Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Stranger Neighbour

Read chapter 3 of Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

The ground shifted again. Hazel screamed as she scrambled over the sea of human skulls and finally managed to gather enough strength to hurl herself out of the retracting soil. The turbulent floor slammed into her again, knocking the wind out of her. Everything spun as Hazel rolled over some dried leaves before finally coming to a stop. She adjusted her spectacles and finally took in the sight before her. Her stomach rebelled as she heaved in disbelief. There was nothing left in her but acid and primal terror. What stood before her was the same gigantic tree, except that the knots in its bark were human faces, every one of them frozen in an eternal scream. The tree balanced itself on a carpet of skulls supporting its roots, swinging its branches wildly like a certain willow tree from the Harry Potter books. “Oh my god. It’s a Jubokko, the vampire tree!” Hazel squealed in both fright and excitement. “Can you believe it, Tomoko? An honest-to-god Yokai, here in America! How?” Tomoko responded with a silent stare, still fixated on the Yokai. Her eyes glazed over as though she were in some kind of shock or trance. Hazel yelped as vines seized her limbs roughly without warning, pulling her into the air. Her mouth hung open in shock at the wooden face in front of her. It smiled at her. No, not quite a human smile. Its mouth was a little too small, its eyes a little too blank, and its face was a little misshapen. But even with those differences, its expression was remarkably similar to a human one, in an uncanny valley sort of way. Tube-like twigs extended from its face, wriggling towards Hazel’s body like a gang of bloodthirsty snakes. “ It’s going to take my blood just like in the stories I’ve read! ” The girl’s mind spun with excitement, although her body was struggling against her restraints. “ I wonder how that’s going to feel like— ” “Oi, oi! Over here, ya ugly mug!” Hazel craned her neck at the familiar voice. She couldn’t quite make out the figure in the dark, but there was no mistaking that voice. Several glowing shurikens burst into view, slicing through the twigs that were holding her up. Her stomach lurched as she plummeted to the ground, but she found herself in the arms of yet another familiar face. “That was a close one. You alright, Hazel?” Liam Davis landed gracefully and set the girl down. “ Liam?! What— How— Huh?” Hazel sputtered in confusion. “Why are you here? Are you… Is that a cloud you’re standing on?!” Liam was dressed as though Halloween had come early. A dark mahogany robe draped his body from his shoulders all the way down to his feet, and his fingers were glowing with some sort of yellow smoke. He drifted gracefully to the ground and stepped off his cloud. “It’s… complicated.” Liam set Hazel down, putting a hand on his hand in mild embarrassment. “Well, you see… I’m from a society of—” “Oi! Stop faffing around already. Hurry up and help me!” Hazel’s eyes widened even further as Chester Watson literally floated into view, dressed in the same outfit as Liam. He flipped over another murderous tree trunk, flinging a handful of glowing shurikens at the Jubokko to distract it. “Try this on for size!” Purple flames burst to life in his palm, and he hurled them at the lunging monster. The fire went straight through the Yokai as though it wasn’t there. “What the—” A giant branch crashed into Chester’s chest, sending him flying away. Liam clasped his hands together, muttering under his breath as yellow light glowed fiercely through his body. He stomped hard on the ground and sent a wave of jagged ice towards the monster. The Jubokko froze briefly before breaking out of the ice easily. It swatted Liam away as well. Runic symbols blinked over the boy’s body as he crashed in front of Hazel. “Bloody hell, Mum was right.” Chester flew towards his friend as though he were as light as a feather, brushing the soil off his robes. “Our Western magic isn’t very effective on Yokai.” “At least our protection spells still work.”