Luke was returning to Addams Manor in the peculiar Addams family limousine driven by Lurch.
Fortunately for Luke, he was discharged immediately after Nurse and Professor Fitts conducted an intense examination. They realized Luke had already recovered from the PLPE. When they saw Luke awake, their faces turned to confusion and doubt. It was as if they were seeing a ghost. It was amusing to see their expressions, and Luke also gathered from their reactions that an PLPE was a serious matter, which explained why Wednesday was so strict about the use of his psychic powers.
However, after the examination confirmed he was in excellent condition, they cleared him and told him he could use his powers unless he noticed anything unusual or out of the ordinary.
Sitting next to Luke was Wednesday, staring straight ahead with her usual emotionless expression. Unlike the previous trip to Addams Manor, this time, Fester was accompanying them, seated between Morticia and Gomez.
Luke appreciated this seating arrangement, as it prevented Gomez and Morticia from starting their affectionate displays, with Fester acting like a dividing mountain between the two.
“So…” said Morticia, breaking the silence after nearly five minutes of just glances in a tense atmosphere.
“First, you two sneaked into my study to copy the resurrection ritual. Second, you killed normie criminal gangs to collect limbs. And third, you resurrected Crackstone and killed him. Though that wasn’t the end, because you encountered Dolores Spellman, who nearly killed them,” Morticia said, listing all the events succinctly.
Luke avoided making eye contact with Morticia. Were they about to get scolded? He and Wednesday had acted recklessly for their age.
Would Wednesday’s parents blame him, like Enid’s mother had, saying it was his fault her daughter nearly died?
Wednesday looked at her mother without a hint of guilt or shame for breaking into her private study and rummaging through her things. She would do it again if necessary.
During the two days she had been at Nevermore, she hadn’t left Luke’s side, which spared her from this bothersome conversation.
Before she could respond with, “So what?” her father spoke up loudly, his booming laughter filling the space.
“Hahaha! That’s my guys! Well done!” Gomez laughed.
As Gomez laughed, Fester joined in, his laughter unstoppable. Unlike Gomez’s, Fester’s laugh was like the creaking of an old door, with an erratic rhythm that made it eerie.
Luke glanced at the bald, extremely pale man, so pale he almost looked sickly, with a strange expression. Thanks to this man, they had survived Dolores and managed to defeat her.
Luke had never imagined meeting Uncle Fester in such a way. His appearance had been a great blessing and stroke of luck.
Luke wanted to kiss his bald head in gratitude but figured it would be too strange-though perhaps not for the Addams family.
“This reminds me of our own mischief, brother!” exclaimed Gomez, calming his laughter but still wearing a broad smile.
Fester nodded with a nostalgic expression. “Remember, Gomez? That time we summoned the spirit of Barnabas Addams in the family cemetery.”
“How could I forget? We were fourteen and had to fight for over two hours before that old geezer with Alzheimer recognized us as Addams,” said Gomez, giving his own leg an enthusiastic slap.
“Though bringing Crackstone back to life is much more impressive!” Gomez added, looking back at his daughter and Luke with pride.
“They’ve definitely outdone us, brother,” said Fester, stroking his chin as if pondering the magnitude of the feat.
Luke hadn’t expected to be praised. He thought they’d scold him for such a dangerous act, but instead, they were putting him on a pedestal. It wasn’t bad at all.
Wednesday wasn’t surprised by this. She had already anticipated her family’s reaction. She knew them too well.
“Let’s get back on track,” Morticia interrupted Fester and Gomez, who had begun reminiscing about their teenage exploits.
“Your plan was perfect up until the point when you killed Crackstone. You did everything well, but why was Dolores Spellman there?” Morticia asked, fixing her gaze on Luke and
Wednesday.
Morticia knew something was missing. Why would Dolores be in the Nevermore crypt and ambush them after they killed Crackstone? It was too much of a coincidence.
How did she know that Luke and Wednesday were going to resurrect Crackstone? And why was she in Jericho?
She knew her daughter and Luke had flown to Jericho at night, making it impossible for Luke’s enemies to have discovered their plans.
Luke and Wednesday exchanged glances for a few seconds.
[You explain it to them] Wednesday said through their telepathic link.
“She was there because…” Luke began, launching into an explanation that lasted several minutes.
Gomez and Fester’s expressions grew more serious as Luke recounted his statements about the family’s dealings with demons.
Luke based his explanation on the brief memory scan he managed to perform on Atlas before Atlas’s brain exploded. That’s when Luke uncovered the true motive behind the Spellmans’ revival of Crackstone.
They were after the demonic book hidden in the crypt, which was why Dolores was there. Most likely, she had been watching the place who knows for how many days-or perhaps she was there because of the lunar eclipse. They would never know for sure.
Luke left out the beginning of the story, which started with Edgar fighting against Edward and his brother. He only mentioned that the war between the Poes and the Spellmans stemmed from the former discovering the satanic dealings of the latter.
The undeniable proof he witnessed was the memory scan he performed on Atlas, in which Elliot, the current patriarch, instructed Atlas to retrieve the demonic Soyga book under any circumstances.
