Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

They continued to bound through the woods, hardly able to see what was in front of them in the darkness.
Mulock could hear the massive paws of the beasts thundering behind him, the snarls deep within their throats sending a shiver up his spine. The wolves were gaining on them quickly and it felt like it was only a matter of time before their jaws would finally find them.
Mulock frantically began to let sparks of fire grow from his hands, preparing to create some kind of blockade to stop the creatures from reaching them.
"I think we should stop running," Wheeler suddenly said.
"What?" Priscilla gasped, out of breath. "That's a terrible idea!"
The trio began to zig zag through the upcoming trees, the wolves still following close behind.
"Mully, what do you smell?" Wheeler asked.
Mulock stared at him in disbelief as they continued to race forward. "Why the hell would you ask that in this situation--"
"Just tell me!"
"Uugh, fine." The demon took in a deep breath, the cold night air filling his lungs. "Nothing," he said sharply. "You happy? I smell absolutely nothing."
And then it hit him. His eyes widened slightly at the realization.
Wheeler nodded frantically. "It's weird, right? They're wild animals. Shouldn't we smell them?"
"Yeah," Mulock agreed. "I don't know a single animal without a scent, magical or not."
"That's why I think..." Wheeler came to a screeching halt, now standing dead still in the middle of the snow.
Mulock and Priscilla spun around, eyes going wide in horror.
They could see the wolves now, massive beasts nearly as tall as Priscilla. They were horrible to look at with ragged grey fur and raging yellow eyes, drool dripping from their utterly massive jaws.
Despite the fact that the creatures were charging directly at him, Wheeler appeared calm, not even moving a muscle.
"Wheeler," Priscilla screeched, "what the actual fuc--"
Before she could even finish the sentence, the wolves lunged through Wheeler.
Priscilla and Mulock watched in shock as it happened, attempting to process what they'd just seen. The creatures had quite literally passed through Wheeler—like they were nothing more than wafts of smoke.
Mulock and Priscilla came to a halt as well, and in only a matter of seconds the wolves passed through them too. There was no physical sensation, their forms moving through their bodies as if they were incorporeal.
"What in the..." Priscilla breathed.
"They were illusions," Wheeler explained as the pack disappeared into the darkness. "Just like the ones I created for those kids."
"But how can that be?" Priscilla gaped. "Look." She pointed to the snow covered ground, still littered in a trail of paw prints. "If they aren't real then how did they leave those?"
Wheeler knelt down, running his hands across the prints. As he seemed to have expected, the snow beneath his fingers was completely flat, the indents of animal prints appearing to only be an illusion formed across the snow's surface.
"What the hell?" Priscilla gasped, crouching down to feel the prints as well. "Why make a fake pack of wolves?"
Mulock rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Not for everybody or I wouldn't have asked," Priscilla snapped.
"Someone is creating the narrative that the wolves are behind the disappearances."
Wheeler nodded. "And the villagers running into the pack or seeing their prints makes the story even more believable."
Priscilla's gaze fell back to the tracks. "The wolves must have originated from somewhere, right? By that logic, if we follow the prints then maybe we can find the source of the illusion."
"That's actually a good idea," Mulock said. "I didn't know you were capable of those."
Priscilla responded by giving him a sharp jab to the gut before they took off, trudging through the heavy snow with only the flickering lantern to light their way.
The tracks constantly seemed to twist and turn, but luckily it was fairly easy to track thanks to the fresh sheet of snow. After what felt like at least an hour of walking, the trail finally seemed to end, disappearing into a small cave.
"Alright," Priscilla said with a sigh. "I suppose now's the part where we just hope there's not some crazy child kidnapping murderer in there."
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Wheeler pointed out. "If there is a crazy child kidnapping murderer, we'll have solved the mystery!"
"For some reason that doesn't make me feel better," Prisclla muttered.
"Child murderer or not, we didn't walk all this way for nothing," Mulock snapped. "Get your asses in there."
"Sure," Priscilla said sharply. "Because the last time you told me to go into a cave it went sooooo well."
"God, you need to let that go."
"How am I supposed to let that go? You tried to murder me!"
"And I'll try again if you don't get that frilly pink butt moving."
"Uuuugh, fine," Priscilla said with a huff.
Slowly Wheeler and Mulock made their way into the cave's entrance, Priscilla huddling behind them.
The girl's shoulders relaxed as they finally peered inside, finding it severely lacking in any crazed killers. Instead, the only item in the room was a wand propped up against the back of the cave's wall.
They approached it, eyeing it intently.
"That must be the wand creating the illusion," Wheeler observed. He ran a finger down the line of it, removing a thick layer of dust. "Looks like it's been here for awhile."
Mulock glanced it over, taking in the design and structure of the wood. "It's expensive," he murmured. "A wand like this costs a small fortune. Whoever placed it here wanted to guarantee it would be powerful enough to maintain the illusion for months on end without needing to re-cast it."
"Would any of the villagers even have the funds for something like this?" Wheeler asked.
"Not that I've seen," Mulock replied. "Unless they got it from someone else..." He stopped mid sentence, suddenly sniffing the air.
"Are your cat senses picking up on something?" Wheeler asked excitedly.
"Please don't refer to them as my 'cat senses'," Mulock said flatly. "But yes."
There was something sweet hidden beneath the cave's damp, musty smell. The demon tracked the scent, finally coming upon several items scattered near the back corner of the cave. They were small and round, contained within a crinkled purple wrapper. Carefully, Mulock lifted one up, giving it an experimental sniff.
"Candy," he said.
"Candy?" Wheeler and Priscilla repeated.
He tossed one to Wheeler. "See for yourself."
The boy instantly moved to unwrap it. Thankfully he was stopped by a pointed glare from Mulock.
"Wheeler," the demon said sharply, "don't you dare eat that."
"But what if the taste is a clue?"
"What if it's poison and you end up dead over a dessert?" he countered, snatching it out of Wheeler's hands.
"Okay, yeah. That's a good point."
Mulock turned the candy over. Like the wand, it was covered in a thick layer of dust, its wrapper old and faded. Mulock cringed slightly at the knowledge of how willing Wheeler had just been to put it in his mouth.
"So," Priscilla said, stroking her chin. "Whoever placed the wand here must have accidently dropped them. That means..." She paused dramatically. "We have a candy consuming culprit on our hands."
"Stop trying to make it sound cooler than it is," Mulock said dryly.