-Neith-

I watched Akuji and Javed as they left. I couldn't help the wide smirk that fell onto my face as I led Musa into our house.

"You're cruel," he commented with a chuckle.

I nodded proudly. I hadn't forgotten who I was talking to, the fact that he called me cruel should've made me laugh any other day. I couldn't forget that he was one of the suspects of a potential attack on the entire guard, the event happening just a few hours after he suggested that my father try more advanced necromancy.

"What are you here for, really?" I folded my arms and glared at my uncle who was walking up our stairs. "I don't think you're here for a catch up. Especially after the stunt that you pulled yesterday."

He slowly turned, a smile still on his lips. "Surely you know what I'm up to. You seem to know what happened yesterday, put the pieces together."

"I have," I announced. I stepped towards him, so that my toes met the bottom step. "I know what you're up to, I just want to know why."

He quirked an eyebrow at me, turning on the stairs to face me fully. He lent closer. The shadows made him look like an intimidating villain, which he probably was. "What more than power and curiosity?"

I stepped backwards, I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was as though, by being so close to me, he could take all the air from my lungs.

"Stay out of it, if you know what's good for you." He turned and continued to walk up the stairs.

"Don't get my father involved," I commanded. My voice was shaky, and I wasn't as confident as I would've liked to be. I couldn't let him drag my family down with him. "I don't want to get involved, neither does he."

He chuckled, turning to look over his shoulder at me. "My dear, you really don't know your father at all, do you?" He continued to chuckle as he entered my father's room, the door slamming shut behind him.

I bit my lip to stop me from exploding with anger. He thought that he had so much power over everyone else. He was under the impression that he would make me cower like a puppy. I wasn't about to surrender to a man who only just visited whenever he needed something.

I sighed and moved into the kitchen to pour myself another cup of tea. It seemed to be the only consistent thing in my life right now. I took the cup and sat on my chair in the living room. I got my blanket, which I had made myself, and stared out of the window.

I slightly regretted making Akuji take Javed somewhere, or rather Javed take Akuji. It meant that I couldn't keep an eye on them. It was one of the most dangerous times that Crimcut had ever known, and I let an undead woman accompany a child who doesn't know the place very well.

I took a sip of my tea and let it warm me from the inside. Dalila came over and curled up next to me. I stroked her back and watched the very few people pass by.

Crashing came from upstairs, jolting me out of my half-asleep daze. I put my empty cup on the table next to my seat and stood, stretching as I did. I rubbed my forehead and moved to the bottom of the stairs, my blanket around me like a cape.

I jumped backwards as someone rolled down the stairs. I couldn't stop myself from bursting into laughter at my father, who landed in a ball at the bottom of the stairs.

"How dare you do that, in my own house nonetheless," he yelled back at his brother, who stood at the top of the stairs. "I have a good mind to ban you from the village!"

"That would indicate that you had a bad mind," Musa stated. He strutted down the stairs with his arms crossed. "Consider my proposal, Nairn. You won't get another one like it."

My father childishly imitated him. "I don't want another chance or deal to do anything of the sort. I told you yesterday."

"And look what happened." Musa gestured towards the now-open door. "People got hurt because there wasn't enough reliable security."

"Who got hurt?" I asked, but I got ignored.

"Do you mean you had something to do with it?" My father asked, his face turned a light pink. "Musa-"

"Don't take that tone with me, Nairn." Musa walked out the door. "You should realise before it's too late, you need me." Then he was gone.

"What happened?" I asked my father as I helped him to his feet.

He stared at the doorway with a mix of hatred and confusion. "I have no idea. Was that a confession?"

I shook my head. "He didn't say anything confirming he did it. Unless he said it to you?"

He shook his head and punched the ground. "You know, I'm getting really tired of him," he muttered. "He's only been here for two days."

"Please tell me he's leaving?" I asked hopefully. The hope drained from my face the more he stayed quiet. "Dad?"

He sighed and walked into the living room. "He wants to reclaim his role as elder."

I inhaled sharply. "You told him he couldn't, right?"

He nodded and then fell backwards onto the settee, causing Dalila to leap out of the way. "He didn't like that, of course. So, he started getting angry." He sighed again. "But he didn't admit anything about the attack."

"Maybe I should follow him?" I suggested, taking the blanket and folding it up. "I should-"

"-go to your room and study. I know you haven't done that the past two days," my father interrupted. "Don't think that just because we may be on the brink of a crisis involving my psychopath of a brother attacking guards, and dead girls who suddenly appear on our doorstep, that you could neglect your studies."

I opened my mouth in protest, but I was spun around and pushed towards the stairs. "What about Akuji?" I asked as I climbed the staircase. "She's with Javed."

"What's she doing with him for?" my father asked. I didn't need to turn to see his confused and exasperated expression.

"Well, I wasn't going to go with him. He wanted her to take him to the well, they're hanging out," I explained. I shut the door to my bedroom, hearing my father's muffled curses downstairs.

I jumped as I turned and saw Dalila on my bed. "Why must you always do that?" I asked her with a hand to my heart. I shifted over to my chest of drawers and took the large book off the top, running my fingers down the spine, as I always did whenever I used it. The book had been a gift from my mother when she found out that my father was interested in the arcane. She had made it for him out of leather that she found, and she scoured through textbooks to create a small compilation of magical information. She hand copied all of the notes, filling up a book with well-over 200 pages. Sometimes I wonder where she got the time to do it, but then again, I understood the feeling of being bored in a small village such as this one, or rather, this exact one.

I took the book and sat on my bed, hearing the furniture groan as I put more weight onto it. I'll hear when Akuji gets back, I'm sure.

My half-asleep state from earlier returned as I studied, causing my head to droop lower and lower as I strained to read the words. The effort made my eyes pulse and my headache. So, I put the book down after half an hour and fell backwards, cuddling with my pillow.

