An uncanny shadow cast itself over wet grass within a forest graced by the colors of autumn, blocking the moon and causing a sudden chill. All of nature hushed, as if waiting for it to pass. The shadow moved swiftly, shifting and undulating before splitting into two. With a sound not unlike a guttural yawn, the shadows blackened and burnt the land despite its wetness, turning grass and fallen leaves into ash.

From the ashes, long, skinny black arms made of wicker and entwined ivy emerged along with the scent of burning matter. The hands at the end of the arms were sharp, and as the beings pulled themselves out of the ground, the arms morphed until they became perfectly human clad in long black sleeves. Two wide-brimmed black hats emerged next, followed by the full bodies of pale, dark-haired twin men dressed in black. Their neck-length locks had green streaks split in the center at their foreheads, and their eyes were closed as they simultaneously yawned, revealing sharp canines and tapered black tongues.

Sitting upon the scorched ground, they opened identical iris-less orange eyes that glowed in the sudden darkness that befell the verdant. One of the brothers turned to the other and gave a nod, tipping his hat, which caused the other to scoff and look away.

"Typically, I'd welcome the change of scenery," Jasck sighed, his bright eyes wandering to the sky.

"Aye." Serkis skimmed the edge of his hat with his fingers, then moved to stand. The dust and dirt fell from his body, and he straightened the lapels of his open shirt. "Let's just get this over with..."

Jasck grunted and moved to his feet; the dust particles also rolled off his body and clothes. He removed his hat to briefly run a hand through green-streaked locks.

Light and life had slowly returned to the forest, evident by the call of an owl in the distance and the glimpse of a full moon behind the tree canopies. Insects chirped their nightly tunes, and he greedily inhaled the petrichor permeating the air as he replaced his hat. Even after millions of years, they adored the smell and the rain that came with it. It was so different from the weather of their home. He rolled his shoulders, walking further into the verdant. Soft spritzing behind him, the sound of movement in the grass, roots, and ivy, indicated Serkis followed.

Side by side, the brothers moved in relative silence. Serkis' eyes were closed, and he quietly yawned now and then, his fangs glistening in the scant light of the moon. He rubbed at his eye to clear a tear away, muttering to himself about human bodily functions. He caught his brother's soft scoff at his words.

They quieted upon nearing their destination, the forest's edge, and beyond where they could see the moon clearly in the cloudless sky above a field of grass. Exiting the forest, they looked ahead at the lights of human civilization in the distance with their inhuman vision. Jasck huffed, then disappeared from where he had stood.

He appeared as a shadow with glowing orange eyes upon a wall in an alleyway. After a moment of glancing around, he emerged from the wall and retook his physical form. Serkis did no such thing, appearing beside him with his hands in his pockets.

The younger brother frowned, staring out at the bustle and hustle of human bodies outside of the alleyway. "We just had to come here," he griped.

"You agreed to this," Jasck reminded with a patient sigh, walking into the street. He sensed Serkis follow but his brother remained quiet—outwardly. From their link, he heard the soft mental grumblings and muttering, causing him to turn a wry look his way.

Serkis scoffed, reaching for the round sunglasses in his pocket. "Just this once." He donned them.

Following his actions, Jasck placed identical sunglasses on his face. "Just this once." Serkis came to his side, and they walked in silence once more.

As if by some uncanny awareness, the people parted for them as they strolled along. Eyes would occasionally dart to them, curious and a tad perturbed as they walked in eerie synchronization. There was only one slight difference: Jasck stood up straight without swaying while his brother had a slight swagger to his steps.

Neither paid attention to their surroundings any more than what was necessary, uninterested in humans or their habits. They kept their senses focused forward on their destination, a large, dark-colored bookstore. Even in their eyes, it appeared pleasant, far more than the scurrying of bodies around them.

Upon stepping in front of it, they gave it a pleased once-over. "Well, at least she chose a good place to be stupid," Serkis muttered, reaching for the doorknob. It didn't budge. He blinked, then rolled his eyes and looked at his older brother. "It's closed."

Lowering his sunglasses, Jasck peeked through the storefront window. "Someone's back there."

"Yeah." Serkis became a shadow, dropping to the ground and sliding under the door.

Scrunching his face, Jasck glanced around to make sure no one saw. "Idiot..."

The door opened a moment later with a quiet jingle of a bell. Serkis leaned on the doorframe, a black brow raised. "You're welcome." He beckoned his brother in before turning around to move further inside.

