“Care for a swim?” the nix taunted playfully.

 Nicholas, betwixt, simply nodded, stepping forward into the pond with the nix still wrapped around him. In an instant, his body disappeared beneath the water’s gray surface.  Victor tossed the scroll across the grass, took in a big gulp of air, and dove into the icy pond. He pushed through the heavy, cold water, squinting through the darkness. The nix was still holding Nicholas by the sides of his face, looking at him with a sweet, almost loving expression. Nicholas stared, half-lidded up at the creature, unaware of the oxygen slowly leaking out of his nose in a trail of small bubbles. The nix’s pretty expression broke little by little, becoming more and more sinister. Its big black eyes began to narrow into angry slits, and its pink lips opened to reveal a chasm of sharp teeth. The creature unhinged its jaw as it held Nicholas closer. 

Victor kicked his legs, propelling himself toward the creature. He took the small dagger he kept strapped to his thigh and sliced it across the monster’s face. Blood filled the water, evaporating like a red cloud. While the nix momentarily loosened its grip, Victor grabbed hold of Nicholas and dragged him away. 

Victor broke through the water’s surface and pulled Nicholas across the pebbled shore. The second Victor let go, Nicholas scrambled back toward the water in a desperate frenzy. Victor leaped forward, pinning him against the ground. 

“Why must you so easily fall for pretty things?” he grumbled. He grabbed Nicholas by the shoulder and turned him over so they were face to face. “Look at me,” he said, imitating the nix by cupping Nicholas’s face between his hands. 

Nicholas blinked, his pupils slowly regaining their usual vividness.

“Victor?” he mumbled. The sunlight was shining behind Victor’s head, revealing the subtle purples and blues interwoven into his dark hair. Victor didn’t look like any of the suitors Nicholas had had before, the usual menagerie of pretty, perfect people–his face was scarred from a hard life, and his eyes were always serious, even when he spoke casually of things. But buried beneath that grim exterior was a soft beauty–a beauty more real than any of the glamor or riches or makeup Nicholas used to find attractive. 

Victor took Nicholas’s hand and leaned back, helping pull him back upright. 

“Ugh, what happened?” Nicholas groaned, his head throbbing painfully. 

“You fell under that thing’s spell and nearly got killed for it,” Victor scowled. 

“It didn’t take much persuasion.” the nix said. Victor turned and saw the nix lying on a rock, peeking out of the water. 

“Why do you drown people anyway? Just for kicks?” Victor snarled. 

“We need to eat just like everybody else.” the nix said. “Humans just happen to be easy prey.”

“If that’s the case, then how do you feel about squash?” Victor asked. “We have pounds of it back home, and I doubt we’ll be able to eat it all.”

“Never heard of it.” the nix grumbled. 

Victor reached into Nicholas’s pocket and pulled out the bundle of pastries. 

“Here, try it,” Victor said, tossing one of the pastries onto the rock. 

The nix glared at him but then lowered its head and sniffed at the pastry. It took a small, hesitant bite and then tossed the entire thing into its mouth, licking its lips. 

“Give me more!” the nix commanded, happily swishing its tail. 

“We’ll bring a whole wheelbarrow worth of them down the hillside if you can translate what’s on this scroll,” Victor said. He knelt by the shore and held out the ancient piece of parchment. Victor took out his lighter and cast it against the page, revealing its hidden message. 

The nix squinted and read down the page, mumbling to itself. 

“It’s a riddle,” it explained. “In darkness I am hidden, filled with strange arcane, show your heart, and be mortal once again.”

Nicholas sighed. “Well, that raises more questions than it answers.” 

“If I were you, I would start by looking at the caves west of here.” the nix said. 

“And why do you say that?” Nicholas asked skeptically. 

“The riddle did say ‘in darkness I am hidden.’ Sounds like a cave to me. Besides, rumor amongst the forest folk is that a human hid something in the caves a long time ago.” the nix explained. “Maybe it’s what you’ve been looking for.”

“Thank you for the tip,” Nicholas said. 

They parted ways with the nix, heading back toward The Castle. 

