Tuesday 1st December

It was winter. It was that time of the year when this part of the earth gets ready to be whitened with soft white snowflakes. It is the time for Santa’s knock with your favorite gifts, it is a festival time and joyous feelings adorn your thoughts and life. Jade’s house, where she has been living since birth though not an exquisite mansion but cozy, is well decorated and furnished tastefully. It is located in a not so busy corner of the neighborhood. The house felt eerie with dark shadows of the poplar falling on the windowpanes. Jade sat on her couch, legs crossed as she read a fiction with her toes going up and down while waiting for Emily. She gazed at the night sky with faded streaming beams of the moon creating an enchanting play of light and shade. What is there beyond the visible realm, she wondered. She felt a little shiver as if someone was watching her from the darkness. Idle brain’s devil’s workshop — Jade brought back her thoughts to Emily and the fondness with which she remembered her brought a smile on her face.

They can’t even survive a day without each other. After about 10 minutes, there was a gentle knock on her door and she grunted before getting up to open it, as she was at the climax of her tightly clutched book.

“Couldn’t you come after like five minutes?” She complained as she let Emily in.

Emily is a few months older than Jade, and she turned 18 a few months ago. But she is shorter than Jade where height is concerned. She has a petite frame, blonde hair, and grey warm eyes, which Jade adores. Emily was wearing a blue sweater and black denim with white sneakers.

“God! You are reading again. Don’t you do anything but read the whole day?”

“I mean … I do.” Jade hesitantly murmured.

“Like?” Emily asked with her hands crossed around her chest and an eyebrow raised.

“Talk to mom and dad, talk to you, tolerate June.” Jade put the book aside, now all attentive to Emily’s questions.

As she was thinking of more things, she was interrupted.

“ … and read about fictional things.” Emily butted in fondly with a fake irritation. “Jade you barely go out anywhere. You are always lost in your world of books and fictional characters, who don’t even exist! Do you just realize that you also need real humans to interact? I just hope these stories don’t get too deep into your head.”

Jade sighed! “It’s just easier that way, Emy, I mean I can’t deal with people …”

“Why?”

“I just don’t like human beings in particular.” She snorted, making Emily laugh and shake her head in silent understanding.

“God you are so ‘anti-social’ Jade.”

“I mean, I learned from the best.” Jade said as she looked over to her best friend who took her in a tight hug.

“Ugh, air supply-cutting short, SoS!” Jade coughed playfully.

Emily smacked the back of her head, “drama queen.”

“Ouch!”

“Who is your fictional character crush now, huh?” She asked.

As they talked about young-adult crushes, they walked towards Jade’s room.

Her bedroom was like every other 17-year-old’s, filled with fairy lights, polaroids, and cliché quotes on the wall. Her bed was covered with a blue bed sheet and a soft mattress. The feel was so comforting for Emily that she almost sunk in when she jump-landed on it.

“So, this character is not from this book. It’s from another romantic novel that I was reading, and I have found myself to fancy Aaron Blackford.” Emily jumped up and sat on her knees.

“Girl that’s like the only book I have ever read and trust me, me too,” she squealed.

Emily is more of an extrovert as compared to Jade who is an ambivert.

Emily dragged Jade everywhere she went. Thus, she had no other choice but to socialize, but her favorite part of the day was to sit and get lost in her fictional world. She always wished it to be real, but she knew it was too good to come true. The girls then started to decide on the guest list since it was Jade’s 18th birthday and it had to be epic. The discussion began and various opinions unfurled.

As soon as they started deciding which of the guys to invite from their high school, Jade started to blush. Her feelings did not even have a chance to settle, when they were intruded upon by June who was extremely excited to know about the minutest details. Jade yelled in exasperation telling June to get out of her room and not to loiter anywhere near. June went off back to her phone browsing with a stomp.

