Trill’s hand formed into a fist, and he opened it again to reveal a wooden egg. This was held out for Julia to take. She took it and began to study it in the dim light of the basement. There was absolutely nothing special about it. All it seemed to be was an egg-shaped kaleidoscope, much like a gift a child would get.

He grinned all the wider at her silence. “It will be all that you need.”

“... Thank you,” she whispered.

Having completed his assigned tasks, it came time for Trill to take his leave. “Each of you should quickly see the meaning behind my boons.” The feathers began to flake off of his clothes, turning into ash as they fell to the ground. “Treat them wisely.”

The girls braced themselves as a gust blew through the room. Ash mixed with air, leaving Mio to have a coughing fit. Julie pulled the turtleneck she wore up from her neck and up to her face, in order to cover it safely, and Britney hid behind the crook of her elbow.

When the air had settled, there was no sign of Trill or the summoning circle. Julia patted herself down before she started to roll up her sleeping bag. It didn’t matter if it was neatly tucked away or not, but she needed to be able to carry it.

“What are you doing?” Britney frowned. All the demon had said was that her wish would be granted, but it would’ve been better if she had gotten some clarification in how that was being done. Julia wasn’t the only one that was pissed off.

“I’m leaving,” replied Julia quickly.

“You can’t leave. My mom will throw an absolute fit if she finds out that this party failed so badly that people started to bail.”

Julia glared at her. “Then tell your mom that I’m still pissed off that Kara is dead!” She shouted. Mio immediately retreated to a corner of the room. Loud voices were never something that she was good at dealing with. “You said we could find a way to figure out who killed Kara, and you wasted your wish on your mom!”

“Because my mom is an intrusive bitch who is constantly coddling me and asking me if,” Britney’s tone shifted to an impression of her mother, “I’m okay, or if I need anything, or that everything is going to be fine because time heals all wounds and I bought you an aromatherapy machine. Because the essential oil scam is going to fix me, really? Really, mom?” She rolled her eyes at the idea.

“You wasted your wish, and all I got was some stupid toy! I don’t care if magic or demon summoning is real anymore, it doesn’t work! I’m going to go home and figure out who killed her myself, and you better not call me again with any of your stupid ideas.” She then turned to Mio. “Do you need a ride home?!” The idea of leaving Mio alone with Britney made Julia’s stomach churn, but she asked the question a tad bit more aggressive than she meant to.

Mio began to shake her head back and forth quickly. “No, thank you though.” She didn’t want to stay either, but she had already told her parents that she was going to be away for the night. Returning early would mean that something bad happened, and she didn’t want them asking questions about if she was bullied or if someone tried to force something on her.

“Fine. Okay then.” Julia picked up her belongings and ended up the stairs.

She never had the intention of spending the night, having told her dad that Britney wanted to talk about Kara for a bit. Her mother… She was staying with her parents, Julia’s grandparents. Julia was invited to go to, but she didn’t have anything against her dad. It wasn’t either of their faults, and they were family. A family should’ve stuck together at a time like this, but…

They said it was suicide.

It started when Kara failed to come home. She often did after school activities and had a lot of friends that she hung out with, so her parents didn’t think anything of it when she had missed dinner. When she didn’t pick up her phone afterward, that’s when they started to panic.

Someone on the track team found her the next morning. She had hung herself up from a tree behind the school. Rumors started to go around about why she killed herself, and all sorts of dirt started to surface.

She had been lined up to be the cheerleading captain for the senior year, but lately, her routine work hadn’t been as good. Her relationship had been full of fighting, she had failed the past two exams, and she hadn’t been eating during lunch in order to lose weight. At home, she had been skipping out on breakfast, saying that she’d pick it up on the way to school. Everyone remained oblivious while she was wasting away to nothing.

Her parents began to blame each other for not seeing the signs. Deep down, Julia felt like they were blaming her as well. After all, she was the twin sister. She was the one that was supposed to always be by her side and never let harm touch her, but… Julia knew that it wasn’t their fault.

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Kara wasn’t suicidal. She was struggling to get through, but she was at a low point. Everyone has their low points. Someone either forced her to do it or hung her up themselves. Julia was going to find out who did it, and she was going to make them pay.

She pulled up to her house and walked inside. Her dad was watching a movie and didn’t even bother to acknowledge her as she entered. Julia paused if only to watch his back for a moment. Maybe once this was over… No, mom probably wasn’t going to come back, but maybe her dad would stop shutting herself away.

