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“The House in the Wailing Wildwoods.” Willie grinned as he paraded up the front steps. “So many people have come here looking for ghosts, too bad we’re the only ones here.”“And you’re sure this place isn’t haunted?”Willie gave Alex a look that said ‘I love you, but seriously?’ as he walked backwards through the solid oak door.“Right.”It was the Phantoms’ first halloween as ghosts and Willie promised to take them to a few ‘haunted’ houses to show off what kind of powers ghosts can get around this time of year. The Wailing Wildwoods weren’t very popular this year- some rich lady had rented it out for a party or something but never showed. And so, Willie decided to have fun.He waltzed through the house as though he owned it, Alex always following close behind no matter how scared he was of the fictional demons Willie had barely mentioned when first suggesting the idea.Besides Willie, who had been here before, Luke was probably the most confident about just walking around the house. Reggie… Well there was something about this place that put him on edge and it wasn’t just the vague description of howling demons who drove anyone who fell asleep here insane.No matter how sure they were that this place was a fraud of a haunted house, they all froze a few minutes into exploring the ground floor. A voice that belonged to none of them had started to sing.
”One’s for sorrow, two’s for joy…”
It was coming from upstairs…
”Three’s for a girl and four’s for a boy…”
The voice was masculine, calm and steady…
”Five’s for silver, six for gold…”
But there was something otherworldly about it…
”Seven’s for a secret, never told.”
Something ethereal, beautiful. The song of sirens could not hold a candle to this.Willie pulled Alex closer to him, as both of them kept eyes on the top of the staircase they’d gotten pretty close to before the voice started. Luke crept up the stairs, only two stairs, trying to see the source of the song before it could see them. Reggie was right behind him. Scared or not, he wouldn’t let any of his friends face danger alone.When the voice continued, a second had joined it.
”Devil, Devil, I defy thee...
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…”
A more feminine voice, shaky in contrast to the one who had started.“Do you think this is the wailing?” Reggie whispered to his friends.Luke and him both looked down at Willie, who was still frozen with Alex tightly in his arms. He was shaking his head. This isn't normal. If this was a joke, he would have called it off the moment he saw how scared Alex was. But the singing continued.
”Oh, the magpie brings us tidings…
Of news both fair and foul.
She's more cunning than the raven,
More wise than any owl.
For she brings us news of the harvest…
Of the barley, wheat, and corn.
And she knows when we'll go to our graves,
And how we shall be born.”
It was back to just the one voice. The song’s lyrics weren’t anything malicious. Reggie quietly pushed past Luke to try and see more. He had just barely gotten past when he saw a faint, flickering blue light.
“One’s for sorrow, two’s for joy…
Three’s for a girl, four’s for a boy…
Five’s for silver, six for gold…
Seven’s for a secret never told.”
The second voice was back, still more shaky than the other but both were getting stronger, louder.
”Devil, Devil, I defy thee…
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…”
Luke grabbed Reggie’s hand. “Dude, get back.” he hissed. “We don’t know what’s up there.”When Reggie looked down at his friends, all he saw was fear. But the song wasn’t scaring him anymore.He took another step up.
”She brings us joy when from the right…
Grief when from the left.
Of all the news that's in the air…
We know to trust her best.
For she sees us at our labor,
And she mocks us at our work.
And she steals the eggs from out of the nest,
And she can mob the hawk.”
It was briefly back to just the one voice, but the second joined again for the chorus.
“One’s for sorrow, two’s for joy…
Three’s for a girl, four’s for a boy…
Five’s for silver, six for gold…
Seven’s for a secret never told.
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…
Devil, Devil, I defy thee…”
The song was starting to actually sound comforting to Reggie, he looked back at his friends and smiled as he took another step forward. He was less scared of whoever was singing and more scared of startling them or making them stop.
”The priest, he says we're wicked…
For to worship the devil's bird.
Ah, but we respect the old ways,
And we disregard his word.
For we know they rest uneasy…
As we slumber in the night…
And we'll always leave out a little bit of meat
For the bird that's black and white.”
Luke followed him, staying one stair back but still moving forward whenever Reggie did. Alex urged Willie forwards too, but they were still barely on the stairs. The final chorus came with only the first voice again.