Emily chortled. She was free from all such trouble as she didn’t have to deal with sibling dramas. The girls then got ready, did some touch-ups, applied a layer of clear gloss, put on an overcoat, and set off to find the perfect place for a perfect night. As the girls reached their destination – the hotel La Clair, which was near Jade’s house – they enquired about reservations for 9th December for the party. Jade was not a big fan of parties, but she knew that Emily would not let her not have a party on her 18th birthday and there was no point in fighting with her on this.

Despite the busy schedule, luckily, they were able to book the area. Jade was excited about the plan and wanted to tell Ethan, her real-world crush, aka high school crush, about her feelings which she highly doubted she would be able to do when eventually she meets him. She knew she would simply end up stuttering and stammering. She was lost in the musings of how everything would go. Emily assured her that everything would go flawlessly well.

The duo decided to try all the flavorful delicacies and spent about an hour or so deciding the menu for the birthday bash. Suddenly Emily’s phone rang. There were some impromptu guests at her house and she was requested to be at home by her parents. She had to leave in haste for home, but not before finishing her meal and deciding on the menu.

After paying the bills and finalizing the reservation, she left the hotel. Jade had no option but to return home alone. Well, she wasn’t really afraid to go home alone at night hours because she always loved the delightful, long night-time strolls. They had walked to the hotel about one and a half kilometer away and now she was again walking back, but this time alone.

She noticed the dark shadows all across and the few pedestrians hurrying back home. Jade felt that these walks were a sacred time to talk to herself and make plans about the future and what she wanted from life. She always experienced immense happiness and joy in making plans while thinking about her future goals. She decided to take a short cut across the adjacent alley as it was getting late. Her parents might just be worried, she thought. But a little way down the alley, her beatific smile quickly faded away when she suddenly ran into a sight that not only panicked her but also scared her, sending chills through her bones … it was something she didn’t imagine ever to encounter in a million lives.

She couldn’t move after what she saw from a distance and froze trying to blend with the darkness of the alleyway. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stood perfectly still too terror-stricken to bat an eyelash. Jade couldn’t stop having a feeling that it was her end, and she won’t even be able to enjoy her 18th birthday after all. God knows who the person behind her was and how he would kill her. A downpour of eerie thoughts clouded her mind. With the ghastly episode in front of her, she was trapped from both sides. As she turned around slowly, surprisingly, her eyes met with a young boy of around 18 or 19 years who immediately gestured her to stay quiet and be calm. He meant no harm, he assured with a gesture. His warm eyes said so. Jade heaved a sigh of relief. On the contrary, he seemed to be there to protect her … he tried to sound brave, and she tried to act brave.

His brown eyes poured right into her, and his messy brunette hair made her stare at him. Surprisingly, Jade started feeling safe and protected around him and felt like they had some sort of connection. She felt she had known him for a long time.

What she saw next was something that would leave a much deeper impact on her mind. The sight of some sort of magic that pulled the soul out of a mere body and a blood-sucking creature that sucked the body dry of blood — an act of possession. It made her shiver in fear. She could not believe her eyes and gaped in horror. Jade thought she was hallucinating, or it was just a bad dream. She cried out in a strangled whisper to the boy she just met, wanting to run away. He murmured introducing himself as Aiden Fray and promised to let her go but before that he said he had to erase this memory from her mind for her own good. Jade resisted but he insisted. So much happened in such a short time. She turned her back to the horrific scene in the alley. As she looked at Aiden, he said a few things that sounded like mumbo jumbo and Jade felt very dumb and weird to stand there like a tame doll and have her memory being wiped away.

After the farce was over, she realized she still remembered every minutest detail of the scene but nodded to Aiden to escape the scene of horror. She did not let Aiden know about the fact that his magician trick did nothing to erase her memory as she had read enough books to ensure that it would be a stupid move which will only end in more trouble for her, even the probability of getting killed for being a witness to a scene of crime.

