∙ ◦ ○( Davi )○ ◦ ∙

Something is off.

I’m sure what it is yet, but I sat here in the diner booth, picking at the worn cushion, and it hit me: there is something off, somewhere. The thought nags my brain, and a spike of adrenaline follows.

Maybe it’s anxiety from years of bouncing around in the system, or the breath of the city filling my head with worries, or even some sort of strange premonition. There’s one thing completely obvious, though: Eve is unaffected by whatever has taken its hold on me.

She sits on the diner table, kicking her legs back and forth a little, and rests her head on her hands as she turns to the next page in her book. I need her reassurance, but she doesn’t bother to look up. Even as the volume increases, her focus on that book doesn’t shift.

“Hey, Eve, whatcha reading?”

Finally, her eyes slowly my way. A smile rests on her face. “Oh, this is The Iliad. One of those human books I have to read for my class. I’ll be the first to admit it’s rather dull.”

“We’re one of those humans, Eve.”

“I know. Sorry, it’s hard to switch my brain to normal mode sometimes.”

“I get that.”

I glance around at the walls and then through the large windows, peering out to the street. A group of three men walk past on the sidewalk, all wearing dark, bulky suits with excessive fur along the lining. A horse-drawn carriage is just past them, and inside sit two wealthy looking women. They all wear a mildly displeased expression, likely because of the large flakes of snow hitting them.

The bell attached to the diner door rings again, and in walks a person with medium-length white hair, a smile, and nothing behind their eyes.

Thomas.

They spot me, and the smile grows, despite the squint that tells me they haven’t gotten over our latest... squabble. Luckily, instead of coming to talk with me, they take a seat at the bar section between two larger men and wave down the server.

A vampire by name and nature. Both them and their mother, Anabelle, feed off the blood of the living. They claim to have morals about it, only feeding off of those who threaten the town, but as far as I’m concerned, blood is blood, and feeding is murder.

We’ve always been at odds, for one reason or another. That uncanny vampire smile of theirs had reared its head more often than I would like to admit. Still, I do my best to ignore their presence, and instead focus on the walls of the Bifrost Diner.

Like its name would suggest, the diner leans heavily into Norse imagery. Earthy paint is striped vertically with gold lines that reach to the ceiling, impeded only by the thick rainbow wallpaper at the top. Shelves and racks on the wall hold various items and pictures, like a horn, a shield, and a sword. Imagery of Yggdrasil is plastered behind the counter, and a framed painting of Heimdall hangs above the entryway.

And Sally... Well, Sally’s approaching.

I give Eve’s arm four steady taps. She shifts off the table and into the booth, never looking away from her required reading.

Sally, cleaning a glass as she points at me with one free finger, stands unnervingly close. “If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought I saw Eve on the table.”

“Good afternoon to you too, Sally. How’s work been today?”

“Normal, except everyone’s making a fuss about Yuletide coming up. Among other things. How’s your mom?”

“Other things?”

Another group of people enter the diner, and her shoulders slump. “Welcome to the Bifrost! Be right there! Other things, yes.”

“Going out with the pack after work?”

“I doubt it. Late shift tonight.”

Sally Bjornson. She’s rough on the outside, but deep down, she loves us kids. Still, I wouldn’t dare get in her way. Her and the pack of female lycans she runs with guard the town every night, and she’s not afraid to tear into someone. Well, verbally, at least, although the other wouldn’t surprise me.

She walks away to go take their orders without another word. That tingle in the back of my head goes off again, and I unconsciously focus on Thomas, who is laughing with the man next to him, bumping shoulders.

Something definitely feels off.

∙ ◦ ○( Eve )○ ◦ ∙

I’m closing in on the end of The Iliad when I feel another tap on my arm, gentle enough to not startle me, but still with the excessive force my sister usually puts behind it. I finish the sentence I’m on, memorize the page number–648–and turn to see her again, a smile back on my face. Hers is drastically anxious.

“It’s time to head home,” she says, gesturing over to a clock on the wall. “Dinner is in half an hour.”

“Alright,” I say, a slight frown overtaking me. I close the book in my hand and bring it to my side as we stand, and in a single-file line, we make our way towards the exit. The diner is always crowded, but with Yuletide coming, it will only get worse.

“Ah, Davi King,” Thomas says, spinning around in their seat. “And Eve King as well. Great to see you.”

Davi stops in the middle of the open space. “You don’t have to say our last name.”

“Oh, I know. I like to remind myself, though. Davi and Eve King, daughter of Cody King. The Paragon. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?”

