I do not permit re-uploads of my work. There are only two websites where I upload my work. Any re-uploads on other sites are not done by me.

——

Tohru moved his lantern around cautiously. A ghost was nearby. He was sure of that. "Stay on your guard," he warned the group, "I'm going to see if this is-"

"Why would you provoke the ghosts?!" Stephen exclaimed, "We were perfectly fine until you showed up!"

"They may not have the ability to reach into our world during daylight hours, but that doesn't mean you'll be safe for much longer." Tohru checked his watch. Almost midnight. "Get out of here. I-I have a camp just outside, where they can't reach us. You're welcome to join me there."

"As if we're going to run because we might encounter a few ghosts," Elyan shrugged off Tohru's concerns. "We'll be fine."

Tohru narrowed his eyes and focused on his spirit box. "Who killed you?" He asked the so-called ghosts.

"Why would you say that?!" Ursula's eyes widened. "You're going to provoke them!"

The spirit box scrambled back to life. "THAT... BOY..."

"Can you be a little more clearer?" Tohru asked once again, "What boy? Did he live in this village?"

"Y... YES..."

"A-Are you going to hurt us?" Artemis squeaked, "Please say you won't...!"

Tohru reached into his backpack and withdrew a shining lance. It emitted a faint light. Artemis could tell that it contained a radiant power. "Stay close to me. They usually don't talk for long... now that they know you're here, they'll be searching for you," he said.

Azrael poked his head out of Artemis' pocket and yawned. "Where are we? Why do I sense a vengeful presence nearby?" He looked up at Artemis in confusion.

"We need to leave," Tohru warned them, "I have a camp nearby, away from the village. They can't escape the boundaries of this village. Please, you have to come with me!"

Ursula turned to Stephen with a frown. "What do you think? Do you think it's a good idea to go out in the dark like this? They haven't attacked us so far..."

Stephen started to gather his things. "We'll need as much light as possible. Artemis, now's the time to use that spell I taught you. If Tohru is right, I don't want to risk Artemis' safety."

"And ours?" Elyan reminded him.

"Sure," Stephen nodded along. "Tohru, I'm afraid I can't teleport until morning. I'm counting on you to keep us safe, being the expert..."

Artemis held out her hand and muttered a spell. Four orbs of light surrounded her, giving her sufficient light. "I'm ready!" She cried, "Where to?"

Tohru held out his lance and lantern, rushing down the stairs. When he reached the church's entryway, he froze. A spirit was standing by the door. It had yet to notice them.

Artemis felt like she was going to throw up. The spirit was headless. She remembered reading something about how hostile spirits would glow red - this one was indeed glowing red, yes. But that was because of the blood surrounding it.

"I didn't think ghosts bled," Ursula muttered as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "What do we do, Tohru?"

"I... We need to distract it," Tohru hissed, "I'm afraid it won't leave us alone once it notices us, though. Maybe we can..."

"Hello, sweetie!"

The group gasped as they heard a woman's voice from outside. The spirit turned around and stalked towards the mysterious stranger. For some reason, it wasn't attacking them. Tohru decided not to wait a moment longer to ask why.

"Quickly, now!" Tohru commanded, sprinting towards the open door. He rushed outside, the others following close behind him. The spirit continued to ignore them in favour of the other woman.

There were still other spirits nearby, yet they decided to haunt the nearby houses. Artemis wondered if they had once lived in them. Under Tohru's guidance, the group crept past them, narrowly avoiding the patrols.

"They always walk the same path, see," Tohru explained as they were waiting for a spirit to float by, "Once you've memorised their path, you're alright. I read somewhere that it's something to do with their memories... but it's how I managed to sneak past them to find you in the first place."

"I hope that woman is okay, though," Artemis mumbled, "I didn't hear a scream, but I still worry..."

"Perhaps it was another spirit," Elyan suggested, "We didn't get a good look at her, so there's no way we can tell. Are we almost there?"

Tohru nodded and led the group into the trees. Now that they were out of the village limits, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good... I was worried our group was too big to get past them all, but it seems like my anxieties were just that..."

"Our group?" Stephen repeated, "Since when were you joining us?"

"You know what I meant," Tohru muttered, leading the group down a dirt path. "The place I'm staying at used to be an inn near the village. It should provide you with a roof over your heads, at least. Us paranormal researchers use it as a base, so it's looked after. I'm the only one staying there at the moment."

Artemis could see the building on the horizon. The sign read 'The First Post' - whatever that meant. She always thought inn names were weird. Tohru was correct when the building was looked after, too. It looked like the inn was still operating from the outside.

Tohru opened the door to the inn. His mouth fell open. Inside was Lilith, in the flesh. Not that he knew that, of course. In his eyes, he had just met his first succubus.

He ran up to her and got out his notebook. "A... A real life succubus!" He exclaimed, "You have to tell me everything! Tell me about how you change form! How you-"

"Lilith!" Artemis exclaimed, running up to the succubus and giving her a hug. "I thought we lost you... What are you doing here?"

Lilith grabbed Azrael from Artemis' pouch and cuddled the demon. "I'm sorry. Did I scare you? I thought you'd go to here - I helped you escape, after all," she said.

