"No matter what we breed, we're still made of greed. This is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come. When you feel my heat, look into my eyes. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide. Don't get too close, it's dark inside. It's where my demons hide." -Imagine Dragons, Demons.
"Pass me those herbs," Hazel whispered to Sammy as she licked her mocha fingers and placed them on the already weakened candle flame. There was a hissing noise and they were now alone in the darkness of the almost empty house. Sammy tried not to shiver, and ignored how the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He grabbed the bowl of reddish herbs and hesitantly handed it over to her. He was in love with Hazel Levesque, that he could no longer deny. He just wanted more than anything to run away with her- to take her away from this tainted life that she had to live in. Every time he saw the sadness in her golden eyes it felt like a knife to the chest. The urges to grab her, hold her, and never let her ago were getting far too intense to deal with. "Thanks."
"Why are we doing this again?" He whispered to her, and his voice wavered. Fortunately, she didn't notice as she sprinkled a pinch of it into the water. He could barely make her out- the only light that they had was the moonlight that was streaming through the worn down window in streaks of silver.
Hazel breathed out a depressed sigh, and he felt like kicking himself for prying. "M-my mom. She's acting...strange. Bad. I want to fix her."
"Fix her how? With-" he cut himself off before he could say witch craft. He never believed that Hazel was a witch. And even if she was, it didn't matter. If this was hell then he never wanted to leave. Hazel brushed back a curl, her eyes flickering with intensity and determination. Sammy always knew that Queen Marie was quite peculiar. Definitely bad. He had seen the way she treated Hazel with such neglect and abuse. Seen the way she stared at her with love.
She stared at Hazel with love. But not pure love. She loved Hazel like a dragon loves it's gold- like an object that she could toy with. Maybe she did love Hazel purely, but it was a twisted kind of love. A love that Sammy Valdez did not appreciate.
"With voodoo. I know it's wrong, Sammy. I just can't bear it anymore." Her voice cracked and her hand reached up to brush a tear away.
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, hugging her partially. "I know. I know, Hazel. But are you sure you want to do it like this- this way?"
"It's dark." She fastened a needle to the doll that they had made together. "I'm not positive to what I'm doing exactly, but I need to- I need to- I need to do this." Working faster, she tied the string around the legs so it wouldn't fall apart. It had been a difficult task for Hazel to do, Sammy inferred. She had confessed to him that she had to get a piece of hair from Queen Marie without her knowing, and had done so when she was resting.
"You don't have to do this with me. I don't want you to do this with me- only because I'm afraid of what you'll think of me afterwards."
"I know," his tone was bitter humor. "You told me countless times. I could never think less of you, Hazel."
"You say that now..." Hazel said weakly.
"I'm your best friend. Forever and for always."
"Promise?"
"Promise," he swore, placing a hand over his heart. He kissed her cheek quickly- he didn't know why he did it, but it seemed like the right thing to do in the moment. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but it looked like her cheeks were red. She gave him a tentative, shy smile, smoothing out her dress. That was his Hazel.
"Let's get this done, then." He grabbed the doll gently from her trembling fingers and began to fix the loose knots, making them strong and tight. He tried not to think about the fact that her mother was upstairs sleeping and any moment she could come down and catch them in the act. He attempted not to think about how Hazel's hands were trembling.
She had never told him the direct reason towards why she was doing this, and what she was doing to her mother, but that didn't matter to him. If her plans were to murder her mother, (which he didn't think she would do) he would help her bury the body.
Hazel stirred the herbs together, crunching them and smothering them to particles of dust floating in murky water. Sammy was unaware of the contents in the bowl, and he didn't want to know.
"I used to watch my mother perform this on clients when I was younger," she exclaimed. "I hope I have it right."
He blinked. Her hands were shaking again, the bowl tapping against the table roughly.
He didn't think twice before grabbing it from her, frowning. She stared up at him with wide, golden innocent eyes, filled with fear. He knows she's not innocent though, not nearly.
"Let me finish this for you," he murmured quietly. Her mouth fell open half ajar, like she wanted to protest, but the look on his face stopped her short.
"Okay."
He continued to stir as Hazel took a seat on a chair, her face a sickly pale color.
"It's going to be alright, Haze." She nodded curtly, understanding and processing the words, but he knew that his words weren't the truth or enough to help her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Sammy poured the chunky water over the voodoo doll. It was made of hay, which he had brought over from the stables for her. It immediately became soggy, but Sammy figured that was alright because Hazel didn't comment negatively on it. He tiptoed over to the other side of the room and cringed when the floor creaked beneath him.