“One’s for sorrow, two’s for joy…
Three’s for a girl, four’s for a boy…
Five’s for silver, six for gold…
Seven’s for a secret never told…”
Reggie tried to peek closer without moving much now that the singing had stopped. Any noise he’d make would be heard easier.“Are you feeling better now?” A boy’s gentle voice asked.Reggie glanced at his friends. ‘Is he talking to us?’ Written on his face.“Yeah.” A girl’s voice responded. “This place is just really spooky.”“The house is safe, I promise. No evil ghosts here.”Reggie moved forwards, the stair squeaked under his foot and he heard a tiny gasp from one of the conversers. The blue light went out completely, leaving the house pitch black.It felt like the darkness was listening to them, trying to hear them breathe. But only one person in the house was breathing and it wasn’t any of the people Reggie knew. The boy’s voice came out of the shadows, cold and slow. “Who’s there?”“We’re not here to hurt you!” Reggie risked calling out. “We’re just… visitors?” He glanced back at where Luke was barely visible in the darkness.There was the sound of fabric rustling and then footsteps that got slower with each second. And then a pair of glowing red eyes appeared at the top of the stairs. And Reggie was suddenly falling backwards into the other phantoms.“Fuck.” The blue light reappeared- brighter and stronger than before- and someone who was definitely human rushed down the stairs to help them all up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle anyone. We were supposed to be alone here, so I immediately assumed you were…” the boy fumbled for a word. “I assumed the worst.”His hands were warm and soft when he pulled Reggie up. Touch was weird for ghosts, they could always feel things but everything felt chilled, or like empty pressure. Reggie didn’t let go of his hand immediately, he stared at their hands, and then looked up to see the person whose hands he was holding.And he was pretty. The blue light distorted things, but Reggie found him hauntingly pretty. If this person was whatever caused people to go mad in the past… Well, Reggie would understand that.“Monty? Is everything okay?” The boy looked back up the stairs at the voice. “Do I need to get-”“No!” The boy- Monty- interrupted. “We’re all good. I just scared them more than I meant to.”“Your night vision eyes are really scary. I’ve told you that before, right?”Monty deflated in defeat. “Well I thought they were demons so…” He muttered, only Reggie could hear him. He shook his head and looked back to the ghosts who had all picked themselves up by now. “I am really sorry about that, why don’t you join me and my friend upstairs. We’re all just here to chill, right?”“Yeah.” Willie offered up. “Halloween tradition for me to visit ‘haunted’ houses.”Alex had wrapped himself around Willie’s arm in the five seconds they’d been standing up. “It’s our first time joining him, though. Is this what it’s usually like?”“No.” Monty promised. “This one was quiet before I got here. I’m probably the scariest thing here.”“You don’t know us Luke grinned and threw an arm around Reggie. “We won’t be scared.”
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The girl upstairs introduced herself as Niko, and helped get everyone settled down in a ‘sharing circle’ as she decided to put it. They went around, introducing themselves with names and favorite colors while Monty muttered something that turned the blue orb into a much brighter, off-yellow one. It sat on a pillow in the center of all of them like a fortune teller’s crystal ball.Reggie’s second look at Monty wasn’t disappointing. His eyes weren’t red for one, they were gray like the moon shining through wispy clouds. His hair was jet black- or maybe dark brown. A shade that could be either, at least in this light, and man did it look soft. Reggie had to be staring because Luke elbowed him and flashed a shit eating grin when he looked over.Reggie might have tried to not stare at him all night, but of course he and Monty’d ended up directly across from each other in the circle. Niko and Luke to one side, Alex and Willie to the other.“So you were the ones singing, right?” Luke sparked up conversation easily, somehow. Usually Reggie would be just as quick but ever since Monty appeared, he’d been off his game.“Yeah!” Niko excitedly showed off a bracelet tied around her wrist. “Monty did this for me, and he likes singing when he does magic like this.”Monty seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention suddenly thrown onto him, but when Willie pushed for an explanation and Niko started hyping him up, he hesitantly complied. “What’s on her wrist is a protection spell, from anything that might cause her harm.” He took Niko’s hand in his own and showed off different parts of the tan leather cuff. “There are runes on her wrist beneath it, the cuff itself is mostly to keep those runes from getting damaged accidentally. But it also stops anything from sensing it, so any attacker is going to be caught off guard by it.”“Is that a tooth?” The clasp on the cuff was indeed a tooth, complete with fully developed roots and everything. Luke flinched when he was given a better look. “Ew.”“Oh, they’re ethically sourced, don’t worry. The bone links the cuffs back to me so I can sense if it gets damaged or find it if it’s lost.”“How do you ethically source teeth?” Reggie found himself saying. “Sorry.”It was around then that Alex and Willie also picked up on Reggie’s odd behavior.Niko looked like she wanted to say something but Monty clicked his tongue and made a cutting motion to his throat. Not in a threatening manner at all, but definitely telling her not to talk about it. “Long story, which would probably just freak you out and after the stairs, I’d rather not.” His eyes briefly met Reggie’s, an apologetic look plastered on his face. “Did you guys want to do something specific while you’re here?”Eyes turned to Willie who shrugged. “Usually, I mess around with stuff, like the house was actually haunted. But I’m also usually not with friends so-”“Can this be like a sleepover? Except none of us need to sleep?”“That’s a great idea! But oh…” Niko’s face fell for a second and she looked over at her friend. “But Monty needs to sleep.” She got a few quizzical glances for that, and Monty buried his face in his hands. “He’s still alive.” She clarified, as though that really explained anything.“I am so sorry if this is the first time you’re being seen by a living person.” Monty groaned.“No! It’s not.” Reggie quickly interjected. “Alex, Luke and I are in a band with a girl who can see us. And when we play, we all become visible! It’s awesome!”