“I wanna see Jack and Jill.”
That dropped heavier than a guillotine in the middle of our tea-fogged sanctuary. Cindy blinked up from the garden wall she’d been perched on, still picking leaves out her braids. Nyx paused mid-flame trick, fingers twitching with heat. And Aya, she turned around slow, real slow, like I just asked her to invite a plague into the kitchen.
“You wanna what?” she asked, arms crossing, that sass creeping back into her voice. “Did you hit your head on one of them Wonderland mushrooms? 'Cause that’s the only way that sentence makes sense.”
“I’m serious,” I said, standing in the middle of our half-built courtyard like the idea couldn’t burn. “We got the base. We got the traps. We got soldiers that squeak when they march. Now I need to know where I can sharpen what’s in me.”
Aya narrowed her eyes. “You don’t ‘sharpen’ death, Crypt. You are death. That’s the part that’s already scary.”
I ignored her. “They know things. Where the dark stuff’s hiding. Places that test your body, your mind. Where I can build. Raise more than just bones. Command it.”
Nyx whistled low. “You really tryna pull some necro-legend stuff, huh?”
“I’m not tryna pull anything,” I muttered. “I need to be ready. We all do. And I can’t keep guessing. I need precision.”
Aya paced, her heels clicking against cracked stone. “Jack and Jill don’t give information. They sell it. Gossip mongers. Rumor peddlers. The whole city treats them like walking tabloids with knives in their boots. You go to them? They’re gonna talk. Loud.”
“Let them,” I said, voice flat. “I’m not hiding. Not anymore.”
Aya stopped pacing. “You sure about that? You’re not just a story anymore, Crypt. You’re a threat. A symbol. You step into Freefall, and word gets out, you think the people we left behind ain’t gonna come clawing for us?”
“I want them to come,” I said, the old fire curling up my throat. “They’ll find something different waiting.”
The silence that followed said everything they weren’t sure how to ask. Cindy sat up straighter, watching me with that unreadable look she gets when she’s halfway between worried and proud. Nyx leaned back on his elbows and let out a low sigh. “Damn. You really the Hollow King now, huh?”
I met Aya’s stare.
“I’ll talk to them,” I said. “But if they try to play me, I’ll remind them why ghosts don’t sleep.”
She finally relented, throwing her hands up. “Fine. But when this blows up in our faces, I’m telling everyone I said no.”
“Deal,” I smirked. “Pack up. We surface at dusk.”
Freefall hit different after Wonderland.
The sky was washed out and gray, buildings stitched together like broken teeth, and the smell of engine smoke, sweat, and street food crawled in your lungs whether you liked it or not. I hadn’t realized how quiet Wonderland had gotten till the noise of this city started punching my senses again. Sirens in the distance. Bots clunking past. Neon ads blinking like they were tired too.
Aya kept her hood up, eyes low. Nyx had his hands stuffed in his coat, chewing on something he probably stole. Cindy… she looked like a ghost that didn’t want to be seen. Which is funny, considering I was the actual dead one.
The second we turned the corner, I smelled beer, smoked sausage, and sweat. A crowd was gathered near the entrance of the Brick Inn, music spilling from the open windows like drunk laughter. And sitting front and center on a busted-up couch dragged outside like it was furniture royalty, were the Three Pigs.
Broad, pink-faced from too many drinks, and still somehow managing to look too comfortable in clothes too small for them. As soon as they spotted Cindy, all three jumped up like she was payday.
“Look who finally showed her pretty face!” hollered the biggest one, Bigs. “Cindy girl, you ghosted us!”
I glanced sideways. Cindy stiffened.
“Shit,” Nyx muttered under his breath. “Here we go.”
They strutted toward us like they owned the damn street. Half Pig Half human with guts the size of an exercising ball. Just sickening, and I can stomach a lot of things I really can. Bigs, Snouts, and Slim. All three grinning, but that look in their eyes wasn’t all friendly.
“You just up and vanish on us?” Slim asked, placing a hand over his chest like she broke his heart. “Not even a goodbye? After all we done for you?”
