It was Wednesday afternoon, two days after the incident. Kai stood outside Venna's house, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for someone to answer the doorbell. He rubbed the nape of his neck, feeling uneasy since he'd never visited her before. The last time he saw her, she had been in a hospital bed with a few machines connected to her. The doctors had asked him what happened, and he had said she got into a school fight. After that, they barely paid him any attention as they fussed around her.

He had left before any of her family members could arrive because he didn't want to get into trouble at home, but he felt guilty afterward. The fear of how Venna's family might react if they realized he was the one who brought her back kept him away until she was discharged from the hospital.

He'd been thinking since he left home about what he would say when he saw her. Yet, he still hadn't come up with anything.

He stood on her front porch, trying to practice what he would say when she finally opened the door. He barely had time to come up with something before the door swung open.

He suspected the woman standing in the doorway to be Venna's mother. Damn! She was younger than he expected and strikingly attractive. Clearing his throat, he forced a smile.

"Hi, I'm Kai. I'm here to see Venna."

Mrs. Buffay got a good look at the boy standing on her doorstep. He wore regular blue denim jeans, a plain white T-shirt, and a black zip-up hoodie, which he wore like a jacket. No nerdy glasses. His dark hair was tied up in a bun, though a few strands stuck out on his forehead and neck. Nike sneakers, no backpack—just a small bag, probably a gift.

She nodded in approval. He wasn't like the type of company Venna usually kept around. Most of all, he didn't look like just any regular high schooler. She guessed he was one of those popular guys girls drooled over, and she could see why. She eyed him, thinking if only he were a bit older...

Surprised at her own thoughts, she straightened and shifted to the side, gesturing for him to come in.

"We don't get to see guests like you around the house," she said heartily.

Kai, unsure of what to say, only offered a smile as he walked in.

"Welcome to my humble abode. Venna's just upstairs in her bedroom," she said with a wink and a laugh.

"Um, sure, thanks," he replied, moving toward the stairs.

He tried not to gape too much, but he hadn't expected the interior of the house to look this nice and expensive. The living room was enormous, almost as big as a football field compared to his regular-sized living room.

The walls were covered in rich, amber-colored wallpaper, and hanging from them were various paintings he bet were expensive. Even the couch alone looked more expensive than his entire house.

In the center of the room was a large smart TV displaying the Netflix interface, and in the middle of the room was a big, glassy table with a flower vase on top. To the left side of the room was a medium-sized aquarium with fishes he'd never seen before swimming inside.

He tried to focus on his ascent upstairs but couldn't help feeling the smooth, cool metal of the stair railing. He held his breath, trying not to feel too out of place.

He could still feel Mrs. Buffay's eyes on his back, and as if reading his mind, she called out, "Tell Venna I'll be right up with some chocolate cookies and milk, so you two try not to do anything funny."

He heard her chuckle as she made her way to the kitchen. He cringed, feeling a mix of embarrassment and anxiety as he continued up the stairs.

What was he going to say to Venna? "Hey, just wanted to check up on you." Nah. Since when did they start looking out for each other? It's not like they were exactly friends. And the thought of something more happening between them-ugh. Venna's mom must be crazy. This was Venna, the girl who kept bugging him about her tepid linguistics class, though it didn't seem so stupid to him now.

He was overthinking things. All he needed to do was walk up to her room, see her, and act like himself. What could go wrong?

At the top of the stairs, he saw three doors and a corridor leading to the balcony. He was about to knock on the first door when he heard loud music coming from the door farthest from the stairs. It was ajar. He slowly walked toward it and pushed it open.

He barely had time to close the door before a water bottle hit the spot where his head should have been. A loud thud followed by a shriek made him wince. He hesitated for a moment, before slowly opening the door again.Venna was fuming on a non-moving treadmill, the music now switched off.

"Hey."

"What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Glad to see you're all better," he replied, hands in his pockets as he slowly circled and examined the room. He whistled. "You didn't tell me your parents were bougie."

"We aren't exactly friends," she said, stepping off the treadmill and retrieving a towel from a bench in the corner of the room.

"My bad," he said, looking around, unsure of what to say. "So, you work out?"

"Yeah, sometimes. Any problem?"