“Julie and the Phantoms-” “-Tell your friends.” Alex and Luke added.Niko fished a phone out of Monty’s jacket pocket, and immediately went to youtube. “Oh! Wow you guys have so many views. They think you’re holograms?”“Only explanation we have for suddenly appearing on stage when we play.” Luke shrugged. “It works though, only a few people have seen through it.”“So…” Willie interrupted the happier tone the conversation had taken on. “Why can he see us?” The HGC was still his defining experience being seen by lifers, and that wasn’t exactly a good experience. He was skeptical of Julie the first time they met too, but she didn’t know why she could see ghosts.Monty kept his face hidden but he maneuvered to shrink into himself further. He muttered something into his hands.Niko nudged him gently and he peeked over his hands. “I’m a witch.” He mumbled, but at least he was loud enough for everyone to hear him this time.“Like… eating children, kind of witch? Or…”“That only exists in fairy tales.” Reggie hissed at Alex. “C’mon that has to be an insult.”“Actually…” Monty sighed. “That kind of story has roots in reality. But no, I’m not like that. I eat things that every other human eats, and not much else.”“What about-”“Not. Much. Else. Niko, we don’t want to freak them out, remember? The point is, I’ve never killed a person, much less a child, much less to eat it.” Monty went back to sitting cross-legged in line with the rest of the circle. “You said something about this being like a sleepover?”“Yeah.” Alex seemed more than happy to go back to talking about stuff like that. “Like telling ghost stories and gossiping and stuff. I think. I didn’t have a lot of sleepovers that weren’t just with the band.”Luke and Reggie were in the same boat, and Willie confessed to not having any in his life. Monty admitted to also never having that experience. So of course Niko ended up taking charge.“Monty, gimme the cards. Since we don’t know them well, it’s perfect, right?” Niko took one shot at shuffling the blank deck of cards Monty had handed her, before immediately spilling them and Monty taking over shuffling. “So this is intuition magic, like tarot and stuff but the cards are psychic and I’m still learning how to use them. Monty’s been teaching me.”“The cards change meanings and designs depending on who’s dealing,” Monty further explained. “So only Niko can really tell you what they mean, but I can recognize some of them. She’s going to pass around cards as she deems fit, just tell her at the end if things seem accurate to you or not. She’s still only doing personality reads, so no fancy future predictions are going to come from this.”“Do you do this too, Mr. Witch?” Reggie half-joked. “I’d like to see if you’re in my future.”Niko squealed and Monty paused his shuffling. “I… can...” He handed the cards over to Niko, and they immediately transformed, already knowing a reading was on the horizon.Plain black backs became pink flowers and yellow stars on a blue background- all pastels. The white faces became a myriad of colors and designs. Niko closed her eyes at Monty’s signal and started focusing on the cards.Reggie tried to watch her pass around the cards. Tried. But his eyes kept wandering back to how Monty looked as he focused on analyzing her technique as a good teacher should. And that adorable puzzled expression he got when Niko insistently pushed a card into his lap. And he only got more confused when two more cards followed it.Niko opened her eyes after a few minutes, most of it spent pausing and figuring out where the next card needed to go. A lot of cards got discarded in her own lap, since not every card could fit to one of the people in the circle.All of them- except Monty- had received a card with a grave under a cherry blossom tree shown on it. The art was kind of cartoony, and hand drawn looking even though the images were produced with magic.Niko laughed when she noticed the matching cards. “Well, that one does mean death.”Most of what Luke, Reggie, and Alex got matched. A card that meant artist, a card that meant family- Niko mentioned it had always been found family so far,- and a card that meant they were all missing something. Willie also had that card too.Monty suggested it might mean that they had unfinished business, but Niko countered that it was because the fourth member of Julie and the Phantoms- the titular Julie- couldn’t join them.Luke and Alex both had a card that Niko said meant they were loved by someone who had hurt them. Willie seemed as though he expected to have one of those too, probably for Covington, but… he didn’t.Alex and Willie had matching cards that represented true love. Luke asked why he didn’t have one for Julie but Niko said that one needed to go to all the people involved.Reggie had a card that made Monty groan. “Niko…” As though this card wasn’t meant to be in anyone’s hand.He went on to explain how that was a ‘soulmate’ card. It was another one, like the true love cards, that went to all people involved. But only Reggie had one. That was about to go unexplained when Monty held out his hands to collect the cards, but Reggie wasn’t having that. “What about your cards?”Monty sighed and placed the three cards he had received in front of him. He was hiding one of them, he tried to at least. Reggie knew what it had to be.But the other two were such a big contrast from every other card they’d seen so far. He didn’t focus on the hidden second soulmate card for long.One was a starry night sky, but the moon was red and had a slit pupil in the center of it. Monty explained that every member of their friend group- the others couldn’t be here for some reason- had cards assigned to them to help Niko practice getting cards where they needed to go. That’s what the night sky eye card was.The final card almost looked blank, completely black. But when it flashed in the light, a golden knife floating in the void appeared. That was it until, for just a split second, it looked like blood spatters had appeared on it. When that happened, Monty swiped the card back into his hand with the other card he’d hid. He looked at Niko, as if expecting an explanation for himself, but she shrugged.“I think it means danger.”Monty quickly recovered from shock and laughed. “I told you guys I was the scariest thing here.” This time, he did actually collect everyone’s cards.They didn’t talk about the soulmate cards. Monty didn’t even acknowledge that he had received one of them. Reggie wanted to bring it up, but Niko changed the subject first. “Why don’t you give them protective charms too? And then we can explore the house without being scared.”Alex clearly wanted one, but also he was scared of having another magic sigil on him. Willie took the fall and went first instead, so everyone could see how it worked. Monty held his wrist as he took out a jar of sky blue ink and a thin paintbrush.