"You were the woman?" Elyan asked her, "The one that got the spirit to... Let me guess... You pretended you were a relative of theirs, didn't you?"

"That's right!" Lilith chirped, "I didn't realise you had made a new friend in my absence, though. A Flittel, too!"

Tohru stared at Lilith and Azrael in shock. "Why do you people... know of a succubus and a demon? Why is a demon in your pouch? Why-"

"I sense we have some explaining to do," Ursula chuckled nervously. "Let's catch the poor boy up, shall we?"

Once Tohru was informed of the situation, he settled down considerably. "I've heard of curses like those," he recalled, "Although, you often find them in artefacts underground or the like. Not in someone's collection."

"You're a paranormal investigator, right?" Artemis tilted her head, hope in her eyes. "You must know something! Something about the city of sand, something-"

"My father used to collect books on ancient civilisations," Tohru told her, "If anything, we may find something in there. Do you... know how to teleport to Quari, by any chance? It's where I live."

"I know how to teleport to all of the big cities," Stephen replied, "It'll have to wait until morning, though. I still need time to rest."

Artemis looked down at the floor. "Quari is... next to Mishi, right?" She mumbled.

Stephen glanced at her with anxiety behind his eyes. "I... Yes, it is. The two cities used to be joined. They're split down the middle, where the royal palace is."

"I'm surprised you're not from Mishi, Artemis," Tohru said, "With your wings, you'll fit right in. Do you know anyone there?"

Artemis remained silent. Stephen had barred her from going to Mishi so far. But... this could be her chance. Her only chance.

She could finally track down her father.

---------

Carmine was growing tired of this. He had finally tracked down the angel brat again, only for her to disappear. This was embarrassing. In all of his years, he had never met someone that he couldn't kill. His powers were given to him for that specific reason.

He was about to cut down a tree when he heard someone approach. "Who's there?!" He growled, turning to face the intruder.

Vyllax examined his nails in boredom. He needed another manicure. "A servant of Adrastos, Prince of Trickery. They're not very happy with your current failures, Carmine," he said.

"They need to give me more power," Carmine spat, "You're obviously a demon. Tell me how I can get more power. Better yet - get Adrastos to-"

"I'm going to have to stop you right there," Vyllax held up his hand. "Adrastos is very busy. They have big plans ahead, and you are... unimportant."

"Unimportant?!" Carmine roared, stepping closer to the demon. "It's his fault-"

"Their fault. Please, don't misgender them," Vyllax rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Tell me, have you ever visited Fallglenn?"

Carmine shook his head.

"It's a lovely village by the sea," Vyllax explained, "Yet it holds a terrible secret that the villagers don't want any outsiders to know. The village contains the long lost shrine of Poena, the Prince of Vengeance."

He gasped. Carmine, like all others, had assumed that the shrine was lost to the victim of time. There were rumours that, if one devoted themselves to Poena and their shrine, the Prince would grant them great power in the name of vengeance. It was exactly what Carmine needed.

"Poena is awfully lonely these days. Trust me, I know - we get our hair done at the same time," Vyllax continued, "That's good news for you, though. It means they'll be willing to give you a lot more power than you have currently."

"I see," Carmine mumbled, "I shall make my way to Fallglenn, then. Those villagers won't know what hit them."

Vyllax nodded, opening a portal to his home. He stepped through, leaving the annoying brat to get on with his journey. Since when was he an errand boy? He didn't like this. Not one bit.

As he strode through the dimly lit streets of Cordibus, informally known as Hell, he ran into a friend. Literally. The two bumped into each other, Vyllax almost chipping a nail.

Amity Mictian grabbed her hood and put it back up again. She blew a piece of red hair off of her face. "Vyllax," she greeted with a smile.

"Oh, Ammy!" Vyllax grinned, his mood instantly lifted. "I haven't seen you since you went on your one hundredth and six honeymoon! That's what you call it, right? How's your husband?"

"Leopold is great," she replied, "He's just got another hellhound, so he's rather excited about that. We decided to call it Balmung. He says he read it in a book... Well, anything to keep him happy, really."

"I imagine he's bored, being a butler with no master to serve," Vyllax mumbled, "I sometimes see him walking your dogs. The higher-ups tell me he has a habit of going to the mortal world for shopping..."

"Oh, yes... I've told him to be careful, countless times," Amity said, "He tells me that the dogs prefer it up there. I don't see what's wrong with Cordibus. You should come over for dinner one night, you know. It'll do him well to organise one of those again."

"You know I can't resist your husband's cooking," Vyllax winked, "I'll check my calendar and get back to you. Adrastos is running me ragged. Something about their plans finally coming into play after years of waiting... When I signed up to this, I had a lot more free time."

"I'll pass the good news onto Leopold. He'll be so excited to have you over," Amity smiled at him. "It'll give us a proper chance to catch up. Plus, you can meet the new hellhound!"

"Of course," Vyllax replied, "I'll tell you when I'm free. See you soon, Amity."

He continued on his walk, a spring in his step. Perhaps today was a good day after all.