves!” Phoebe gestured towards the hound in the process of stalking us. It increased its speed, and before we could react, it was within inches of us! I didn’t know what to do, and then…

Ginger pulled out her keyring and beckoned the hound, “Yo, doggy! You wanna get the laser?” A tiny, red dot appeared on the pavement, and incredibly enough, the hound followed it! “It’s part of the flashlight I use to see my car in the dark! Wait, did that hound dent my vehicle?”

Aleck posed to us, “So, how do we defeat a Hellhound?”

“You don’t!” Roxy declared as she limped back to our quarters.

“Roxy, no! I didn’t heal you so you could hound people!” Ismeray admonished her as she tailed her through the clearing. She spotted the hellhound, and she became pale! Well, paler. “Roxy! You performed dark magic?”

As she struggled to block Ginger’s laser, Roxy reported, “I wish! Then I could take credit for my honey-bunny’s glorious accomplishments!”

Ellie advised Ismeray, “Don’t ask! But do tell- is there a counter-jinx that can reverse this mess?”

“Nope! What’s done is done!” Ismeray sorrowfully relayed.

“Can you put this dog to sleep then?” I pressed her.

Ismeray affirmed, “Yeah, I can do that!”

She became adjacent to the hound, and she made a claw out of her hands. She exhibited an enormous amount of concentration, and a minute later, Ginger, who kept her concentration on the beast’s path, queried, “What’s happening? Are we in trouble?”

Suddenly, a white mist came out of Ismeray’s palms! It hit the hound’s eyes, and slowly, its movements slowed down! Its lids drooped, and its balance swayed! It yawned, so I catechized, “Are you putting it into a slumber?”

Ismeray confirmed, “Yes! Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Aleck commended her, “That’s fantastic! While it’s out, we can contemplate a solution to-!” The hound tumbled on top of Lilith’s dwelling, and the impact took away all of its signs of life! “Or the building can kill it! That’s alright too!”

“No, it’s not!” Lilith disputed. “Look at my house! Ugh! Now, I’m gonna have to return to the mansion in New York!”

“Aww! Poor baby!” Phoebe sarcastically regarded her.

Lilith shoved an envelope onto my chest and spat, “Here! You can have this hardware gift card back! I was gonna steal it to replace the door in the garage! I couldn’t believe they saved it from that abandoned hovel that was here before!” The six of us in the Demon League froze upon that pronouncement! Did they save that door? Was the portal active once more? Prior to any of us discussing this development, my father emerged outside and paged us, “Connor, your mom says you have to come and listen to your neighbor’s speech! It’s something about heart chakras, I dunno!” As we reentered the party, we heard Mrithan groggily question Roxy about what transpired, but we were too lost in horrified rumination to listen to her nonsensical answer!

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 31

“Excuse me!” An older, balding man with a crown of gray, tousled hair pulled up to a small canopy in a front yard. “Is this where the engagement party is?”

“Should we tell him?” Phoebe eyeballed him from across the street while she and I stood beneath an elegant tarp that blocked the misty rain but not the wind.

I told her, “Nah! He’ll figure it out!”

Lilith, Brantley, and Roxy bombarded him with a series of boos, which quite bewildered the man. Roxy hollered, “Can’t you read? This is the Fenmore/Caracy Protest!”

“Protest?” the man puzzled. “You don’t want them to get married?”

“I was married to Connor once!” Lilith venomously relayed to him. “Trust me, I left ‘cause being his wife isn’t any cakewalk! And after I dared to take him back, he rejected me! I’m here to remind him what a scumbag he is!”

Branley informed the man, “Phoebe belongs to me! I’m here to pick up the pieces when this all falls apart!”

The man queried Roxy, “And you? You couldn’t possibly be infatuated with either of them!”

“I’m infatuated with a glorious master of the afterlife!” Roxy wildly asserted. “He has a grand plan for this town, and those two ingrates keep impeding on his masterful work!”

“Okay…! Well, I gotta go find parking somewhere else!” The man started to pull away, but he hit the brakes and pointed to Lilith. “I remember you now! I didn’t recognize you at first! You look so different from when you were married to my nephew!”

Lilith smugly flipped her hair and disdainfully digested his comments. “Prettier than ever, right? When you see your nephew, you’re gonna say how he shouldn’t have let this gorgeous girl go?”

My uncle’s visage contorted into a slight discomfort. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything!”

“Why?” Lilith inquired.

“It’s not polite…” my uncle replied.

Lilith seemed stunned by that assessment. “What do you mean? How do you believe I changed then?”

My uncle declined her demand, “I’d rather not!”

“Have the guts to speak up, Baldilocks!” Lilith spat.

“Alright, fine! Since the last time I saw you, you gained a lot of weight!” my uncle shot back. Lilith’s mouth hung open like she just got slapped, and after my uncle drove away, Lilith spotted me doubled over with laughter. She glared at me and hid behind Brantley and Roxy, who gave me a dirty stare in solidarity.

My father came over and asked, “What’s so funny?”

I answered, “Oh, you know, it’s your little brother doing his thing!”

After glancing over at the little protest, my dad chuckled, “Just wait ‘til they meet your Great Aunt Mildred!” I cracked up at that premise, and then my father expressed, “I’m glad you’re starting to have fun!”

Once I ceased my mirth, I disclosed to him, “I’m running off of three hours of sleep- everything’s hilarious!”

“Count yourself lucky, son! For our engagement party, I had to wear tails and take horseback riding lessons!” He winced at that recollection.

“William!” my mother called out. “Are you done checking on Connor?”

My dad responded, “Hold on, Catherine!” He canvassed us, “Are you guys doing alright? Do you need anything?”

Phoebe assured him, “We’re fine, thanks!”

“Are you sure?” my father practically pled with us.

“Sorry!” I apologized.

My dad became disappointed, and when my mom called out for him again, he begrudgingly articulated, “Coming, dear!”

Phoebe tittered as she watched him slink off, and then I nudged her, “Here comes Uncle Chest Hair!”

“Chest Hair?” she repeated in confoundment. When she got a load of his low v-neck shirt, it became more clear to her what I meant. “Got it!”

“Connor, my boy! How are ya?” He pulled me in for a tight hug.

With my compressed, I reported to him, “I’m great!”

He glimpsed at Phoebe with keen interest, and he noted, “This is your fiance, huh? Wow, you nabbed yourself something cute!” Phoebe abashedly smile, and my uncle introduced himself, “I’m your new Uncle Chester!”

“Nice to meet you!” Phoebe extended her hand for him to shake.

“Aw, we’re family now! Come here!” He pulled her in and gave her a robust squeeze, which forcibly drew her into his furry torso! When he released her, she pulled some gray strands out of her lipstick. “Forgive me for that! Here, I’ll make it up to you…” He reached into his coat’s inner pocket, and he filled us in, “It’s a lovely gift card to-.” The envelope blew away in the blustery breeze. “Ah… I’ll send you a check!”

As soon as he joined the other guests, I posed to Phoebe, “Aren’t you relieved I didn’t inherit that bushy pecs gene?”

Phoebe giggled, “If you did, I’d accept it as long as it didn’t come with the hugging trait! He reminds me of Blaise! Except classier, obviously!”

