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Evan jerked upright on the bed, and Misty yelped away.

“Six…months?”

Evan’s attention was finally caught and tied down. That amount would be more than enough for the due installments and Celie’s tuition fee. He could even buy a real meal for once.

But that place…

Evan rubbed a hand down his face, conflicted and wary. He’d never taken on a case he couldn’t handle, but he’d also never been offered a sum this generous. The concentrated dark energy in that mansion was bad news. On the other hand, the amount offered was more than anything Evan could’ve managed to make even with twenty cases.

Jackpot. The word echoed in his mind, tempting.

There was no other way, was there? Evan had to do this. If anything, he had to try for Celie.

With a deep breath, Evan said to Aaron, “If I die during this case, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

2. Hope and Generosity

Evan’s left eye twitched as he stared out the car window at the bustling streets of Emberlyn. Colorful shops, crumbling vintage buildings, loud pedestrians, speeding bikes—whatever amusements you could imagine, it was all there.

But alas, a town cursed with an eternal sunless sky.

That’s an exaggeration, actually.

It rained year-round in Emberlyn, and gloomy clouds were more prone to hover in the sky than birds. Sunlight was scarce and pitter-patters more than necessary. But that had less to do with any curse from the gods and more with the dense rainforests enclosing the town on all sides.

However, stating scientific facts out loud was the quickest way to be outcast in a superstitious town.

Emberlyn took great pride in its folklores and legends unique to it. Anyone new to town could recite the old tales like a nursery rhyme within a year. They were the go-to conversation starters because in Emberlyn, “fairy tale” and “hello” were synonymous.

And among them all, there was always that one story that stuck with you.

For Evan, it was a tale both bizarre and strangely entertaining.

Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, a bird the size of a tree fell from the sky, its massive, burning wings raining Hellfire over the land.A Hail from Hell, they called it.

Some believed it was based on a real, horrific event. Others just thought it made for a good bedtime story.

Another folklore told often—one that Evan personally believed—was about the Deity of Del.

The Del was a sacred river winding through the dense forests that surrounded Emberlyn and served as the main source of clear water in town. According to legend, the Deity of Del was believed to protect the town from plagues, floods, forest fires, and any natural disaster that dared approach. Her water was even used in exorcism rituals by some oddball exorcists.

None more odd than Evan Blackwood.

The old women gathered in front of the town library to read such stories to kids every evening.

Once upon a time, Evan used to be one of those kids.

Sometimes he wished to go back in time, turn into a little boy again, and wander the town carefree without worrying about frightening people away by his mere presence.

Instead, here he was, slumped in Aaron’s car with his twitching eye.

“Try not to scare these people away,” Aaron’s fingers anxiously drummed against the steering wheel, eyes switching between Evan and the road. “We both know you lack some basic filters between your brain and mouth.”

Evan scratched his ears like his words were making them itch. Already his twitching eye was making him irritable. “I speak facts. If they can’t handle facts, it’s not my problem.”

Aaron’s shoulders drooped in resignation.

When Evan’s left eye twitched again, he slapped a frustrated hand against it, almost sending his eyeball flying out of his ear. “Fuck!”