Julia got ready for bed but kept her time in her bedroom limited. It was the room that she shared with Kara, and no one had helped her move any of her belongings. Her bed, her clothes, her scent, it was all still there. After he dad fell asleep, Julia went to pass out on the couch, but she felt like that wasn’t an option tonight.

Putting a coat over her pajamas, she snuck out to the backyard. Their house was just outside of town, where nothing was open and night, and even the street lights gave up at some point. This left a sky full of light.

Stars were one of the few things that Julia loved. Especially on the night of the new moon, when everything seemed so much brighter. Julia flopped down on the grass and stared up at the heavens. She held three fingers up to the sky and used them to measure out where Venus was.

“Humans have not given up on looking up to the stars whenever they are feeling troubled,” a voice rang out from the dark.

Julia sat up quickly and saw that Trill was sitting next to her. “Go away,” she said with a growl.

“Once summoned, I cannot leave until your true desire is granted,” replied Trill.

“You gave me a toy,” she spat back.

He grinned widely. “You lied.” She shook her head. “You lied to me about what your true desire is.”

“I want revenge for my sister.”

“Lies,” he replied. “One last chance to admit the truth.”

Julia stood up. “I’m going to figure out who killed my sister. Just go away already. I don’t need you.”

Trill stood up as well. “I was summoned, and I cannot leave until my agenda is finished. Despite your lies and attempt to deny my boon, I have given you exactly what you want.” His grin grew all the larger. “That egg contains your sister’s soul.”

A silence hung in the air like a dead weight. Julia stared at the demon, and he stared back. Dark and imposing, more shadow than a living thing. She turned away from him and ran back up to her room, digging around her bag until she found the egg. Once more, she sought to examine it, more closely this time, looking for any signs that it could be special.

“Kara?”

The glass lens on either side of the egg had a silver ring to keep it in place, and there was brass cuneiform along the edge. She held it up to her eye and looked through it, gems inside rolled about as she moved the egg, creating a cascade of color. There wasn’t anything unusual about it.

She looked around the room and finally focused on Kara’s bed. The colors were beginning to shift about. As the gemstones faded away, the world turned black and white. Kara was sitting on the edge of her bed, and staring down at the ground. Her face was vacant, she wore a cloak made of gray feathers, but there was nothing underneath.

“Kara…” Julia kneeled next to the bed. “It’s Julia. Can you hear me?” Kara’s mouth began to move, but Julia couldn’t hear her.

“It’s an egg,” said Trill.

Julia nearly jumped out of her skin. A trail of dust was swirling about the air, and it twisted together into the shape of Trill. “I know that.”

“The egg has no mouth. It cannot tell you its secrets,” he replied.

Which would explain why she couldn’t hear anything. “I know that,” she repeated.

“She is capable of showing you her troubles, but in a broken way.” Trill faded into dust and reappeared on the other side of her. His tail uncurled from underneath his hoodie and began to sway back and forth. “Your sister has been dead for weeks. The deeds of your life have no effect on the underworld. The dead become trapped in darkness, with only stones for food, and they slowly break apart until they are nothing.

Trauma isn’t good for the mind.” He faded into dust once more and appeared at the other side of the room. This time he had his back to her and was looking at family pictures that Kara had hung up on the wall. “She won’t remember any of this.” He gestured to the photos with his tail. “All of it has already faded away.”

Julia glanced between him and the egg again. Kara was looking at her. Both of them reached for each other, but neither was able to touch. Her sister was still in there. “How do I make her remember?”

“You remove her pain.”

“How do I do that?”

Trill looked over his shoulder. “That is not how you attain your desire.”

“Yes, it is. Tell me.”

Rather than turning around, he shifted into dust for a third time in order to move the distance of a single step. “Giving others the means to grant their deepest wish is my form of worship. In return, you become my priestess, and your role is to ensure that others know of my ritual so that they perform it themselves.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll post about it on Twitter or something, but this is what I want.” Julia cradled the egg gently between her hands. “Tell me how I can make her better.”

“Work it out on your own. I’ll return when you realize how futile it is to continue down this path.” He disappeared into dust for a final time, with his tail being the last to vanish in the dark.

Julia sat down on the edge of her bed. She looked through the egg again and saw that Kara had stood up. Now she was staring at the pictures on the wall. It was like she couldn’t recognize her own face. Kara’s head kept tilting back and forth as she squinted her eyes. Her mouth looked like it would try to form a word, but she would zone out and stand there slack-jawed.

“We’ll work together,” said Julia as she lowered the egg. “I’ll find a way to make you remember, and then we’ll make them suffer.”