“It’s just ink, the magic adheres to it and will vanish if the ink is washed away or wears off. That’s why I gave Niko a cuff to cover it, it’s protection for the protection spell.” Monty chuckled, his smile was contagious. “The runes come from a lot of different cultures, repetitive human intentions have been ingrained into the shape itself and that’s what gives most symbols power.”“So if we invented a language with runes for protection, eventually that would hold power just like these really old ones do.” Niko smiled.Monty fanned the ink for a second to help it set. “Did you want a cuff too? If I put it on quick enough, the ink will absorb into the lining and will act as a second casting of the spell.”Willie shrugged, nothing bad had happened so far. “Sure.”Alex went next, and then Luke denied needing one. He flexed his muscles for an extra effect. Reggie wanted one, if only to have Monty hold his hand for the few minutes it took to paint on the runes. When Monty took his wrist though, he could see Luke’s eyes sparkle with mischief.“Why don’t we start exploring on our own? You two can take your time and catch up when you’re done.” And of course, everyone except Monty and Reggie were very vocally on board with that plan. But neither of them had a reason to deny the request, so they were left alone as Monty leaned over Reggie’s wrist and painted on tiny symbols.“Your singing was really beautiful earlier.” It only took a minute and a half for Reggie to break the silence. “The bird song.”“Thanks. It’s an old counting rhyme. Probably an early version of prediction magic, animals are a surprisingly good medium for that.”“Better or worse than psychic cards?”Monty paused mid-stroke to think about it, even cocking his head to the side. “Depends on the prediction. Animals are good for predicting things like weather, harvests, or natural disasters, cards are better with… personal concerns.” He looked up at Reggie, fully distracted from the runes. “Why? Did you actually want a reading from me?”“Yeah.” Reggie answered way too quickly. “I said I wanted to see if you were in my future, since we both got soulmate cards…”Monty didn’t seem surprised that Reggie knew, but he was suddenly very invested in his spellwork. “Niko’s pretty generous with that card. Our friend group is pretty close-knit, but she always gives everyone that card. She insists it also means people who will one day have stronger bonds than they do now, but I don’t know. She’s pretty optimistic about that kind of stuff.”It felt like the conversation was slowing down, but Reggie wanted to keep him talking. Keep him distracted so it takes longer before they have to join up with everyone. “You said some witch stories have roots in history, what about… like…blood magic?”“Honestly, it’s not as dangerous as most people make it out to be. It can be, don’t get me wrong.” Monty had started waving his paintbrush around. A tiny spatter of ink landed on Reggie’s forearm, but Monty hadn’t noticed yet. “But just using blood doesn’t make a spell dangerous. Actually, take this protective charm. Willingly spilt blood from the spellcaster makes it a thousand times more potent. I’m talking about actually damaging anything that tries to hurt you. But if my blood was forcefully taken from me and put on it, it would render the spell useless. Did you want a cuff?”“Sure.”Monty gracefully tied the cuff around Reggie’s wrist. When he sat back up, neither of them made a move to follow their friends. For just a second, Reggie was hopeful his less than graceful flirting had worked.“Look, Reggie. I know you’ve been showing that you’re interested in me.” It was clear immediately that Monty was trying to let him down easily.“It’s okay, I’ll stop.”Monty’s face fell when he saw how Reggie seemed to deflate at that. “You don’t need to. I mean… I won’t… I don’t think I’m ready to consider a romantic relationship, but I do like you, and I think your flirting is really cute. I just… I don't think I’m at a good place to pursue that kind of relationship. I hope you understand.”Reggie made it clear he did, he would never try to force Monty, or anyone, to do something they weren’t ready to do.“Did you still want a reading?” Monty pulled out the cards again. “My cards aren't so simple with their meanings, or happy for that matter. I accidentally predicted someone’s death once.”“I’m already dead.” Reggie shrugged it off. “Do your magic, Witchboy.”Monty’s cards suited him. The backs were each adorned with a crest, a silver pen in front of two crossed feathers- one dark red, one dark blue, all on a black backdrop. In vague glimpses, Reggie decided the fronts suited him too. A myriad of similar colors, saturated but dark with some grays and browns mixed in.A one person reading worked a little differently, Monty didn’t deal anything but rather spread out all the cards and offered for Reggie to pick a few- he picked two, but Monty wasn’t satisfied with that so he pushed a few more into Reggie’s hand. The selection process of what ended up in his hand or not seemed random, but Monty focused on each card before being certain if it got pushed forward or not. Niko had been a bit more sporadic in her technique, but it had worked anyways.Monty’s cards had a different art style than Niko’s, more like stained glass than a love-forged cartoon or comic.The first card had a snake, venomous yellow eyes sticking out against the dark green mottled body of the beast and dark gray background. “Someone you once trusted is watching you with ulterior motives...”The Second card had a chandelier, as out of character as that seemed. Its illustrated fires actually seemed to glow. “Many eyes will be on you, you’ll dazzle them and show them things they didn’t know they needed to see.”Third card. It depicted a book. A speckling of stars across the cover. “Things won’t be certain, but you’ll have a reason to push through the hardships.”Fourth was a desk. Books, pens, and even an ink well sitting out for use. “You’ll have your friends with you. They won’t let you face anything alone, and you won’t leave them either.”Fifth card. Monty furrowed his brow at it. “This… okay, I need to make a mental note. This one is new, just give me a minute.” It was a swingset, two swings next to each other. One of the swings had a broken chain and was hanging to the side. On the side with the unbroken swing, the grass around it seemed flattened. “A relationship… will be a trial. I can’t see the ending, sorry.” Reggie wasn’t upset, but this card did seem to cause Monty distress.The sixth and final card was almost identical to the card Niko had given Monty earlier, the night eye card. The only difference was the stained glass art style instead of the hand drawn one. Reggie wanted to make a joke about Monty being in his future, but Monty’s expression stopped him before he even started.“I…” Monty pulled out the deck, handed it over to Reggie and asked him to fan them out. He seemed panicked, so Reggie didn’t question it. Three cards were drawn at once.Seventh card, or maybe Monty’s first one. Two graves, corroded by lack of attention. No explanation given, but Reggie caught Monty muttering to himself. “Edwin and Charles?”Eighth card, Monty’s second. A diamond with an eye hiding behind it. “Crystal?”Ninth card, third. Monty’s card again.Monty went to grab another card but Reggie instinctually pushed one forwards. Monty looked at him with wide eyes, but took it anyway.Tenth card. A bird skeleton. Dark red and blue feathers scattered around it.Eleventh card, Monty drew it. The desk again.Twelfth, the swings again