“It’s hard to imagine him enjoying a stuffy event like this!” I discoursed. “My mom doesn’t even enjoy these things! She always felt like she needed to act fancy for Dad’s family ‘cause she thought they didn’t take a rock ‘n roll crossing guard seriously.”

“Did they?” Phobe probed.

I affirmed, “They loved her, but they wouldn’t attend anything that was… Well, let’s just say that Blaise’s presence would’ve given some of them heart attacks! Fortunately for them, your stepdad is burning in the gates of… Hello, Aunt Mildred!” I blushed slightly from this faux pas.

To my relief, that very stout old lady retorted, “I’m not gonna ask!” 

She joined our visitors, and my mother directed us, “Connor! Phoebe! Mingle with your well-wishers!”

“We can mingle from here!” I riposted. She sternly gazed at me, so I relented, “Coming, Mom!”

“Aren’t you cold?” Aleck conversed with Uncle Chester.

Uncle Chester guffawed, “Nah! I’m from the coast, we’re warm-blooded!”

Aleck started to object to that premise, “All humans are warm-blooded! No person is-!”

My father elbowed Aleck, and then he illuminated him, “I practiced medicine for over forty years- trust me, he won’t listen to anatomical anecdotes! And don’t let him start yammering on about real estate!” Uncle Chester opened his mouth to argue, but my dad cut him off, “Nope! Fair is fair!”

“So, what did you retire from?” Aunt Mildred quizzed Miriam.

“I was a housewife,” Miriam relayed to her.

Aunt Mildred grilled her, “Was? Did you get divorced, or did he pass on?”

Miriam snickered, “Oh, he died! He’s been dead far longer than his actual death!” Aunt Mildred found that quite humorous, but only Phoebe and I recognized the truth to her comedy and chortled on a whole other level!

“So, how did you know my son was going to be your future husband?” my mother prodded Phoebe.

“Mom, she’s already given you that story!” I reminded her.

My mother dismissed my argument, “So? This is an engagement party- the attendees need to hear it!”

Phoebe requested, “I’m sorta parched. Could I grab a drink actually?”

“Of course! But tell us the story first!” my mom urged her.

“Sure…” Phoebe reluctantly acquiesced.

We each knew that enquiries like this were bound to arise, but between battling a creepy octopus last night and waking up early to grant the caterers access to our property this morning, we didn’t have a lot of room to pause and reflect on the subject. Neither of us had any desire to permit our relatives to learn about her memory problem, especially not a former doctor like my dad! If he picked up on her amnesic issue, he would work out that it came from radiation pretty quickly. We harbored no desire to have individuals we were close to acquiring the knowledge of our supernatural encounters, so the idea the two of us cooked up was to pretend everything was totally normal. The trouble was Phoebe felt exhausted, so neither of us was confident in her her acting abilities! 

Phoebe took a deep breath, and then she concocted a fumbling narrative, “It was… uh… basically love at first sight! When I saw him sitting, I mean standing there, I knew he was… destined to be mine!”

Everyone in earshot found that output awkward, and I wracked my brain to find some manner in which to change the subject. Prior to me unearthing anything, my father addressed me, “Connor, a word, please!” I gulped from sheer trepidation, but I obliged.

I felt certain he worked out what occurred, and my palms grew sweaty as we traveled to the far corner of the backyard. Or perhaps that was simply moisture from our occupation in the untented portion of the lawn. Whatever the scenario may have been, I hardly cared about how drenched I became! I felt positive that my dad intended to confront me about our paranormal entanglements, and when we halted our footsteps, I shuddered and mentally prepared myself for the worst…

“What did you do?” my father quietly scolded me.

“Uh…” My mind went blank, and I resigned myself to the fact that I was toast!

My dad chided me, “Whatever you did to upset her, go fix it! That woman’s the best thing that ever happened to you- do not blow it!”

Upon hearing this, my face got uplifted from alleviation. “Oh! You’re under the impression we got into a fight!”

“Um, yeah! I was…” My father’s brows furrowed. “So, what actually happened?”

“Nothing!” I lied. It instantly dawned on me that this wasn’t going to fly, so I opted to deliver the truth and knocked on wood that he wouldn’t have so many follow-ups. “Alright, Phoebe’s having some memory issues, and she doesn’t want anyone to know about them.”

My dad pressed me, “Memory issues? What sort of memory issues? She’s too young for dementia, although a patient as young as nineteen got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s…”

I confessed, “She has amnesia, okay? We should really return to-.”

“Amnesia? What did you do?” my father austerely gawked at me.

“Nothing!” I could see he didn’t believe me, so I insisted, “I’m serious! We were in an alleyway, and…” I couldn’t fathom how to complete that sentence, but luckily, I didn’t have to…

My mom beckoned us, “Boys! It’s time for speeches!” My dad jogged over to the festivities, and I almost mimicked his move, but then…

I peered down and hissed, “Not now!”

“Oh, pardon me! It’s not like I have a lot of choices!” Damon, who manifested in a puddle, folded his arms and pouted. “Do you have any clue how difficult it is to communicate from another dimension?”

“Connor! We need you over here!” my mother paged me.

I fibbed, “Hold on! I… My shoe is stuck in the mud!” I feigned this mishap, and as I hunched over pretending to wrestle myself out, I whispered to Damon, “You’ve got thirty seconds! Do you have anything new to say? I’ve already shown I won’t be intimidated by your bullshit!”

Damon notified me, “As a matter of fact, I do have new information for you, you Wisenheimer! You foiled my scheme at Homecoming, and now, you’re gonna pay!”

“Fantastic!” I muttered. “Well, if that’s all you’ve got, I’m kinda busy here…”

“No! That’s not all!” Damon snapped. “Wow! I like how you presume I have nothing better to do than to badger you!”

I verbalized to him, “They gave a dunce like you more than one job? Why would they do that? You’re not even doing well with your initial task!”

My mom buzzed, “Do you need help over there?”

“No! I’ve almost got it!” I reassured her. I then turned to Damon and barked, “You’re mad and you want revenge- that’s old news! What else?”

“You don’t get it!” Damon seethed. “That was gonna be my big show! I’m moving on from merely endeavoring to destroy you to take down the entire city! Soon, everyone will see that I’m here!”

I inferred, “Wait, so you’re gonna go after our families now?” That concept never fell under my consideration, and since it got thrust to my attention, it made my heart race! I didn’t want them to obtain any awareness of this otherworldly dilemma, and they were about to discover it in the most vile fashion possible!

The event planner turned on the microphone and commenced the ceremony, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! We’re here to celebrate the pending union of two blessed souls! Incidentally, will the future groom please join us on stage?”

I panicked. I didn’t want to leave that dastardly demon until I procured what pandemonium he had in store for us! I raced my thoughts to procure a delay in this ritual, but to my utter dismay, some commotion in the streets indicated that I may have been too late to stop whatever Damon arranged…

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 30

“Phew!” Aleck wiped his forehead in relief as we all beheld an adolescent boy with thin, brown bangs, a thin frame, and a suit complete with an indigo cumberbund. “Would you like to take back that ‘I told you so!’, Connor?”

“Don’t you dare!” Ellie strongly advised me. “Aleck, have you ever seen a horror movie? Something’s always up with the creepy, ultra-pale kid!”