When released, Jade ran back as fast as she could to her house. She broke out in cold sweat when she finally reached back home. She felt scared and confused at the same time and did not know what to do about whatever she saw that night and did not know whom to talk to about it. Jade did not want to put anyone in danger. It seemed to be just a scene she read in her novels. She fantasized reading about them but when she encountered it, it did not seem as exciting to her as she would have wished it to be. Jade was hoping all of it to be her hallucination, but deep down she knew she was perfectly conscious. Moreover, she was curious about what Aiden did to wipe her memories off and why it didn’t work on her. Or was it even supposed to work! What sort of cult was he a part of? And why was that crime so close to her home. In the 17 years of her life, she thought it was the safest neighborhood to stay in. Quite a lot of unanswered questions to mull over. Obviously, to think of Aiden being some kind of superhero would be too absurd, right?

I mean I don’t know.

He might be, you never know, Jade! The world is full of so many surprises all around.

Her head was full of questions.

That night after she got home it was a very rough and terrifying rest-of-the-night for her. She checked the lock of her glass windows multiple times. She even slept with the lights on and had disturbing nightmares. The sight had unleashed a chain of memories in Jade. She had started to get shady dreams that didn’t make sense apparently but probably meant something. Maybe they led to some answers.

It had been a few days since the events of that night, and Jade had started to spaz out on everyone. She started to act very differently at school and didn’t even hang out much with Emily and Ethan. As much as she wanted to tell Emily everything, she was afraid to put her best friend in danger. She didn’t want to make her a victim of something she didn’t know about and what if that creature came after her and what if there was no Aiden to protect her.

She could not handle the thought of losing her or her family. After keeping so many pent-up thoughts inside herself, she started to go crazy and blasted out at everyone around her. On the other hand, since that night, Aiden would everyday spy on Jade to make sure that she is fine and if any creature had tried to kill her. Something that Jade was feeling in her heart of hearts was felt by Aiden for the first time too and he too wanted to know more about it. There was this fire in his heart that just wouldn’t stop unless he saw Jade Nicole Harris every day and ensured that she was safe.

Jade wanted to find Aiden and ask him a lot of questions about that mysterious night.

She started to surf online about vampires, ancient legends, warlocks, witches, werewolves, and devils. She was going crazy, she thought. It was as if she couldn’t rest in peace until and unless she got to the bottom of things.

She had started to suspect everything around her until one day she decided to go back to the same dark alleyway, but this time with things that would protect her against all crude creatures that she thought she saw on the gruesome night, such as wolfsbane for werewolves, wooden stake against vampires, and various other safekeeping tools.

Jade left her house around midnight when everyone was asleep but little did she know that June saw her sneaking out. Even though both girls howled and fought with each other, they both had each other’s backs in the worst of times. After all, they were blood sisters. June always wanted her elder sister to be safe. So, to ensure that she thought of something fast. She called Emily cautiously without waking up her parents and told her to check her messages. June hurriedly left her some texts.

When Emily saw them, she was astonished and alarmed. Where was Jade going? Her strange behavior since the past few days made Emily even more suspicious. Emily didn’t want to scare June, so she told her that she would go after Jade and ensure that her sister is fine. She then called Jade, but it directly went to her voice message.

Jade had worn a plain black hoodie, black jeans, sneakers, and put on a cap in an attempt to hide her face. She literally sprinted towards the alleyway to get this thing over with. She wished she was invisible.

When she reached the same spot behind the hotel, the winds were cold, and no soul was in sight. There was pin-drop silence. She looked here and there then suddenly she saw a shadow move from behind the walls. She went forward to have a closer look at it. She was nervous as she took a trembling step. Then she saw Aiden. She was relieved. It felt like this lost piece in her soul was finally complete. She was filled with glee as she ran towards him, but he disappeared into thin air. She felt confused and ran here and there looking for him. Her eyes were filled with tears and she started to lose control. Jade passed out all alone at an unearthly time around 3 am, at a deserted place somewhere, where no one would ever suspect she could be.

