“Drew!” My youngest sister called out to me in the snow. “Drew!” She exaggerated the ‘ew’ sound in my name making it last longer than it normally would. I looked at her annoyed. “What do you want, August?” Suddenly, everything became cold. That’s all I felt on my face, a numbing cold. I wiped snow out of my eyes and gave her my best teenage girl look. “Really, August? Really?” She sat there and giggled. I forgot how wonderful it must be to be 6 years old. Lost in your own little world. Of course, we didn’t belong to this Earthly world which we were contained to. We belonged to a lovely world of magic, a world that is hidden well from any mortals. Our world is full of vampires, fairies, werewolves, warlocks, and almost any other mythical creature you can imagine. Except unicorns, sadly, we have no unicorns. It’s very weird knowing there are two worlds co-existing and that you have to pretend to live in one but you truly live in another. My family and I are hybrids, my mother is a warlock and my father was a werewolf. (Note: Werewolves do not take kindly to it when you refer to the full moon as “their time of the month”)

I hear the front door slam behind me. I hope with my whole heart that it’s my twin brother, Declan. Warlocks are very short tempered, that includes my mother. I am not wearing a coat and my mother forgets how warm bodied werewolves are and how they do not need a coat, even living in the outskirts of Boston. We don’t sound like Bostonian’s though, we just moved here a few years ago from Dublin. I hear my mother’s sharp tone from behind me “DREW ANN MORGENTON! WHERE IS YOUR COAT?” I turn around and say “Mother, I am more werewolf than I am warlock. I don’t need a coat.” My mother rolls her eyes and walks back inside. Warlocks are also apparently very sassy.

Declan walks out from behind our house laughing at me “You just got ripped one,” his voice becomes very mocking of our mother “Drew Ann” I laugh and look at him. “Shut up Declan Edward!” We both laugh; middle names are thrown around at our house constantly. Mostly because our mother gave birth to a set of trouble making twins 16 years ago. Declan is similar to me, more werewolf than anything. Our father would be proud of him; he makes a lovely man of the house. Our father passed a few years back, shortly after our move to America. I feel bad for August, she doesn’t remember him well and she was only 3 when he passed. The wind blows harshly around us and August complains of the cold. She appears to be more warlock than Declan and I. She doesn’t show the defining werewolf characteristics that Declan and I have been showing since birth. She runs and hugs Declan knowing he is going to be warm. She loves him more than anything. She might love him even more than I do considering I don’t love him all the time. I can’t love him constantly because he is my twin. It’s pretty often a love/hate relationship but we get along for the most part. I mean we kind of have to, considering we share a room.

Declan picks up August and holds her tightly. She looks beyond him and I know then that something is different. “What is it Gus?” Declan asks her. She points to a group of weeping willow trees off in the distance. I’m already getting an odd feeling from that place seeing as it wasn’t there before now. Declan and I exchange glances, unsure of what to do. August looks at us and says “We have to go.” I go to protest but Declan looks at me reassuringly and says “I’m sure it’s nothing weird, Drew. We probably just never noticed it. It’s probably been there for years!” “Yeah,” I mutter “3 years living here and I’ve never noticed creepy trees in my backyard.” I followed them reluctantly. I mean, I was Drew. I’m fearless. I get in fights constantly because someone looked at me funny. Why was I scared of some weird trees?

We approached the trees cautiously and Declan stepped in front of August and I, motioning to wait. He walked in before us and I watched him look around. A childlike grin spread across his face. “You guys have to come see this” He yells laughing. I smile and walk in with August. I look around and the snow falls peacefully through the canopy of trees. It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Suddenly the wind blows harshly and the trees become scary looking. Declan and I exchange worried glances. We each grab one of August’s hands. “Maybe we should go now.” Declan suggests and August and I nod in agreement. We walk to the edge of the trees only to find we are trapped. The trees have become knotted together to form a barrier around us. A familiar chill enters the air. I look at Declan and see him looking back at me. We both know what’s about to happen. We’ve gotten ourselves into enough trouble involving these creatures to know when they’re present. August looks at us scared and I know we don’t have long enough to explain.

Black smoke starts to fill the air around us. Swirling, twirling, and seeming to consume the world. Our world; our beautiful canopy. The smoke dissipates and I turn around to see 3 men staring at us. The middle man smiles at us. “Oh dear, if it isn’t the infamous Morgenton twins. Oh! This must be the youngest Morgenton child. August, is it?” “Shut up!” Declan snaps. The two other men lunge for Declan but the middle man grabs them by their tailcoats. “Wouldn’t want to dirty ourselves would we?” He steps forward to us “I am Daniel, -““We’ve met.” Declan snapped at him. “Ah yes,” Daniel says. “I had almost forgotten.” August looks at me. “What are they?” She whispers in a voice like a mouse. “Demons.” I answer. Her face pales and her eyes become the size of grapefruits. Daniel steps towards us. “There, there child. Don’t be afraid. We won’t hurt you.” I stiffen at the idea of any of us getting hurt. “We only want to see how well your sister can fight. We’ve heard many stories.” Declan jumps in front of me. “You won’t touch her!” Daniel smiles at us. “Very well, have it your way.” Before I know it, Declan is surrounded by Daniel’s goons and is withering in pain on the ground. August is screaming with tears running down her face and before I know it, I feel tears running down my cheeks. “Stop it! Stop it please!” I cry out. “I’ll fight you! Anything you want! Just stop it!” Daniel motions his goons to back up. “So child, you are willing to fight my men here?” “Yes.” I try to sound confident but I think I am failing. Daniel smiles “I knew you would come to your senses with a little, persuading.” I pull Declan to his feet and he shakes his head. “Don’t do this Drew.” I look at him very blankly and say “I have to Dec. It can’t be that bad.”

Soon I am standing with my back against the outer edge of the trees with Adam, one of Daniels goons opposite me. “On 3,” Daniel says “1, 2, 3” I am suddenly running full force at a grown man, or should I refer to him as a demon? I leap on to him, punching, kicking and screaming. He is pinned down in a matter of seconds. Daniel counts to 3 and declares me the winner of that round. I stand up and return to the trees as Steven, the bigger of the 2 faces me. Daniel smiles, I know he is thinking I can’t win against Steven. I will prove him wrong. He repeats the countdown and I once again hurdle myself towards my opponent. I am thrown on the ground with Steven on top of me. I can hear Declan cheering me on in the background. He always has been my biggest cheerleader. I am kicking at Steven and fighting to gain dominance in this fight. I am able to hit him in a weak spot, causing hesitation in my attacker. I use this to my advantage to flip him over and pin him down. It is the longest 3 seconds of my life until Daniel declares me the winner with a frown. I stand up and smile. Declan is smiling at me and looks more relieved than I’ve ever seen him. “You’ve won, this time.” Daniel snaps at us and then disappears with his men.

The trees untangle and it becomes beautiful once again. If I hadn’t just seen true evil within it, it would have completely engrossed me with its beauty. I look at Declan and suggest we go home. He agrees and leads August and I back through the snow to our house. We walk in and sit down at the kitchen table. Mother comes in and hands us all hot chocolate. She looks at us and says “You wouldn't believe what happened today!” I look at her and say “Try us.”