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The sixth and final card was almost identical to the card Niko had given Monty earlier, the night eye card. The only difference was the stained glass art style instead of the hand drawn one. Reggie wanted to make a joke about Monty being in his future, but Monty’s expression stopped him before he even started.“I…” Monty pulled out the deck, handed it over to Reggie and asked him to fan them out. He seemed panicked, so Reggie didn’t question it. Three cards were drawn at once.Seventh card, or maybe Monty’s first one. Two graves, corroded by lack of attention. No explanation given, but Reggie caught Monty muttering to himself. “Edwin and Charles?”Eighth card, Monty’s second. A diamond with an eye hiding behind it. “Crystal?”Ninth card, third. Monty’s card again.Monty went to grab another card but Reggie instinctually pushed one forwards. Monty looked at him with wide eyes, but took it anyway.Tenth card. A bird skeleton. Dark red and blue feathers scattered around it.Eleventh card, Monty drew it. The desk again.Twelfth, the swings again....Monty had gone quiet, and he didn’t draw another card. Reggie wasn’t the one to break the silence. “I’m going to go get the others. Will you be okay?”“Yeah, of course. I’ve got your protection spell, right?” Reggie half jokes. He wasn’t sure why, but is fingers were itching to draw another card. He didn’t have magic like Monty did and he wasn’t even studying it like Niko. But as soon as Monty ran off he pushed the card forward and flipped it over.Probably the only brightly colored card in the entire deck, a lush green garden. In the center of the card, a tree with beautiful red-orange flowers. He’d ask Monty about it when he came back, but he knew it was importantLuke suddenly poofed in besides him, Alex and Willie following suit. “What the heck happened? Monty ran in demanding to talk to Niko. Alone.”Reggie gestured helplessly towards the cards scattered in front of him. “I asked him to do a reading, and everything was normal until he drew his own card, and then he stopped explaining the cards!”“So he is in your future.” Luke smiled. “I knew it! You, like, never get this flustered.”Reggie shook his head. “We talked about that before the reading, he’s not looking to date right now.”“Oh, I’m sorry.”A few suggestions for the garden card’s meaning were passed around, ending with Alex suggesting that he just had a fancy garden to go back to after all this.“I don’t.” Everyone jumped at Monty’s reappearance. “That card just means something magic is afoot. Magic comes from nature like everything else.” He didn’t question why Reggie had pulled another card, and frankly Reggie didn’t know if he could’ve explained it if he had.“Where did Niko go?” Alex asked. “If something’s going on shouldn’t we, y’know, stick together?”“Nothing is going on that you guys need to worry about. But… Luke get over here I’m giving you a protection spell. And can one of you collect the cards? Don’t put much thought into them, they’re not all regular symbols.Monty roughly grabbed Luke’s hand, and the runes ended up more rushed and sloppy than everyone else’s were. Something was going on, he didn’t even ask if Luke wanted a cuff, he just immediately wrapped one around his wrist. The Phantoms were asking for some kind of explanation but Monty wasn’t giving one.He had just finished with Luke’s runes when a horrible sound broke through the night. A cacophony of wailing screams.Niko rushed in through the back wall of the house. “Sorry, I think I accidentally broke one of the protection seals.”“It’s okay, they wouldn’t do much if that thing reached the house anyway. If you four can, get out of here.”“No.” Reggie was once again way too quick to respond. “We can help if you tell us what’s going on.”Monty looked at him with an expression Reggie never wanted to see on his face ever again. Pain. “You guys can’t do anything. I’m sorry. Niko, how bad is it?”Niko was just shaking her head. “Charles got hurt…”That was all Monty needed before making whatever decision he’d been contemplating. He started running downstairs and to a backdoor where Reggie and the others got a glimpse at what they’d been blissfully ignorant of just minutes before.A monster, a stony, muddy, beast with too many eyes and too many mouths. It was fighting a guy with a sword, but he had a large hole burned into his sleeve and was clearly favoring that arm. Two other people were back there too, another guy and a girl. The one with the sword seemed to be distracting it while the other two did… something to it.Monty threw open the door and rushed into the backyard to help. He discarded his jacket, which oh boy he had more muscle than Reggie expected. Not body builder level, but it definitely gave away that he wasn’t just a card reader. Then he made a move to take off his tank top, and Niko finally stepped into the door, blocking the view of the backyard as much as she could.“Is he trying to fight that thing?” The thought hadn’t even registered in Reggie’s mind so he was thankful Luke had mentioned it. If he was, taking off layers was probably very very stupid.Niko looked frantic. “You guys should really get out of here. I’m not much of a fighter, I can’t protect you.”Reggie remembered one of Monty’s readings for him. ‘You’ll have your friends with you. They won’t let you face anything alone, and you won’t leave them either.’ He wasn’t going to abandon Monty.He pushed past Niko but froze before he could actually step outside of the house. Monty was gone. His phone, which had definitely been put back in his pocket earlier, was sitting in a pile of shredded fabric on the lawn. Alex must have looked over his shoulder because he heard a quiet “oh.” behind him.The monster and the other people were gone, led back into the forest that gave this haunted house its name.
