𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 - 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬

nine | a mystery unsolved

-NINE-

Juniper elbowed the perpetrator in the gut and got her claws out, eyes gleaming emerald green as her ears grew pointed. She was met with the terrified face of Tyler, who said, "Sorry. I didn't want Elvis to pick up on your scent."

"Juniper, stop. You're scaring him. As much as I'm liking this, I need him with all four limbs." Wednesday warned, putting an arm out to stop her friend from doing anything. She glanced at Tyler, "Thanks. How'd you throw them off?"

"Uh..." He pulled out coffee grounds from his pocket and chuckled wryly. 

"Coffee grounds?" The goth asked, baffled. 

"Deer-hunting hack," the boy shrugged, "One of the perks of being a part-time barista." 

The trio began walking, Juniper scouring the ground for signs of anything that could've been Rowan's. 

"I assume your father didn't bring the bloodhound to play fetch." Quipped Wednesday. 

"He doesn't tell me shit," sighed the boy, "You must think it's weird I'm stalking him." 

"No, I consistently stalk my parents." She shrugged. 

"I don't know if you're being truthful or sarcastic with that..." Interjected Juniper, a little warily. Her whole body was getting jitters, and her intuition was telling her that the energy around that place was off. 

"Hey, wait, what really happened the other night at the festival?" Tyler asked, "Look, I swear I won't say anything to my dad."

"I thought Rowan was in danger. Turns out I was wrong. Then he proceeded to use his telekinesis to try and choke me to death, and nearly killed Juniper using a fluidity spell." Wednesday said in one breath, her monotone staying consistent. 

"Holy shit. Wh... Why would he do that?" Tyler exclaimed, a little scared. 

"No idea. That's when this monster came out of the shadows and gutted him." The black-haired girl said. 

"I don't know what it was. It's nothing like I've ever seen before." Juniper admitted. "And that's a first, because I know every monster that wanders these woods." 

"Whoa. Whoa. So... So you guys really saw it? And it didn't try to kill you?" He asked. His hesitancy was beginning to get onto the dryad's nerves, and she was about to say something about it. However, a silencing look from Wednesday stopped her. 

"It actually saved us from Rowan. That's the part we're trying to figure out." Wednesday scowled. She looked around, dark brown eyes searching the thicket for evidence. "I came here to find something that can prove he was murdered and that I haven't lost my mind. Yet." 

Both her and Juniper caught sight of a pair of broken glasses on the ground, and Wednesday knelt down, inspecting them. "These are Rowan's. I knew it was a cover-up." 

Her hand touched the time of the glasses, and all of a sudden, she was pulled into a vision. Juniper rushed forward, gripping her friend around the shoulders to keep heee from tipping over, but it was in vain, for she, too, got pulled into the same vision.

Rowan yelling, Xavier yelling back, a book open on a desk. The images went by too fast. She felt her world spinning around her, making her want to double up and vomit.

"Careful with that, or you'll pass out." Juniper's vision version said, watching as Rowan downed his daily control elixir.

The scene switched to a purple book with a skull design on the cover, which fell down on the floor of a library which had the same insignia etched on the floor.