“She’s gone,” Esme whispered, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
Thousands of eerie thoughts darted through my head at that moment. I carefully took in every detail that Nethissis’s lifeless form could offer. Questions arose like giant, troublesome nightmares in the making. Her neck was crooked and severely bruised. Other than that, there wasn’t a single scratch on her.
Kalon moved around and gripped the bush by its thicker, central stem. He ripped it from the ground and tossed it to the side, frowning as he stared at our beloved Nethissis. Valaine’s eyes were glassy with tears, and I knew her sorrow was genuine. I could feel it in my chest and in the pit of my aching soul.
The boots of golden guards thundered through the palace, then down the steps as they descended and converged on our location. Corbin was with them, running alongside his troops until they reached us. He seemed as shocked and as appalled as the rest of us when he saw Nethissis.
“I’m truly sorry for your loss,” he said, his tone low and solemn. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “We don’t know.”
Esme broke down crying, but she struggled to stay focused, already analyzing Nethissis’s body. “It’s not right… How could this… No, I just… No…”
Kalon got down on his knees next to her, pulling her into a hug, while Sofia stayed with Amal. We were all trying so hard to keep it together—and failing miserably. This was a tremendous loss, not only to our team but to GASP, to the whole world. Nethissis had survived one of the most horrific attacks of supernatural forces on our universe… only to end up dead in the gardens of a Visio palace.
Nothing about this was right or in any way sensical.
“Her neck is broken,” Tristan said after a long pause. He leaned closer, and only then did he, along with the rest of us, notice the fluffy tail stiffly protruding from under her torso. “I need some help.”
Valaine jumped in, holding Nethissis’s upper body while Tristan carefully pulled the animal out from beneath her. It looked like a fox, with strange, long fangs. It was dead, having already entered the rigor mortis stage, its light brown fur clumped with blood and dirt.
“What is this?” Tristan asked, turning the animal over.
“A phillim fox,” Kalon replied, recognizing it. “It’s an extremely venomous creature.”
“The palace gardens have often had problems with them,” Corbin said, crossing his arms. The guards stood around us, silent and gloomy, equally befuddled by the entire scene.
Esme glanced up at him, her eyes red and glassy. “Venomous foxes? Seriously?”
“It’s true.” Kalon sighed, gently moving back to give her some space. “They can’t hurt Aeternae, but the Rimians and the Naloreans have been known to almost die because of them.”
“The gardeners here spray the entire place with black lily essence to keep them away, but sometimes they still sneak through,” Corbin explained. “They’re usually drawn to the little critters that dwell in the ground, especially beneath the flower bushes and the trees.”
I scoffed. “You mean to tell us a venomous fox killed a Lamia swamp witch?”
“What’s a Lamia?” Valaine asked.
“Nethissis was in snake form,” Esme replied, anger tinging her voice. “She was born a Lamia, which means she could turn into a snake. A deadly copperhead, to be specific. How a fox bested her is beyond me.”
“She could’ve turned, had she crossed paths with this… this thing,” Amal croaked, her face blotchy from crying. “This is all kinds of wrong.”
“I’m sorry, but the fox could’ve taken her out if she was a snake when it happened,” Corbin replied. “They’re agile hunters. They’re fast, and their bite alone is enough to cripple an animal of that size.”
“Do you see any bite marks?” Esme asked Tristan.
He frowned, his gaze moving up and down her body, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Nethissis’s death had overshadowed the fact that she was naked, but it was all sinking in now, for everyone. “No… not that I can see,” he said slowly.
Valaine was compelled to take her delicate black veil off. She remained in her sleeveless green dress as she used the veil to cover Nethissis’s body. The fabric settled quietly over her humanoid form, but it did nothing to soothe our broken hearts. We’d lost our friend, and something deep inside me told me there was more to this story than the attack of a venomous fox.
“I’m not buying it,” Esme replied, shaking her head, her lips twisting with contempt and anger. “I’m not buying any of this.”
We didn’t even notice Zoltan and Petra joining Corbin, until Zoltan spoke. “A phillim fox, huh? She must’ve fought back. She must’ve killed it.”
“Oh, so Nethissis was out here in snake form when she came across a phillim fox. They struggled and wound up killing each other?!” Esme snapped, getting up and brushing the dirt off her dress. “Pardon me, but I don’t believe any of this crap!”
Tristan moved to her side, trying to calm her down. “Esme, please. Breathe.”
“Screw breathing! Screw all of this!” she shouted. “Someone killed Nethissis!”
Kalon and Valaine were both speechless, watching her as she paced around the scene, taking deep breaths and clenching her fists. Sofia helped Amal up, but the Faulty’s legs were still weak from the shock, so she leaned into my wife for a bit of support.
“This is odd, to say the least,” I said, looking at Corbin.
Petra was stunned, but Zoltan was downright annoyed. “It’s happened before,” he said.
“Not with Nethissis it hasn’t!” Esme replied, pointing an angry finger at him. “She wouldn’t have gone down like this. No!”
Part of me wished this had all been an unfortunate accident. It would’ve been easier to move past it. But I knew Esme was right. This wasn’t like Nethissis, to get herself into a tangle with a creature like this. She was extremely dangerous in her copperhead form, and she could’ve easily shifted back if she’d sensed a threat from the phillim fox. Her venom alone would’ve been enough to paralyze it, at least.
This was disturbingly foul, and it warranted a serious investigation.
One of our own had been killed, and the circumstances were beyond suspicious. Once again, I found myself wondering—was this where we drew the line? It had to be. Nethissis was dead, and no matter what the Aeternae believed had happened to her, none of us would rest until her killer was brought to justice.
I’d hoped we wouldn’t have to deal with such a terrible situation, but fate clearly had other plans.
Esme
It took me a while to truly wrap my head around what had happened.