It’s a good thing the diner is a neutral zone. I can’t imagine what Sally would do if someone broke that unspoken rule. Hopefully, Davi doesn’t try to find out.

“Drain the necks of any good pickpockets lately?”

“Hmm. Classic. Cry to any paladins lately? I hear Willow is available now that... well, you know.”

“Hey now,” I say. “Let’s not start anything today, please? Both of you?”

“Of course. I’m sorry, Rabbit. I know Willow is a taboo topic for you.”

“What?”

“Goodbye, Thomas,” Davi says, and presses on.

Thomas makes eye contact with me, and I nod as I head for the door. I understand Davi’s rivalry with Thomas, but I really don’t mind them all that much. In terms of bothers, they’re pretty low on the list.

In an instant, the buzz of the diner is replaced by the buzz of the town, and the cold air nips at my unprotected nose. We pass by some modest Victorian houses, many of which have varying degrees of Yuletide decorations, but a majority of the buildings in this part of town are conjoined businesses, like barbershops, furniture stores, and other eateries.

Especially at the town square. Foot traffic usually calmed around the evening, but the place is full of energy, a mingling of all sorts of creatures.

A slight fog hovers over the ground, as it has almost all season until this first frost, making it especially important to watch for potholes on the cobblestone roads. We stop at an intersection where a large group of outsiders are walking, carrying with them cameras and other filmmaking materials, and start again once they’ve passed. If there was something outsiders loved, it was to make movies here, and holidays were no exception. What better setting for a story than a festive town full of misfits?

I don’t remember a lot of my life before Shepard, as an outsider, but I do remember driving into town at midnight, and Mom waking us up. I also remember the air of the outside world, and how much drier it is. All these years later, I remember the air most. Not the buildings, or even the people.

Still, not a day that goes by where things seem normal. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you see someone herding a group of trees through the street, or a woman turns her house into one large mushroom by accident. Nothing is predictable here. Maybe that’s why outsiders love this place. That’s why I do, after all. Nothing belongs, and so everything belongs.

At least, that’s what I keep having to remind myself. I belong.

We arrive home as the city seems to sigh, and the sun threatens to set. The wrought-iron gate opens for us as we approach, and we take the long pathway up to the front door. For the first time since leaving the diner, Davi turns to make sure I’m still following, and opens the door.

“We’re home!” I call out. The sound of a bowl clattering against the floor in the kitchen confirms Mom is, too.

“Just in time, girls.” Mom appears from the kitchen, effortlessly carrying out a large pot and placing it in the center of the dining room table. “Veggie stew. But no olives this time. I’ve learned my lesson. I put the jar far away from the stove.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” Davi says, first to sit.

∙ ◦ ○( Davi )○ ◦ ∙

“What’d the two of you end up doing today?” Mom asks, only a few bites into the meal. She is always running on full steam.

“Just the usual,” I say. “School and a quick unwinding at the diner.”

“Same,” Eve replies.

“Oh. Cool. Are you excited about Yuletide this year? Got any big plans?”

“Aren’t we a little old for Yuletide? Everyone knows that’s mostly for the kids and the supernatural. Just like the Wild Hunt.”

“Well, I mean, maybe, but—”

The corded wall phone chimes loudly, and Mom rushes up to get it.

“Cody King,” she says. As she leans against the wall listening to the person on the other end, I watch her eyes grow more weary. “No, of course, Sebastian. I’ll... I’ll be on it tomorrow, first thing. Hey, can we discuss this later? The girls just got back home, and I’d like to... no, I understand. Thanks.”She clicks the phone into place and sighs. “Looks like an early night for me tonight, girls. I love you.”

Her arm hardly wraps around me as she kisses the top of my head, which she repeats for Eve before disappearing from the dining room. We exchange disappointed yet unsurprised glances.

Some days, it seemed like Mom didn't want to make time for us. Which was likely my fault, seeing as I blew a fuse arguing with her the other night, but it still left cleanup to me and Eve. I pick at my food half-heartedly for a few more moments, but even without the olives, the stew isn’t quite right. Something is off.

Eve quietly cleans her own finished bowl and retreats to her bedroom, leaving me alone in the oversized room.

Yeah, something still felt off.

All of my usual reasons for having high-anxiety or this otherwise unpleasant feeling in my stomach had already been accounted for. This was something else. Maybe a genuine panic attack.

The phone rings again, and I bound out of the chair to reach it in time. “King residence, Davi—”

“Cut the formalities, Davi,” Izumi Miyazaki says, a twinge of excitement in her voice. As long as I’d known Izzy, she’s always been an excitable person. And a bit of an instigator. “I need you to come to the square right away. I’ve discovered something that’s going to blow your mind.”

