The Witch's Toy ✔

20: the jack in the box

Raphael's POV

I stayed some few meters behind Jian, all thoughts halted for a moment. I could only look and observe, though still a bit stiffly, at the ghost. He skipped at every other step, fingers folded at his back as he hummed a happy tune. I wanted to ask if he could walk normally without spinning around every few minutes to grin at me.

When we reached an iron gate, Jian stopped in front of it, twisting around to face me. "We're here!" He announced, extending his arms up in the air in the shape of a "V."

I peered at the gate, watching as it's color seemed to shift from an oily blue and purple, then back to its original raven black. There was some sort of charm around the place, perhaps a glamour that veiled it from the outside world. My eyes flickered past the gates to the gothic mansion that stood at its central focal point. I'd seen fancier castles and homes, but compared to its crumbling surroundings blanketed with poverty, this was extravagant enough.

"This is about how far I'll be able to go without getting caught by the Madame Blanc," the ghost said, grinning. "But this is the most fun I've had in eons, so I don't mind. Be careful and stay with big sis the entire way to the Madame's door; her ghosts will find a way to separate you two." He came up to me, large brown eyes connecting with mine. They turned dark gray for a moment, the pupils dilating to large, black disks. "I'd hate for her to gain another toy in her possession."

Before I could respond, Yu Rui's body became stiff, her spine straightening and eyes rolling to the back of her head. A gauzy figure slowly unattached itself from her, coming out like a blueprint of her skeleton. When it finally left her body, she crumpled forward into me, and I caught her limp body, arm around her waist. My heart thudded in my chest, the noise filling my ears in sudden panic.

"Don't worry." A hand tugged at my shirt, and I looked down to find a small ghost boy at my side, the corners of his lips curled upwards. It must have been the same ghost "Jian" who had possessed Yu Rui. "She'll wake up in a few." Then, he went off, skipping away in the same way he'd done when he was Yu Rui.

•••

Yu Rui's POV

The back of my head was pounding, the ache not just throbbing but smashing a hole through the base of my skull. I winced as I woke to that feeling, body jerking to the side. My fingers wound into stiff, cotton fabric, the cold of my fingers coming in contact with the heat that seeped through the cotton. The pain hurt so much that I squeezed my eyes shut and curled into the solid form that was cradling me against them.

Fingers wove through my hair, touching the part of my head that was aching. I felt someone breathe out onto my forehead before pressing a kiss at its center. It tickled — that unexpected softness, but it also took most of the pain away.

I relaxed, letting out a sigh, eyes still closed. Somehow, it all felt better, but I wasn't even sure how.

Oh... wait.

I was familiar with this. I knew this touch.

"Raphael," I breathed, eyes slowly opening. It felt like I'd just woken up from a ten-year coma after being hit by a train. There was a bubble around my head, muting most of the noise, and though my body was free from tension, it was heavy like my limbs were each weighed down by lead.

I started up. The world was dark, the sky an inky black. Clearly, it was nighttime.

Crimson eyes filled my vision, gazing down at me. If I expected concern, there was none; I was only met with a face devoid of any emotion. "Darling." The voice was flat and cold, and I wondered for a moment why Raphael was using that tone on me. Then it all came back to me — Jian, that ghost, and my agreement with him.