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Monty couldn’t stop to explain anything or to think about what he was doing. Out of Crystal, Edwin, Charles, and even throwing in Niko, Charles was the best bet when it came to anything physical. And he was hurt, bad. Niko wouldn’t have mentioned anything in that tone if it wasn’t. Not to mention, it wasn't difficult to avoid stepping on the defense runes he’d set up earlier so she had to have been rushing back. The runes wouldn’t let anyone poof in or out, Monty hadn’t thought that would be a problem.They’d all studied this kind of monster- a mass consciousness. Several ghosts combined together usually by a shared rage. Centuries ago, the owner of this house had gone on a killing spree and his victims had joined together looking for revenge on anyone who lived here even though their murderer was long gone.This kind of monster was powerful. Powerful enough that they had an energy field around it that helped Crystal connect to its minds without direct contact, but also powerful enough that getting too close to it would set anything ablaze with spectral fire- pretty harmless, unless you’re a ghost. Everyone had been set up with thick leather gloves- the kind metalworkers might use when in a forge- but that didn’t do much when the monster was swiping at other parts of the body.They’d decided from the start that the best course of action was to have Edwin and Crystal work on separating individual minds from the mass and therefore help them move on, while Charles and Monty worked on distracting it. Niko’s job was to mostly keep an eye on it, see if it was changing behavior or targets and make sure everyone was able to adapt to the changes as soon as they could.But then Monty did a reading on their mission like he always did, and realized there would be innocent people in the house. He and Niko both ended up playing decoy inside since they weren’t sure if it was ghosts or humans who would be there. Crystal was necessary, so Monty had no choice but to hang back.Monty should have been outside from the start, or left after they confirmed the innocents were ghosts who Niko could keep entertained.. He might not be as strong as Charles but his magic made up for it a thousand times over. He could’ve kept anyone from getting hurt, or at least tried.Monty shed his jacket and shirt as he walked out the back door. It took only a brief moment of focus before he changed.Human no more, he was a monster just like what they faced. Except instead of mud and stone and many many minds, he was feathers, bones, blood, and only two minds. The mind of a crow monster that wanted to hunt, and of a human who wanted to protect his friends. Both agreed they must attack the thing with too many eyes, too many mouths, and too many minds.They threw it deeper into the woods where Reggie and his friends wouldn’t need to witness the violence Monty was capable of. Crystal, Edwin, and, despite his injuries, Charles followed suit.
