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Esther had been aprehensive about the idea of going on a road trip. Not that she didn't like the sound of it, with a multitude of nooks and crannies for her and Abaddon to explore when they got to their destination. No, what she didn't want to do was sit in between her annoying brother and a pouting demon from the 9th circle of hell for an hour and a half.
"The car ride will be fun! Promise." Her mom repeated for the bajillionth time, as she prepared snacks and sandwiches in the kitchen, ready to head out that same morning.
"It would be if you'd let me take my ouija board." Esther sulked, sliding further down her chair at the breakfast table and staring at her cereal as if it had personally offended her.
"I will consume your sustinance if you do not." Abaddon had been eyeing up her bowl for the last 10 minutes, his own already licked clean.
"Nope," snapped Katherine quickly. "One bowl of Froot Loops is enough sugar. Esther, eat yours before Abaddon pops. He's going red in the face."
"I am NOT. I am The High Prince of The Black Realm. I do not simply go red, matriarch."
It was now Nathan's turn to stare hungrily at Esther's cereal. Ben was already practicing his magic tricks at the table. Her family was so weird.
She was in for a long ride.
_____________
The car had been packed efficiently through Katherine barking orders, Esther and Ben hauling picnic stuff and spare clothes into the car, and Nathan standing awkwardly off to the side, unable to help but chiming in with words of encouragement as they worked.
Pretty soon it was almost time to go, apart from-
"Esther, where is Abaddon? I told him to be out the hotel and in the car for 10.00."
"Don't worry mom!" She plastered an innocent smile over the mischevious one. "I'll go fetch him. I think he's still in the vents."
If Esther could just have time to go up to her room, she could not only take the ouija board in her coat pocket, but maybe her black magic book as well. Mom had strictly forbidden anything of the sort coming with them, saying she wanted 'A nice, normal family day out' at which Esther had stiffled a laugh. Since when were they normal?
So before her mom could argue otherwise, she skipped back up the hotel into the now empty hotel. Well, empty of living humans that is.
"Not now Candle Guy." She murmered, almost to herself, as she dodged the hunched man blocking the foyer, his waxy skin glistening with the glowing light of the beloved object he held in his grasp.
"Candles!" He retorted cheerfully.
She hurried on, wanting to make sure not to be too long to stop her mom getting suspicious.
However, just as Esther was about to make straight for her bedroom, she stopped herself as she thought of Abaddon this morning, and grinned. She had a better idea. Taking a swift detour into the kitchen she grabbed her bowl of Froot Loops from earlier, still untouched and left on the counter. It surprised her that he still hadn't spotted them yet.
"Aaaaabaddoooon-" she said to the room at large after coming back out of the kitchen. "You gotta come in the car now or mom's gonna whoop both our butts."
No response.
"Oh well, that's fine then. I'll just eat this bowl of lovely Froot Loops myself-"
"What."
A head had stuck itself out the nearest vent- the one next to the fireplace- covered with cobwebs and a sour expression.
"Nice! Ok, look, you can have this-" she waved the bowl around in one hand, milk sloshing dangerously and spoon clinking on the porcelin "-if you fetch my ouija board from my room."
"You wish to bargain with a being beyond your mere mortal comprehension? To dare-"
"Do you want the Froot Loops or not?"
"A bargain has been struck." And without another word he ducked back into the vents. He may be a demon, but Abaddon just seemed to understand her in a way no-one else did. Like- for instance- her unique interest in black magic. Mom had always told her to get some sort of hobby, after all.
It didn't take long for the small boy to reappear with a clatter, clambering out of the vents like a baby deer first learning to walk, and clutching a folded board, drenched in the colours of blood red and black. He snactched his hard-earned reward silently and funnelled the contents into his mouth in two seconds flat.
She tucked her prized possession away.
"Ok, now come on before mom gets even more annoyed!"
They made their way back out, Esther now with a spring in her step and Abaddon stalking sinisterly behind.
