My Only Reason

Crowley immediately shot his branches from his sleeves and knocked away the chandelier right before it hit my head, although I wished he could’ve saved me from a mini heart attack.

“W-Woah…!” I staggered backward and bumped against a table. “Wh-What…”

“Ho… It appears a group of spirits has suddenly shown up,” said Crowley, whistling. “And wow are they rowdy!”

I looked up, gaping at a swarm of white wisps zipping around like flies to a ceiling light. Unintelligible shrieks and murmurs gradually filled the hall as more spirits emerged from the tiles, and even though they didn’t have faces, I could sense anger and bitter frustration.

“Wow Blanche, what did you do to anger them so much?” asked Crowley.

“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

“...Hmm, then why do they say you did?”

“What? You can understand them?”

Crowley snickered and shrugged. “I’m also a spirit, ya know.”

“What do they say?”

The scarecrow once again stretched an unnaturally wide, malicious smirk. “You sure you don’t already know?”

I squinted at him, but my gaze immediately broke when I caught a glimpse of a white wisp in the corner of my eye. It zoomed straight toward me, but I barely had any time to react as it phased through my torso. I felt nothing out of the ordinary except chills, but I could tell these spirits were beyond enraged—this was a personal attack.

“Crowley, can you get rid of them?” I asked.

“Hehehe, no can do, partner. My abilities are physical—I can’t even hurt them if I tried.”

I clicked my tongue, snatched Crowley’s arm, and bolted through the halls. Of course, these spirits refused to leave me alone, and of course, they made so much noise it attracted other contenders. Talk about annoying!

I skidded to a halt before a group of werewolves and vampires, who all turned around at the entire commotion I carried with me.

The group exchanged confused glances between each other and me, and for a brief moment, none of us said a word.

“Wow, talk about an easy catch,” sneered a vampire. “Hey there, little kitty, how about you… eh? What are you—aaargh?!”

I pulled out my taser, gripped it tightly, and shoved it right onto her stomach, tasering her on the spot. The vampire shrieked and collapsed, eyes widened in total shock and confusion, and even the others began to step away with the same expressions.

I took this chance to dash through them, continuing my sprint through the halls.

“Oh my, you’re more violent than I thought,” said Crowley, whistling. “You had such a scary device this whole time?”

“Th-This is meant for self-defense! You know—there’s always gonna be creepy guys at a party! Besides, these guys aren’t even hu…” Oh, right, they’re possessed humans. Well, it wasn’t like I was aiming for their necks or anything. “Ugh, never mind—you get the idea!”

“Hehehe, sure, sure.” The scarecrow curiously stared down at my handbag. “So, do you have any more interesting tools hiding there?”

I shot a glance over my shoulders, clicking my tongue as the group stubbornly chased me down. “Now’s not the time—can you get us outta here first?” I pleaded.

The scarecrow shot a web of branches barricading the hall, blocking their path entirely. However, it didn’t take long before the group sliced away the thin barrier and continued their chase.

“Ah, it seems like I’m running low on branches,” said Crowley.

“You can run out?” I asked.

He sighed and shrugged. “It takes time to regrow them, y’know.”

Alright. Fine. I had no other choice.

I resumed my sprint, took a sharp turn at a corner, found a rope attached to a table hidden in the ceiling, and stood by it, waiting for the group to catch up. I counted down under my breath as their footsteps grew closer, and when they reached close enough, I untied the knot.

Gravity claimed the table, and my pursuers collapsed through the floor, the weight crushing them all.

Crowley wheezed and cackled maliciously. “Nice! Very nice! I’m impressed, partner! Since when did you set up this trap?”

“What? No, i-it’s not what it looks like. I—erm… uh… that’s…”

I gripped on the rope and looked away, all the while the scarecrow sneered as he towered over me, observing me in a new light. “Heheheh, I assume you didn’t originally plan to trap these poor souls, yes? Tell me, Blanche. Who was this trap for? What is your true reason for attending this party, hm?”

I shot a glare at the scarecrow and said not a word.

“...Hehe, very well then, I shall not pry—I am quite entertained by these surprises anyway.”

I sighed and turned around, ignoring the groans and cries of my pursuers behind me. “You don’t ask questions, and I won’t ask mine,” I said with a deadpan gaze. “But I guarantee you, Crowley, I will hold my end of our deal as promised. Besides, if things go well for me,” I shot a glance at a grandfather clock ticking close to eleven, “you’ll get all your questions answered soon anyway.”