What a great place and time to pass out Jade!

Now, I know why mom says to eat your vegetables.

After waiting till 4 am for Jade, Emily decided to go out and look for her. She had put on a jacket, a woollen cap, and her boots then she sneaked out of her house through her room’s long-enough, wide window. Emily rode her bicycle all around the block to find Jade but there was no sight of her. She then decided to go to her house and inform her family.

The long painful night was finally over. As soon as Jade opened her eyes, she called out for one name Aiden. Her eyes were swollen, and she wasn’t able to open them completely. She started to touch the things around her and she was surprised to see that she was in her bedroom all safe with not even a scratch on her body, peacefully lying on the crushed octopus pillow of hers.

She was sure that Aiden was there, and he was the one who protected her, but she was in a dilemma why didn’t he come forward when she called out for him. Emily soon reached the Harris residence. It was 6 am, she went in through the main gate as Mr. and Mrs. Harris both woke up early to get going to the hospital. Emily knocked at the door and was greeted by Sydney. She asked her where Jade had been and to her surprise, Sydney told her that she had been sleeping in her room, Emily didn’t want to put Jade and June in trouble. So, she didn’t tell their parents about the sneak out.

Emily got furious and barged into Jade’s room angrily ignoring the ‘do not enter my room before 1 pm’. Her blood was boiling as the whole night had been uneasy because of the sham June played. As soon as she entered the room, she shouted at Jade and asked her where she had been all night and what work she was doing and how important was it that she didn’t even get a minute to call her back and reply to all her 171 texts. June stood next to the door and scrutinized Jade’s reaction suspiciously. Emily tried chastising June about the prank she was trying to play, but June defensively replied that it wasn’t a prank. Jade responded by shouting at June and told her to get lost and never to stalk her in future. “Why don’t you just go and complete your homework,” she barked at June irritably.

June felt bad and yelled at Jade that she just wanted her to be safe and slammed the door behind her as she marched out.

Jade told Emily to settle down beside her as she was about to tell her something that would blow her senses away. Emily cautiously asked Jade if she was seeing someone else apart from Ethan. Jade assured that it was something of more serious concern than that.

Jade told Emily everything about that fateful night when she met Aiden. She could no longer keep the secret to herself. She narrated at length how Aiden had saved her life not once but twice and that he was a brunette and also about his brown eyes.

Emily was full of disbelief and asked Jade if she might have been high or inebriated. Jade denied pleading with her to trust her on this one and how important it was for her to find Aiden to solve the riddle. From the very beginning, Jade felt something amiss and that Aiden might have the answers to her questions.

Emily agreed to help Jade even at a crazy time like this and they both were all set to solve this mystery of a kind that they hoped did not exist. Emily also warned Jade not to ever hide things from her and that she can confide in her even about the most insane of things.

They shared a cute best friend hug and Emily told Jade to apologize to June and that she did whatever she could to protect her sis.

Jade agreed and went to the lobby where June was lying down on the couch and munching on some chips, watching Netflix. Jade reached out for the remote and paused the movie, and gave June a tight hug. June croaked that Jade was choking her. Jade then let go of her and thanked her for having her back.

Aiden Fray, the protector of the human world, entered the realm where all supernatural creatures lived — from vampires to warlocks, werewolves to witches. Fray was very close to the Layland siblings, Kayle and Kol Layland.

Aiden seemed to be in distress when he entered his realm. Kayle asked him what was on his mind and Aiden reported the attack of that night to all of them and they, along with Riley Brownwood, an old friend of their family, began working on the case. The details of the night that Aiden had described were very unclear and suspicious as the superworld members know that they are not allowed to hurt the unarmed humans or cause any sort of chaos in their realm. Aiden was one of the strongest, most tech savvy, and the most skillful of the warriors among the brigade of protectors. Even Aiden, the super resourceful one, was not able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Actually, there were no rules laid out for the superworld as all its members felt that their freedom would be curbed upon making rules. And no one person from one single realm was great or powerful enough to formulate rules for all the realms since that might breed favoritism. There was this one code of the superworld and that was ‘live and let live’. Also, the code dictated all not to disturb the peace of anyone and not to harm the human world. ‘Blood for blood’ was one code that prevailed among the wolves. They are the kind of creatures who move in packs, and unity was their theme.