"You seem to have cheered up," her mom commented, glad to see that Esther was finally coming round to the trip... but then her smile faded. "...What have you done now?"
"Nothing mom! Honest! I'm just happy to be heading out! With the fam!" Esther tugged on the car door distractedly and hopped inside, her mom following, and Ababbon crawling over everyone in the back to get to the seat furthest to the left, ignoring the door he could have just opened on the other side.
"Okay bukaroos!" Nathan called out ftom the front passenger seat "Everyone got their seatbelts on for the trip of a life time?"
Ben squirmed as if remembering something unpleasant "Well, yeah, as long as Esther doesn't pull the prank she did last roadtrip."
She smirked. That had been worth the month of being grounded just for the look on his face.
Despite the usual kerfuffle created whenever the family got together like this, the journey was mostly uneventful. This was partly due to Abaddon being considerably calm for his demonic nature, his nose glued to the car window. This was because he was, when questioned, "Looking for Mothman. Our feud continues its saga still."
Ben had his own nose stuck in a book, giving fertive looks toward Esther every so often, expecting yet another prank. She herself had her headphones on most of the time, dodging the questions about her rocky school grades as they drove. It was Nathan who kept up most of the conversation, cheerfully jabbering on about... well that was it, Esther hadn't been listening. But at least he was enjoying himself.
"Travel sweet anyone?" He offered later on, gesturing to a compartment between the front seats.
Curiously, Abaddon reached over and opened it, grabbing the small metallic tin.
"Why do the sweets travel?" He stared at them "They do not seem to move."
Nathan gave him a lopsided smile. "No bud, they're for travel. You eat them on long journeys."
"Do you spontaneously combust if they are eaten when stationary?"
"It'd be my lucky day day..." grumbled Katherine, as she swerved to avoid yet another reckless driver.
But they made it to their destination in one piece a couple of minutes later; a picnic bench by a secluded river in the forest an hour and a half away from the hotel grounds. They parked up in the car spaces nearby and all scrambled out, with Nathan just gliding straight through the closed door.
As soon as Esther's feet touched the gravelled floor she called out "Me and Abaddon are gonna go explore ok see you soon for lunch won't be long bye!" in one breath.
"But Esther!" Ben whined, making her stop in her tracks "You promised to help me unpack! It's not like Uncle Nathan can do much."
Esther idled back over to him slowly and deliberately, a hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "Ben, there will be one day when you are old enough to realise that there is more to life than unpacking grotty peanut butter sandwiches." And she promptly grabbed Abaddon's hand and ran towards the treeline, inviting her to adventure.
"But- What do you mean? I'm older than you!" Ben shouted back.
"Our brethren is correct in his statement."
Esther rolled her eyes dramatically. Abaddon was never one for analogies.
____________
Unapologetic, the fresh moss slid underneath their boots, wet and slippery, causing them to loose what little grip they had. It was dark, yet vibrant, clinging like a makeshift duvet onto every surface: the soil, the branches, the slippery rocks that lay ahead in the direction of the river. The trees on which it lay were staggeringly tall, causing Esther to gasp as she stared up in wonder at their majesty, packed in tightly with each other, competing for the abbundant resources the forest held. Birds of an unknown species chirped high, high above, their calls echoing like forgotten music in the spring air.
This was where she belonged.
Finally, foliage began to thin as they wandered, before breaking to reveal the star of their exploration. The river.
Sunlight stretched her persistant fingers down from the sky onto the water, causing it to bounce off and glitter a million colours- a natural disco ball made of a rainbow spray. Churning liquid poured ferociously over smooth rocks in a never-ending torrent, making its way down the length of the river into the distance of the trees, a twisting meander that evaded their view. She leant on a sturdy oak, admiring the scene set out just for them. It almost rendered black magic powerless in her mind. This was the real magic.
"My shoes are moist."
