My Shattered Soul

Chapter 3

Salem, MA; August Unknown, 2017, Evening

Alex and Sophie were sitting on the couch, as Sophie explained the fight to Officer Wilson, and Alex sat lost in her own thoughts. Fearful of the familiar hollow ache that had started to spread throughout her body.

Suddenly the smell of paper and smoke wafted in through the open door.

"Finally." Alex sighed, pulled from her panicked reverie by the familiar fragrance.

"Aw, did somebody miss us?" Comet chuckled as they walked into the room.

"Don't get me started. Is Charles checking you guys in?" she asked, watching as they moved to sit on the chair across from the couch.

"He is. Hello Officer Wilson, Sophie," they said, nodding at the two respectively.

"Hey." Sophie smiled.

"Hello." Officer Wilson said, waving once before turning back to the teenagers. "What happened after Officer Coleman arrived?"

"She asked us to fill in the grave and escorted Beli out of the graveyard," Sophie answered.

"And did you fill in the grave?" the officer asked.

"Yes, we did," Alex replied.

"Good, that should be all I need to know for the report. Have a good night everyone." She smiled gesturing to each of them in turn.

"Good night." they all replied.

"Good night Charles." they heard her say from just outside the room.

"Good night Officer." a charming voice replied, as Charles strode into the apartment, carrying with him the smell of leather and dust. "Hello Alex, Sophie." he smiled, moving to sit in the open chair next to Comet, a tense silence growing between the two.

Comet glanced at him quickly, a familiar sad look in their eyes.

"Hey," Alex said, glancing anxiously between the two.

"Hello," Sophie said, zir tone cooling just a little as ze too picked up on the mismatched energies.

"Are you two okay? I've heard you've both been getting into a couple of fights." Charles said, looking between the two youths.

"Yeah, we're fine. No concussions this time." Sophie answered.

"Apparently Sophie is my familiar now...I'm still processing that one," Alex added, swallowing the heavy churning in her stomach.

"No shit?" Charles said, sitting up, his tone more genuine. "Kitsune are usually extremely private creatures. They don't branch out all that often. She must have seriously impressed you to win your loyalties so quickly."

"Oh yeah. She got her ass kicked for me, dude." Sophie smiled a gleeful lilt to zir voice.

"Were you able to find the artifact?" Comet asked.

"Oh yeah!" Alex gasped, pushing herself off of the couch and rushing over to the doorway where she had left her backpack. She pulled out the linen-wrapped package and dusted it off before returning to the couch. "We found this in the grave," she said, shifting it in her grasp to examine it in the light.

"Alright, so open it," Charles suggested.

"Okay." she sighed, carefully untying the knot at the top of the bundle and unwrapping the fabric.

Inside was an ordinary wooden box, with an ornate keyhole on the front.

"Great, now we have to find a key-smith." Alex sighed, examining the shape of the lock. It was about two inches long and straight. No key she had ever seen would fit it.