July 2023 ver.

Rowan yawned until tears welled. Avery noticed his sister’s eye twitch. Their elder was acting on the sluggish side in general. Devin, on the other hand, had arms crossed and her tail lashed once. They stayed right where they were leaned against the inn. She was more than content to let the mage drag himself all the way over from the street. Avery couldn’t stop his eyes from sliding between the two. There was a storm brewing. He could see it. Taste it even. He pitied Rowan.

“Oh, so you actually showed up.” Her eyes narrowed. It was past sunset by this point.

The young man tipped his head at the snark, “Eh? Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

Devin scoffed, “I don’t know what to think with you sometimes.” The brawler hauled herself off the siding. She stalked off to the road. Meanwhile, the target of her contempt gazed after her in confusion then looked to him for help. Avery shook his head and followed after his sister with none of the usual pep in his step.

So Rowan jogged after and tried to catch her attention from the side, “Why are you mad this time?”

She rolled her eyes, “For someone supposedly smart, you’re a damn idiot.” The girl stopped abruptly to slam the accusation over his head, “You ditched us to get your dick wet!”

Their cousin’s face went red to hear her use the phrase, “L-language!” Avery scratched his ear. It was pretty vulgar.

She fully rounded on him, “Really? With the kind of shit you say sometimes?” Her entire body was sassing him.

“Yeah, but that’s… Fine. Whatever.” Their leader relinquished that fight with a throw of his head. At least he was smart enough to pick his battles. Devin would have won for sure if he’d pressed it. “We don’t have to be with each other twenty-four seven. We can be apart for three hours.”

“Three hours!? It was five!” Her hand went to the black sky. “We’ve been standing out here waiting since the sun got low, worried that we’d miss something important.”

Rowan fidgeted, “O-oh.”

“Oh.” His sister mocked him immediately. Avery was scowling, but neither paid him any mind. The three of them were just standing in the middle of the street in the dark while they argued. There were some lantern lights, but only at crossroads. “Too busy being a pervert to notice the time.” She gave another off-hand dig at him and went to walk away.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Rowan cut her off, verbally and physically, planting hands on his hips to yell back. “Consensual fooling around doesn’t make me a pervert.”

“You blatantly looked at that woman’s chest in front of us!” She threw fingers out from her temple. “And have you already forgotten how badly you embarrassed that cook that she threatened to get her husband?”

“She has a name! It’s Katie, not ‘that woman’.” That was kind of rich coming from him given the truth of Devin’s statements, wasn’t it?

Another guttural sounding of her disgust with him, “So you’re going to see her again? Stick around to date her?”

“W-well, I’m not… interested in a relationship.” Rowan kept digging the hole. The fledgling scholar sighed.

“Mhmm, did you tell her that? Are you even going to say goodbye when we leave?”

His demeanor solidified, “I’ll say goodbye.”

Devin faltered at this. He actually meant it. She doubled back to her primary problem, “You still ditched us because you can’t stop being a pervert for two seconds.”

“Would you stop calling me that?” Avery let his eyes wander.

“Are you not one?”

“Th-that’s besides the point!” Maybe he’d find the end of their fight out among the houses.

His sister relented, “Fine, then, Rowan! You’re a slut! Is that better!?”

“Whoa! Don’t go throwing that word around either!” Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose, not unlike their grandfather, “I’m an adult with needs, okay? You don’t get it yet, but you will soon. I’d appreciate if you started trying to understand now. I know you know that life isn’t always so great. Sex is one of the few things in it that’s enjoyable. So personally, yeah, I tend to accept when I find myself with the opportunity.” Their junior couldn’t hear anything over the two barking.

“Do you even want us around? I’m seriously asking.”

Avery looked to see his cousin was frowning, “What does that mean? I like having you both with me. Why would you ask that?”

“Guys?” Did it even matter that he was here?