Aleck looked alarmed by her blunt assertion. He apologetically approached the child, “Don’t take offense by that! She simply-!”

Ginger cautioned him, “Don’t get too close! He could be dangerous!”

“Oh, come on!” Aleck argued, “It was obviously just a prank!”

“This isn’t any joke!” Fletcher contended. “Something isn’t right about this guy!”

Aleck differed, “No! You’re experiencing a physiological reaction due to some stimuli that gave rise to defensive behavior. It’s common to-.”

Phoebe brought up, “If this is a normal student, then how come he isn’t reacting to the threatening stimuli were presenting right now?”

“Yeah!” I concurred with Phoebe. “I’m used to teens staring at me with dead eyes, but not this dead! Usually, they at least blink!”

“Okay, that’s a little strange…” Aleck backed away slightly. “Well, what are we supposed to do? Beat to death this human-looking individual?”

The others viewed his point as valid, and even I agreed that it would have been unwise for us to immediately barrage him with lethal force. In the off-chance that this youngster turned out to be a very peculiar but authentic earthly citizen, we would have been in so much legal jeopardy! However, the more I studied him, the less likely it seemed to have him get proven as an ordinary juvenile! His stance resembled that of a scarecrow, and his tuxedo appeared faded and worn as though he had stolen these garments from a corpse five decades old. The only muscles he moved were the ones that sucked in his lips as if he desperately wanted to avoid opening his mouth, and his somewhat large pupils didn’t reflect any light. I determined that this image had to have been a shell, so I communicated to the room, “Let’s coax the monster out of him! Tell me, son, what’s your name?”

His hollow gaze swiveled to me, but otherwise, he gave no response. Phoebe made a bid for it by petitioning him, “What grade are you in?”

That youth shifted his focus to her, but he didn’t utter a word. Ginger commanded him, “If you’d like us to leave, say so.” He twitched as though he meant to obey her, but he reconsidered this notion and resorted to glaring at her instead.

“Ooh, there was some movement!” Ellie observed. “Let’s push him further! Hey, brat! If you don’t go downstairs immediately, we’re giving you detention!” His nostrils flared, and he emitted some irate breaths.

“Here!” Fletcher passed out some padded helmets to everyone, and he apprised us, “Put these on! If we wanna flesh out this punk’s true nature faster, we’re gonna have to take more drastic measures.”

I asked Fletcher, “Do you have any equipment we could use as a weapon?”

Fletcher answered, “Not for wrestling, no. There is storage for ceremonial stuff up here though in the other closet. Maybe there’s something there!” He went to the next door and took a gander inside. “Hmm… it’s mostly medals and such!”

“Let’s all go for him at once,” I suggested. “It’s not like he can attack all six of us at the same time! Well, maybe he can, but that’s an important fact for us to learn!”

“What happens if he fights back?” Aleck queried as we all secured our headgear. No one spoke, but he wound up satisfying his own curiosity, “We’ll figure it out later!”

I addressed everyone, “Alright, on the count of three, we charge! One…” The lad grew visibly more furious. “…Two…” A periwinkle vapor began to seep from his frame. “…Th-!”

Prior to me finishing my sentence, Roxy burst in! “Not so fast!”

“Ugh! We probably should’ve locked the door behind us!” Phoebe cringed at Roxy’s sudden presence.

“Get out of here, Roxy!” I ordered her. “This could get pretty unsafe, and I don’t think the district has a specific rule against this, but I doubt they’d like it!”

Roxy dismissed my claim, “Psh! I’m totally devoted to his boss, so he’s not gonna hurt me! And you’re not gonna hurt him! Don’t worry, honey! I’ll protect you!”

As she darted towards him, Ginger called out, “Roxy, don’t!”

“Let me be your shield!” Roxy barreled towards him with her arms out like she was going to embrace him, and based on the creepy boy’s expression, he didn’t seem to appreciate Roxy’s gesture! This got verified as true when a mauve tentacle shot out of his stomach! He thumped her head, and she fell unconscious onto the floor!

“Well, we tried to warn her!” Ellie commented.

Five more tentacles emerged, and the humanistic layer disappeared! Its skull was replaced by a bulbous noggin, and when it blared out a hideous roar, we could all see sharp teeth lining its mandible, which prompted Aleck to spout, “Octopi don’t have fangs! They-!”

I interrupted him, “I don’t know if you noticed this, but nothing about this situation follows the laws of nature!” The tentacles elongated, so I directed the Demon League, “Everybody, grab one!”

We each pounced on a limb, and thankfully, our weight pinned them down! However, despite our small victory, we still possessed a pronounced problem. “Now what?” Fletcher inquired.

“Somehow, we’re gonna have to kill it,” I replied. “How do you kill a giant octopus?”

“I dunno! I know how we’d exterminate an actual cephalopod, but…” Aleck trailed off as he eyeballed the creature’s menacing glare. 

Ginger proposed, “We could test different methods ‘til we discover something that works.”

Ellie ridiculed that motion, “How are we supposed to test anything from here? We got nothing except our jewelry and bras!”

“That might work!” Fletcher proclaimed.

“You old perv! Now isn’t the moment to indulge in your filthy fantasies!” Ellie scolded him. 

Fletcher disputed, “That’s not what I meant! You could slip them off, and we could use them like a giant slingshot!”

Phoebe catechized, “What would we fling to him though? We can’t exactly afford heavy jewelry on our salary!”

“What about that old trophy?” I indicated to a shiny, bronze cup in the storeroom.

“Yeah, but the second we step off of these tentacles, that monster is gonna attack again!” Aleck asserted. The creepy octopus nodded in corroboration of that assessment.

Ginger lamented, “It’s unfortunate we don’t have a seventh member to our party!”

Phoebe’s eyes lit up. “Yes, we do! I don’t imagine Roxy will object…” She referred to Roxy’s limp condition, and, indeed, Roxy remained motionless.

“Is she still alive?” Ellie wondered.

“She’s breathing,” I concluded since I was closest to her. “But we’d better hurry and take her assistance before she wakes up and becomes a nuisance again!”

I slid over to her, and I put all of my pressure on my right while I pulled her over with my left. It wasn’t easy to wrangle her over to me while keeping enough stress on our adversary’s arm to keep him at bay, but I managed to eke it out. Once I freed myself of this burden, I quickly stood up, but then I needed to catch my breath. “One sec!” I laboriously requested to the others.

Fletcher snapped, “We don’t exactly have leeway for rest here!”

“Okay, okay!” I swiftly collected myself and hurried to the storeroom. I seized the largest trophy in the lot, and I felt a ton of grime on my palms! “Wow, it’s dusty! How long has it been in there?”

“Babe, do you wanna find the date on that award, or do you wanna spare me from getting injured again?” Phoebe challenged me as they finished assembling the catapult.

I responded, “Both!”

After I resumed my previous position, I put the trophy in the center of our shooter while Ellie held one end and Fletcher held the other, and the creepy octopus blew more and more steam as it beheld its pending doom. I pulled the harness back, and the creature vehemently struggled to free itself. When I gained enough momentum, I inwardly prayed that this projectile would achieve victory. I released it, and it hit that rotund cranium squarely on the crown! The skin seemed fairly soft on its tentacles, but evidently, the skull wasn’t since the trophy shattered into dozens of pieces! “How is that even possible?” Aleck clamored.