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All it took was Reggie muttering “He’s gone” For the tension in the room to snap. Reggie rushed forwards into the yard, into the woods. Fear be damned, if there was a chance Monty was still out there…He refused to believe the soulmate card meant nothing.Somewhere behind him, Niko calls for him to come back but Alex was the one to yell over her, panicked and demanding some kind of explanation from the only person who would stay still long enough to give them one.Reggie hoped they were getting answers, because he wasn’t. In fact, catching up to the group in the forest only caused more. Monty wasn't there, but there was a second monster. A black feathered thing, just barely smaller than the gargantuan mud beast. And they were fighting. Shifting mud versus feathers, sharp stones versus a beak full of teeth and sharp talons.And then the mud noticed him. The guy without a sword noticed the change first, calling out “Charles!” In an english accent and pointing for the one with a sword to take note of Reggie’s arrival and the mud beast’s change of target.Charles was quick, but he didn’t poof over and both of the monsters were quicker. Reggie covered his face with his hands when the mud monster came at him with what looked like an arm full of spiky stone chunks, but it never hit him. Feathers filled his vision instead, and one of the bird monster’s bright red eyes looked at him with what he swore was concern.Then blood dripped to the ground right in front of him. The feathered beast noticed it too, and pushed the mud beast off of him. Another drop of blood threatened to fall to the grass, but the monster moved and it fell on Reggie instead, a dribble of warm blood against his cold, dead wrist. The wrist where the protection spell was. The spells. The cuff counted as a second casting.And Monty said something about willingly given blood by the spellcaster increasing its power…Reggie remembered that in the split second before the Mud beast attacked again, just to watch it be thrown several yards away by a brilliant blue shockwave.“Monty?” Reggie found himself asking the crow monster. “That’s you.” It wasn’t really a question. He knew it was Monty. It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise, not that this made much sense in the first place.Monty quietly cawed, pushing Reggie back with his beak. Then he turned and rejoined the fray, blood dripping to the grass as he went.Monty fighting this mud thing had to be the weirdest and scariest thing Reggie had ever seen. Neither seemed exactly consistent in anything they did, from the amount of limbs the mud creature had to use to fight, to Monty’s fighting style- or lackthereof- to both of their sizes.The mud ghost specifically kept shrinking with every burst of energy Crystal and Edwin- they kept shouting to each other throughout the fight, Reggie had picked up on their names- were pulling out of it.It was shrinking fast, but not fast enough. Reggie could do nothing but sit back and watch as Monty took a heavy blow across his chest-neck area and fell to the grass, shrinking into a normal looking crow. Thankfully, Crystal and Edwin seemed to be finishing up, taking ghosts out easier and quicker now than they had been at the start.Until eventually it was just one ghost throwing a tantrum. No excess mud or stone keeping it strong, just anger at someone Reggie knew wasn’t there to be its rightful victim.And Reggie was having a normal reaction to fear again, because even as Monty lay in the grass he couldn’t move. His legs weren’t working, if they were he would have run over and scooped up the bloody crow. Instead, Charles did. He cradled the bird like he’d done it a thousand times, muttering about how amazing he did. How he saved a lot of people that night.Charles walked over and knelt next to Reggie, holding Monty for him to see the rise and fall of the crow’s chest. There were some bloody feathers, but Charles eased his worries. “He’ll be alright, mate. Why don’t we all go in and clean up?” The ghost radiated the kind of energy Reggie usually did, he wasn’t used to being on the other side of it, but he was glad he was.And so they ended up in another sharing circle, with more first-aid kids being passed around than Reggie thought could fit in the bag Charles was carrying. Not to mention he’d just shoved his sword inside after the fight was done.Another thing was passed around, just between Reggie and Charles though. Monty’s warm, breathing, but injured bird body. “We usually don’t fix him up until he’s human again, he doesn’t like being bedridden and without thumbs. Apparently it’s ‘inconvenient’ to read without them.”“This has happened before?” There was a look shared between Monty’s friends, even Niko.They finally explained who they were to everyone- the Dead Boy Detective Agency. Usually their cases were less combat heavy, but Edwin’s research had pointed towards this accumulation of vengeful spirits to be getting more and more powerful each year, and it would only get stronger around halloween like every ghost did. If it got too powerful, it would be able to leave the forest and wreak havoc across the whole town and maybe even farther than that.It used to be just Charles and Edwin, and Monty had only been with them for sixish months. The crow form was his default when he got injured or exhausted, they’d seen him revert to it a few times now.Reggie cradled him closer after hearing that. The gash across his chest had stopped bleeding by now, but it was still scary. “Do any of you understand Monty’s cards?” he asked, suddenly to everyone else but the question had been burning him for a while now.Reggie recounted the cards Monty had drawn earlier. The two graves, which Edwin and Charles confirmed, likely represents them. The crystal and the eye, which obviously connected to Crystal. She did have to explain she was a psychic though.They couldn’t really explain the bird skeleton, other than the colors. Some magicians use colors to define their magic, often unconsciously, and Monty had never decided between a crimson color, and a royal blue. When he had more time to put into transforming, sometimes he’d have red and blue feathers lining his wings instead of just black.Niko suggested it paralleled the tarot card of Death, which nobody could prove one way or another.Then the garden card. Reggie hadn’t expected they’d be able to elaborate but turns out it was another thing Monty had kept hidden.“It’s the past. Something he’s done comes back to him one way or another. It’s not good or-” Crystal yawned. “Bad. It’s come up a few times now.”Charles laughed. “Remember that time Edwin pulled it and then later he started counting cats for no reason?”“It became a habit.” Edwin huffed. “I think we should get Crystal back to the motel. I refuse to let her sleep in this household.”“I knew you cared.” Crystal hummed.“Well. She’s clearly out of it.” Charles turned towards Monty, and thus Reggie. “Look, the motel won’t really let Crystal bring a wild bird inside. Would you mind keeping an eye on him until he wakes up?”Of course Reggie had no problem with that. Neither did any of his friends, and they didn’t have an issue with Niko sticking around either. Charles left them with a few things, Monty’s belongings first and foremost, but also a bunch of first aid stuff.