Sammy had never been in Queen Marie's house before and the moment that he had took a step inside a cold, unsettling feeling passed over him. It seemed to affect Hazel too, but she simply brushed it off.
Hazel climbed upward now, and seemed to collect herself. He noticed how her feet would touch certain parts of the floor, like she was dancing gracefully. The floorboards that she danced upon didn't creak at all, and he found himself feeling bittersweet and impressed at the same time. She had managed to memorize all the dead spots on the floor so she could move as stealthily as a ghost.
"I have demons, Sammy." She said grabbing more ingredients and holding them tightly in her arms. "Not literally; metaphorically." She paused. "There in my eyes. That's where my demons hide."
He didn't-couldn't comprehend this and found himself mesmerized by her words, not disturbed like he had previously expected. "I never wanted to let her down, but I am hell bound. She's made of greed, and yet... this is all for her."
Sammy Valdez stood there, unable to move. Not petrified, but filled with such sadness for the brunette girl.
"It's so dark, Sammy. Everywhere. That's why I'm doing this. I want to make her proud of me- I want her to be happy. I want the voice to go away."
His thoughts finally caught up with his mouth, "the voice?"
"A demon is possessing her. Only it's not a demon."
She grabbed a paintbrush from behind him and drew a smile on the voodoo doll's scraggly face. "I want her to be happy. The smile's for happiness."
She poured a pink liquid over the doll. "I want her to love me. The pink is for love." A blue pin was grasped tightly in her hand- so tight that her knuckles turned a white shade. "A blue pin also represents love." She took a piece of paper from the side of her- a picture of Hazel that was cut into a heart. She pinned it on where the voodoo dolls heart would be.
She grabbed the white pin and pinned a marshmallow to the hand of the doll. "The white is for positive energy. I want it to work."
"There," she breathed, and he noted how exhausted she looked once she lit a new candle. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, but no sound escaped her lips. She was crying painfully, but silently. Bracing the pain and bearing it. "It's done." She glanced sideways at him, beckoning for him to come closer.
He obliged, and stood next to her proudly. They were doing something wrong, but with Hazel here it was somehow right.
"You should leave."
"Best friends. We're best friends. I should leave, but I won't."
She nodded at him and he squeezed her hand encouragingly. She pulled her hand away from his, and instantly he felt cold.
Hazel's hands fell over the doll, then glanced at a piece of parchment next to her filled with inevitable words. She then began to say a spell in- what language was that? Greek. "πνεύματα παραπάνω, έρχονται πρόλογο και κατέχουν αυτή την κούκλα. kατεδαφίσει αυτό. Είμαι αιώνια οπαδός σας. Ελάτε πρόλογο, μεγάλα πνεύματα oh παραπάνω και να ανάψει αυτό κούκλα με τη θέλησή σας. Βοηθήσω τη μητέρα μου. Βοήθειά της για να δει την αλήθεια χρησιμοποιώντας αυτές τις παρακάτω. Η κούκλα θα γίνει την ευτυχία. Η κούκλα θα γίνει αγάπη. κατεδαφίσει αυτό." She finished it breathlessly, breathing heavily.
They both flinched as lightning crackled above.
"Did it work?" Hazel didn't respond as she lit a match and went to burn it.
CREAK.
CREAK.
"Hazel?" Queen Marie called out groggily from the top of the stairway. "Is that you?"
Their eyes met in the darkness.
"Come on," Sammy urged collecting the doll. "We need to hide this."
Hazel blinked, shaking her head. "There's no time." She began to shove him. "Go!"
"Wait-" he tried, but she had already slammed the door in his face. He heard he lock click and stood there, petrified for Hazel.
"What are you doing?" Their voices were still audible over the roaring of rain. "Oh, no! Give me that, Hazel! This better not be what I think this is!"
"Mother-"
"Don't you dare mother me! Get rid of this before you do anything that causes sincere damage!"
The rain continued to pour down, soaking his empery colored curls. Sammy stood there, and pretended that he didn't hear Hazel's chocked sobs.
He pretended that Hazel's demons weren't there.
"Look into my eyes. It's where my demons hide."
A/N: I was listening to Imagine Dragon's Demons for like, the millionth time and this fanfic got stuck in my head. I know this is similar to HecateA's Voodoo story, but I honestly had no intention of my story ending up so similar. I wrote this first, then I read HecateA's. She/He is an amazing, fantastic writer by the way. Check out her stories- there's a lot! Anyways, partial storyline credit goes to HecateA for giving me some inspiration. Reviews, followers, favorites, and reads are all appreciated!