Where Shadows Lurk

Chapter 4

Olivia stepped out of the car and tried to not panic at the sight of Ferrous leaning against the iron gate that lead into her childhood home. Despite being twins, him and Silver didn't look much alike. Not to her eyes. Ferrous was a bit paler, his hair a bit shorter, he stood straighter making him look taller.

Right now he was standing there with his arms crossed and a deep set frown on his face.

It made her want to tease him. He'd always been so serious looking. Even as teenagers. 

"How the hell'd you get here first?" Silver asked.

If they still lived in their old house, probably the shortcut through the old mall's parking lot.

Ferrous looked up at the them. Olivia's eyes met his. There was a moment where he didn't even acknowledge his brother. Then Ferrous started to laugh. Unlike Silver's laugh, it was more of a deep chuckle that made Ferrous' shoulders tremble.

"I should have guessed it was you," Ferrous said as she approached the lock on the gate to open it. 

Unbelievable. Ferrous remembered her but Silver didn't? "Imagine my surprise when the 'expert pest control' I was recommended were the Lightbane brothers. Seeing Silver with a gun was so weird. Want to explain that?"

Ferrous chuckled again. "You were gone a while."

Yeah, long enough for Silver to forget her.

"Wait...do you two know each other?" Silver asked. 

Her and Ferrous shared a look. She wasn't going to say it. Not unless Ferrous did.

"We used to," Ferrous said after a moment. "Not since high school."

"You had friends in high school?" Silver asked. Olivia might have accused him of taunting his brother if it weren't for the genuine sounding confusion in his voice.

The gate opened with a loud creaking groan. She didn't come by often enough. There were some bits of rust here and there, but it was still standing. 

"So Miss King," Ferrous started talking, again ignoring his brother, "what terrible secrets were you hiding all this time?"

"Only one way to find out," she told him. 

"You know what, I'm gonna go for a look around the property. You two have fun catching up," Silver grumbled and left the path to the house and into the woods around them. 

Aww...someone was jealous. Well if he'd bothered to remember her, he'd know what was going on. But she appreciate the time to speak with Ferrous one-on-one.  Maybe she could get some answers.

Ferrous was staring in the direction Silver left and waited a moment before turning to her. "So, when did you get back?"

"A little less than a year ago."

Ferrous didn't react to that knowledge while they walked towards the house on the now leaf-covered path. Or what was left of her childhood home. "And when did these attacks start?"

"Six months, more or less."

Ferrous hummed, "Why did you come back? Missouri not as welcoming?"

"It was okay. But...I didn't want to be there anymore. Nasty breakup and I have happy memories here. Wanted to put it behind me."

"How nasty?"

"He's in prison."

"Think he might have sent something after you?"

"No, he didn't seem the occult type. More white collar crimes type. Something about coins and investing fraud."

"So not likely to make a deal with a demon?"

"Extremely unlikely, I think."

Ferrous stopped suddenly.

"What?" Olivia asked. The house's ruins were finally in sight.

"I never knew it was this bad," Ferrous commented.

"What? The house? I told you guys what happened."

"Yes, but I always imagined it was at least still standing. Not that it was...like this."

Like this, huh? She supposed it might have been a little shocking, if she hadn't seen it before. Once upon a time, it had been two and a half stories of old Victorian architecture. Now it was nothing but a pile of burnt sticks. With flowers and vines growing up out of it. The only thing truly standing was part of the staircase.

"I just count myself lucky no one was home," Olivia told him. "Turns out hundred-year-old wood burns fast and hot."

"Are you just going to leave it like this?"

"I don't know anymore. Between the demons and the History Society giving me trouble I haven't had the chance to really think about it. It was a lot of house for just one person and everyone else is still in Missouri."

"I know what the news said about the fire, but what do you think caused it?"

"What, you asking if I think a demon did this? We were told it was a lightning strike. Something about wiring retrofitted into an old house not done right."

Ferrous sighed, "I didn't suspect we'd find any answers here. I only came because I was concerned."

"About Silver, you mean?"

"In a sense. Either it was you and Silver's memory problems would act up again or it wasn't and Silver could be in danger."

"Speaking of Silver, what happened? Did he hit his head really hard or something? Or was I just that unremarkable?"

"I wish I knew. One day he was devastated by you leaving, the next it was like you'd never existed at all. I checked him for curses or memory altering spells but found nothing."

"Another mystery. Hopefully something more mundane."

"Maybe being around you again will knock something loose," Ferrous went from looking at the ashes of the house to looking at her oddly.

"What?"

"Your necklace. Where did you get that?"

"This? Your brother gave it to me. It was a goodbye gift, he said," she held the charm in her hand. She smiled at it. That had been the last time she'd seen Silver.

"Did he tell you what it's made of?"

"No? I've always assumed glass. Don't know where he got it from."

Ferrous' expression was...strange. Some blend between anger and frustration that seemed more intense then his usual annoyance at his brother. At least as far as Olivia could remember. His next words were stilted as he pinched his nose, "Six months ago, did you get hurt? Did it come into contact with any blood?"

Olivia took a moment to think back to the day before the attacks started. It had been a normal day. Nothing unusual...except.... "My apartment door was giving me trouble. It wasn't opening. I fought with it and hit me in the nose pretty bad."

"Did any of your blood get on the pendant?"

"It did. I remember because I had to rinse it off after I was done dealing with my nose."

Ferrous looked like he was going to scream. Or punch something.

"You're not saying the necklace caused this, are you?"

"I'm saying I'm going to kill him," Ferrous said in a low tone that made Olivia's hair stand on end.

"Wait a minute, how did my blood getting on a necklace cause this?"

"Because it's made of demon blood, that idiot!"

"It's WHAT?!" Olivia screamed. 

"And I can't ask him what he was thinking because he probably doesn't remember that necklace at all," Ferrous groaned in a low voice. It almost sounded like a dog's growl.

"If the necklace he gave me caused this, I get to kick his butt first."

"Fair."