Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy)

Candy

With candy being their one and only clue, the trio took it upon themselves to investigate every shop in Gortsville that could possibly sell confections. Surprisingly, for a town so grim and desolate, Gortsville had an ungodly amount of sweet shops. Thanks to this, along with their limited free time, the investigation had dragged on for nearly a month.

With the clear lack of results, it was becoming increasingly obvious to Wheeler that the 'candy culprit' investigation had been a total flop.

Needless to say, the trio weren't in high hopes as they entered into the final candy store in town. A small bell rang above the door, letting out a cheerful chime as they filed into the shop. Wheeler and Priscilla's faces instantly lit up as they looked around.

"This place is adorable!' Priscilla squealed, eagerly running to examine a large pink cabinet filled to the brim with sweets.

'Henrietta's Sweet Shoppe' was a welcome change from its dismal predecessors. In stark contrast to its grey storefront, the inside was painted almost entirely in pastels. The walls were sky blue, the cabinets striped in pale pinks and greens, small images of birds, bunnies, and flowers painted across the wood. Behind the cabinets' glass were an array of gorgeous looking desserts, all meticulously placed for display. Unlike the rest of Gortsville, the store seemed to be in pristine condition.

A counter rested at the back of the store, and behind it stood an elderly woman. She had a sweet, smiling face, a pink checkered apron tied loosely around her tiny frame.

Wheeler bounded over to her. "Hello there!" he said with a grin. "Are you the Henrietta of Henrietta's Sweet Shoppe?"

The old woman gave him a cheerful smile, her eyes crinkling. "The very same. Opened the store when I was only seventeen years old, I did, and have been providing the finest sweets in Gortsville ever since."

"Really?" Wheeler gaped. "That's amazing!" The boy dug through his bag, removing one of the purple candies. "Since you have so much experience with confections, I was wondering..." He slid the candy across the counter. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

Henriette completely ignored his question. "You're new in town, aren't you, young man?" As she spoke, her gaze flickered over Wheeler's form. "You know, if you're thinking about settling down, my poor granddaughter Savannah is really very lonely."

"Uh..." Wheeler laughed uncomfortably. "I'm err...I'm afraid I'm not really looking for that right now--"

"She'll never admit it, no she won't," Henrietta continued, clearly not listening. "Says she's happy just being a school teacher. But I know that's not true. A sweet girl like her outta have a husband and children of her own. Savanna's biological clock is ticking fast, it really is."

Wheeler cast Priscilla and Mulock a frantic glance, desperately looking for assistance in escaping the conversation. The two simply exchanged a look before erupting into a fit of snickers.

Wheeler sighed.

It seemed those two could only get along when they were laughing at his expense.

Henrietta hadn't faltered even for a second, continuing to rant about her granddaughter. "I kept telling her she'd be prettier if she'd just let her hair down, that I did. But she didn't listen to me and now look at her, all alone she is. She's wasting away in that little school house. Soon her looks will be gone for good. But she really could be rather attractive if she tried. A sweet boy like you could grow to really like her, yes you could. A good boy with looks like yours is quite a prize. Wouldn't mind my great-grandbabies having lovely eyes like yours. And you'd have no problem having them, you really wouldn't. Look at those hands. I'm sure the ladies in your life are very pleased."

Priscilla and Mulock's snickers from the back erupted into actual laughter at that.

Wheeler wanted to crawl into the floor and die.

He frantically searched for anything he could use to change the subject, his gaze eventually falling to a necklace hanging around the old woman's neck. It was a delicate piece of jewelry, a golden eye dangling on a thin silver chain.

"Your necklace," Wheeler blurted. "It's lovely! Is there any meaning behind it?"

Wheeler had to bite back an audible sigh of relief when the old woman finally stopped, offering him a sweet smile. "Ah, yes." She reached out, gently stroking the necklace with one weathered finger. "As long as I have this, it means I'm under the protection of the Golden One."

The Golden One? Why did that name sound so familiar?

"The Golden One?" Wheeler repeated. "Is that some kind of God?"

Henrietta's smile grew even wider. "Yes, I suppose you could say that." Despite how talkative she'd been earlier, the elderly woman didn't say anything else on the subject. Wheeler figured this was as good a time as any to make his exit before he could get dragged into another long-winded marriage proposition.

"Well, um, thank you so much for your time," Wheeler said quickly, beginning to back away towards the door. "But uh...me and my friends had better get going now. So we'll...we'll just be on our way."

He tried to leave, preparing to dash out the door—but that's when catastrophe struck.

Wheeler turned far too rapidly, tripping over his own feet in typical Wheeler fashion. What happened next felt as if it was in slow motion. Mulock immediately sprung forward. He would have easily caught him if it weren't for one small problem. One of the bottles of lubricant had slipped out of Wheeler's bag, shattering on the floor. This was exactly where Mulock happened to step, causing the demon to slam directly into Wheeler.

The action sent both boys flying, crashing mercilessly into one of the cabinets. Wheeler braced for impact, but to his shock, as he hit the large wooden object he felt absolutely nothing.

"What the hell?" Mulock muttered, clearly experiencing the same confusion over the lack of collision.

And that's when the realization hit them.

There'd never been a cabinet, simply an illusion of one.

Demon and human both stumbled to their feet, stepping back. The moment they did, the image of the cabinet reappeared.

Slowly, Wheeler turned to face Hanriette. "Um...madame--"

"Get the fuck out of my store." The woman's voice was still sweet and chipper but her gaze was murderous.

She didn't have to ask twice. As quickly as he could, Wheeler sprinted out the door, Mulock and Priscilla following closely behind.

Once they were finally a good distance from the shop, Wheeler finally came to a stop.

"Okay, so we can all agree there's some kind of connection between the wolves and that old lady, right?" Priscilla asked, crossing her arms.

"She definitely could be behind the illusion," Mulock agreed. "But one thing still bothers me. She likely illusioned her shop because she couldn't afford the items themselves. I highly doubt she had the funds for something as powerful as the wand we discovered."

"Unless someone else provided it," Wheeler pointed out.

"That's true," Mulock said with a nod. "But how the hell do we find them--"

"Wait!" Priscilla suddenly gasped. "Her necklace!"

"Her necklace?" Wheeler repeated.

"Yeah, that weird golden eye symbol. It was the same as the sign for that night club."

"You're right!" Wheeler breathed, his eyes widening.

"If there's other people involved, it would make sense we could find them there," Priscilla said excitedly. "That means...we get to go to a nightclub!"

"Ohmygosh! I've never been to a nightclub before!" Wheeler said, practically bouncing.

"Me neither!" Priscilla squealed. "I can't wait!"

Mulock rolled his eyes. "Don't get too ecstatic," he muttered. "This is still Gortsville, after all."