Jasck closed the door behind him, then locked it. Slipping his hands in his pockets, he inhaled the smell of books old and new. He admired the tall walls full of books aligned neatly in stacks and rows, humming with appreciation.

"We're closed!"

He leveled his gaze upon seeing a woman peek from around a smaller bookshelf. In his vision, she had a slight black and violet haze about her. His eyes darted to Serkis, who stood closer to the woman and glanced at him with a similar expression of intrigue.

No wonder...

"How did you get in? I'm sure I locked the door..." She trailed off, head tilting to the side while emerging from behind the bookshelf. She was full-figured and bore shoulder-length brown hair, her dark eyes inquisitive if not cautious despite the look of alarm on her face as she eyed them. What brought their eyes to her chest, however, was the same piece of large jewelry that dangled from around their necks.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, grasping her cross necklace.

Black brows rose simultaneously. She wasn't from Clovure; her accent was distinctly southern Nahuatl. "We could ask you the same, young witch," Jasck hummed.

She startled, eyes snapping to stare at him. "How do you know—?"

"We don't have time." In the blink of an eye, Serkis stood directly in front of her without his sunglasses on, revealing his uncanny eyes. He took a long, slender black cigarette from his pocket and rested it between his lips, then lit it with a snap of his fingers. Looking down at her, he measured her reaction while exhaling white smoke.

She stared into his bright eyes for only a moment before taking several steps back when he took a step forward. "Wh-what do you...?"

He sighed, reaching to run a black-nailed finger down the spine of some books on the shelf. "I'm afraid you've been calling the wrong deity."

She went stiff, then scanned him with even more alarm seeping into her expressive eyes. He could not help but notice her posture slowly relaxed after a moment, but it seemed to be a subconscious action on her part. "Which...one have I been calling, then...?"

"Rolling with this pretty well," Jasck softly commented, leaning against the bookshelf behind Serkis.

"Normally, we couldn't care less who you'd call out for. Ancients, Incarnates—even Primordials; it means nothing to us...normally." The beady black dots in Serkis' eyes focused on her, his finger coming to a stop on a black book. "However, dearie, you've been calling out with prayers...and they've somehow gotten mixed up in transit."

"I...don't understand..." She began to slowly wring her hands together; a nervous habit, no doubt.

"Yeah, there's a lot to explain..." Serkis glanced into a shadowy corner. "They've taken notice," he said to Jasck.

"Aye. I am Jasck." Moving from behind his brother, Jasck tilted his head towards her in greeting before beckoning to his brother. "My brother, Serkis. We've emerged from the Dark to inform you someone has their eyes on you—someone none of us want here...let alone involved with one of ours."

A deep crease formed between her brows as she looked between them. "'Ours'?"

Serkis took his cigarette between two fingers and motioned to her. "That would be you, dearie. Unfortunately, we can't take the time to explain right now. Mind coming with us?"

She shook her head, moving back towards the wall. "Absolutely not. You aren't human, are you?"

"We are absolutely not human," Serkis chuckled, returning the cigarette to his lips. His expression dropped, eyes flashing dangerously. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way...and we'd really rather not do the latter."

"Then I don't have a choice?"

"Absolutely n—ah, shit."

He jumped forward and scooped her into his arms the moment a ball of white light brought day to the dark space. The pure energy scalded his back, and he hissed loudly, baring jagged sharp teeth. "Fuck! Jasck!"

His brother was on the other side of the room, fighting a being that he hadn't wanted—and didn't want—to see despite knowing the strong possibility.

A saint.

"Fucking great," he spat beneath his breath. To the woman in his arms, he said, "Hold on."

To his relief, she didn't argue or fight against him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he backed into the shadows. Sending a message to Jasck through their link, he articulated his intention to take the woman to the forest. His brother responded quickly, agreeing with his plan.

He entered the shadows completely, and a gasp from the woman briefly brought his eyes to her to see her own bulging out of her head with fear. He could have laughed, but his back smarted far too much.

Fucking Light, he hissed to himself, emerging from the pitch darkness into the forest he and Jasck had entered the world from. He lowered the woman to her feet. "We should be safe here..."

Her eyes darted up at him the moment she was on the ground. "I...I can't see anything but your eyes..."

"Ah...right..." He snapped his fingers, bringing forth a large ball of black fire.

It was dim, enough to be easy on his eyes but gave off a glowing violet light that was enough for her to see.

She stared in awe at the fire as it hovered beside him. "...What was that?"

He wanted to shrug it off, but trying to do so made his back sting. "Fuck," he murmured, removing his hat and leaning back against a tree with a wince. To her, he explained, "That, my dear, was a saint."