"Chill, you don't have to be defensive about it. It's actually kinda cool."

Now that he could take a good look at Venna, he realized she wasn't that bad herself. He knew she was pretty and kind of a geek, but he hadn't noticed before how her curves complemented her athletic build or how the messy hair look suited her–hell, she was cute.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Venna asked, eyeing him uncomfortably. Her workout clothes, a black sports bra and matching leggings, seemed too revealing for her liking. She reached into her workout closet on the left side of the room and pulled on an ash-colored, cropped hoodie.

"Hey doofus, you haven't told me why you stopped by," she said as she strolled over to pick up her water bottle.

He tried not to look as she bent down to pick it up. What was wrong with him? This could literally be his sister.

He rubbed his neck and sighed. "Just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing," he shrugged.

She stared at him for a moment. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

"I mean, if only I-"

"If only you had what? Warned me in time a big rhinoceros was going to charge towards me? C'mon, what are the odds?" She took a drink from the bottle. "We both made mistakes. We should never have left school with them in the first place. Mostly my fault since, you know, you were..." she mimicked him fainting on the school grounds and laughed. He blushed. "You should have seen yourself. Poor Benkrat had to carry you and put you on top of the griffin. Such a wuss."

Kai laughed. "Typical Venna. Can't stop insulting to save a penny. I'm glad you're okay. You have no idea how freaked out I was."

"Actually, I do. I know how freaked out you can be," she laughed again, recalling his fear of heights.

"I'm getting the vibe that you're someone who doesn't let things go."

"Nope," she said, shaking her head and looking silly with water in her cheeks, trying hard not to laugh.

Kai sighed. "Yeah, so about those guys, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you believe them?"

"I'd say zero. They were crazy, nothing to it," she said as she sat on the bench.

"Yeah, crazy," he said, kicking his feet.

"What? Don't tell me you actually believed them," she asked, gaping.

"Nah, not exactly."

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.

"I mean this." He stretched out a hand and opened his palm to reveal a small ball of flame.

Venna shot up instantly, her eyes bright with alarm.

"What do you think you're doing?" She rushed towards him and held down his hand.

"Aha! I knew I'm not the only one."

She pulled the band holding her hair and tied it one last time to tighten her ponytail, feeling it secure before letting her hair fall to her back.

"Alright, alright, you got me. I actually believed them to some extent, but I didn't want to seem like the crazy one," she said in resignation.

"Why would I think you're crazy? I mean, you saw that creature, right?"

"Yeah, but the whole prophecy thing-I don't know about that."

"Me too. That's why I said 'not exactly.' Crazy how they expect us to be some saviors, right?" he asked, eyeing her.

He watched as she chewed on her bottom lip, lost in thought.

"Right?" he asked again, and this time she jumped.

"Huh? What?"

"What's on your mind? Don't tell me-"

"Shut it, airhead. It's not that. I'm just thinking about some of the things they said. I mean, that would explain some things."

"Like?"

"This necklace," she said, revealing a rope around her neck with a pendant of a griffin clutching an orb. "I've seen one around your neck too at school, that's if you're not wearing it now. I know necklaces are easy to forge-they're just accessories-but take a look at this pendant. It doesn't seem like something you'd find just anywhere. It feels customized, like a special gift given to me by a special someone."

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Kai said, revealing a matching one from under his shirt. "I asked my mom about it. She said it's been around me since I was born, and she can't remember exactly how it came about."

Venna's eyes brightened. "Mine too."

They both stared at their necklaces in silence.

"Speaking of gifts, I thought you brought this for a certain someone," Mrs. Buffay called from the doorway, holding the small bag Kai had brought, a goofy smile on her face.

Startled, they both turned to the doorway as Venna's mom approached, carrying a tray of cookies and milk, just as she had promised.

"I hope she didn't hear our conversation," Venna whispered to Kai.

Mrs. Buffay smiled warmly. "Oh, darling, what are you two hiding from me? Don't worry, I only heard you talking about your necklace. Of course, it's customized. We wanted only you to have it, although I can't remember when we had it made. But it seems even our design was copied," she said, glancing at Kai's necklace. "If you want to know more about the design, you can ask old Miss Lyra."