“Look yall, don’t need this right now aight I'm not in the mood,” Cindy muttered, clearly uncomfortable, trying to walk past them. “I had things to handle. It was just a job calm down.”
Snouts stepped in front of her. “Nah, nah. You don’t get to just bounce. You were part of the inn’s charm. People came just to see you, I came to see you. ”
“Back…the fuck… up,” I snapped, stepping forward.
The three of them all looked at me at once, like they finally noticed I existed. Slim raised an eyebrow. “Who’s this?”
“Some new bodyguard or somethin’?” Snouts asked, laughing.
Bigs looked me up and down, his grin turning smug. “She didn’t say nothin’ about a boyfriend.”
“I’m not her boyfriend,” I said flatly, “but keep pushing, and I’ll be your undertaker.”
“Ooooo!” Nyx yelled into his fist as they stared me down not sure whether they should try me or not. I gave them my deadliest look. That sobered them for a beat. Then Bigs stepped forward.
Cindy touched my arm. “Crypt, ”
“Nah,” I cut her off, eyes locked on Bigs. “You wanna leap fat-ass leap.”
Bigs snorted. “ We saw her first, She worked for us.”
“And now she doesn’t. End of story. Don’t we all like happy endings? Let's not make this one tragic.”
Slim glanced at Cindy, his tone a little less cocky now. “You really done with us? Like… for real?”
Cindy sighed and finally met their eyes. “Yeah. I’m done. I got bigger things to fight for than free drinks and greasy tips. Sorry if that stings.”
There was a pause. The three pigs looked at one another like they were deciding whether to push back or not. Finally, Bigs scratched the back of his neck.
“Well… damn. You were the best we had.”
Snouts nodded. “Whole place been dull since you dipped.”
Slim chuckled. “Guess we’ll have to find someone else who knows how to shut down drunk brawlers with a smile.”
Cindy smirked. “Good luck with that might.Give my regards to your old man aight!”
They muttered in agreement in unison and gave me one final look before going on their way., finally letting us pass. Nyx gave me a look like he was both impressed and amused.
“You really threatened three buff ass pigs over a girl who’s not even your girl? Seriously?!”
I shrugged as I began to walk again. “Nyx not now.”
Aya leaned in from the other side. “So protective, dead boy. You catching feelings?”
I ignored her and kept walking. But yeah… I did. And they should be glad they walked away alive
.After that we cut through the heavier parts of Freefall, the city seemed to shift. Buildings leaned closer. Doors watched. Even the rats moved with purpose.
Aya slowed her steps. “ And again, Are you sure about this, Crypt?”
“I already said I was.”
She kept glancing around. “Jack and Jill ain’t just tea-spillers. They sell info. If they figure out who you really are, ”
“Then they’ll either stay quiet… or I’ll make ‘em.”
Nyx gave a low whistle. “Look at zombie boy flexing today.”
“I’m serious,” I muttered. “I need to know where to sharpen my gift. Raising the dead isn’t just some spellbook trick. There’s more out there. I feel it.”
Aya didn’t respond. Just led us down a twisted alley, then another. Past a bakery with blacked-out windows. Past a stairwell that spiraled nowhere. Until we reached a giant broken clock half-buried in stone.
“Knock,” she said. “Twice, pause, then three more.”
I did it. The rusted gear in the center groaned, turned once, and a slit opened just wide enough for a voice to slither out.
“Password.”
Aya sighed. “If gossip was gold, you’d be kings.”
The door creaked open.
We stepped into a cramped room draped in old silks and stacked with towers of books, scrolls, and glowing jars. Crystals floated midair, projecting distorted images and whispers from all across Freefall. It smelled like melted wax, lavender, and secrets.
And sitting right in the middle on mismatched thrones, Jack and Jill.
They were mirror opposites. Jack wore a sharp suit with shoes too big, a crooked smile, and glasses that glowed neon green. Jill lounged in lace, her lips stained black, her curls like twisted vines. They were twins, but creepy twins. Like if secrets had faces.
“Well, well…” Jack grinned. “Aya brings friends.”
