“What’s the question?” Jade asked.

“Do you dye his hair?”

Jade scratched his cheek, looking away. “Only when we go out,” she responded with a hint of hesitation. “We can’t afford to have it dyed all the time.”

“Then do you plan to stay in the city?” Lilith followed up.

“We have to. There’s no way we can leave.”

Lilith crossed her arms, thinking of a solution, but couldn’t. Even if she were to leave, it was already too late. If her travel to the city wasn’t already a sign, there was no way she could make it to the next city, let alone an Inn without dying. “Hmm. There is one way you might make it there, but it is extremely risk.”

Jade shook her head in response. “I don’t think anything we do will be safe.”

There wasn’t much she could do with a response filled with that much denial as that. The only way Lilith could think of is giving them the experimental barrier so they could travel, but there would be far too many variables and risky to bring such a young child along. “I understand. To be frank, the idea I had was pretty out there.”

“So, about what you said earlier,” Jade brought the conversation back to her initial question. “Why did you say that to Theo?”

Lilith walked over , pulled out a chair, and sat down at the table and Jade followed, sitting down as well. “Well…” She took a peek over at the door, and after making sure no one was snooping into the conversation, she continued. “I’m sure you know better than I do, but the church does not like us cursed ones.”

Jade nodded her head.

“If you plan to stay here, then I highly advise that when you get caught, you allow him to go in the void.”

“When?” Jade said, her voice louder than normal, but bringing it back down to a hush. “Why when?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way they won’t find you. I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but we need to be realistic here. Do you want Theo to die?”

“No. No, of course not.”

“Do you know what it means to enter the void?”

“No- I-I mean, he's put his hand before, but I told him never to do that again.”

Looking at the doorway once again, Lilith leaned forward, motioning Jade to do the same. “When you enter, you enter a black unknown. You can get lost and have no clue where you’re at. However, when you leave, you can end up in a totally different place. It just depends where- if he finds an exit.”

Jade bit her lip, listening to Lilith's description. What she said didn’t sound amazing, but if she were to be rational about it, anything would be better than death.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Lilith asked, after giving Jade a moment to process the information.

“I do,” she finally let out.

““Since Theo isn’t my child, I can’t make these decisions, but I sincerely hope you tell him about it. It might hurt for both of you, but it’s better living than dying.”

Jade's head hung low, causing Lilith to second guess what she said. It wasn’t false, but it made her realize she should’ve said it differently. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be mean.” Lilith placed a hand on Jade’s shoulder as they drooped down.

Jade took a deep breath. “I understand,” she said as she exhaled. “I know.”

An awkward silence fell between the two, leaving Lilith unsure of what to do next. She was blunt, but maybe too blunt, and now it put her in a weird position. “Listen, there’s one thing I can do and I urge you to do it if the person agrees.” Lilith grasped Jade’s hands in between hers, causing her to look up into Lilith’s eyes. Her eyes were clouded. Scared of the future. There was one person Lilith could think of that could do anything, but that person themself wouldn’t care about Jade or Theo. However, Charlotte would.

“What do you mean?” Jade asked.

“I didn’t think this would originally work, but there is a way I can get this person to agree. I can’t go into details, nor do I think the person in question would want me to, but it’s worth a try.”

For a moment, Jade’s clouded eyes cleared, but after the long-winded explanation without any solid plan, she once again let her head drop.

“Jade!” she shouted, causing Theo to peek out from the curtain and Jade to look up again, surprised. “It can work. Just give me a day or two.”

“Alright,” she said while nodding her head.

Giving a smile to Theo, who was now watching in the back, Lilith looked at Jade. “This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell him about the void and hiding in there. If something happens, and that’s the only way…” She let her words trail off, then stood up, letting go of her hands. “Just promise me you’ll tell him.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Jade nodded her head, and Lilith left the house. Based on what Gabriel said, it seemed like they had more than enough time, but something seemed off. Maybe it was a gut feeling, but she hoped it was wrong.

……

“Why was this harder than last time?” Lilith annoyingly asked as she stood in front of Spellbound in the same alley as before. Without hesitation, she entered and was greeted by a familiar chime and a familiar voice.

“Welcome back,” Scarlet said while sitting behind the counter.

“Two days,” Lilith said, in the lightest of mumbles.

“I’m sorry?” Scarlet asked.

“Two days!” Lilith’s voice shot up, walking over with brisk steps to the counter. “Why did it take two days!?” She slammed her hands down onto the counter and forced her face into hers.

“You didn’t wish hard enough,” Scarlet said, pushing Lilith’s face away.