There was a codebook named the Civic Code, which mentioned everything quite clearly but there was a great war in the superworld realm that destroyed the book a long time back. This book of codes was formulated by the most famous and prestigious protector families, some of which were the Frays, Brownwood, and Layland’s. A committee of all creatures settled the rules to be laid down centuries ago.

Kayle, Kol, Riley, and Aiden then came to a decision of examining the site where the incident took place at the dead of night when there would be no humans around.

Kayle Addison Layland was a science expert and always found examining various kinds of demons and angelic creatures intriguing and she had always wanted to explore further. The group decided to leave their realm in the middle of the night as they hoped to find the same creature there then.

Aiden’s parents had both passed away and he was brought up by his grandmother who too had died a year ago. He had a lot of support from Layland and Brownwood. Kayle, Kol, and Riley were like his own siblings. Kayle and Kol didn’t inform their parents Luke and Lydia Layland. Riley too did the same as this mission was very secretive. As soon as they reached the site, Kayle immediately understood whose doings they were. Since the very beginning the people of the superworld are taught that all kinds of creatures, hybrid or even tribrids leave a mark of themselves that can be examined by another supernatural creature only and can never be seen by humans. Some sort of an imprint … and Kayle easily identified them. Riley after having a look at it knew that this was a work of a demon.

That night they returned with very little information. A few days later, some more demonic attacks were reported by the werewolves. They wanted to know from the members of the superworld if anyone else is a witness to similar attacks elsewhere. Everyone could sense the impending danger and the lack of information made it even more terrifying.

Research of Kayle continued. After examining the demon’s prints further, Kayle finally could conclude that this wasn’t the doing of some ordinary newbie demon. The soul of this perpetrator was old, very old and it was very hungry. Now the big question was, who is this demon and what is it hungry for?

Kayle then secretly decided to examine the other sites as well where the attacks took place. And she could distinctly conclude it was the same species of demon. After having studied about the various ancient demon souls, Kayle and Riley came to know that almost all of their kind were killed or jailed by their ancestors in the war, centuries ago. Only a few that were left, suspiciously disappeared. The search for them was carried out for years but they were no longer to be found and assumed to be extinct. The girls informed Aiden and Kol.

Days passed in the human world. Jade decided to move on, past the mysterious drama. She felt that it could be a very unlikely coincidence. She felt that it was time for her to finally tell Ethan how she felt, despite having mixed feelings, as if she wanted something to stop her.

After the end of the school, Jade decided to stay with Ethan and cheered him in his football match. When Ethan was done with his football practice, Jade approached him and faced him, trying to be brave. It wasn’t as hard as she believed it would be. She told him that since more than a couple of years she has liked him. Fortunately for Jade, Ethan reciprocated and told her that he feels the same. They then made it official by celebrating with a special kiss.

Emily was happy for her best friend. At least one of the two was now in a relationship. She believed that it wasn’t her cup of tea to stay committed to a relationship and neither did she imagine that she would be able to get into one in the coming years.

Jade’s birthday was just two days away. Emily and Jade decided to go shopping for the day. They decided to meet up at 6 in the evening at Emily’s and then they would go to the mall. They reached the mall and grabbed an iced latte each before they embarked upon their shopping spree.

On Jade’s birthday eve, Emily and Ethan decided to surprise Jade and came to her house exactly at the stroke of midnight to wish her. They enjoyed the cake cutting along with some drinks. After all Jade was finally legally eligible to enjoy a few sips of alcohol.