“Stop trying to make sense of it!” Phoebe recommended.

“Is it dead?” Ginger petitioned the Demon League.

A purplish fluid oozed out of its pores, which compelled Fletcher to exclaim, “If that thing’s still alive, I’ll eat my foot!” The tentacles twitched significantly, so Fletcher earnestly strove to reach his lower extremities. “Someone help me get my shoes off!”

The tentacles retracted to the creepy octopus’s lifeless body, and its torso disintegrated. Everyone silently stared at its final resting place for a stretch, and I broke the quiet by taking off the helmet and canvassing, “Do you ladies want your undergarments back?”

“Toss it?” Ellie arbitrated following a visual scan of its stretched-out and dingy state. “I needed to get more lingerie anyways!”

“Done!” I tossed it into a nearby garbage bin as everyone else took their helmets off. Once they were done, I regarded them, “Now, I need to get something off of my chest… I TOLD YOU SO! I told you, I told I told you! I told you so!”

Aleck pouted, “You don’t need to rub it in!”

I disagreed, “Oh, yes I do! You have no idea all the hell I’ve been through doing this alone!”

“Speaking of Hell, didn’t you mention something about Damon resurfacing in Terra Belle as a demon?” Ginger probed.

“He did!” I certified this. “And he didn’t do it by himself. He has a conduit that broadcasts his intentions to the children who buy his wands to make them do weird spells. The only clue I have about the conduit though is he’s male.”

Fletcher muttered, “That narrows it down a bit!”

Phoebe broached the subject, “Is the conduit doing this willingly?”

“I dunno! Does it matter? We still gotta find him,” I articulated.

“Not necessarily,” Phoebe refuted. “If he’s under a demon’s influence too, then we could keep our focus on just getting rid of the demon!”

Ellie propositioned, “We could hire an exorcist tomorrow!”

I differed, “Now, we can’t!” She gave me a discerning look, so I clarified, “Our engagement party is tomorrow.”

“Oh man, I forgot about that!” Phoebe groaned. “We’ve got a big gathering to go to, and I’ll have to do it without my good bra!”

“What happened?” Roxy groggily picked herself up. It was hard to stifle my snicker as I caught a glimpse of her violet hair!

Aleck fibbed, “Nothing happened This whole escapade was totally normal! That’s what we were discussing- how normal this all was…”

Roxy glanced at a metallic shard on the ground, and she read out loud, “Achievement in football, Casper Von Dutchman…”

“Ha!” I guffawed at the irony of me actually breaking his trophy.

“You lied!” Roxy fumed. “You defeated my pooky bear’s creation!”

With a wry grin, I revealed to her, “We certainly did! And we couldn’t have done it without your assistance!” 

Roxy roared, “Ooh! You’re awful! I can’t wait ‘til Damon has this entire town demolished!” She huffed and stormed out.

Manuel entered into the facility, and we were all grateful that the most egregious evidence of supernatural foul play had vanished! Despite that, he could still discern that something hinky occurred, so he perplexedly interrogated us, “What went on here?”

Ginger very convincingly attested, “It was a prank gone wrong. Don’t sweat it though, we’ve already given the guilty person a week’s worth of detention!”

I was grateful that people with credibility vouched for this allegation- if I had been solo, I was positive this incident would have garnered me a one-way ticket to the sanitarium! Assuming I survived… Manuel seemed addled by this display, but he hadn’t reached a decree on it. The lights flickered back on, so he ruled, “Well, let’s go back to Homecoming!” The females of our bunch held their upper fronts to hide their lack of support, and while Manuel ogled at this unusual activity, I beseeched the universe to solve our otherworldly dilemma soon so our campus could at least have a regular prom!

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 29

“Eek!” Corvina squealed in delight. “You made it! What about the game? I thought you had to play!”

“We did play,” Hudd explained, “For, like, five minutes! The rain made half the players on both sides slip and get injured, so we postponed it.”

Corvina happily chirped, “That’s wonderful!”

Hudd politely disagreed, “Not really. A huge chunk of our roster is out…”

I breathed a sigh of relief, but Phoebe didn’t get as alleviated by the sight of these young lovers as I did. “What were you expecting that commotion to be? What did you mean about a vengeful demon and a monster coming to our campus?”

“Reasonable questions…” I didn’t blame her for being skeptical, it was a fairly rational reaction to the assertions I made! I was grateful that I didn’t completely scare her off, but I wasn’t sure where to being in relating this saga to her! Heck, it’s taken me a few books to relay the narrative to you, dear reader! I weighed whether I should opt for thoroughness or brevity, and I hurriedly decided to marry the two, “Well, it all started last year when a new student arrived…”

“Miss Caracy!” George tapped her shoulder. She turned to him, and he reported, “There’s a dude here saying we owe him money for some flowers…”

Phoebe grumbled, “Ugh! I thought we canceled the florist!” She marched towards the entrance, but she paused and warned me, “This isn’t leaving you off the hook!”

I agreed with her, “Of course not!” She eyed me suspiciously, and then she darted off to take care of business. I fully intended to share everything with her, but at that juncture, I wondered if a nightmarish creature would show up and do the storytelling for me…

As the kids danced, I walked around surveying the crowd. No one seemed to be carrying anything that resembled one of the conduit’s wands. While my search continued, I realized that the culprit may have intentionally kept it hidden during my watch. I agonized over the fact that I hadn’t been able to convince my colleagues of Damon’s presence at Rosemary King- if I had achieved that, I could have had more of a scope on the area, and undoubtedly, it would have been easier to pinpoint the guilty party! I grew despondent of the difficulty o this task until I espied one individual who would not quarrel with the concept of a supernatural adversary in this vicinity…

“Casper! I’m so glad to see you!” I heartily greeted him.

“You are?” Casper catechized in astonishment.

A couple of our peers hovered around this area, and I almost invited him go somewhere more private, but I didn’t esteem that such an area existed in the gym anymore. The dance floor was jam-packed, and Roxy was still hunting down the fictional beast I told her about by the refreshment tables. The only quarters that appeared to have a low occupancy was the men’s restroom, and I couldn’t invite him to join me there without raising a few brows! I became somewhat miffed by the lack of privacy, and I settled on describing my needs in vague terms, “Do you remember our discussion in the equipment shed?”

Casper recalled, “The equipment shed? Oh, yes! I was regaling you with my distinguished stint in the sports realm!”

“Right… You know the ‘trophy’ of yours I broke?” I gave him a subtle wink to indicate my code word there.

“Trophy? Why would I bring you one of my trophies? And why would you break one of them?” Casper puzzled.

Since he still wasn’t grasping onto the pseudonym, I winked at him several more times as I spoke, “I dunno, to relive those ‘magical’ days…”

Finally, that dolt caught on! “Oh, yeah! Those trophies! Well, what about them?”

I filled him in, “I found out that an attendee here brought one. Can you let me know if you see it?”

“Why would he tell you? It’s his trophy!” Balam probed.

“I… I wanna make up for what I did to that other one, so I just wanna hear that he got it!” I fibbed.

Casper acquiesced, “You can count on me, my friend!” I began to leave his proximity, and then he petitioned me, “Wait, how did a kid get a hold of one of my trophies?” I gave him a discerning stare, and he instantly changed his tune, “Never mind, I got it!” The faculty around us seemed perplexed, but I left that scene before they forced me to try and explain it!