"A saint?" she balked. "That was no saint!"

He placed a new cigarette to his lips, slanting his eyes with bated humor. "Aye, because you know what a saint is, hm?"

She hesitated, looking around as if she just realized where they were. "A saint should be nothing like that, at the very least..."

"You don't sound too sure."

She shook her head, ignoring him.

Well, that was fine...

He softly hissed, tensing as tentacles emerged from his back. The black appendages slightly steamed in the darkness, and he pursed his lips in pain. "Light...It hurts us."

"Wh-what are you two?"

He peeked up at her. She was leaning against a tree two yards down, her eyes wide with horror. Ah, yes. His tentacles...

He cracked a small smile, lowering his extra appendages before slowly letting them slink into his back again. He deeply inhaled the cigarette's smoke, then took it between his fingers while exhaling, "We're gods, dearie."

This time, he did chuckle when her eyes bulged out of her head again. She rapidly shook her head.

He lowered to the ground in a crouch, resting his chin on his palm. "What do you think we are, then?"

"What do you want with me?"

He opened his mouth to respond when he buckled over, grasping his abdomen and snarling in pain. "Fuck!"

He saw through Jasck's eyes something that made no sense to him. The Saint had left...but not before strange hunters—humans dressed in white—stabbed his brother in the abdomen with a strange dagger.

With a wave of his hand, Jasck obliterated the humans, but he still bore a grave injury.

"Serkis..."

Serkis looked up to see Jasck emerge from a shadow on the ground, lacking his hat. He was also grasping his abdomen, but unlike Serkis, he bled from a wound there. "Tell me you have that thing..."

Raising his free hand, Jasck revealed the white and silver dagger. "Yeah..." His eyes fluttered, their light going out.

"Fuck." Serkis fought through the phantom pain and rushed to his brother's side. He caught Jasck's arm before it fell, and he lifted his lolling head into his lap.

Jasck let his eyes close and stopped breathing. "I don't feel well," he murmured.

"Couldn't tell, fool." Serkis placed a hand on his brother's chest. "Just rest. I'll take care of everything else."

Jasck quickly agreed, his head drooping to the side as he fell into a pain-induced sleep. Lips pursing, Serkis laid his brother on the ground. Immediately, the roots and vines over the forest floor wrapped around him, pulling him into the earth. It wasn't long before his body had entirely disappeared.

Glad he was safe, Serkis exhaled. He then glared at the dagger.

He was hesitant to touch it but did so anyway. He grimaced when the Light attacked him, but he managed to assuage the pain just as quickly. Lifting it, he etched every bit of its detail into his memory.

"Woman," he called. When she didn't respond, he continued, "What is your name?"

"Sueiry. Sueiry Cehualli."

He repeated her name in his mind, nodding. "Very well..." He stood and turned to face her while placing the dagger in his shirt. "To answer your question, Sueiry, I unfortunately must ask a few questions in turn."

She startled when he appeared in front of her again, head snapping back to look him in the eye.

He exhaled away from her, puffing smoke into the air, before leaning forward. "Who taught you your craft?"

Her jaw locked and her cheeks slightly flushed. "I...No one," she softly admitted. When he narrowed his eyes, she lowered her head and wrung her hands. "I...My family, they're followers of Teotlyotl. They would never approve of my beliefs."

He nodded in understanding. While Teotlyotl, one of many native religions of Mēxihco, was rather unknown to him, the idea of "abandoning" one's family's religion was not unfamiliar to him.

This did complicate things, however.

He leaned back. "So, what is it about the path of a witch that calls to you?"

She met his gaze, eyes sparkling. "Everything," she said breathily, a wide smile spreading on her face. "Darkness...it...calls to me. It whispers to me...

"I feel it, the lure of the moon, the echoes of voices in the ethereal blackness. My sisters beckon to me," she said softly, reverently. She wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes lowering to stare at the ground. "There's so much. I wish I could explain. But I sense it all. It's so close yet so far out of reach, but I don't even know what it is. I yearn for it, and I know the Dark has answers."

He broke into a soft smile. "Yeah...That's why you're one of ours."

"That word again." She met his eyes, inquisitive. "What do you mean by that?"

He gathered his thoughts, momentarily glancing away. He took the cigarette between his fingers, and smoke emitted from his mouth as he said, "The Darkness calls to you, you said. And you're not afraid, you're not paranoid. Not many know what that means, to have the Dark whisper your name, and not to fear. From what I understand, humans typically believe it means something...horrible. Obscene. That you're not a 'good person'. It couldn't be further from the truth.