Devin laughed in Rowan’s face, “Have you seriously not noticed how much you ditch us? For hours or even days?”

“It was one ni-.”

“All of our time in Marion you were barely around. And when you finally took us with to see Okra you left with some random girl from the pub without even warning us!” Was that where he went? That wasn’t important this second.

Avery made another go of it, “…guys? It’s really getting late. Shouldn’t we-.”

“D-did I?”

“AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! You haven’t grown at all since you were sixteen!” The boy put his back to his blood. His ears pressed flat. They weren’t paying attention to anything else at all.

“…I mean, I’d argue I grew at least three inches?”

His sister lost it, “REALLY!? Are you kidding me!? That’s your response!? What is wrong with you!?”

Avery walked a few feet then glanced to see Devin still tearing into Rowan. Figuratively. For now. The teen sighed again.

Wasn’t this banshee supposed to be out hours ago? Were his kin really so loud that they drowned out the sound of ethereal wailing? He walked toward the center of town until his sibling yelling was barely above the crickets. His ears twisted and strained. Nothing. It was supposed to be every night wasn’t it? He kept walking along.

“Ow.”

His attention snapped to his left. Darkened houses. He squinted. Too close to a lantern. Avery drifted to the edge of the road. One final gander at his companions. They were starting to look tiny. Rowan was shaking his head at something. His turn to roll his eyes over the ridiculousness of the situation. He peered into the space between the houses before cautiously venturing into it.

The teen crouched as low as he could without sacrificing mobility. When he came to the space behind the houses, he glanced about again. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. He didn’t see anything. Maybe… he lifted his nose. Fresh scents. Maybe to the right? Avery slunk along the housing line. His heart beat a bit faster.

‘This isn’t a nightmare. You’re awake. You’re okay. There’s stars above you. They’re not going anywhere. You can go back to find Devin and Rowan any time.’ He had to keep repeating to himself as his nerves stressed further and further the longer he was alone.

The dark was going to swallow him up.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Avery froze and then quickly slipped between two houses. He flipped up his hood to cover his moon-reflecting hair and peeked around the corner. “Shhh!” The lithe scholar squinted. There was movement by a window. One figure fell on another and then three total set off in a quiet fumble. His ear twitched. There couldn’t be three banshees, right? They seemed short for that too. Kids? Was it calling them in a way he couldn’t hear?

The feline did his best to follow without being heard or seen. It probably helped his senses were sharper than a full-blooded human so he could keep a larger buffer distance. For being ‘lethargic’, as Rowan put it, they were moving fast and cutting a straight path. They knew where each gap in a fence or bin to get over was. Either they did this often or they were getting some psychic direction. There was no way they could see all the hazards as he could. It was actually hard to keep up. Not only that, but they kept going.

His ears went straight. Was that what he thought it was? The kids climbed onto the platform in the shack and commenced lowering it. He wouldn’t be able to follow them like this. Once they were out of sight, Avery scurried over. Would it be okay to look? His head slowly popped out over the hole. The shack constructed around it cut off even more moonlight. Pitch black. Eyes flicked to the side. Stairs. Maybe he should go get his family now.

Avery swallowed. It was just the absence of light, that’s nothing to really be scared about. He didn’t need to get his big sister to come save him. His eyes could pick up enough to make out the edges of the platforms and everything anyway. Although, depending on how deep it was there was always a chance he would reach a point where even he wouldn’t be able to see.

A shiver rolled up his spine. An ungodly sound rose from the depths of the mine. He shrunk from the entrance, nerve completely lost. For a second. Avery blinked. ‘Wait a minute.’

x x x

He heard them before he saw them, “Avery?” Rowan was trying to be somewhat quiet about it.

Devin on the other hand, “Avery!” Her call raised in alarm.

“Shit.” Now Rowan sounded worried too. They still didn’t see him.

He rounded the corner, “Guys?”