Whether they believed him or not was their problem. Wednesday had already believed Luke, even before this. She trusted him after he explained everything to her in the woods of Jericho, following their observation of the original cult house where Atlas and his group were staying. “The Spellmans making deals with demons?” Morticia murmured more to herself than to anyone else, her gaze fixed on the car floor as she sank into thought.
Gomez and Fester were also deep in thought. If this were true, it would be serious indeed for one of the six great psychic families to be conspiring with demons.
“I know you saw a peculiar book in Crackstone’s hands, but it’s hard to believe it could be one of the six primary demonic books,” Morticia commented after a few seconds of silence. Those books are exceedingly rare. Some haven’t been seen in hundreds of years. They don’t just appear out of nowhere.
“A book from a mid-level demon couldn’t have given him that much power. Crackstone was a weak normie. It would be impossible for him to reach such heights of power with a book from
a mid-level demon. I fought him, so I know,” Wednesday said, speaking for the first time, her tone as cutting as ever.
“And how do you know how powerful a mid-level demon’s book would be?” Morticia asked
with a faint smile.
“I’ve seen records,” Wednesday replied.
“Darling, it seems you’ll need to improve the security of your office,” Morticia said, glancing at Gomez, who merely smiled faintly without saying a word.
“Besides, what does it matter if it was one of the primary demonic books or one from a mid-
level demon? The Spellmans were there to steal a demonic book. That was their goal from the start, along with wanting to kill Luke. So, their connection to demons is obvious,” Wednesday stated firmly, and silence once again filled the space.
For Morticia, it was hard to believe that a family like the Spellmans would make deals with demons. It was a huge taboo, one even Goody Addams never crossed, despite her book being
incredibly dark.
Her own family, the Frumps, were supremacists and enamored with whitecraft, but her mother had always been very strict about the subject of demons. It was a line that could not be
crossed.
However, what Wednesday had shared was damning for the Spellmans, and Morticia believed
her daughter wholeheartedly.
The Addams were aware that Crackstone had made deals with some demon to gain his
powers, but none of them believed he had obtained one of the six primary books. Goody Addams had never mentioned anything about that.
Even Edgar, one of the brightest leaders the Department of Demon Extermination ever had, didn’t know about it. He, too, believed that Crackstone had made a deal with a mid-level
demon.
“Whether they stole the Soyga book or a mid-level one, we don’t know what purpose they’ll use it for. But if they want it so desperately, it can’t be for anything good,” Morticia
concluded.
“I guess there’s no other choice,” Gomez said with a crooked smile.
“What do you mean?” Luke couldn’t help but ask, not understanding Gomez’s comment.
“That the Addams family is getting involved in the feud between the Poes and the Spellmans!” Gomez replied, his smile widening.
“I can already smell the war brewing!” Fester said, inhaling deeply with a maniacal grin.
“I suppose it’s inevitable,” Morticia added with a faint smile and a glimmer in her eyes.
‘That easy?’ Luke thought, surprised. He didn’t even have solid evidence-just his and Wednesday’s words.
What Luke didn’t understand was the faith Gomez and the others had in Wednesday’s words. They took her statements as gospel, and if she believed in Luke, why wouldn’t they? Wednesday gave a slight nod, satisfied with how things had unfolded. She wasn’t stupid. A war against the Spellmans couldn’t be fought by just her, Luke, and Natasha. While she typically preferred handling matters on her own, she wasn’t so stubborn when it came to something this delicate.
“By the way, why didn’t you come to my birthday?” Wednesday asked, abruptly changing the
subject and fixing Fester with an icy stare.
Fester’s excitement about the imminent war vanished as he quickly began explaining why he
had missed her birthday.
“I got sidetracked on my way. I knew it was your birthday and wanted to get you a special gift.
It worked out perfectly when I ran into a Hyde that had killed over 15 people near the Canadian
border. The bastard was slipperier than I expected, and it took me a bit longer to hunt him down. That’s why I was late,” Fester explained, gesturing animatedly with his hands. “When I got there, you weren’t home, so I started looking for you and eventually tracked you
to Jericho. The rest, you already know,” Fester finished, giving a few taps to a rusty bracelet
on his left wrist.
“Stupid piece of junk,” Fester muttered, giving the rusty bracelet several more knocks.
Finally, after a few hits, the bracelet spat out a black bag containing something round.
“Here, happy sixteenth birthday, Wednesday,” Fester said with a smile, handing her the black
bag.
Wednesday took the bag, placed it on her lap, and opened it. Staring back at her were large,
lifeless, reddish eyes. It was the head of a Hyde.
“To hang in your room,” Fester added.
“Nice,” Wednesday said, examining the head with what seemed to be a mix of morbid
admiration and satisfaction. Her fingers traced the creature’s rough features.
Luke wasn’t paying attention to the charming scene of his girlfriend inspecting a grotesque
creature’s head with obvious delight.
He was still stunned by how easily the Addams family had accepted the notion that the
Spellmans were making deals with demons-even Gomez had outright declared they would get involved in the war!
Luke had just achieved something no Poe had managed before: convincing a psychic family to
join the war against the Spellmans. And not just any family-one of the six great ones.
[Natasha. Looks like we’ve got reinforcements] Luke said through their telepathic link.
[What?] Natasha replied, confused, as she listened to music while tailing the Addams’ limousine closely.
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