Abaddon's irritated tone broke whatever spell the natural world had momentarily held over her. Back to the matter at hand.
"Well, if we're not careful, they're about to get a whole lot wetter. See that cave over there?" She pointed across the river to a small, rocky opening that lay in the face of a tree-covered mound. "If we're to use the ouija board anywhere, it's there."
Abaddon eyed the river tentatively "And to do so, we must... cross this deluge?"
"Yeah, but don't worry. I've been over there a hundred times. Just- uh, don't take your eyes off where you're stepping. And random question... but- you can swim, right?"
"Believe me, my doggy paddle is unmatched by any opponent who crosses my path."
"Cool!"
Esther began to make her way across, hopping from boulder to boulder, slippery stone to dry, with Abaddon following closely behind. It was considerably wide, but no worse than anything she had faced before, after all, she knew the safest route to take through years of trial and error. Some trips ending worse than other, with her head plunged deep under its chilly surface.
Oh well, too late to turn back now. If worst came to worst, Abaddon would drag her back out.
Probably.
Luckily, they both made it over in one piece- a fact more than true for Abaddon, what with him always falling to bits at a moments notice. The cave mouth lay infront of them, a lot more imposing now they were up close, the inside immediatly becoming darkness over the barrier between outside and in. Never unprepared, Esther yanked her trusty satchel open to pull out an ancient looking lantern and some matches.
"Don't tell mom i have matches. She'd freak."
"Agreed. As long as you do not inform her of my pet rat i keep in the vents."
"Wait- you have a pet rat and never even told me?!"
With the lantern lit, they stepped forth into the gloom. Into the unknown.
It hadn't changed much from the last time Esther had stepped foot in here, that time being without Abaddon of course. Weak lamp light reflected off the cave walls, shimmering pathetically to illuminate the waterlogged stone. They didn't move too far in, but just enough so the darkness seemed to press in from all sides, the glow of the lamp the only saviour, creating the perfect atmosphere.
She slapped the ouija board down on the floor unceremoniously, the sound reverberating around them. It was weird- she had done this sort of thing for as long as she could remember, but there in the half-dark she felt a pang of nerves.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Ready."
She placed her fingers on the little round counter, as did Abaddon, and then spoke to the room at large. "Is anybody there?."
Silence hung in the echoing space.
Suddenly, before anything else could be said or done, she saw a movement come from the centre of the board. Not the counter, but the shape of a ghostly head apearing out of the ground.
She and Abaddon yelled out in unision, leaping backward and scrabbling to get away. The board had never actually summoned a ghost before.
This ghost, however, seemed strangely familiar, with its brown bushy moustache.
"What're you sports doing sitting in the doom and gloom?"
Esther spluttered in disbelief "Uncle Nathan! What are you doing here? You scared the hell outta us!"
"I for one, was not scared." Muttered Abaddon, more to himself than anything.
"I followed you here," Nathan explained "I thought i could teach you some of my fishing expertise at the river before lunch."
"But... how did you get in the floor?"
Nathan chuckled "Oh, i have my ways when i want to." And he tapped the side of his nose in a thoughtful way, which ended up more comical than mysterious due to his hand passing straight through his face.
She huffed as she watched the lamp light begin to fade. "Ugh, great. That experiment is ruined then. I guess we should head back for lunch before mom starts panicking."
"Lunch would be acceptable." Abaddon murmered, rubbing his devious little hands togther in delight.
As they headed out, with Nathan already floating straight back across the river, Abaddon brought them to a sharp halt, grabbing Esther's wrist.
"Huh? What's up?"
Abaddon writhed awkwardly. It looked like he was trying to swallow something unplesant, or rather, spit something out.
"Despite its failure, i would like you to know that i... enjoy our adventures together. No matter their outcome."
And Esther beamed, and held out her hand in a familiar gesture.
"Shemon."
"Demon."
"Always be scheming." They said the last part in unison. It was their secret handshake. Their motto.
Just for them.