Power of the 8 Elements

Chapter Forty Eight

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" I said.

No answer.

"They're doing "secret auror" business," Terri said, "They should be home by now."

"Okay," I said, "Now, I've got to get out of this armor."

"Don't you guys wear something different every winter?" Terri said.

I nodded. Bell usually had the tips of her pauldron black. She wore her hair in a low braid bun. And wore a black dress that had several cracks in it that had been filled with molten lava. The eyes of her pauldron had black sclera and red irises. Nari had worn a dress that looked like a lily and had her hair in a half up half down style. Skrael, to my surprise, had a tail that was similar to the shape of his staff. It was crescent shaped. He wore his hood a lot less and began wearing his hair in a left part, but other than that he didn't look much different. I had dark blue pauldrons with ice spikes on them and a long, dark blue cape. I wore a light blue jacket with a pale blue dress adorned with a sky-blue belt as the long sleeves are showing her shoulders, matching pale blue leggings and boots and is set off by a flowing cape split in two in the back. I also had ice blue boots with shimmering snowflake patterns from top to toe. Her dress, which has an illusion neckline is pale blue, the skirt of her dress stops at the shin.

I brushed my hair in the mirror and put it in a ponytail. Looking around, I dusted the place and fixed the picture of the Order's logo. I added another picture next to it—us from Killahead. When I came downstairs, dressed in a dark blue sweater and grey leggings, I realized that Terri wasn't there. He was probably upstairs. I heard him a couple minutes ago. I took the trash bag out since it was near full and took it outside to the back yard. There was a rattling sound in the garbage cans.

"Who's there?" I said, looking around. "Mom? Dad?"

I held out my glowing hands and began walking towards where I heard the noise. It was too big to be an animal, and it sounded a lot like something was being dragged across concrete. Something like...a body. I took another step towards the woods, and looked around. Nothing. I was about to turn before I heard another sound, a howl, and then a scream. I ran back to the other side of the backyard and saw Mom and Dad lying on the ground, bleeding. Their hands were close enough to touch, but apparently they didn't make it. I kneeled next to their bodies. "Mom? Dad? Mom! Dad!" I shook their hands hoping that they weren't dead. As tears began to roll down my face, I looked into the bushes and saw a creature with large white eyes. No pupil. No soul. Their mouth was filled with sharp white teeth and blood all over it. The red liquid still dripping from their lips. It took off into the trees before I could even utter a word. "Terri!" I screamed.

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We called 9-1-1, then Amaya. We sat in the police station waiting for an officer to give us a report. The four of us sat inside of a white room. Amaya's mom was really nice. She tried to show us her regards. She made us cookies shaped like water droplets. Terri took one because it was the polite thing to do, but I didn't. They reminded me too much of tears.

Nari sent me a letter asking if I was okay. I responded no

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At the funeral, I wore a black halter dress with a silver belt. I didn't realize how many people knew Mom and Dad, but the funeral proved me wrong. Terri and I sat in the front row in the church. I cried silently for most of the Mass. Terri did, too.

"Are you crying?" Ava asked Bones.

He sniffed, "No, it's just...pollen."

Ava sniffed and began to choke up, too. She put an arm around him, "Me too."

When the priest began to finish up the mass, someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned and saw Amaya, Glamour, and Ferdinand sitting behind me. Amaya handed me a tissue.

"Thank you," I whispered, wiping my tears.

After the Mass ended, a few of our distant relatives began giving speeches. In fact, Terri and I were asked if we wanted to go up there but we refused. We probably didn't want the audience to see us cry. I noticed that during the speech someone standing behind the curtains was playing the most beautiful and sad melody on the violin. And it fit the theme so perfectly that I couldn't have imagined it anywhere else.

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When the speeches were finished, everyone was gathered in the reception. I poured myself a cup of pink lemonade and noticed some women talking behind my back. They were talking about how I couldn't and wasn't related to the family because I looked different. I looked at them, and they must've noticed me because they immediately walked away to speak with someone else.

Lucifer POV

We greeted Terry who was standing by the tables with Terri. Unfortunately we had to bring Wilbur along since there was nowhere else to take him. And all of us were afraid that he'd ruin the moment and say something stupid. Which he did.

"So why are we here?" Wilbur asked.

"Shh, be respectful," Celeste said. She set her glass of punch on the table and hugged Terry.

"Thanks for coming," Terri said, sniffing, "Even if you didn't know them."

"We didn't need to know them to care," Glamour said.

Amaya nodded. Terri sniffed and wiped away a tear; Amaya handed him a tissue.

"I'm sorry," I said to Proteus.

He put an arm around me and nodded tearfully. So maybe he did know Terry's parents? I tried my hardest not to cry myself. It's exactly what Glamour said. You don't need to know them to care. You don't need to know them to cry because oftentimes, awful things can just trigger something else. Something else that's sad.

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Skrael POV

Did Bellroc know I had snuck out and gone to the funeral? No. Was I going to tell her that I had snuck out and gone to the funeral? No. I was hiding among the dark hallways listening to the sounds of people sobbing when someone bumped into me. I was super close to disappearing when I looked up and saw it was Phoenix.

"Skrael?" she said.

"Surprise," I said.

She smiled and then her face fell.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I knew it was a stupid thing to say since obviously she wasn't okay.

She nodded and then after a couple seconds quickly shook her head and began crying. She buried her head in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head on hers. I pulled her in close and wrapped my tail around her. I'm not sure she knew I had a tail, and I didn't tell anyone about it.

"Alright, if you don't stop crying, then you're going to make me cry, and then it's going to rain," I said, getting a little emotional myself.

Phoenix nodded, and we stopped hugging.

"Please stay for the burial," she said.

"I'll try," I said, wiping away one of her tears.

Phoenix POV

The burial was beautiful. Skrael hid among the shadows playing the violin. People began to sway along with the music. Mom and Dad's coffins were placed side-by-side. Terri and I stood next to each other. We planted a seed right behind their gravestone. And that seed would grow into a tree. And that tree would produce more trees. And we would care for Mom and Dad's garden every day. Terri began sniffing as they sat the coffin down.

Proteus pulled us both into a hug, and that's when both of us started crying. Lucifer and Celeste did, too. Actually all of the team did. Maybe Skrael was as well.

"Goodbye," I said.

"Mom, Dad," Terri added.