When I resumed my patrol of the perimeter, I observed several different wands, but none of them resembled the piece I sought. I started to get frustrated- if the perpetrator didn’t bring this artifact for the explicit purpose of parading it sound at a magically themed event, why else would they possess it during their rendezvous here? I was almost ready to give up until…

“My brother, Jeffrey, said there were vampires here!” a young boy acquainted to a group of freshmen.

“Yeah, right!” a guy in the gaggle disputed. “You believe in vampires, Dennis?”

Dennis staunchly stated, “I have to! Jeffrey wouldn’t lie! He and his girlfriend, Lisa, almost died from a pack of them!”

A young lady pointed out, “You mean they almost feasted on his blood? ‘Cause vampires don’t kill people…”

I considered myself somewhat of an expert on that subject after contending with those blood-suckers last year, but I resisted participating in that debate for the sake of my sanity’s reputation. Despite the lack of feasibility for my involvement in this quarrel, I remained drawn to it. Something inside me indicated that there was more to this spat than met the eye…

“Connor, help us settle an argument,” Aleck appealed to me with Ellie beside him.

“Can it wait?” I queried as I strove to peer over their shoulders in order to monitor this paranormal tift further.

Ellie ignored my response and briefed me, “He said Black Sabbath is a seventies band, but they’ve been around since the sixties, right?”

Aleck contended, “Black Sabbath is a heavy metal band! I can’t picture them getting played side-by-side with The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel!”

“That was in the early sixties!” Ellie bickered. “The late sixties gave birth to classic rock! I would know- I was there!”

“Your parents let you listen to that?” Aleck challenged her.

Ellie let out an exasperated exhale. “I’m not wrong! Connor, tell me I’m correct!”

I hadn’t paid much attention to their altercation, so I couldn’t provide them with any insight on this topic. I caught bits of Dennis’s crew’s clash, and they were definitely sustaining their bandy regarding the mayhem Damon’s previous siege caused. I wished I knew why this recollection of the past was relevant to my current mission, but my instincts compelled me to gleam as much as possible from this exchange! Without knowing the context of their squabble, I decreed, “Yeah, Ellie wins!”

“What? You’re not interested in talking about classic rock?” Aleck gazed at me in shock.

“I’m not scared of them!” Dennis declared. “I brought protection…”

My curiosity was piqued! What could this protective measure possibly have been? My ears strayed in that direction, but Ellie swiveled my head back to the two of them. “What is with you? You’re not acting like yourself!”

The view of Dennis’s display was obscured, and his clique mocked its ability to function in any security protocol. I snarled at my unfortunate predicament, and I berated Aleck and Ellie, “Hey, I tried to disclose my problems to you, and you didn’t wanna listen! If you don’t wanna assist me, then oh well! I’m not gonna let your stubbornness prohibit me from taking the proper course!” They made a bid to counter that, but I disregarded their push for my consideration- Dennis’s company became very animated, and I absolutely had to intervene!

“Of course, it works!” Dennis bellowed. “I’ll prove it!”

“Noooo!” I cried out when I beheld his weapon of choice- it was a wand! My dire caution came out too late- the lights flickered, and everything went black!

The children screamed, and Casper notified me, “Connor! I found the trophy!”

I rolled my eyes at his dullness, and then I grilled Dennis, “Quick! What did you just unleash on us?”
“I dunno!” Dennis frantically informed me. “It was only supposed to be small! I don’t understand what’s happening!”

“Where is your creation?” I demanded. Dennis merely shook his head, so I canvassed the bystanders around him, “Have any of you seen anything or anyone unusual around here?”

Everybody stayed mute for a minute, and then Peter piped up, “Maybe you can ask that glowing person if they saw any unusual stuff!”

I ignored his obtuseness due to the urgency of the situation. “Glowing person?” He referred to the wrestling loft, and indeed, there was a human silhouette with a purple, luminous haze around them! “Good idea! That glowing person may have seen something unusual- I’ll go talk to them!”

After I darted toward the stairwell entrance, Phoebe jumped in front of me and asserted, “You can’t do this!”

“I have to!” I dissented. “I recognize it’s dangerous up there, but if I don’t intervene, it’ll be a disaster!”

“Yes, I agree! But you literally can’t do this- the door is locked!” Phoebe demonstrated this actuality by jiggling the latch. As I wracked my brain on how to get past this barrier, Phoebe fished out Fletcher and implored him, “Do you have the key?”

Fletcher frowned, and then he opined, “Yeah, but I don’t reckon I should be encouraging this…”

Ellie concurred with Fletcher, “Whatever’s up there is creepy, but that doesn’t mean we should allow his imagination to run wild!”

“So, you’d rather let that creep run wild instead?” Phoebe pushed back. “What if he’s not delusional? Your inaction could take away innocent lives!”

“What if it’s nothing though?” Ginger posed to her.

Phoebe retorted, “Then we see that for ourselves and make Connor take medication! But if he’s accurate, then we can ensure he doesn’t die from… whatever the hell that is!”

The four of them exchanged glances, and I beamed at my wonderful fiancé! I got shunned for telling the others the truth, but she loyally allied her position with mine! She did convince them all to aid me with the original occult quandary, so I now thought that I ought to have trusted her with this concept all along! Drats! I didn’t have a second to spare to apologize to her or beat myself up over missing out on having a partner in this all along- Fletcher begrudgingly pulled out a ring of keys, and the entryway to the loft became ajar. Phoebe glared at Ginger, Fletcher, Ellie, and Aleck, and they reluctantly followed her into the stairwell. I was so incredibly grateful for her service, and I vowed to shower her in appreciation when this was all over!

I had gotten so wrapped up in gratitude of my girlfriend that I nearly forgot about the spooky adversary we were about to face! A violet fog seeped out of the cracks, and apparently, the loft’s windows also had some openings because the Homecoming soiree erupted in shrieks! “Okay, so something’s definitely going on up there!” Aleck admitted.

“Is it too early to say I told you so?” I riposted.

“How do we destroy it?” Fletcher asked.

I answered, “No clue! I’ve been figuring it out as I go along.”

Ginger exclaimed, “That’s reckless!”

“Hey! I’ve survived this far!” I defended myself.

“Do we have any weapons?” Ellie inquired.

I replied to her, “I have some sage! I’m not positive it’s the best quality though ‘cause it keeps extinguishing real quick!”

Ginger educated me, “Oh, you gotta burn a candle simultaneously! That’s what Brielle and I did when we smudged our house. I-.”

A low, guttural growl sounded from the loft, and it registered to all of us that we needed to move immediately! Aleck pondered, “Alright, which one of us goes in first?”

No one budged an inch, so I irritably volunteered, “I’ll do it!” I climbed over and squeezed past the other five, which garnered some pained objections from the newly formed demon-fighting league. I couldn’t stop to apologize though, nor did I desire to honestly, and subsequent to a deep breath, I slowly opened the door. The smoke dissipated, and we gasped when we viewed the haunting entity inside…

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 28

As I locked my front door, I heard Brantley calling out from across the street, “Where are you going all dressed up like that?”

