The Star Children's Destiny

Chapter Thirty-four

"Ha! A unicorn! Beat that!" Cane said, looking at the die with a white single-horned horse.

"Fine," Aletta said, picking up the small cube and throwing it. "Tiger. That's pretty high. Isn't that high, Khris?"

"That's actually the highest you can get," Khris replied, looking at the die. "Sorry, bro."

"That's 50 Knuats."

"He's been in there for a while. Think he's okay?" asked the blonde boy as he pulled out one blue and two gray bills.

Just then, there came the muffled sound of yelling from inside the house. That was followed by the sound of glass breaking, followed by another small bang. The three looked at each other before Cane snatched the die up and threw down another blue bill while Aletta threw down the ones Cane had handed her.

Cane rolled. "Wolf!"

Aletta picked it up and rolled. "Dragon."

"Naoru!"

Just as Aletta reached down to pick up the bills and Cane went to pick up the die, the front door opened. Ethan stepped out with an unreadable look on his face. He opened his mouth and started to say something, but stopped and went back in the house and closed the door behind him. The twins looked at Aletta, who just shrugged and they went back to what they were doing. The door opened again and Ethan stepped out again. He just stood there for a few seconds.

"Could you guys help me pack my things up?" he asked sheepishly.

"It's not a problem, Ethan. You don't need to be ashamed to ask us for help. We're friends; it's what we do," Khris said, placing a hand on his arm.

"Thanks," Ethan said, flashing one of his rare smiles.

Ethan led the way to his room at the back of the house. On the way, they found Margaret sitting in the living room staring at the big-screen TV that now had a lamp in the busted screen. Margaret glared at Aletta but said nothing as she went past into Ethan's room. Going into the room, they quickly became familiar with the stuff that Ethan wanted to take and began to pack it away. They were almost done when he realized something.

"Uh-oh."

"What?" Cane asked. "Did you break something?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then what?"

"That's what's wrong." Ethan was pointing to a skull on the far wall. It wasn't just any skull, though; it was a Raveain skull. Huge black horns were curving forward. Four-inch fangs protruded from its massive jaws and the two-inch bottom fangs were covered in dried blood. The sockets for the eyes had scorch marks coming up from them and faded as they went further up the head. The nose was the same exact way, only the scorch marks went into the eyes. Overall the thing was about two feet tall and evoked a few seconds of silence from the four. Cane finally looked back at Ethan.

"What's the big deal? It's a Raveain skull. Fascinating. Let's get back to work."

"Who here has the fastest reflexes?" Ethan asked, still looking at the skull.

The twins both looked at the sandy-haired girl who was asleep on Ethan's black-sheeted-and-blanketed bed. Cane picked up a T-shirt and rolled it into a ball and chucked it at her but missed. Khris picked up a nearby pillow and threw it. She was more than surprised when the other girl caught it and put it behind her head.

"Nice try," she said softly, "but I'm not getting up. I don't feel like it."

Ethan smiled at his girlfriend's stubbornness. Going over to the bed, he sat down on the edge. Very carefully, he placed his hands on either side of her head. Leaning down, he placed a gentle but firm kiss on her lips. The brown-eyed boy went to pull back but found himself pulled back for another kiss, only this one was deeper. When the kiss was over, eh found himself looking down at his very smug girlfriend.

Cane and Khris exchanged a look, rolling their eyes in unison. Ethan always had a way of getting sidetracked, but this was ridiculous. They still had to get everything packed up and out of the house before Margaret kicked them all out for good.

"Ethan, come on man," Cane said, tapping him on the shoulder. "We don't have time for this."

Ethan reluctantly pulled away from his girlfriend's embrace and stood up. "Right, sorry guys. Let's finish packing." But as they turned to leave the room, the Raveain skull seemed to stare back at them with an ominous air.

Khris shuddered, feeling a sudden sense of unease wash over her. "I don't like that thing," she muttered under her breath.

Cane scoffed. "It's just a skull, Khris. Don't be so superstitious."

But even he couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right about it. As they gathered up the last few items, they made sure to keep one eye on the skull at all times, half-expecting it to come alive and attack them at any moment.

As they made their way out of the house with their bags and boxes, Khris couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. She turned around to see if anyone was following them, but there was no one in sight. Even so, she quickened her pace and soon caught up with Cane and Ethan, who were already loading the car.

"Hey Khris," Ethan said as he closed the trunk. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Khris shook her head, not wanting to admit her unease about the skull. "I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile.

Cane rolled his eyes. "Come on guys, let's get going. The sooner we leave this place behind, the better."

They all got into the car and drove away from the house, leaving behind the Raveain skull and their summer memories. But as they drove down the empty road, Khris couldn't help but feel like they had left something important behind - something more than just a skull.

The drive back to the city was quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Khris couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right about the skull - it seemed to have a hold on her, like it was calling out to her even now. She tried to brush it off as just her imagination, but she couldn't help but feel like they had left something important behind at the house.

Cane and Ethan were equally silent, lost in their own thoughts. They knew that this summer had been special - a time of freedom and adventure that they would never forget. But as they drove further away from the house, they felt a sense of loss wash over them, like they were leaving a part of themselves behind.

It wasn't until they reached the city limits that Cane spoke up. "Hey guys," he said, breaking the silence. "We should do this again next summer."

Ethan grinned. "Definitely. Maybe we can find another haunted house to explore."

Khris rolled her eyes. "No more haunted houses for me," she said with a laugh. "But I'm down for anything else."

As they made plans for next summer, Khris couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement building inside her. Even though they had left the Raveain skull behind, she knew that their adventures were far from over - and that was something worth looking forward to.