Imposter

Chapter 7

Jericho stopped underneath the fireoak tree, his lip curling back when he saw the bouquet of daises nestled against the makeshift grave marker.

"You fucking bastard," he muttered, grabbing the daisies and throwing them onto the other side of the road.

He didn't have the right to leave flowers and act like a grieving father when it was his fault.

The Executioners will be here soon. It'll be over then. Jericho uncurled his fists and continued his walk back home.

His mom was walking out the door when he got home, and he paused, taking in her slinky blue dress.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm meeting a friend," Marie said, patting her purple curls. "I have soup simmering on the stove. I don't know when I'll be back.

"People don't normally dressed like they're about to get laid when they're meeting a friend," Jericho said stiffly.

Marie's mouth dropped open and her eyes darkened. "Young man, get in the house and finish your chores," she said, pointing a trembling finger towards their home. "I don't appreciate your attitude."

"I do everything around here anyways," he muttered. "Have fun with your friend."

Ignoring his mother's angry retort, he jogged up the steps and opened the door.

For the next two hours, he mindlessly cleaned the house. He dusted everything in the living room and swept and mopped the floors. He left the bathroom for last, because it was his least favorite thing to clean. When he was done, he got two bowls of soup and carried them upstairs to the attic.

"Hey, Vivi," he said softly, poking his head. "I bought you dinner. Mom went out to get laid."

Vivi's brow pinched for a split second.

Jericho sat down across from her, sitting a bowl down next to her and cradling the second one in his hands.

"I miss you," he said, looking down. "I miss the way things used to be, before you met Karel."

She'd been damned as soon as she laid eyes on him.

"It's okay, Vivi," he said earnestly. "I'll make him pay, I swear."

Her eyes flickered. They'd once been a bright, sparkling blue. That sparkle was long gone and her eyes were dead and lifeless now.

"The Young Executioners are coming to town," Jericho whispered. "He'll pay then. I swear it, and then everything will go back to normal."

Viviane's hand snaked out and grabbed his wrist, squeezing it with a stronger grip than he'd expected.

"Don't," she rasped out, her voice rusty from years of never using it. "Leave him alone, little brother. You don't know what he's capable of."

Her hand dropped from his wrist and she fell back, sinking into herself and staring ahead blankly like she'd never spoken.

Jericho snapped his mouth shut against the endless questions and the shock. "W-what is he capable of?"

Viviane didn't answer.

"Vivi," he said more urgently, "what is he capable of? What did Karel do to you?"

He'd put a spell on Viviane. The whole town knew he had bewitched her, but what else had he done? Was he more powerful than they all thought?

"It's okay! He can't hurt you," Jericho said fiercely. "Just tell me what he did. He'll pay for everything, a-and you'll be fixed. You'll be fine."