“Well, this is kind of awkward now,” said Juro, awkwardly placing his hands into his coat’s pockets, his shoulders tensed to resemble a shrug. He pointed to the left side of Mr. Brown’s house and bent closer to her, whispering, “they’re not patrolling this side right now. They’ll circle around in about ten minutes, but we’ll be long gone by then.”

Morrigan glared at the ground, frustrated by his interference. Can I trust him? She asked, waiting for the voice’s response.

Despite her repetition of the question, no response came. She sighed in annoyance and finally turned her attention to Juro, her appearance slowly returning to her normal look. “Why are you acting as if nothing happened? How’d you even find me?”

He continued to stare straight ahead, his eyes wandering the terrain in front of him as he thought of a response. “You know I try to never stay upset over anything. And, I’ve been meaning to apologize to you.” His pockets rustled as he dug into them, pulling out a small pack of cigarettes. “You want one?” he asked, popping open the top.

“I don’t have a lighter,” she responded softly.

He wiggled an index finger at her bare hands. “Can’t you just poof and light it on fire?”

“You still trust me?” she asked, bewildered at his seeming comfort talking to her.

“Well, I don’t think you want to turn me into a bonfire right now, so it’s fine.”

Morrigan took the cigarette and carefully lit it, taking in a deep breath and watching the smoke glide out from her mouth. She offered Juro one, but he declined, claiming he didn’t smoke.

“Anyways, you obviously want to know who did this, but I want to apologize first.” He said. “I don’t take back what I said from our argument earlier. I think your method was wrong, but I shouldn’t have brought it up to you then like that.” Turning to try and catch her reaction, he was disappointed by her intent concentration on the forest floor.

“Long story short, we figured out you jumped out of Alyssa’s window, Alyssa freaked out, and I figured you might be here. Got lucky, I guess.” He paused for a moment, seeming to hesitate when deciding if he should continue sharing his information with Morrigan. “You know that fundraiser event Alyssa’s parents were talking about? Well, General Kristiansen is going to be there. He was in the paper years ago, because he declared war on neighboring countries after Josephine’s study came out.”

Morrigan froze at the General’s name, finally turning towards Juro in confusion. “How did you know this was related to General Kristiansen?”

“I may have eavesdropped earlier,” he blurted, flashing an awkward, pearly smile in her direction.

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Anxious by Juro’s rapid dedication, Morrigan refocused her attention on the voice.

Why aren’t you answering me? Is Juro a threat to my goal?

No response.

I can feel you with me. Do I need to do something about Juro? Or do I keep him, since he has helpful information?

Juro’s babbling in the background didn’t break the silence that wove itself into Morrigan’s head.

Finally, a shaky voice reverberated in her head. It was barely distinguishable, in the same nature of a child’s timid request, when it finally spoke. Its voice played murmuring tricks in her mind, seeming to grab hold of Morrigan’s feral thoughts.

[Someone…someone else is here—]

Morrigan shouted as a violent static shattered her mind, increasing in volume as she crumbled to the ground, smashing the palms of her hands against her ears to try and cease the sound. The cigarette fell from her mouth, sizzling an echo of the sound that blared in Morrigan’s head until the flame died.

No longer babbling, Juro quickly kneeled down beside her, repeating Are you okay? When she finally calmed down, fat tears billowed out of her blue eyes, but only confusion etched itself on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered, her breath heaving as she spoke. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m not upset.” Her eyes seemed to fanatically dance across her surroundings as her hands continued to tremble in front of her face. “Where are we?”

Juro’s brow furrowed in shock as he looked at her. “We’re walking to Alyssa’s place, okay? Can you use your fire?” he asked, eyeing the cigarette on the floor.

She put her hands in front of her, but nothing came out. To Juro, it looked like she lost complete control over her powers. “I’m so sorry, my head has been hurting so bad recently, and it’s been so foggy.” Her voice shook dramatically, breaking the frigid air as the varying pitch split the forest’s tranquility. “Juro,” she sobbed, “there’s been some sort of voice in my head. I don’t know what it is, but it told me about my dad, Juro. It knew, and it sounds so much like my mom.” Genuine confusion and fear seemed to consume her as she desperately looked at him.

“A voice?” he asked, puzzled.

“Yes, it started at the hospital. I don’t know why, but it just left me. I can’t feel it anymore.” She choked through another sob, seemingly frustrated by the emotions that grappled over control of her. “It told me that I might be a part of Lilith, or maybe she’s a part of me. I don’t know, I’m just so confused, Juro.”

Unsure of what to say to her confession, Juro decided to simply comfort her. “Don’t worry about it, Morr. Let’s just get you back to Alyssa’s, alright?” He gave her a comforting smile, extending a cold, flushed hand out toward her.

She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. When she finally reached out to grab his hand, her warm hand gripping onto his frigid one, he let out a gasp and reeled back, pushing away her hand. He looked down at his hand which seemed to blister immediately, skin peeling around his nails.

“Oh my God,” she cried, watching as Juro painfully clutched his hand, squeezing his eyes shut while baring his teeth. “I am so sorry,” she wailed, quickly putting on her gloves as she crawled over to him.

“No, it’s okay, it was an accident,” he said, wheezing through his teeth. He pulled the sleeve down on his other hand, wiping her teary face before squeezing her clothed shoulder. “Please, don’t lose yourself, Morr. We can get through this together. All five of us.”

The two headed out, supporting each other on the walk back. Mr. Brown leaned on his doorframe, taking in breaths of fresh, crisp air as he dialed the phone in his hands.