"Light and Darkness...They are merely opposites to one another. Neither is inherently good or evil. As opposites, they may clash, and they often do. Take what happened to my back, for instance." Two of his tentacles emerged from his back again, and he let them curl around his arm. This time, she didn't falter. "I was injured by that Saint, not because I am evil and it is good...but because we're of opposite elements. Fire and water are not inherently evil or good because one douses the other, hm?"

She nodded, and he observed the spark of life and light in her dark eyes. He looked away, chuckling to himself at the irony of that thought.

"In any case, Sueiry..." He looked towards the hidden sky, to the moon. "What we want is to keep you from those Saints. They'll do everything in their power to bring you back to...the Light."

"Why?" She sounded weary. "What makes me special to them?"

"It's...not that, unfortunately. Someone asked them to come for you; they made a deal. What that deal entails, I truthfully don't care, but it does involve you."

She went silent, prompting him to glance back at her. She wore a look of alarm, her eyes wide with suspicion. "My family, maybe...?"

He frowned, placing the cigarette to his lips. "That...is entirely possible. Saints like to think themselves 'high and mighty' in ways that mirror what people think Elevates to be like." He exhaled deeply. "They're truthfully the equivalent of heavenly demons; denizens of Eælan that like to cause mischief and pain."

"Eælan...?"

"Yeah." He turned to her, lips twitching when he took in her dejection.

"I did...something bad, didn't I?" she whispered, closing her eyes.

He played with the word in his mind. "Not 'bad'. Awry. The art of witchcraft is new to you; your prayers went awry and pissed someone off."

"Who was I supposed to be praying to?"

He exhaled deeply, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "That would be us—my brother and me." When she froze and clearly panicked, he sighed, "I said we're gods, didn't I?"

She fidgeted, seemingly unable to decide what sort of action to take at this revelation. "Y-yes, but I...I don't...I wasn't—"

He chuckled, eyes slanting with amusement. "It's fine, dearie. I don't want you randomly bowing to me, anyway; you're not officially a witch."

"Oh..." She stopped fidgeting but continued to stare at him with wide, nervous eyes.

Such expressive eyes...

He waved a hand dismissively. "Even then, don't worry about it. I won't be here for long..." He grimaced, his body pulsing in pain from the dagger. "Shit. First, we have to do something about this Æ̴̳̣̂͑s̵̥̗̀e̶͉͐̓r̸̤̥͋̾-forsaken dagger..."

She looked away, muttering, "I can hold it if it hurts you..."

He chuckled, reaching into his coat to take it out. "I'd appreciate that. I wouldn't know who to give this to, anyway; my witches can't touch it, either."

"Your witches?" She stepped closer as he handed it to her.

"Mm..." He looked to the moon again, hidden beyond the dense tree canopies. "I am the Lord of Dark Witches, a species native to my homeworld."

She was interested; the curiosity wafted from her like steam. Despite this, she only made a soft sound that brought his attention to her again.

She held the weapon in both her hands. It was enormous, and she was no short woman. If not for its peculiar make, he would dare to call it a sword. He spun his finger in the air, weaving a black belt for her that materialized over her clothes.

She slightly startled with a sound of surprise. "Incredible! Thank you...um..."

"Serkis will do."

"Serkis." She smiled at him, sliding the dagger into a makeshift sheathe he made for it.

He managed a small smile, but it was forced. He turned away before she could notice. "Do you live at that bookstore?"

"No, I—" She gasped, bringing his eyes back to her. She placed her hands over her face. "I left my belongings there!"

"Ah. Where?"

"They should be behind the front counter."

"Is it your home?"

"No, the owner is kind enough to let me stay after hours." She walked by him, squinting her eyes in an attempt to see past the perimeter of the violet light. "Where...?"

"I'll get them. And don't worry, Jasck locked the door." He paused. "On second thought, perhaps you should come with me in case the Saints try something foolish."

She nodded, only to gasp and stumble when they suddenly appeared in the bookstore.

He winced at her sudden disorientation. "Ah...sorry. There's a reason I typically use the Dark paths, I suppose..."

"It's alright. I'll have to get used to being in the presence of a deity."

"You won't." He walked past her, eyeing the books on the wall.

"Why not?"

He didn't answer immediately, mulling over the many reasons in his mind. He didn't linger on them long, taking the cigarette between his fingers and looking back at her to flash a humorless smile. "I won't let you."