Lilly stared at the bracelet on Cloudâs wrist, lowering her voice to a whisper. âUncle Cloud, why donât you take it off and give it back to meâ¦â
Cloud was confused. âWhy?â
Lilly said, â Uhhh⦠itâs not good.
Cloud thought that she meant the black bracelet didnât look good, and chuckled. âItâs alright. Black bracelets generally look pretty good on guys. It doesnât matter if it looks good, as long as itâs of use.â
Lilly looked even more uncomfortable.
Well⦠it was indeed useful. Extremely useful, even.
Blake stared at Lillyâs expression, understanding something at last.
He could not even see ghosts and could only sense them, but Cloud could.
From how he had acted at Seanâs house, he could indeed see them.
Blake had been right there too, and there was no way Cloud could see ghosts when he couldnât.
Thus, the only explanation that made sense was that Cloud was wearing something that helped him see ghosts.
There was only one truth, thenâ¦
Blake lowered his gaze, zeroing in on the black bracelet on Cloudâs wrist.
He hadnât known that such a good thing existed.
How dare his little darling not give such a treasure to him?
It was his now, then!
Blake grabbed Cloud by the wrist, and the black bracelet was on Blake the next second.
Daylight robbery?
âGive it back!â Cloud grabbed at it.
Blake smiled lazily. âTrust me, you donât want it.â
Cloud scoffed.
What did he mean that he wouldnât want it!
Blake probably had a whole truck of gifts from Lillyâ¦
Blake already had the bracelet on his wrist, and there was no way Cloud was going to be able to get it from him. No one could take anything from Blakeâs hands.
âYouâre a thief!â Cloud fumed.
Lilly said, âUncle Cloud, Iâll make you another one!â
Cloud shook his head at once. âThatâs alright.â
His brother had said before that Lillyâs protection bracelet took a great deal of her energy to make. She had even fallen unconscious making them before.
And so, Cloud turned to look at Blake with his hand outstretched. âGive it back!â
Blake said, âNo, I wonât.â
Cloud turned to look at Bettany at once. âMom, he took my bracelet!â
Bettany was speechless.
How childish!
How old were they to be snitching on each other like this?
âLilly, letâs keep eating. Pay them no mind.â Bettany put another few chicken feet on Lillyâs plate.
The chicken feet were stewed long enough to be soft to the bite. Lilly had already had a whole plate of them.
Bettany saw that she liked them, and kept refilling her plate. When Lilly couldnât eat anymore, she handed her a glass of hand pressed juice.
Finally seeing that Lilly was truly full and would explode if she ate anymore, Bettany nodded at the leftover food. âYouâre finishing all of this. Donât let it go to waste.â
Blake and Cloud, in the middle of their âfightâ was speechless.
After breakfast.
Lilly waited until Bettany was not around to say to Cloud, âUncle Cloud, you really shouldnât take the bracelet back. Itâs supposed to help you see ghostsâ¦â
Cloud was speechless.What?
Lilly chewed on her yogurt straw. âIf you couldnât see ghosts, you wouldnât have been able to talk to Auntie Harem and the rest. Thatâs why I gave you this braceletâ¦â
Cloud was speechless.
ââ¦â
God, this kid.
What the hell was this bracelet?
He had taken so much care of it, making sure that it was on his hand every night before he went to bed.
He guarded it with his life, treating it as a protection amulet.
Only for it to be that kind of amulet!
Blake asked teasingly, âStill want it?â
Cloud was speechless.
He did not want to speak to Blake.
He wanted a bit of peace and quiet!
Cloud stared at Lilly, frustrated.
She hadnât told him that heâd be able to see ghosts with the bracelet on!
This was more than a lie⦠this was a whole trap!
Lilly admitted to her mistakes meekly. âIâm sorry, Uncle Cloud!â
Cloud looked at her earnest little face, puffed up with guilt. He could not find it in himself to be angry, even if he wanted to be.
âItâs alright.â Cloud pinched her cheeks. âJust tell me beforehand next time!â
Lilly tilted her head. âWould you like there to be a next time, Uncle Cloud?â
Cloud was speechless.
Lilly beamed, giving Cloud a big hug. âUncle Cloudâs going to pass on! I wish you all the best with your future, and hope you excel in your career, your finances and your love life!â
Cloud grunted awkwardly.
âUh, thatâs called leaving. Not passing on.â He paused, before saying, âWho taught you how to say that last line?â
Lilly looked at the air next to her. âMy Master, of course!â
Cloud said, â Oh, that old man with a face paler than Cloudâs uncle who had been dead for three days.
Blake looked over.
The black bracelet was firmly on his wrist. He put it on, opening his third eye.
And saw Pablo floating next to Lilly, flipping through a book as he sat cross-legged.
âSo youâre the master,â Blake said.
Pablo coughed.novelxo.com fast update He would like to be left out of this, thank you very much.
Blake waved the arm with the bracelet on it. âLilly, howâd you make this bracelet?â
Lilly repeated the exact words Blake had said to Cloud. âDad, you donât want to know!â
Blake was speechless..
All of a sudden, the bracelet didnât seem so appealing anymore.
He did not ask any further, and changed the subject instead. âWhereâs the rebel ghost you caught off Sean?â
He had caught the ghost by pure instinct, and suddenly wanted to see what it looked like now.
Just to try out the bracelet, of course.
Lilly yanked the rebel ghost out.
The rebel ghost came out cussing at once. âIâm fifty pounds of skin and bones, and fifty-five pounds of pure rebellion! You canât make me cave in!â
Lilly asked curiously, âWhy would you have five more pounds of rebellion?â
The rebel ghost scoffed. âThatâs just how rebellious I am!â
Lilly did not know what to say all of a sudden. That was, after all, a pretty smooth line.
âHey, brother Rebel Ghost! Whatâs your name, where are you from and howâd you die?â
The weakling spirit had somehow come out of the spirit jar at some point, and was leaning to the side.
The sound of Lilly calling the rebel ghost her âbrotherâ made the weakling spiritâs expression darken, and he glowered at the rebel ghost.
âHis nameâs Hank Channing, heâs thirteen years old. Male, from Novak City in Brookvide. He died getting hit by a car,â the weakling spirit said.
Lilly hummed in confusion. âHowâd you know that?â
The weakling spirit smiled gently. âKill with kindness. I asked him.â
The rebel ghost smirked coldly.
Kill with kindness?
Those answers were beaten out of himâ¦
But it would be too embarrassing to admit, and so he did not mention it.
The rebel ghost turned his face to the side haughtily. âSticks and stones may break my bones, but I wonât give in to you so easily!â
Lilly said, â Ohâ¦
She turned to look at Blake. âWhat should I do, Dad?â
Blake cracked his knuckles. âItâs common for children to not listen to others. You just have to beat them into it.â
The rebel ghost was speechless.
Lilly nodded, taking out her purple sledgehammer at once.
âBrother Rebel Ghost, just let me beat you up a little. Just a little!â
The rebel ghost was speechless.