"Don't you mean Mrs.?" Venna asked, moving to take a cookie.

"No, honey. Poor Miss Lyra never got married, not with her being all creepy and all."

"What do you mean creepy?" Kai asked, gratefully taking the cookie Venna passed him. "Mmm, these are good."

"I know. I make real nice chocolate cookies, some of the best in Chicago if I do say so myself," Mrs. Buffay blushed as Venna rolled her eyes.

"Miss Lyra claims to be a witch. She lives in this lonely duplex, and she's decorated it like she's celebrating Halloween every single day. I think it's cute, though, because no matter how hard she tries, people aren't scared of her and don't seem to take her seriously," Venna explained, finally taking the tray from her mom to the bench.

"Sounds like we should visit this Miss Lyra, don't you think, Venna?" Kai suggested, his curiosity piqued.

"Maybe, but what would she know about necklaces?" Venna gave Kai a skeptical look.

"No, no, dear. Miss Lyra actually knows just about everything, and if you want to find out about that pendant, I bet she'd be just the right person to ask. Maybe she was the one who helped us get it custom-made. I really don't know why I can't remember," Mrs. Buffay said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

Kai and Venna exchanged a knowing glance.

"Now, now, what's that look about? I'm still in the room, you know. You two might think you're good at hiding stuff, but I was once your age," Mrs. Buffay winked, and they both stared at her. "C'mon, you know I'm not one of those strict moms. I know you two are still high schoolers, but I think it's okay to have a healthy relationship at this age, just as long as you don't-"

"Okay, Mom, thanks for the advice. I think we'll be leaving now. We've got a few questions for old Miss Lyra," Venna said quickly, gently putting the tray on the bench and hurriedly grabbing Kai's hand to pull him out of the room.

"I'll be taking this," Kai said, quickly grabbing the gift bag from Mrs. Buffay before Venna could pull him out. "And thanks for the cookies, Venna's mom," he called back.

"You can call me Mom. Oh, dear, you two be careful," she called after them just as Venna slammed the door to her room, leaving her alone. She looked around the room and smiled to herself, reminiscing about her younger days.

"Sorry about my mom, she can be a handful," Venna apologized as they stepped outside.

"No, actually, I think she's really nice," Kai replied, though he thought she was also quite attractive but didn't dare say it out loud.

"Do you really think Miss Lyra will be able to answer our questions?" Venna asked as they turned a corner into a quiet cul-de-sac.

"We'll just have to see." Kai noticed the eerie quietness of the road and felt a shiver run down his spine. "I'm guessing that's her house," he pointed to the only building in the close.

The old duplex stood like a worn sentinel, its once-white facade now weathered to a soft gray. The wooden siding was chipped and faded, revealing hints of the original color beneath. The windows, adorned with intricate Victorian-era trim, gazed out like tired eyes, their panes wavy with age. A crooked porch sagged under the weight of time, its railing slats askew like teeth in a worn smile. The roof, a patchwork of curved tiles, seemed to slump under the burden of countless snowfalls and summer storms. Hanging from the side of the roof were pumpkin heads used during Halloween, and across the house was a banner decorated with bats and cobwebs that read 'Hello, my lovelies.'

Kai shuddered. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It was your idea, remember? Besides, it's just old Miss Lyra. There's nothing to it."

Kai wished he could feel as nonchalant as Venna, but the aura emanating from the house made him uneasy. He hesitated as Venna walked to the porch and knocked loudly on the door. It creaked open, startling him.

She looked back at him and shook her head pityingly. When no one answered, she slowly pushed the door open.

"I don't think that's a wise-"

She was already halfway into the house. He took a deep breath and followed her.

"Anyone home? Miss Lyra?" Venna called as they stood in the middle of a dimly lit room.

"Who dares disturb my peace and quiet?" came a booming voice from behind them. They jumped.

"Oh, it's just you, Miss Lyra," Venna let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "We came to say hi, Miss Lyra. We thought you might be lonely."

Miss Lyra said nothing, only stared at them as she reached out and pulled down a lever, turning on the old lamps hanging from the ceiling.

Venna gasped. The room, now well illuminated, revealed thousands of books, covering the walls from floor to ceiling. This was like heaven to Venna.