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Monty opened his eyes and saw Reggie looking down at him with an almost goofy smile. “Mornin’!”Six months ago, Monty would have freaked out just having someone see him while he slept. Now, he only freaked out when he remembered his clothes got shredded every time he transformed.Thankfully, Charles had left his jacket behind. He’d connected the pockets to the space under Esther’s sink back before he’d joined up with the detectives, but after the snake was dead and gone. He’d spent weeks cleaning it out, and now it was mostly just his stuff inside. Of course that included spare clothes.And a giant snake skeleton, but that was ignorable.The various ghosts in the house gave him space to get dressed, but it didn’t take long since he couldn’t just throw a shirt on and pretend he wasn’t covered in blood.“Are you okay?” Monty shrugged away Reggie’s question when he walked back into the room with everyone. “Then, do you want help cleaning… that?”Monty didn’t need it, but he ached all over and even if normally he’d say no… “Sure. Just, be gentle.” Niko gave them a side-eye. She knew he’d only ever let Charles and Edwin help with injuries before.The cut was longer than Reggie’s hand, but it wasn’t deep. Some hydrogen peroxide, a large amount of medical tape and some gauze later. Monty was clean, patched up, and surprisingly calm about everything that had happened.“I’m glad you’re okay.” Reggie smiled as he watched Monty smooth out the gauze and tape on his chest. “I was really scared when I saw you rush outside.”“I probably could’ve told you guys earlier, but I didn’t want anyone to freak out. Edwin and Charles have been doing this kind of thing for a while, I assumed… hoped, they’d be okay without me so I wouldn’t need to let you see that side of me.”“The giant crow?” Reggie laughed. “That thing is awesome! It sent the accumulative soul or whatever flying!”“The guys explained it all to us.” Luke added. “No hard feelings.”Monty seemed to relax, but that faded. “Wait… Niko can you tell if the spell is still in effect?”Willie raised a hand. “Your protection spells are untouched.”“Not that one.” Monty looked to Niko.She shook her head. “I disabled the barrier earlier, no spell left active except theirs. I don’t know if I could’ve done anything about that.” Having spells active could drain Monty, making his recovery time even longer. Niko and Edwin both agreed to help disable any long-term, non-essential spells he set up if he ever lost consciousness.“Cool. I need to apologize to all of you.” Monty confessed. “There was a simple charm spell cast around me when we met.”Nobody exactly seemed happy at that information.“Calm down. It was just to keep you all from hating me and Niko. Or if you were dangerous, to not attack us on sight. It has nothing to do with you actually liking us.”“Is that why Reggie just walked towards your creepy singing?”“I didn’t…”“We thought you were being hypnotized dude.”“It is possible.” Monty interrupted. “Some people are more affected by magic like that. On the other hand, some people are pretty much immune. It doesn’t alway make sense, although exposure does have an impact. People with more exposure are closer to one extreme or the other, while most everyone else is in the neutral zone.”“You really like talking about magic.”“When we met him, he could talk about astrology for hours.”Monty rolled his eyes. “It was the closest I could get to doing magic at the time. Predicting things based on the stars. Horoscopes are pretty much predictions, just very easy to do fraudulently.”“So uh…” Reggie prepared for a subject change. “Where are you guys going after this? Any more ghost monsters to hunt?”“No.” Monty almost laughed. “We’re taking a week off from anything, at least. I can take breaks from cases, but both Charles and I? Not optimal.”“They’re our muscle.” Niko grinned.“Charles is our muscle. My transformation is his backup.”“So if you’re not going anywhere… Maybe you could come to Hollywood sometime, we have a halloween gig tomorrow.”“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it tomorrow, I can’t poof around the world like you guys can. I’ll try but… maybe keep me updated on any upcoming ones in the future. I don’t really use social media but I’ll figure it out. Julie and the Phantoms, right?”“Tell your friends.” Reggie smiled.Monty had an impulse, gave it a moments thought, and decided ‘what the heck?’. “Well.” A mischievous yet earnest grin appeared on his face and he turned towards Niko. “I just heard about this band, and I haven’t heard any of this music yet, but they’ve got this really cute member named Reggie.”“I thought you said he wasn’t interested?” Luke whispered to Reggie.“He wasn’t.” Reggie whispered back.“I’ve… reconsidered.” Monty admitted. “If you’re willing to put up with what I am and what I do, then…”Reggie’s grin was more than enough of an answer, but the enthusiastic nodding didn’t hurt.Niko threw her arms around Monty, “Finally! We’ve been trying to get him a boyfriend-”“Shut up.” Monty grumbled, but he was smiling. “I kept telling you guys I wasn’t ready.”\“You're sure you’re ready now?”Fuck. Reggie’s excitement was contagious.“Yes. Absolutely.”“I’m going to go tell everyone!” Niko jumped up and ran out of the room.Monty sighed. “And I’m going to face my worst nightmare when I see my friends next. They’ve been telling me to get a boyfriend for as long as I’ve been their friend, so they’re going to be insufferable about this.”“Dont worry.” Luke slung an arm around Reggie. “We’re going to be teasing him too. Oh, but-” Luke started it off so casually. “If you hurt him, we’re going to haunt you until you join us as a ghost, and then we’ll make your death a nightmare too.”“Understood.” Monty nodded. “I’m going to go make sure my friends won’t give you a shovel talk, okay? I promise I’ll keep in touch, but I don’t really want to know how Edwin or Charles would threaten someone.”“What? They seemed fine.”“You all saw Charles’ sword, right? And how Edwin was pulling pieces of the monster out of it?”Reggie was suddenly on board with Monty leaving to deal with his friends.He did take back the protection cuffs first though, and handed Reggie a feather which could be dropped in a bowl of water to contact him if social media failed.Monty ran through the cold night air feeling warmer and lighter than the stars.