The next thing I knew, Dalila was licking my face. It's not the worst way to wake up but was rather confusing when it was the first thing a groggy brain felt.

I sighed and stroked her back. "Dinner time?" I asked her. I didn't get a response that I could understand, but I got up and fixed my hair anyway. I headed downstairs and slowed when I heard laughter coming from the kitchen.

I quietened my footsteps and inched towards the kitchen door. Akuji and my father were standing facing each other. Akuji was holding a frying pan and my father was holding some tongs. In comparison to what I had seen only a few hours ago, this could be an entirely different person. It had been an age since I had seen him like this with someone else.

"Neith, come here," my father demanded. "Have you heard some of Akuji's stories? Especially the one about the flying fish?"

I shook my head and furrowed my eyebrows. "What did you give him?" I asked Akuji as my father burst into laughter.

Akuji came over and whispered in my ear, "help. I've got no clue what's happened to him."

"Dad, have you had something to drink?" I asked slowly. I pushed Akuji softly out of the way and rested my hands on either of my father's arms. "Or ...done anything?"

My father laughed again and shook his head, moving my hands out of the way in order to pinch my cheeks. "How adorable you are. Who raised you? Did I raise you? Wow, I'm so proud of myself." He started to whistle merrily.

This wasn't normal. I'd seen him happy before, of course, but this was terrifying. I sent Akuji a strange look before backing out of the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

Akuji's eyes widened, and she frantically shook her head, but I ignored her. She had to make sure my father did anything dangerous, embarrassing, or dangerously embarrassing.

As soon as I entered the living room, I shut my eyes and tried to think of all the possibilities. He couldn't have had alcohol, that wasn't even how he acted when he had alcohol. He was a sad drunk, not a happy and sappy one. He hasn't used drugs in the past ten years, the last time didn't end well. There wasn't a lot which caused states such as this, normal things anyway. Spells could do it, that was the most likely explanation.

I didn't know when this spell started, nor do I know who cast it. I had my suspicions. Yet, I didn't see how it would've been possible without me knowing, I would've woken up, or Dalila would have woken me up. I would've known if Musa had returned.

I shook my head and went to my father's room. I looked under his bed, discarding the sock which I'm sure he didn't know was there, and hauled out one of his suitcases. He had a horrible habit of not unpacking his belongings when he returned from trips. It meant whatever he took with him, probably went off and stained his luggage. It also meant I knew exactly where the cleansing supplies were.

I took out the jar of salt, incense, crystals, and the smudge sticks before shutting the suitcase and hurrying downstairs. My father's booming laughter filled the air, the unfamiliarity caused me to shiver.

I was in the middle of lighting black, white, and red candles, but I stopped myself. My father sounded incredibly happy. It didn't seem like it was forced. He could've been genuinely happy.

I shook my head as thoughts of reconsideration filtered through my consciousness. If it was genuine, then this wouldn't do anything to change what was going on. If it wasn't genuine, then my father would be free from whatever was causing this strange behaviour.

"Akuji!" I yelled, after lighting the three candles.

She poked her head around the corner, a head which was covered in a tea towel. "Yes?" She sounded miserable.

I had to stop myself from laughing at her. The sight of her disgruntled face under the tea towel was very heartwarming and lightened my mood significantly.

"Can you bring dad in here please?" I asked as politely as I could whilst trying to keep a straight face. "I'm going to try and take whatever spell he's under, off him. So, it might be best if you...then leave the house?" I hesitated a little bit as I suggested it. If Akuji was the result of necromancy, which I'm assuming she was, then she wouldn't fare too well if I tried to use a cleansing spell. It could potentially mean that she lost her consciousness and became an actual ghost.

"Okay," Akuji agreed, which surprised me. She came back a few moments, pushing my father into the living room.

His hair was in his face, and he had put the tongs down, thankfully. I pulled him towards the centre of the room and tried to keep him still. "What game are we playing?" he asked with a giggle. "I can't play if I don't know the rules."

"We're playing stick in the mud," I answered with a probably unconvincing grin. "You know, like all the children in the village play? Akuji's gotta leave though, say bye bye."

My father pouted like a five-year-old and pushed me out of the way, pulling Akuji into a very tight hug. "Bye bye Akuji." He said sadly, whilst waving.

"Bye Nairn, have fun." Akuji waved as she rushed out of the house.

She was clearly standing by the window, so I waved for her to go further away. The bright white of her dress made her stand out against the dark scenery.

I turned my father away from the window and said, "remember, you can't move until the music comes on." There was obviously no music, but I wasn't going to tell my father that. I wanted him to stay as still as possible as I created a salt circle around him and placed the candles in a triangle formation.

"Okay," my father agreed and actually didn't move. He put his arms in a starfish pose, just like the children did whenever they were caught. "When will the music start?"

I shook my head and put a finger to my lips. "You're not allowed to talk either. You know how the game works."

This wasn't at all how the game worked. Usually, you would be playing with other kids, and you would only need to be in this starfish pose if you were tagged by someone else. My father's lack of common sense right now was the only reason this plan was actually working.

"I'm going to go and get the music, okay?" I asked as I put everything into place. I didn't get a response, so I continued, "nod if you can understand me."

My father nodded and I headed upstairs. I grabbed my book off the bed and hurried right back downstairs. He hadn't moved a single inch since I told him not to, nor did he make a sound.

"You're doing great," I complimented and opened the book. I hadn't read this part of the book yet; I only knew how to do this because of what my father had done in the past when dealing with similar situations.

"Is the music going to come from the book?" my father asked. He tried to stretch his head to look at the pages without moving his arms and legs, but he didn't get very far.

"Yes, the music will come from the book." I cleared my throat and started to chant.