Kai couldn't care less about the books. His gaze was focused on Miss Lyra, and he could see why no one took her seriously.

She was a short, slim woman with sagging cheeks. You'd think old age would give her an old hag, witch look, but no, it only made her look innocent and sweet. He felt like taking her out of this place—an old, innocent woman like her shouldn't be living alone.

Her gray hair was partially tied back in a scarf decorated with bat drawings, and she wore knee-length blue jeans and a black sweat shirt, not the old, worn-out garments he'd expected. She was hunched and limped on her left leg but didn't need a walking stick.

Nevertheless, he still got a strange, mysterious vibe from her. He understood why people weren't scared of her but didn't exactly want to live near her either.

"Young man, weren't you taught that it's rude to stare at an old lady like that?" she said as she hobbled to a shelf at the far left corner of the room.

Venna laughed, and Kai blushed. "Sorry. I just didn't expect you to be so..."

"'Normal?'" she finished for him, raising an eyebrow. "You expected my hair to be hanging out like an unkempt old hag, wearing a dirty robe, holding a creepy walking stick, and showing bad teeth when I speak, huh?" She asked, smiling wryly at him.

"Well, kinda."

"Great, if that's what you thought, then my decor is working," she said, selecting a few books. "It doesn't mean I ain't a real witch, though." She smiled, revealing what would have been considered a perfect set of white teeth in her younger days but was now colored with age and time.

"Huh, got it," Kai replied with indifference.

"Um, Miss Lyra, we wanted to ask you a few questions."

"And what makes you think I'll answer them?" she asked, her back to them as she dropped the books she had selected on the only piece of furniture-a short mahogany table-in the center of the room.

"Because you're sweet and kind, Miss Lyra," Venna crooned.

"Hmmph. Let me take a look at the necklace."

They both stared in shock. "How did you-" Kai started to say, but she interrupted him.

"Are you going to pass it or what?" she asked, picking up a monocle to examine the necklace Kai handed her.

She let out a slow breath at the sight of it. "The mark of Eldorem."

Venna's eyes widened. "That's it, that name. So that's what the necklace is called."

Miss Lyra gave her a curious look, as if about to say something, then thought better of it. She passed the necklace back and continued going through her books on the table.

The twins waited for her to say more, but she remained silent.

"That's it?" Kai asked.

"You haven't asked me any questions," she said, flipping through pages rapidly.

The twins looked at each other, unsure of what to ask. Kai held back the question he was about to ask when he saw Venna's eyes brighten with a question. It would probably be better than his anyway.

"You said 'the mark of Eldorem.' What's that?"

Yup, much better than asking what that funny-looking thing she used to view the necklace was called.

Miss Lyra stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked up at them.

"Not my place to tell you, but you might want to be careful wearing that necklace out in public." She closed the book she was reading and put it under her arm, leaving the rest on the table. "And now, if you would excuse me," she said, shoving them towards the door, "this is my reading hour, and I'd like a little peace and quiet."

"But you-" Venna started to protest as she shut the door in their faces.

"What a bummer," Kai shrugged, glad to be leaving.

"Ugh, stupid old woman," Venna kicked the door.

"I heard that!" Miss Lyra yelled from a room upstairs.

They quickly hurried down the stairs and off her porch. Venna sulked as they walked back towards her house.

"Hey, you don't have to be in such a bad mood, you know. Here, I got this for you."

Not particularly curious about what was in the bag, she took it nevertheless. She opened the bag to see a wrapped-up box. Unraveling the wrap, she found a box of chocolates. She smiled.

"You sure know how to make a girl happy, Kai."

"I try," he replied, tousling his hair.

She opened the box of panda-shaped chocolates and took one out. "Whoa, these are nice. Here," she shoved the box in his direction.

"Nah, they're all yours."

"You don't have to be so humble," she said as she forcefully shoved one into his mouth.

He laughed as he chewed. "You know, if we were twins like they say, I'd bet you'd be the older one."

She stopped in her tracks. "I've always wanted a younger brother," she said, mostly to herself without looking at him.

"Well, you're kinda stuck with one now," he offered her a smile.

She returned the smile and pulled him down by the neck as she ruffled his hair. They both laughed.