Some Witches Need Anger Management

Happy Birthday To Me

"Alec?" Wesley said looking at me confused, "What? How?"

That's exactly what I was bloody thinking...

"I believe you know each other." Belph said, "Wesley here will be under our protection for the duration of your stay."

I don't think so...

"Let him go."

"Not just yet, Alec." Belph smiled, clicking his fingers again making Wesley disappear before he could say anything, "Now, we need to make sure that you get settled in here! Where are my manners?"

With a clap of his hands a zombie appeared, dressed in a tuxedo, a horrible brown wig set precariously on top of his head. All the decaying, rotten flesh was on show, his smile a pit of blackened teeth. In his one hand the zombie held out a large parcel wrapped up in familiar a paper. Green with a cartoon vampire motif.

"This is just a little something to say 'welcome'." Belph said as I cautiously took the parcel.

It was large, and heavy. Placing it gently on the table I saw Belph watching me, expectation in his eyes while Nick just grinned.

Ah, what the hell... what harm could it do? I was already dead...

Ripping into the paper, it revealed a box that held a large, round cake. The chocolate sponge was dripping with cream cheese frosting, covered in sprinkles and chocolate shavings, decorated with strawberries.

"You're kidding," I said staring at Belph and Nick in disbelief.

"January 20th, your birthday, right?" Belph said, "Happy Birthday, Alec."

I was stunned. They were right, it was my birthday, but the world ending had pushed it from my mind. Turning twenty in Hell... not exactly how I had imagined it would go.

"Uh, thank you." I said eventually.

"No need to thank me," Belph replied, "Derek here did all the hard work."

Following his gaze to the zombie, I smiled. Derek was looking directly at me, grinning, a look of pride on his face. I smiled back at him.

Huh, I guess zombies make good cooks...

"Now," with another click from Belph, Derek was gone,"You two can stay here for a bit. Nick will show you to your room. Eat, it's not poisoned." he added, seeing that I was still eyeing up the cake.

I didn't want to appear rude, so I picked up a fork that was sitting inside the box and stabbed down into the soft sponge. The moment my fork slid through the icing, I knew it would taste amazing. Sweet cream oozed from inside, dripping as I guided it into my mouth. A moan escaped my lips as the sweet flavor of chocolate, strawberries and cream melted against my tongue.

It was like heaven, well, Hell I guess...

"Wow. This is amazing!"

Nick smirked at me and nodded slightly. I was too busy stuffing my mouth full to notice fully. I continued to eat for a few minutes before noticing Belph was still watching me, waiting patiently for me to finish.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "Thank you, this is really delicious."

Belph chuckled, "Don't worry, dying will give you an appetite. It's a good sign."

I swallowed, "It is?"

"Of course," Belph smiled, "It means that you're adjusting."

Adjusting to what? Actually, I wasn't sure I wanted to find out...

"Can I have some cake?" Nick asked, "Derek makes the best chocolate sponge."

Looking down I saw a second fork had appeared in the box, so I passed it to him and with a big grin Nick dived into the cake. My heart twinged as I watched him, he reminded me so much of Dylan before he was turned.

"So, what are you planning to do now that you're awake?" Nick asked through a mouthful of cake.

I shrugged, trying to keep my expression neutral when I thought about everything that lay ahead of me.

How the fuck was I supposed to get back home?

"What do you suggest?" I asked him.

Nick seemed to think a moment before he replied, "I can show you the library, or the racetrack!" his excitement grew as he went on, "There's the bowling alley. Oh, the arcade is a blast! There's also a park nearby where we could play golf, but the waterfalls have always been my favourite..."

"Waterfalls it is then," I smiled at him.

Belph pulled a golden watch from his pocket and studied it.

"Just make sure you're back in your rooms in an hour." he said.

"Why?" I asked, a sense of dread creeping up my spine.

"That's when my siblings start to patrol the corridors," Belph replied, "Trust me, the curfew is for the best. They are demons after all."

Yeah, I'd had my fill of demons. Kaicius had been quite enough on his own... I didn't want to imagine hoards just like him.

"Let's get going," Nick said jumping up, "The view is amazing."

I got up and followed him to the door, looking back I saw Belph dipping a long finger into the frosting. He winked at me as Nick pulled me through behind him.

He was right, the view was amazing.

We came out onto a high cliff covered in grass that looked out over a seemingly endless horizon. Trees, covered the ground as far as my eyes could make out. The sound of rushing water caught my attention, to our left was a waterfall, tumbling and crashing down into a large lake below us. The water was not what I expected. It was dark, almost black.

"The river Styx." Nick said, "It ends up here. The lake is bottomless so it constantly flows in and ends up back at the start again."

"It's..."

I stopped as I realised there was no sun. No moon. There was no sky above us at all, just pitch black with no end in sight.

"How are we able to see?" I asked.

"Magic," Nick answered, pointing towards the lake.

The water was alive. Every now and then flashes of light burst from its surface, dancing across the night, "What is it?" I asked.

"A spell," Nick answered, "The lights come from the lake. I don't really know how it works. I suppose I've never really thought about it."

Of course, he was used to it. It was just part of life for him, and he didn't know any different. But, I had to admit it was fascinating to watch, and I got why Nick liked it so much.

Nick sat down then, his legs hanging out over the edge. I sat down cross legged a little behind him, not wanting to get too close to the drop. It was oddly peaceful as we watched the lights dance around the lake.

Well, happy birthday to me... I guess.

We sat there for what felt like hours, but then a loud ping came from Nick's pocket. He pulled out a watch similar to the one Belph had before and he looked at it sadly.

"We should go," he said, "Time's almost up. We can come back tomorrow though."

"Sure," I smiled.

Nick pulled me back though the door and showed me the way back to the room I had woken up in before. After saying goodbye to him I laid down on the bed and felt the day catching up with me as I fell into an uneasy sleep.