I was about to tell that jerk where my true destination lay, and that was obviously a terrible idea, so I fibbed, “I’m meeting Phoebe at a charity ball in the Arioch.” I crossed my fingers that he didn’t know that the adult movie still had that joint shut down for their production…

“Is that right?” Brantley rubbed his chin contemplatively, and then he slowly inched toward his vehicle. “I’ve gotta go! Nowhere in particular…” He dashed inside of his car and sped off, and I laughed at the premise of him believing he beat me to her only to get told by that receptionist that the hotel was closed!

“Oh, don’t mind me!” Lilith slipped out of her abode wearing a very slinky outfit.

I very readily agreed, “Alright! I won’t!” She seemed affronted that I wasn’t drooling over her provocative garb, and I could’ve cared less! I suspected that she would retaliate later, but I wasn’t worried about whatever claptrap my ex or Phoebe’s had in store for tonight! Damon had yet to fail to spoil a school dance with his deviousness, and I doubted that this evening would be an exception!

When I arrived at the gym, a thoroughly blasé Corvina greeted me, “Happy to see you, Mister Fenmore!”

I questioned her, “Are you really?”

“Really? No!” Corvina admitted. “Hudd has a football game going on at the moment, so he can’t come! Now, I’m stuck taking tickets from all these joyful idiots! …And you!”

“Maybe he’ll swing by at the end and surprise you!” I attempted to buoy her spirits.

Corvina scoffed at that notion, “Psh! I think I have a better chance of seeing that sand man again!”

Her comment made my veins grow cold! I had the same prediction, but I still held out the hope that my apprehension was unfounded and that the event would play out like a normal school function, but that remark fed into my foreboding! I was tempted to quiz her regarding any tips she may have had related to our supernatural adversary, but I knew I needed to stay strong for the kids, so I shook that possibility out of my head and advised her, “Don’t tempt fate! Try to muster a little fun to get through this!” She shrugged, and I walked away before she planted any more dire pictures into my anxious imagination!

I spotted Phoebe in the nearly empty space wearing overalls and an old shirt, so I joked, “Gosh, I didn’t realize it was black tie optional! I guess I wasted a lot of time going home to get on this penguin suit!”

“You’re a riot!” Phoebe relayed in a sarcastic tone. She handed me a bouquet of sparkly, golden balloons, and she requested, “Can you finish taping these up while I go change?”

“What? And ruin my fancy duds?” I kidded.

Phoebe giggled, gave me a kiss, and notified me, “I’ll be back in a minute!”

As she retrieved her gown from behind the deejay’s booth, I mockingly counted, “Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty…” I couldn’t finish that gag- the banner with the theme of the occasion filled me with dread!

“Please tell me you didn’t forget how to count!” Ginger groaned.

“A Night of Magic?” I croaked. “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” I glanced around at the glistening baubles and fairy figures that adorned the walls, and I got overcome with even more dread! Having a motif centered around enchantments was just asking for trouble! I espied some souvenir wands at the refreshments table, and my fear only heightened. “Oh no!” These were obviously made from cheap plastic, and my tension began to ease a bit. “Wait, they would’ have the budget for real ones! Phew!”

Some of my colleagues were ogling at me peculiarly, so Ginger covered for me, “He’s obviously trying to be funny! Keyword: try!” They chortled at her quip, and Ginger pretended to do the same, but then she leaned in by me and whispered, “Please, act rationally tonight! We don’t need another year of chaotic dances!”

I sourly agreed, “Tell me about it!”

As I taped up the balloon bouquet that Phoebe handed me, Fletcher stood adjacent to the column I was using and muttered, “This has gotta be fake!”

“What?” I responded.

“My daughters are having their Homecoming too, and, well, take a look!”

I anticipated seeing something spectacular based on the manner he framed that assertion, but his twin girls seemed perfectly ordinary to me! “Uh… they look pretty!”

Fletcher fumed, “These gowns cover their legs and cleavage! I couldn’t even get them to do that for church! Why are they hiding themselves? Hold on, is that a tummy? Am I gonna be a grandpa? Oh, god!”

“They don’t seem too big to me!” I assessed.

“Then how do you reconcile their sudden change of wardrobe?” Fletcher challenged me.

I didn’t esteem that it would do any good to say they may have simply changed their attitude about sporting such unseemly garbs in his state, so I remarked, “You’re the only one I know that would freak out over their children dressing discreetly!” He let out an exasperated sigh and stomped away. I didn’t quite understand his reasoning, but I let it go.

As I finished with the decor, a small group of teens arrived. I noticed that the females of the bunch had fantasy-type wings on, and inwardly, I panicked. Probably a tad outwardly too- I have no poker face! People were trimming themselves in accordance with the theme, so it appeared probable that at least one of them would bring one of Damon’s Hellian wands as a prop! How was I supposed to take action against that foolish fiend’s unwitting accomplice with so many peepers present? I watched this crew take a selfie, and a boy made a bid to touch a young lady’s rear, which made them all call him out on it. It reminded me that these youths weren’t likely to mimic the furtive movements of that dastardly villain! Perhaps pulling off an attack tonight would prove futile…

“Mister Fenmore!” Roxy vied for my attention.

“Gah!” I reacted to her abrupt manifestation. Once the shock wore off, I observed her lengthy, crimson frock with a matching veil that draped over her visage, and I couldn’t prevent myself from jesting, “What’s this? A Halloween costume depicting a demonic bride?” I tittered at my humor until I mulled it over for a second. “Oh…!”

Roxy inquired, “Have you seen my beloved?”

I replied, “No, but I can’t imagine he’d strike in an event like this, so you should use your time here to have fun instead!”

“Nice try!” Roxy rebuffed my endeavor to distract her. “You and I both know he’ll be here! And you can’t keep it from me when he does show up- you’ll never leave my sight until he does!”

“Hey! A mystical beast just popped up!” I pretended to discover.

Roxy lit up at this concept. “Really?” She fervently searched the room for the spectacle that I mentioned.

Using every fiber of my being to stifle my smile, I articulated, “Yeah! It went underneath those tables over there! I better go destroy it!”

“No!” Roxy ran to the spot I referred to and coaxed the non-existent creature, “Where are you, baby? I’ll protect you!”

“Thank the devil’s bane! I seriously didn’t wanna talk to you with that ninnyhammer around!” Damon expressed as he materialized on a silver streamer.

With adolescents and adults all starting to congregate in this area, I didn’t deem it prudent to give off the impression that I was speaking to myself, so I feigned a phone conversation as I communicated to Damon, “You know, you don’t have to wreak havoc at another dance! You could actually enjoy your stay here!”

Damon sneered, “How ridiculous of you to believe I would fall for a trick like that again!”

“Again?” My ears perked up at this phrase. “Did something occur at one of your dances?” I didn’t reckon that he would willingly give up an insight like that, but I prayed he would accidentally relinquish a hint into his depraved motive!

“Did I say again? I meant for the first instance ever!” Damon peered at me to see if I was buying his ploy, but I clearly indicated that I did not, so he shook off his portrayal of apathy and seethed, “Listen, my past doesn’t matter! I’m here to talk about your future! You may hinder my conduit, but you’ll never stop him! … Or her!”

I smirked at his slip-up. “Ah-ha! So, your partner in crime is a male?”