“Wish… hard… enough?” Lilith repeated. “What the fuck does that mean?” Her matter was timely, and every second mattered, yet it took far too long. “How- what?” She fumbled with words while trying to comprehend what she meant.

“There’s no hidden meaning to my words,” Scarlet said with a smile. “If you don’t have a pass, then there needs to be a reason and that reason must be something you desire whole heartedly.”

“So you’re saying my cause for finding this place wasn’t strong enough?”

“Yes.”

Lilith held her tongue. “Will you accept my request?”

“I rarely say no, but it can depend on what that request it.”

Lilith explained the situation, telling her about the mother and child and how the child was a cursed, and asked if it was possible to take the child in. That maybe Charlotte would watch over him. Scarlet listened intently, and after everything was said, she thought about it, and after thinking about it, gave Lilith her approval. Charlotte wouldn’t have an issue with it, but worse case, if she had no intention of taking the boy in, then Scarlet would do it herself. The response gave Lilith some relief, as her worries were unfounded.

After the conversation, Lilith thanked her and quickly left the shop. She had to be fast as a part of her believed she couldn’t let this situation sit any longer. It had only been two days, but with each passing hour, her worries grew. It was getting late, but she rushed over to their house, but no one answered. She brushed it off, thinking that they were asleep or out doing something. Deep down, she didn’t believe her own words, but that was all she could do for now.

She went back to her inn, contemplating if she should do something else, but she didn’t want to risk the attention to not only herself, but the two of them and others as well, so she attempted to get some sleep and figure it out the next day. Lilith didn’t feel comfortable doing this, but there wasn’t much else to do. Even if she had the strength to force herself into the house, it wouldn’t have been the smartest move.

After a near sleepless night, Lilith got dressed and rushed over to Jade’s house, and after no response, just like the night before, she went trait to the mailroom and stormed through, barging into Gabriel’s office.

“I need your help,” Lilith said, panting in between each word. “Like, right now.”

His sudden visiter surprised Gabriel, who was sitting behind his desk, working away like any other day. “What kind of help?” he asked, visibly taken aback. It was an expression Lilith never thought he would make, even though she barely knew him, but it wasn’t the time to rub it in. But honestly, his reaction never crossed her mind until much later.

“Jade and Theo,” Lilith said in a rush.

“I need more than just names,” Gabriel responded as he put his work aside, sat Lilith down at the small table, and gave her tea.

The heat didn’t register immediately, as Lilith took a large sip and recoiled back. She blew on it, then, after it cooled down just enough, she took several large gulps. “A mother and son.”

“Go on,” Gabriel said after no elaboration.

“There was a mother and son who I had to deliver a package to. The son was cursed and I was going to help him hide away, but something happened.”

“Something happened?” Gabriel asked.

“I have everything ready, but I don’t think they’ve been home since yesterday or maybe even before that I don’t know, but… I don’t know where they are.”

Gabriel stood up, walked over to his desk, and ringed a bell. No sound came out of the bell, but Lilith knew what kind it was. It was a magical bell that allowed whoever was connected to it to hear the sound, no matter where they were. It was typically used for stewards, butlers, maids. Anyone in the field that needed to know if they were needed.

A lady quickly knocked, then came inside, and after Gabriel whispered a few words, she shook her head and quietly left the room. “That doesn’t sound good,” he finally said.

“Do you know where they could be? I don’t know this city well, so I’m not sure where to even start.”

Taking a sip of tea, Gabriel stalled, and when the lady from earlier returned, he skimmed through the papers she handed over. It was a list of people within the country that were potential targets of the church.

“This might not be good,” he said, after marking two of the pages.

“What do you mean?” Lilith asked after being quiet as she waited.

Gabriel called his secretary over once more and, as she left the room, a man bursted past as haggard as Lilith was when she first entered.

“It’s bad!” He yelled out, causing some workers outside of the door to peek in to see what was happening.

“Close the door and come in,” Gabriel said, and the man did just that.

“Much earlier than expected. Much, much earlier,” the man said, after catching his breath.

Gabriel mumbled something to himself out of ears' reach. “Too early, in fact.”

“What was!?” Lilith asked, raising from her chair, unable to sit back and watch. Something was happening, and she was positive it involved Theo and Jade.

“We should talk as we walk,” Gabriel told Lilith, and when the lady came back, she handed a brown robe to Lilith. Gabriel instructed her to cover herself with it from head to toe and to follow silently.

“What’s happening?” Lilith whispered. As they went downstairs and walked through the streets, her heart thumped. She had put some pieces together and came to a conclusion, but she refused to believe it. Lilith needed a confirmation from the person in front of her. The one with the answers to her questions, but isn’t saying anything.