CONTROL ➳ D. HALE [2]

34 ; all that was left

34  ➳ ALL THAT WAS LEFT

July 19, 1993

It can't be me. No, I saw it wrong.

It's my face when I look in the mirror, but its missing. How is it missing?

It's not me.

But it is.

  ➳ 

"So, this is what you and Peter went to Mexico to find?" Elise asked, peering over Derek's shoulder as he pulled a cylindrical wooden box out of a small trunk he kept at the back of his closet. A symbol was etched into the top of the box; Elise recognized it as a triskelion. She'd known that the box had previously contained something connected to Derek's past- that much was obvious, as the symbol carved into the container matched the symbol that Derek had tattooed between his shoulders.

Derek nodded slightly as he closed the trunk. "It used to hold my mother's claws. It was all that was left of her after the fire," he said solemnly. Elise's eyes left the box, flicking to his face. She found an expression that even she couldn't decipher written across his features. "I needed to see something that only she could show me, and those claws let that happen."

"What did she show you?" Elise inquired gently.

Derek sighed quietly as he got to his feet. "My family didn't just live in Beacon Hills, they protected it," he explained. "I suppose it's time to protect it, again."

Scott had contacted them earlier that night, asking if Derek was in possession of a container made from the wood of the nemeton. According to Deaton, if they could trap the nogitsune's spirit inside of the box, it would be enough to seal it away. It was similar to what Kira's mother had done to stop the nogitsune the first time around- Elise only hoped that the second attempted at trapping the trickster would be more permanent.

"Derek," Elise said softly, "I know this might be hard-"

"It's not," Derek replied. "If this can stop the nogitsune from hurting anyone else, it's simple."

Elise nodded again, energy still buzzing in her veins. As the sun began to set, Elise's nerves began to grow, and with her panic swelled power. She took a deep breath, stifling the rising urge to expel the needle-like bubbling beneath her skin.

"Well, then, let's get going."

  ➳

When Derek and Elise arrived outside of the high school, it seemed as if the very air around them was askew. "Be careful," Elise warned, catching Derek's arm as they started to move toward the school.

He nodded, flashing her a concerned look as if to say 'you, too'.

Before the pair could continue their ascent up the stairs leading to the school, a voice echoed from above them. "Aw, did you bring us a present?" the Nogitsune chimed in a child-like taunt from where he was crouched at the peak of the stairs. A light rain had begun to fall around them as a pair of Oni appeared behind the Nogitsune. Elise's finger's itched toward her silver blade, but she resisted the urge to pull it free from her belt. Not yet, she reminded herself. She'd grabbed the largest blade she had, and even then, it wasn't even half the length of one of the Oni's swords.

Derek sensed the stiffness in Elise's posture and slowly placed the box on the ground next to his and Elise's feet, his features becoming more animalistic by the second.

"Actually," Derek sneered. "We brought two."

On cue, the twins crept out from their place concealed within the bushes on either side of the stairwell. Both of their eyes were alight with an acidic blue hue as they moved to stand behind the couple.