✔ Secrets of the Amulet | ONC 2023 | EDITING

5. A Night in Nevermourn

Whispers of the wind caressed Everett's face, soothing him like childhood lullabies. He nestled against soft velvety skin. Kieran took him further than the graveyard fence, soaring up into the night sky as if striving to reach for the moon.

Everett grinned like he was on a sugar-high as he looked down on the buildings of Briarwood as if they were ants. It was so freeing. Kieran kept a firm grasp on him, ensuring he was comfortable and safe on their little flight. Magical embers danced around Everett's body, savoring the touch of the air around them and parting the winds to give them a clear pathway.

At last, Kieran descended back to the grounds of Briarwood. He released Everett, who sighed at the lost sensations of flying so high in the night. Kieran returned to his human form, readjusting his overcoat.

"What an adventurous night," Kieran said.

"Which part?" Mischief twinkled in Everett's eyes. "The flight? The ghosts? Or the zombified body that wanted to rip me to shreds?"

"All of it." Kieran chuckled. "I am worried for your safety, however." Amusement vanished from his hardened voice. "This is getting far more dangerous than I anticipated."

"Don't chicken out on me now." Everett pouted.

"I'd never." Kieran clutched at his chest, faking a wounded heart. "I just don't want you to die. I think someone anticipated you'd visit the graveyard but didn't realize you were capable of handling yourself."

"I'll be fine." A sad smile ghosted Everett's lips as he crossed the sidewalk, halting in front of his house.

Death had wanted Everett for a long time. It had followed him since a child, even chasing him now. Yet he couldn't tell Kieran that. Everett never told anyone about the poison, and only a strict few folks knew about his condition.

Everett was dying everyday. Perhaps that was why he was so fond of the ghosts and necromancy magic. Only a small vial of elixir kept him alive, and it was something he couldn't let others know about. Not without revealing how vulnerable he truly was.

"Hey, are you alright?" Concern crossed Kieran's face. "Shaken up over the zombie?"

"Maybe a little," Everett admitted, sparing a glance at the darkened windows.

"Well, if you're not tired, would you want to do a little sleuthing with me in Nevermourn?"

Everett grinned at the idea of visiting the town of vampires late in the night. However, he knew his mother would worry to death if he didn't come home like she expected.

"Give me a few minutes to change, then I'll meet you back out here, okay?" Everett said. "Just want to grab something to keep me warmer."

Kieran nodded. "I understand. Go ahead. I'll wait right here for you."

As Everett made his way across the yard, he passed by some fake ghosts hung on the branches of their thick oak tree. They made them long ago when Everett was still in wizardry school with old white bedsheets and drew spooky faces on them. Mother always put them out every year.

Pumpkin-shaped windchimes greeted Everett at the door. Jack–o-lanterns they'd carved were perched on a little table with an ashtray that belonged to his father. It made him smile to remember gathering around the kitchen table with his sisters, plucking out the seedy guts and coming up with the scariest faces they could create. Flames flickered inside the pumpkin's sinister smirks as Everett reached for his key, willing the creaky door to open as quietly as it could.

"There you are." Avery smiled as he crossed the foyer. She leaned against the stairwell banister, twirling one of her blonde curls around her purple-polished finger. "How are you feeling?" Her brows dipped, worry lines creasing her forehead. "Mom told us about the incident earlier today."