Xavier Moon

The blue spirits suddenly dart away like scattered marbles, joining their orange companions in the corner. My breath catches as they all vanish at once. It's a little imaginary, but I swear the room is left darker and colder without them here.

The door opens. Eliana's manic energy floods the space before she does, but my attention fixes on the man behind her. His presence fills the doorway, with similar features to Eliana but twisted into something more predatory. His unnatural purple irises lock onto me, too large for his face, consuming the whites of his eyes. There's a strange scar across his right eye. It looks relatively new and angry.

My skin crawls. The warmth of the chicken soup turns to lead in my stomach.

"Nicole, meet my brother." Eliana's voice carries a note of pride.