Damon growled, “It doesn’t matter! All of Terra Belle will soon get destroyed, so remember that if you view my current undertakings as bad, it’s only the beginning! Your circumstances are about to get so much worse!”

“I see… I suppose you must truly care about me to warn me like that!” I wryly grinned.

“What? No! You’re supposed to get intimidated and lessen your voracity for protecting your pupils!” Damon pouted.

I probed, “Then there’s some sort of method to defeat whatever nonsense you have planned?”

Damon didn’t acknowledge my assertion, but his expression spoke volumes! I hoped to prolong this interaction in order to dig deeper, but then a nearby Yurei proclaimed, “Miss Caracy, I have a problem with this playlist…”

“Don’t leave! Intimidate me more!” I entreated Damon, but he disappeared anyways. “Rats!” I lamented my luck. The masculine identity ruled Mara out, and I returned to square one once more. I craved the contemplation of this conundrum, but in the meantime, I had a more urgent issue at hand to contend with! If Damon’s visual presented itself here, then for sure one of the attendees possessed a wand. If I could root out this individual, I could thwart Damon’s scheme preceding its onset! The trouble with that was hundreds of teenagers would go to this soiree- how was I supposed to figure out who the culprit could have been?

“The committee came up with these songs yesterday. It’s been approved by your peers,” Phoebe informed her.

Yurei argued, “Yeah, but they’re so lame!”

Phoebe resolutely affirmed, “Tough cookies! If you wanna get paid properly, you gotta use this music! And any other tunes your classmates request!”

“We’re allowed to take requests? Perfect!” Yurei skipped off.

“You hired her to-?” I emerged from my post to enquire about this decision, but I cut myself off when I beheld Phoebe’s elegant semblance! She had gotten all dolled up at other dances, and those episodes left me in awe too, but it seemed as though each occasion we would participate in these, she would evoke this effect in me!

Phoebe concernedly canvassed me, “What’s wrong?”

I professed, “I forgot! All I can recall is how beautiful you are right now!”

“Thank you!” Phoebe graciously accepted my compliment. I got so mesmerized by her allure that my brain locked up! All I could direct my body to do was to passionately embrace her! Phoebe held me back though, and she accosted me, “Something’s going on! Quit hiding it!” I bit my lip in guilt- I dearly desired to confess everything to her, but how could I explain all of my paranormal parameters to a victim of recollection affliction? “Connor, I love you! I’m not gonna judge you! You’ve been there for me throughout all of this dilemma, and I wanna be there for you too, but I can’t help you if you’re not honest with me!”

“Honestly?” I couldn’t deny her this anymore. If I kept deceiving her, I would lose her trust, and our relationship would cease to exist! I wasn’t confident that she would remain by my side with the actual account of everything, but I could not shield my otherworldly burden any longer! “A demon wants vengeance against Rosemary King, and a monster is about to attack our campus!”

Her eyes grew wide, and I was certain she would conclude that I lost my marbles like everybody else did. Prior to any response from her, Yurei announced, “Alright, alright, alright! Welcome to Homecoming! Let’s kick things off with some thrash metal!” Phoebe put her hands on her hips, so Yurei exclaimed, “Someone requested it!” Phoebe persisted, so Yurei relented, “Fine! Enjoy your sappy ballad!”

Before the piece could broadcast, an earsplitting scream echoed throughout the facility… 

The Terra-Belle Demon, Chapter 27

Mara affirmed, “I have a right to be here!”

I disagreed, “No, you don’t! What is it with you people? You can’t just walk into a government building! Especially if it’s full of children! And…” She furnished a visitor pass, and I stared at it in bewilderment. “Oh! You actually applied for that, and you got approved!”

“Of course!” Mara certified. “My legal last name is the same as Phoebe’s. They’re not gonna keep sisters apart!”

“Except you obviously aren’t here to see her!” I pointed out in disgust. “If you’re not using your relatives to get to me, then why would you seek me out in a spot so far from her?”

Mara claimed, “It was her idea for me to come find you”

I debated that, “Yeah, right! If Phoebe was planning for us to hang out, she would’ve told me about it!” Instantly after I spoke, my phone chimed. I saw a text from Phoebe, and I read it out loud, “Hey, babe! My sister wanted to have dinner tonight, but I’m kinda busy in the Homecoming committee, so I’m sending her your way. Hope that’s okay!”

“She said I’d be a distraction to her students,” Mara filled me in. “I’m guessing she doesn’t wanna know who watches my movies, and I don’t blame her! Minors shouldn’t watch them, but naturally, you can’t always stop them. She wouldn’t wanna hear her kids saying they’re into things like-!”

“I don’t wanna know!” I covered my ears in case she did it anyways, and since she didn’t, I lowered my limbs and accosted her, “So, what, you acted like you wanted to spend time with a sibling to make another attempt to seduce me? I swear, I’m gonna start filing restraining orders on all the crazies following me!”

Mara explained, “I wanted to go out with you two so I could clear the air with Phoebe, and I wanted to do it in a public place in case she wanted to claw my eyes out for my behavior. I’d feel too guilty going to your engagement party with that hanging over my head!”

This statement took me aback! “Wow, that’s very noble of you!”

“Although…” Mara developed a sly smile on her visage.

“No! No althoughs!” I burst out. “You learned your lesson, and we can move on as one big, happy family!”

She leaned on the table in a provocative manner to shut the door, and then she purred, “This room is awfully private…”

I firmly spieled, “Absolutely not! This is a study area, we don’t use it for that! I don’t think… I wonder how often they check! That librarian is so damn preoccupied with her work, I doubt she inspects it very often…” I flinched as I nearly touched the surface, and I made a mental note to enquire to the custodian about how frequently he cleans these quarters.

“We could use our meal together to tell Phoebe you’re gonna leave her and run away with me!” Mara suggested.

“Are you crazy?” I bellowed.

Mara remarked, “I’ve been accused of that. Well, I’m not hearing a no!”

I hollered, “No! No, no, no, no, no, no!”

“So, what does that mean?” Mara inquired.

“Seriously?” I replied. “I didn’t make myself clear there?”

Mara elucidated, “No, I get you’re not ready yet. I-.”

I informed her, “I won’t ever be ready! Get it in your thick skull- I don’t want you! I don’t want anyone else but Phoebe! I’m marrying her; you and I are never gonna happen!”

“Never say never!” Mara cautioned me. “When I want something, I don’t give up ‘til I get it!”

“You-!” Prior to me finishing that sentence, I got a message from someone on Classbook. I would’ve ignored it, but I saw that it was from the conduit! It warned me that there was more than one method of sharpening a knife, and they vowed to complete their goal no matter what! It alarmed me, but the profile deleted itself before I could report it. I supposed I should have known that they would react badly, but since I didn’t have any clue who they were, I couldn’t surmise what they were capable of! What if this individual was far more competent than the foolish fiend they served?

I nearly forgot about Mara because of the conduit’s threat, but she caught my attention when she gazed at her cell phone and posed to me, “Hmm… Is Acheron’s any good?”

With my focus still on that strange transaction, I vacantly responded, “Yeah, it’s great!” I saw the pleased look on her face, and it suddenly occurred to me what she meant by that comment. “But I’m not going there with you! You obviously don’t respect my relationship with your sister either, so you’re uninvited to our engagement party! I’m done with you!”