“Izzy, no offense, but you've said that before. Remember the frog pond?”

“What if I told you it has to do with my magic?”

I exhale heavily. “Okay, I’ll fetch Eve, and we’ll be there soon.”I replace the phone and wander back over to Eve’s room, giving it three knocks.

“Come in,” her voice calls.

I turn the knob and push open, which in any other normal circumstance would have been fine, if not for the door flying into the adjacent wall and splintering heavily on impact. The brass knob chimes against the floor, and Eve sits watching me on her bed with cautious eyes.

“What was that for?”

“I... I don’t know. All I did was open it. Were the hinges coming loose?”

“They’re still on the doorframe.”

“I don’t understand what just happened.”

“What did you want to talk about before you brutalized my door?”

“Oh, umm, Izzy wants to show us something. Wouldn’t tell me exactly what, but it apparently has something to do with her magic.”

“Where at?”

“Town square.”

“Well then, let’s not keep her waiting!”

By now, the sun really had set, leaving us the faint glow of the moon and the flickering lampposts that line the street to guide our way through the snowflakes coming down in full force. The town square still has some people wandering around it, but aside from Izzy, who is sitting directly next to a mermaid water fountain, there’s nobody notable enough to point out.

“This way!” she beckons, standing up to lead us. I follow at a slight jog, and Eve trails behind, opting to use the moment to get a good look at all the mystical Yuletide decorations going up, like the bales of hay meant to represent the four-headed donkey from its fable.

At last, as Izzy slows her pace, the mystery she’s been keeping from me slowly grows into view.

“A scorched circle of snow!” she says, gesturing to it with a big grin on her face. “Do you see this?”

“It certainly is scorched and circular,” I say, dunking each word in sarcasm.

“How do you burn snow?”

“Burn snow?” Eve repeats, jogging the last few steps to rejoin us.

“Yeah, looks like it turned to ash. But that’s not all. I can’t use my magic when I stand in that circle.”

“What?” Eve’s confusion shifts to curiosity.

“That’s what I said. Look, glittering light here—” she crackles a yellow fire just above her fingertips— “and none inside.”

The fireball disappears with her narration and movement. To prove her point, she makes a show of trying to do a few different spells, but to no avail.

“Not to mention, Budgles hates it. Been on top of that tree this whole time.”

My head follows her finger up to the snow-touched tree, where Budgles, her owl spiritual companion, is perched, wings outstretched.

“This is so weird,” Eve says, kneeling down to touch the space.

“What is?” a voice asks from behind. We turn to see Willow approaching, wearing her paladin armor. She must be in training at the moment. The paladins are essentially the law enforcement of Shepard. Her eyes seem to linger a moment longer on Eve before addressing the rest of us.“A strange anti-magic circle that appeared out of nowhere,” Izzy recaps. “Not sure what to make of it.”

“Anti-magic? What’s it do?”

“What the name suggests. Blocks magic.”

She glances back worriedly, and her voice drops to a whisper. “I think... I think we ought to tell my mom about it.”

“Oh, we don’t have to get Alex involved. I’m sure she’s busy. Besides, this thing will probably disappear overnight, anyway. Maybe it was my neighbor messing up another spell. Like when her house turned into a mushroom. Yeah, that’s probably it. No need to bother the top brass.”

“I really think I should go tell her,” Willow says, and speeds away.

“Well, that’s the end of that fun,” Izzy says.

“Fun? All you did was stand in a circle.”

“A magic-blocking circle. It’s literally science fiction.”

Alex Morningstar, head of the paladins, comes rushing over to join us, then immediately ushers us away from the strange marking on the ground. Her bright red hair was matched only by her personality. “Sebastian won’t enjoy hearing about this. Try not to mention it to anyone, alright, you four? The last thing we need is a scare right before Yuletide. None of you have messed with it, have you?”

“What is it?” I ask.

“Not good, that’s all I can tell you. You should all go home. It’s almost curfew, after all.”

Nobody is content with that answer, or her urgency behind it, but we say our brief goodbyes and head back to the house, Eve following me like a second shadow. “You agree something’s off about all of this, right?” I ask, falling to her side rather than marching ahead.

“Maybe. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we’ve got some unsanctioned digging around to do. Is there anything like this in those books you read?”

“The augmentation stuff? Nope.”

“Hmm.”

We make it back to our house again, and this time we split for sure. I opted to lie in bed for a while, and the whole time, my eyes trace the lines on the ceiling.

I’m going to figure out what that circle is one way or another.