Inside the old house, Matthew and Joseph were grilling Kenna and Jim with wary looks when—
FWOOOM—!!!
A burst of lightning and shadow tore open in the middle of the living room.
Everyone screamed.
Billy ducked behind Jim.
Matthew aimed his pistol.
Joseph raised his shotgun.
Kenna almost dropped the cocoon.
Big Jim yelled,
"ALRIGHT WHO BROKE MY HOUSE—!"
Cyrus appeared out of the smoke, panting hard, eight spider-eyes fading back into human ones.
"Benjamin's gone—vanished—like sucked out of my grip."
Kenna gasped.
"What? How?!"
Cyrus shook his head.
"I grabbed him. He went poof. Like something teleported him."
Jim crossed his arms.
"…Well that's just GREAT. First spiders, then demons, now disappearing boys."
Billy stared wide-eyed.
"You're… not human, are you?"
Cyrus blinked, confused.
"…Uh. Sometimes?"
Matthew smirked.
"Fantastic. Another monster with social anxiety."
Cyrus ignored him, turning toward the door.
"There's something outside."
Everyone turned tense.
Cyrus vanished in a blur and reappeared outside.
Kenna, Jim, Matthew, Joseph, Billy—and even the silver spider—peeked through the cracked window.
Three figures stood outside the brick wall:
Blood Reaper
Destiny
Keuirseu
Blood Reaper walked slowly along the brick wall, fingertips brushing the old stone.
Her expression—
for once—
was calm.
Destiny whispered something to Keuirseu, who stayed close, shy eyes darting around.
Blood Reaper hummed softly under her breath.
She paused…
closed her eyes…
And whispered:
"…peace."
Destiny blinked.
"You sense it too?"
Blood Reaper nodded.
"This place hasn't seen demons for a while.
Not anymore.
It's quiet.
Dead quiet."
Inside the house, Big Jim whispered:
"She's lookin' for us... ain't she?"
Kenna whispered back:
"She already knows."
Blood Reaper suddenly turned her head directly toward the window.
Six people—and a spider—ducked so fast they almost fell over.
Cyrus stepped beside her outside, trying not to laugh.
"You scared them."
Blood Reaper didn't look away from the window.
"Good."
She finally raised her hand—
and ignited it.
WHOOSH—!!!
Flames roared around her palm.
Inside, Matthew and Jim tripped over each other trying to hide.
Billy screamed.
Joseph dove behind the couch.
The silver spider hissed and jumped onto Kenna's hair.
Cyrus snorted laughing.
"Stop messing with them."
Blood Reaper rolled her eyes.
"Fine."
She lowered the flames and examined the old house one more time.
"This spot…" she muttered.
"It's quiet. Untouched.
A perfect place to put an orb for now."
Cyrus crossed his arms.
"You're sure?"
Blood Reaper nodded slowly.
"Yes.
For now, this place will serve."
Destiny smiled softly.
"Then… we stay?"
Blood Reaper tilted her head.
"…For tonight."
Inside, Kenna whispered:
"…well. We're either saved or doomed."
Big Jim sighed.
"Baby girl… with that woman?
Probably both."
Blood Reaper wiped the green demon gore from her chin and tossed the limp body aside.
"I don't like eating that garbage," she muttered, irritated.
"It tastes like fear and mucus."
Big Jim gagged.
Cyrus pretended he didn't hear that.
Kenna tried very hard not to imagine the aftertaste.
But for the first time…
The house was quiet.
The orb hummed gently over the property like a great, sleeping guardian.
And everyone — exhausted, bloody, traumatized — finally felt safe enough to sleep.
Even if they were terrified Blood Reaper might kill them in their sleep.
Billy curled up in her own room for the first time in a year.
Destiny tucked herself into a corner with a blanket.
Jim rolled onto a mattress muttering about "beer dreams."
Matthew snored like a malfunctioning chainsaw.