“Wow! That’s harsh!” She became quite sullen as she began to depart, and for a few seconds, I felt guilty for making that judgment against her. That all changed when she halted her footsteps by the doorway and gave me a very piercing glare while seething, “Do what you want, but I always win in the end! This setback means nothing! There’s more than one method of sharpening a knife!”

“What did you just say?” I ogled at her incredulously. Was it a mere coincidence that she used the same phrase as the conduit? She was on the phone when I got the message from them, and all of this commenced after she came into town! Damon even appeared in the lake where she was staying! Maybe her main purpose in pursuing me wasn’t to sleep with me after all… “Hey, wait!” I called out. She walked off in a huff, and I called out again, “I changed my mind! You can-!”

The loud girl from that nearby table shushed me, “Shh! We’re trying to study here!”

I opened my mouth to argue with the irony of her accusing me of being too noisy, but I refrained due to the vitality of haste in my quest. I was determined to convince her to join us at that restaurant, but preceding me having the ability to chase after her, I felt something cold graze the backside of my body! Initially, I presumed it to have emanated from Mara somehow, but a wave of frosty air spread throughout the vicinity! “Oh, please be something normal!” I crossed my fingers and turned around…

“Damn!” I lamented as I beheld an opaque woman with a beak-like jaw, hollow eyes, and talon palms hovering on the opposite end of me with her tattered nightgown flowing as if a wind were blowing beneath her. After I got over the disappointment of not dealing with something as ordinary as a broken air conditioner or something, I relievedly opined, “Phew! It’s only a ghost!”

“Did I hear that correctly?” Peter set down his textbook and questioned me.

I lied, “Nope!” 

He shrugged and returned to his reading. “Whew!” I made a thumbs-up gesture to him, and I shut the door to the study room as rapidly as possible.

The ghostly woman roared at me as she started to charge, and I coolly regarded her, “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” I swiftly withdrew some sage, and once I set it ablaze, she backed away. “Huh! This spot doesn’t have sprinklers? Boy, this space is seeming like more and more of a terrible idea!” The ghostly woman shrieked, and I dismissed her attempt to shake me before catechizing, “You’re not getting driven off by this? Shit! How do I destroy you? I didn’t bring the salt today ‘cause it leaked in my pocket…” She howled, and I mulled over different prospects of defeating this phantom adversary.

I received a buzz, and given what recently transpired, I made the assumption that Phoebe was contacting me about her sister. In order for me to interrogate Mara, I dearly desired for our evening to resume, so I picked up the call, “Hello?”

“Connor! Are you busy?” my mom canvassed me.

“No…” I glanced over at my apparitional adversary, and while she gave off a menacing aura, my defense mechanism had apparently kept her at bay. It was too late to ignore my mom, but I hoped that she would conclude her business with me with as much speed as she could muster!

She notified me, “I’ve been tracking the weather, and you’re not gonna believe this, but it’s supposed to rain on Saturday!”

I uttered, “Uh-huh!” as though I were listening, but the ghostly woman was advancing upon me once more! I espied my flame getting weak, so I relit it as my mother prattled on about how she needed to have the event planner come early to set up a tarp. The ghostly woman retreated, and I contemplated how I could defeat her under these circumstances.

“So, what do you think, Connor?” my mom petitioned me.

“Huh?” I regretted uttering that since letting her catch on that I wasn’t listening would cause her to repeat her rambling and I could get stuck in this predicament even longer! I contemplated the issue for a bit, and I reckoned that because she was in charge of this festivity and because I could’ve cared less about the minor details that it entailed, I should opt to simply agree with her. “Oh, whatever you say, Mom!” 

My mother pleasantly articulated, “Excellent!” I truly expected that to end this conversation, but then she went on, “Now, about your napkins…” I groaned as she expanded on that premise. “I originally told them to do pink and white ones, but it may be windy, so I recommend switching to cloth ones since they’re heavier. The problem is they only come in a single color…” I noticed the ghostly woman creeping closer to me, so I held the sage up higher, and she got repelled once more. “…Beige isn’t very romantic, but the embroidery is gorgeous…”

Phoebe communicated with me, so I got a gander at it as my mother chattered. She apprised me that Mara canceled our rendez-vous, and she couldn’t comprehend why. I wasn’t certain how to react to that! I needed to finally confess what Mara had been doing, but I definitely couldn’t reveal this in such a remote fashion! In her condition, she might have required extra support, so I had to do that in person. But, in the meantime, I was baffled as to what I ought to convey to her…

The ghostly woman got within inches of me and screeched! I drove her off with the sage, but prior to her drifting out of my orbit, my mom puzzled, “What on earth was that?”

“Uh…  the furnace is on the fritz.” I cringed from the implausibility of that fib. If she didn’t accept that rationale, I had no inkling what to try next…

“Gotcha! So, if I change the napkins, I’ll have to change the tablecloths too…” my mother proceeded with her prose.

My attention waned. She had known me for forty years at that juncture, so I didn’t understand why she envisioned that I would find this discussion anything but excruciating! In the midst of her monologue, Phoebe sent a confused emoji. I got so overwhelmed by attempting to juggle both conundrums at once, and then the ghostly woman snuck up on me again…

I couldn’t help it- I got so livid by everything that I shouted, “WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?” To my complete astonishment, she disappeared! I gestured in complete discombobulation and verbalized, “All I had to do was ask?”

“Well, if you’re gonna have that kind of attitude, I’ll reconsider assisting you ever again!” my mother spat.

“No, Mom! I wasn’t talking to you!” I strove to catch her before she hung up, but alas, I wasn’t successful! I didn’t enjoy upsetting her, and I avowed to promptly make it up to her! I nearly relayed an apology to her, but it was enticing to wait and see if she would cancel the engagement party…

Phoebe’s voice echoed out, “Connor? Where are you?”

I immediately hopped out of that study room, and that loud girl got wide-eyed at my possession. “Woah! You were smoking in there?”

“That explains a lot!” Peter asserted. I almost contended that statement, but I would rather have had rumors about that spread than anything related to the supernatural, so I let it slide.

“While we’re burning stuff, can you take care of this?” The loud girl offered me her wand. “It doesn’t work! I thought it would give us answers, but… not that we were gonna cheat or anything…”

I avidly snatched it from her. “I’ll gladly destroy it for you!” I grew curious as to how a ghoulish monster would’ve aided them, but I didn’t want to prolong this moment!

Phoebe gawked at me extinguishing the sage as well as the general atmosphere of the space, and she pondered, “What went on here?” She spotted the wand, and she exclaimed, “What is that?”

After I broke it, I distracted her by broadcasting, “Your sister has tried to hook up with me three times now!”

I winced at the abrupt path I  took in reporting this, and I began to fear that I acted totally inappropriately! I foresaw a breakdown, and I upbraided myself for that choice, but then she bore a displeased but unsurprised expression as she aired, “That slut!”

“You’re not mad?” I gasped.

“She’s done that to most of my boyfriends. She gets jealous so easily! It’s alright, I trust you!” She gave me a kiss, and I could hardly fathom my luck! After what she witnessed, she still held that belief! “Wanna go out to dinner?”

I propositioned, “How about Acheron’s?” As we departed arm in arm, I knocked on wood that Mara would turn up so I could determine her ties to that demonic dunce!