Devin careened into him, “Avery!” Rowan followed only slightly slower. He wobbled under the sudden embrace from his sister. When was the last time Devin actually hugged him for real? He couldn’t really remember.

She ejected him from her embrace a second later to yell at him, “You moron! Where the hell did you go?”

His cousin hovered in very close, “When did you even leave?”

The teen’s face went flat, “How should I know? You two were so wrapped up with each other it was like everything else stopped.” They both shifted a step back to take up their nervous mannerisms. The embarrassment was strangely satisfying to see.

“Y-you really scared us.” Devin was the first to stammer.

The mage nodded along with the brawler, “There’s a banshee out there. We got off track, but you still shouldn’t have wandered off by yourself.”

Avery gave them a very unamused look before dully saying, “Yeah, so, about that banshee. I think I found something you should see.” He hooked a thumb at where he had appeared before leaving them to exchange mixed glances.

The youngest lead them directly to where the kids had vanished into the dark. The three peeked into the shaft.

Rowan cocked his head, “It’s down there? That would explain why it sounds like it’s everywhere.”

He agreed with the mage, “Mmn, there’s other entrances I’m sure. But there’s probably a ton of vents all around town as well.”

“How did you come to this one?” His sister’s tail waved curiously.

Avery shrugged, “I followed some kids.”

“So it is messing with the kids.” Rowan cupped his chin.

“I… don’t think so actually, but we’ll have to go down to see.” Both heads turned to Avery on the end. “Wh-what?”

“You want to go down there?” Devin eyed him with a combination of disbelief and amusement.

Rowan attempted to kindly point out, “I thought you had a thing about being in the dark.”

“Th-that’s just an old dream! Besides,” he hid his face as his cheeks flushed, “you’ll both be with me.”

“Well, no time like the present.” Their leader straightened and conjured up a flame in his hand. Avery immediately slapped it out. “Wh-what the hell?”

The youngest shook his head quite seriously, “If it’s what I think, we can’t do that. We’ll need to be as quiet as possible too.”

Rowan scrutinized the shack spanning the hole further, “Uhh…” Was he scared? “Falling down a mine shaft isn’t exactly on my to-do list for the night? I won’t be able to see anything.”

“Right,” Avery pointed at him, “So you keep a hand on my shoulder and then Devin will keep one on yours. Stay between us, you’ll be fine.” The mage was frowning, he leaned over to peer down again.

A rub at the neck, “O-okay. I trust you.”

They lined up and filed onward. The grip on Avery’s shoulder was considerably tighter after they cleared the first level. The felines warned their human counterpart every time they came to stairs or a ladder which was frequently.

He whispered, “Can you guys really still see?”

Both replied, “Yes.”

A weird grumble came from behind. One that suggested to him that Rowan was jealous.

The wailing grew louder and louder. Their feet touched on rock. Devin and Avery flanked their cousin now. There was only one way to go. Not too far in, they all noticed at about the same time, but they kept their mouths shut. It was an incredibly soft, slightly green, light. They slowed their approach. Whatever was waiting would be upon them soon. Only one more bend. Rowan slid in front as they came to it. He gestured for them to wait while he stole a glimpse.

“What the-?” Right after looking, he stepped into the center of the tunnel, clearly not expecting what he saw. He barely remembered to wave them over.

Avery grinned, “I knew it!” Three heads craned their direction. Each one held a jar of fireflies. Rowan snapped his fingers.

“Oh shit!” The kids collided with a blue wall that wasn’t there a second ago.

“Hold it right there, hooligans.”

Devin stared at Rowan, “Hooligans?” He didn’t pay her any mind.

“So you three are the mysterious banshee?” The mage waltzed forward and the kids cowered with backs to the barrier magic.

“Uh…”

“S-say, how did we get here?” The lead glanced at his followers.

The girl of the group stammered along quickly, “Y-yeah! The last I remember was going to bed.”