Joseph slept with one eye half-open, shotgun across his lap.
Kenna rocked the cocooned infant and the silver hatchling until her own eyes drooped.
Cyrus sat on the roof, watching the tree line.
Keuirseu sat beside him, knees hugged to his chest.
Benjamin paced anxiously, waiting for—
THUNDER.
A sharp sonic boom cracked across the orb.
Everyone jolted awake.
Blood Reaper appeared in the doorway instantly, fire flickering in her palms.
"It's just one," she said. "Calm—"
The orb shimmered.
A shape flew through the air—
fell—
rolled across the yard—
And landed face-first in the dirt with a muffled:
"…ow."
Kenna gasped.
"BENJAMIN!"
This time, no glitter fog.
No love-spell haze.
No confusion.
Just Benjamin — tired, bruised, confused — but alive.
Kenna ran to him, hugging him so tightly he stumbled.
He hugged her back, breath shaking.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
"I don't know where I went… but I'm okay."
They sat at the table, sharing the last of the snacks while setting up traps:
trip wiressharpened sticksdemon alarmssalt linesrigged knives under windowsills
Jim helped too, muttering the whole time.
Blood Reaper walked outside after everyone settled down, Cyrus, Benjamin, and Keuirseu following her to the yard.
They climbed onto the roof.
But Blood Reaper didn't stop.
She went all the way to the gate.
Past the brick wall.
Into the clearing.
Destiny watched silently from the upstairs window, guarding them.
Billy peeked from her cracked door, watching the guardians she'd been too afraid to believe existed.
Blood Reaper lifted her face to the sky.
The moon glowed silver-blue, large and breathless in the night.
Her eyes narrowed — and then widened.
She didn't see the moon the way mortals did.
She saw through it.
She saw the crater.
The gate hidden from mortal sight.
A doorway locked on its surface.
A celestial scar that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat.
Her eyes drifted to the stars.
Entire galaxies spun behind her irises.
Her eyes shifted—
pitch black.
She saw something out there that no one else could see.
And despite her cruelty, her sharp edges, her fire—
Something about what she saw was beautiful to her.
For the first time in her existence—
Blood Reaper wondered:
What am I?
Why am I here?
What is missing inside of me?
The boys joined her.
Cyrus.
Benjamin.
Keuirseu.
All standing at her side beneath the moon.
Destiny watched with soft worry.
Billy peeked again, fascinated.
Cyrus stepped closer and gently lifted her hand, kissing it.
"I am Cyrus," he said softly, voice deep.
"And I promise to always be by your side."
Benjamin took her other hand, kissing it too.
"I swear the same," he said.
"No matter what comes."
Keuirseu knelt, head bowed.
"I… w-want to promise too," he stuttered.
"I'll stay by your side. Always."
Blood Reaper looked at them — annoyed, confused, touched, irritated.
"You are all idiots," she said.
But her voice trembled with something warm.
Then she added:
"You are all the chosen ones."
The boys exchanged looks.
"What does that mean?" Cyrus asked.
Blood Reaper's eyes softened.
"I can feel it.
Eylon is in your powers."
Cyrus blinked.
"Who is that?"
Blood Reaper looked up.
"The God on the throne is the God," she said plainly.
"But Eylon… is the one who should be."
Keuirseu paled.
"So we've been… listening to someone who isn't the real God… this whole time?"
Blood Reaper shrugged.
"Seems so."
Then she flicked her fingers, and her outfit shifted:
black jeans,
black boots,
black jacket,
black shirt.
A normal girl's outfit.
Except she still radiated the power of a dying star.
They all lay back on the grass, looking at the stars.
Bonding.
Laughing a little.
Talking.
For the first time — siblings without blood, but bound by fate.
Blood Reaper still insulted them every five minutes,
but it was the closest thing she'd ever had to a moment of peace.
And beneath the wrong God's moon—
something ancient
and coming
was already looking back at them.