“Well, it looks like we’re going on a trip,” Nicholas said, unable to hold back his excitement. 

“In that case, you should get to baking right away,” Victor said. Nicholas raised an eyebrow at him, unsure what he meant. “After all, we did promise a wheelbarrow full of pastries.”

. . .

In the span of one night, The Castle’s yard had frosted over. Victor stood on the porch in an overcoat, clinging to a suitcase. He watched as the first snowflake shook loose from the clouds and fluttered down to the ground.

“Ready to leave?” Nicholas asked, closing the front door. 

“I’ve been ready for the past five minutes,” Victor said, peering down at his watch. “How will we be traveling? Some sort of transportation powder? Perhaps catching a ride on some enormous beast?”

Nicholas tipped his hat toward a carriage bounding up the hillside. By what Victor could tell, it was a completely normal carriage drawn by two gray, spotted horses. “I’m surprised. I would have assumed you’d have chosen a flashier form of transport.” 

“I’d rather not draw attention to ourselves,” Nicholas explained. 

The pair of horses pulled the carriage up the drive and came to a halt infront of the porch. At the helm was a man whose face was wrapped in a scarf, wearing a pair of round-tinted glasses. 

“This was one of my more clever ruses,” Nicholas said. He swished his finger, and the coachman waved his gloved hand. “It’s nothing but an enchanted bundle of clothes, but with the weather being as cold as it is, I don’t think anyone will notice.”

He stepped forward and popped open the carriage door, holding it open.

 “After you,” he said. 

Victor hopped into the carriage which was well-lit and nicely upholstered. Nicholas squeezed in next to him and closed the door. The carriage lunged forward, rattling down the forest trail. 

“I’ve ridden in plenty of carriages before, but usually, I travel alone,” Victor commented, peering out the window. 

“Happy to have some company?” Nicholas asked. 

“I used to like the silence. But I must admit…it’s nice having someone to pass the time with.” Victor answered. 

“Speaking of ways to pass the time…” Nicholas said, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, a glass of sparkling apple cider appeared in both of their hands. An elegant charcuterie board piled with crackers, grapes, and cheese manifested between them, sitting on a golden stand. 

“What? Just because the outside of the carriage is normal doesn’t mean the inside has to be.” Nicholas taunted. 

“Well, you certainly know how to travel in style,” Victor said, sipping from his glass. 

. . .

A day passed as the carriage rattled through the countryside, slowly making its way closer to a pair of steep, dark mountains. 

Victor had fallen asleep with the side of his face pushed against the window of the carriage. He was jolted awake as one of the carriage’s wheels struck a rock in the road. He blinked open his eyes and went to gaze at the scenery but saw two yellow eyes glare at him from the reflection in the glass. He let out a gasp and reeled away from the window, accidentally pushing into Nicholas. 

“Are you alright, my friend?” Nicholas asked. 

Victor whipped his head back toward the window but saw that nothing was there.

“Yes, I just…thought I saw something,” he said breathlessly. 

 The carriage came to a steady halt. 

“We have arrived,” Nicholas said, clapping his hands.

 Victor pushed open the carriage door and stepped out into the chill night air. They were in an old pine forest surrounded by high mountains with snowy peaks. A cave was carved into the side of the mountain, with looming, fang-like stalagmites lining its entrance.

The horses anxiously kicked at the earth and shook their shaggy manes. Nicholas petted each of their long, spotted faces until they calmed. 

Victor glared into the intimidating darkness of the cave’s mouth. 

“There’s definitely some horrific beast living there,” he said. 

“Oh, most definitely.” Nicholas returned. “If this artifact can truly do what the scroll said it can, then it is well worth protecting.”

“Then, at least we came prepared,” Victor said, grabbing a crossbow from the carriage’s trunk. “Let’s go,” he said, approaching the cave’s entrance. 

The inside of the cave was dank and dark. Nicholas took the lead, holding up a lantern which provided them with a ring of light. 

“I hope this works…” he murmured. Typically when he spoke, Nicholas had the rhythm of a showman, full of confidence and enthusiasm. But at that moment, his voice was quiet–desperate. 

