Nocte Yin

Chapter Seven

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ebony asked again.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Nocte reaffirmed, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder. She juggled the silver-wrapped box in her hands and wondered what her parents had sent her. It wasn’t very big, that was for sure. “It’s been a week since Black Spells. Of course I’ve healed.”

Even as she said those words, she could see Savvy frown from the corner of her eye. Savvy could worry for a very long time and never be reassured.

“I’m fine,” Nocte repeated, this time more firmly.

She began to unwrap the box as Savvy busied herself with organizing their desks. Now that it was the Tenth Month, their room needed a bit of cleaning. They had their bedding overturned, their closets restructured, and they had opened the windows to air out the room. The autumn wind was not so cold yet, and it was rather refreshing as they went through the piles of papers for recycling.

“I’m going to beat him up,” Gash promised through the phone.

Nocte sighed. No matter how refreshing the wind, it could never douse the ire of her over-imaginative siblings.

Four-way calling was such a headache.

“Please don’t.” Her tone was blatant and flat. “That would be a pure waste of time.”

“Nocte is right,” Dire said calmly through his headset, tapping his fingers in sinister thought. “Punching Necrosis Paine will not solve anything. I propose a deadly laser-”

“Not necessary,” Nocte cut him off, tossing away the wrapping paper.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Ebony exclaimed, and Nocte could just picture her jumping up and down with her hand raised. “You know what I can do? I can seduce Paine, lead him off somewhere far and mysterious… and then he’d end up in a dark ditch somewhere the next day — dead. How ‘bout it?”

“How ‘bout not?” Nocte suggested with a certain edge, opening the box.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Gash swore again, not missing a beat.

“Everyone just — HOLY BUDDHA!” Nocte dropped the box, startling Savvy.

“Nocte? Nocte?!” Ebony cried hysterically.

“Is it Paine?!” Gash demanded, almost eager for an opportunity to beat someone up — anyone.

“Y-Yeah, I’m here,” Nocte stammered, taking a step back from the present on the floor.

“Wh-What is it?” Savvy asked fearfully.

“What happened?” Dire calmly enquired, although Nocte was pretty sure he was uneasy.

“It’s…” Nocte replied cautiously. “Mom and dad’s present.”

There was silence over the phone as Savvy stepped warily up to the box. She took a peek at the contents and then ran straight into the bathroom.

BAM! The door slammed shut.

Nocte winced. It was going to take Savvy a while before she’d find it safe to come out again.

“Ooh, right,” Gash suddenly chuckled. “It’s the Tenth Month-”

“Please don’t,” Nocte cut in, picking up the box and placing it gingerly on her desk.

A knock came from the door and she turned to it suspiciously.

“Speaking of the Tenth Month…” Ebony trailed. “Isn’t the Halloween Dance coming up?”