Rowan grabbed the ringleader by an ear and gave a good yank. The little boy howled. “Try again, kid.” All he did was whine to be let go.

Avery came to stand at his cousin’s side as he released the youngster, causing him to fall over, “It’s not just these three, it’s every kid in town.”

“Hm?” Blue irises slid his direction.

“Every kid in town has been lethargic, right? It’s because they’re down here,” he indicated the whole of the mine, “doing this in shifts.”

The mage judgmentally stared at the kids again. They didn’t look up, merely kept focusing on random spots on the ground. “That’s a lot of work for a practical joke.”

Avery lifted a finger, “But what went away when the banshee came?”

Devin answered with a tip of the head, “Outsiders?”

“Including the bandits.” He gave a confident nod.

His kin finally got it with a simultaneous, “Oooooooh.” Rowan added, “Clever little scheme.”

One kid quickly launched into a panic, “Y-you can’t tell anyone!”

Another joined, “If word gets out the banshee is fake then those men will come back!”

Their cousin released the barrier behind them finally with a frown, “Unfortunately, we’ll have to tell someone.”

“B-but-.”

“I get it. I do. Actually, I think it’s pretty great you stepped up, but you’re causing a slew of other problems.” He ruffled the back of his hair, “So… sorry guys.”

x x x

“All this time?”

“It was just our kids making that racket?” ‘Demoted to racket, huh?’

They had asked around to see who were the people in charge here the next morning. By the afternoon they were able to meet with them in the town’s temple. It was only a handful of men. The only notable ones were the particularly old one and the one who seemed to be in charge of the entire mine. It was incredibly unpleasant and Devin’s tail kept moving behind them. Rowan sat in the middle with his arms crossed as the town heads came around to accepting what random strangers were telling them.

“When I get my hands on Kurt…” They were angry. ‘But why?’

“Um,” Avery flinched at their attention, “I know it’s really hurt the town’s finances, but they were only trying to protect everyone, weren’t they?” He slid deeper into his seat as their glares penetrated.

“Hurt is an understatement!”

“We’re on the verge of collapse here!”

“Unthinkable. Kids today…”

He shouldn’t have said anything, or so he thought until, “Now just wait a damn minute.” Rowan lifted one hand from his disgruntled posture, “I’m not saying it was right, but those bandit-types were kidnapping people, probably killing them or worse, and extorting the entire town. How long was that happening? Because it sounds like it was for months. Maybe a year? And what did any of you do about it?” His eyes raked over each of the men. They didn’t seem to have a response to the question. Some were starting to look angrier, others were avoiding eye contact.

Their cousin got up from the pew to point his accusation, “You didn’t do jack shit, did you? Those kids didn’t do it for themselves or for fun, they did it to save your asses. You should be thanking them for trying to fix a problem you didn’t have the gall to even think about handling.” He clicked his tongue, “Devin, Avery, let’s go. I don’t want to sit and listen to excuses about why they don’t have to pay us either.”

Rowan left them all one last thought, “Look, we’re not going to tell anyone about the banshee being fake. If all you’re going to do is sit on your hands, maybe you should think about supporting those willing to actually try something even if it’s not a perfect fix or doesn’t work out.”

They left the temple with their cousin still huffing about stupidity and cowardice. However, they didn’t have anywhere to be at this juncture. The three loitered.

“I take it that it’s too early for that other event still?” Devin ventured to push them toward a plan.

The mage sighed, “Yeah. I thought this was going to take longer. Glad we didn’t pay for a whole week up front.”

“So what are we going to do until then?” The younger male joined in with the prompting.

Rowan took a moment to stand there, hand at the neck. They could see the idea strike his head, “You know what? I’ve been mentioning that we should do it. We’re gonna go visit Frani and Retha.”

Devin leaned away, “The crazy girl?”

“Yeah,” Rowan set off with new purpose, “I want to see the boys.”

Both clambered after, repeating the statement as a question, “The boys?”