The lantern illuminated a pair of shoes, and as Nicholas drew closer, he found that they were attached to a skeleton sitting against the cave wall. Victor was so used to seeing the butlers and maids at The Castle that he half-expected the skeleton to stand up and start moving suddenly. 

“Well, that’s a bad omen if I’ve ever seen one.” Nicholas sighed. 

A glass jar was sitting in the skeleton’s open palm, the lid half-opened. 

“That’s strange,” Victor said. 

“What is it?” Nicholas inquired. 

“Don’t you think it’s strange that someone would use the last of their strength to try to open an empty jar?” 

“Strange indeed.”

Something scurried across the ground, coming into the light for a moment only to dash back into the darkness. The scurrying came again, this time from behind. Nicholas swiveled on his heel and lowered down the lantern. The light stretched across the floor and fell onto a small, whiskered rodent. 

Nicholas let out a gasp and began to back away from the creature. 

“What? It’s just a little field mouse.” Victor said. 

“That’s not ‘just a mouse,’ that’s a metus mouse,” Nicholas explained. “They’re extremely dangerous creatures that take the form of whatever you fear most.”

Victor turned and looked down at the rodent with more apprehension than before. There was a sickening crack as the mouse’s spine arched upward. Its body began to enlarge, morphing into a blob of flesh. It rose to Nicholas’s height, taking a form not that different from his own. It became a shadowed reflection with glaring red eyes and sharp white teeth. With its clawed hand extended, the monster lunged for Nicholas’s throat. 

Victor grabbed the crossbow off his back and shot at the creature’s hand. The arrow lodged into the creature’s forearm, moving its hand away. The metus mouse let out a ragged cry and tore the arrow from its limb, crushing it. The creature whipped its head toward him and pounced, pinning him against the cold cave floor. 

The creature began to morph once more, turning into a large canine–a replica of the beast who haunted Victor’s past. It sunk its claws into his shoulders, pushing him to the ground. Though Victor knew it was only a mimic of the real beast, he couldn’t help trembling. His body was frozen, his eyes wide with terror. Just as the beast’s teeth went to sink into Victor’s throat, Nicholas scruffed the hound and yanked it away. 

“Victor!” Nicholas yelled. “Behind you! Grab the jar!”

Victor turned around and spotted the skeleton sitting a few feet away. He scrambled toward the corpse, but the metus mouse had bitten onto his ankle, holding him back. Victor kicked the metus mouse away and yanked the small jam jar from the dead man’s hand. 

“What now?” he yelled back. 

“Open the jar and hold it out infront of yourself!” Nicholas instructed.

The metus mouse seemed unsure which shape to take, shifting between both the shadowed figure and the beast. 

“A-Are you sure?” Victor stuttered. 

“Trust me!” Nicholas yelled. 

Victor unscrewed the jar’s lid and held it out toward the metus mouse. He winced as the metus mouse pounced, but as it grew closer, it began to shrink. By the time it reached Victor, it had returned to its regular size and shape. It tumbled through the air, landing straight into the open jar. Victor slammed the lid onto the glass jar and sealed it closed, trapping the metus mouse inside. 

“It’s sorta cute when it’s not trying to kill us.” Victor chuckled, looking at the metus mouse tapping on the glass. “How did you know that would work?” he added, walking over to Nicholas. 

“Truthfully, I didn’t. It was just something I read in a book.” Nicholas said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I assume that poor sap tried to do the same but wasn’t as quick as you were,” Nicholas explained, pointing back at the skeleton. 

“If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to keep this creature, at least for the time being. Perhaps if I study it, it will help me learn more about that beast.” Victor said, putting the jar into his pants pocket. 

“So that’s what the beast looks like…” Nicholas murmured. “It sorta of just looked like a large dog to me. Are you sure what killed your parents was a monster and not just–” he began tentatively. 

“It wasn’t just a dog,” Victor said firmly, gripping his fists at his side. 

“Okay…I believe you.” Nicholas said. “Let’s keep going,” he added, walking further down into the cave.