“More than friends,” Jill purred, staring at me too long. “You’re… interesting.”
I said nothing. Just stepped forward.
Jack adjusted his glasses. “So. What does the dead man want from the living lips?”
“I need info. On necromancy. Where to train. Where to unlock more than I already got.”
They looked at each other. Then back at me.
Jill tilted her head. “Dangerous question, darling. Dangerous need. You sure you’re ready for what it might cost?”
“I’ve already paid more than most ever will,” I growled. “Just point me in the right direction.”
Jack leaned back, rubbing his chin. “There’s a place. Forgotten by time, buried under war and ash. Old magic sleeps there, bones, blood, and power. A graveyard so haunted it whispers back when the wind moves right.”
“It’s called Hollowdeep,” Jill added. “And if you can survive it… and find a certain cursed guitar there made by the pied piper himself, the dead won’t just answer you. They’ll follow you.”
Aya flinched. “Crypt…”
But I just nodded once. “Where is it?”
Jack smiled, slow and sharp. “Ah, but that’ll cost you.”
“What do you want?”
Jill leaned forward. “A story. Your truth. Who you are. Where you’ve been. Whispered into our ear. Just once. Just one.”
My jaw clenched. That was a steep price… but not impossible.
I looked at Aya, at Cindy, at Nyx.
Then I stepped forward, leaned in close, and whispered my tale. Not everything. Just one truth. One name. One moment that broke the world inside me.
“Prince Charming.”
They gasped and then inhaled like it was perfume.
“Delicious,” Jill said.
“Oh that is priceless, haunting even,” Jack echoed. “Deal made. Hollowdeep lies beneath the ruins of Crowspire. South of the black sands. You’ll need a map.”
“I’ll find it,” I said.
They both grinned. “We know you will.”
They were still smirking from the truth I fed them when the door behind us groaned open.
“Uh… you expecting someone else?” Nyx asked.
Jack and Jill frowned in sync, which was already creepy. “No.”
Boots hit the floor. Heavy. Purposeful. And then,
A shadow filled the entrance. Broad shoulders. Ragged fur. A deep, familiar growl buried under breath.
I turned fast.
And my entire soul dropped.
“Ain’t no damn way…”
Aya gasped, hand flying to her mouth.
Cindy took a step back behind me recognizing him immediately..
The man in the doorway looked at all of us, confused, but not threatening. His silver eyes scanned the room like he was trying to recognize a dream. He wore torn armor, his cloak shredded. A long scar cut across his cheek like a claw mark. The scar I gave him when I gave him that final blow to the skull. He looked a little different.
But it was him.
The Big Bad Wolf.
The last time I saw him, I left him half-dead in the forest, bleeding out under my boot. He shouldn’t be walking. Hell, he shouldn’t be breathing.
But here he was.
“…Cryp?” His voice cracked, low and unsure. “Is that your name?”
I blinked. “What?”
He rubbed his temples like thunder was cracking through his skull. “I don’t, I don’t remember anything. Just flashes. Forest. Fire. Your face.”
Aya whispered, “He sounds like he’s got amnesia.”
Nyx whistled. “Well, this just got juicy.”
I stepped forward slow, not sure if I was about to fight or fall apart.
“You don’t remember me?” I asked.
“I know your name is Crypt, I remember a girl screaming it, so I followed you because I thought maybe you could help me,” Axe muttered. “No one else will.”
Cindy whispered, “Crypt?”
I looked at him, at the man I once fought like an animal. The man I thought I buried. The same wolf I had saved Cindy from the night I killed Samantha, her stepmother, and left him to die. But now? He wasn’t snarling. He wasn’t hunting. He was…. lost.
“We keep him,” I muttered. “Like we do all lost, remember.”
Aya looked like she wanted to argue but held her tongue.
Jack and Jill? They were grinning. Like this twist just sold ten thousand newspapers.
“You’re collecting strays too?” Jill teased.
“Shut up,” I snapped. “We’re leaving.”
And just like that, we were five.
One dead guy.
One fire man.
One witch.
One runaway.
And one wolf… who forgot how to bite.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDyN0F7uc6
