Dana was all business as she started laying out the things for the spell. "Cecil, I'll need you to help me with some of the preparation, then we'll need you to sit in the middle of the bloodstone circle. Carlos, just...stay over there for now."
"Will do," Carlos replied. He knew next to nothing about spells and their casting, so he wasn't planning on doing anything in this spell, considering how much was riding on it. He watched as Dana directed Cecil across the room, placing things in a large circle. "Do you want me to move furniture out of the way?" Carlos asked. Dana looked up at him.
"That would be great," she replied. Carlos immediately got to work pushing his couches back towards the walls and pulling his side table into the kitchen. When he was finished, the room looked as if it had been hit by a mild hurricane, but Dana and Cecil had more room to set up their spell, which was the important part.
"Thanks," Dana said, placing candles in a large circle. "Now, we'll need you for the spell."
"What?" Carlos demanded, looking from Cecil to Dana. "I don't know anything about casting spells!"
"That's okay," Dana replied as Cecil began lighting the candles. "The spell is powerful, so it needs an anchor."
"An anchor?" Carlos repeated dumbly. Dana nodded.
"Cecil is the focus, since we're casting the spell on him. I'm the caster, since I'll be the one doing the actual casting. And you'll be the anchor. You just need to keep us here."
"What do you mean?" Carlos asked, feeling a little nervous about this.
"This spell is so powerful that, if we don't have an anchor, Cecil and I could drift away. You're here to make sure we don't. All you have to do is concentrate on what keeps you here. As long as you concentrate, it'll all be okay."
"That's not exactly reassuring," Carlos replied nervously. Cecil put a hand on Carlos' shoulder and handed him the notebook.
I believe in you, it read simply. Carlos took a deep breath and nodded.
"I'll do it," he told Dana. She smiled softly.
"Okay. Cecil's going to sit in the center of the bloodstone circle." Cecil sat in the exact center of the circle, crossing his legs into the lotus position. "Carlos, you need to sit due west." Cecil pointed which way was west - Carlos didn't ask how he knew without a compass - and Carlos sat down where Dana directed him. "And I'm sitting to the east," Dana finished, sitting down on the opposite side of the circle from Carlos.
"So I need to concentrate on what keeps me here?" Carlos asked. Dana nodded. "Here as in...?" he asked, his voice trailing off.
"As in Night Vale," Dana replied. "Do you need a moment or-"
"I've got it," Carlos answered, staring intently at Cecil. He was what kept Carlos in Night Vale, no matter what happened. Cecil was facing north, but he turned and flashed Carlos a quick smile before turning back. Carlos concentrated on that smile, letting flitting thoughts of Dana enter his mind, as well as thoughts of Erika and Old Woman Josie. He thought briefly of John Peters (you know, the farmer?) and of Big Rico of Big Rico's Pizza and of Tamika Flynn, concentrating on all of his friends in Night Vale. Carlos shut out any thoughts of the horrible things that could happen in Night Vale, focusing on the good, on Officer Marcel, his Sheriff's Secret Police officer, and the other officers who were joining him to watch Carlos' house while Cecil was there.
"I'm going to start the spell," Dana said softly. Carlos nodded, continuing to concentrate. Dana began murmuring in a language Carlos didn't understand as Carlos continued to concentrate. Cecil hissed in a sharp breath, which almost caused Carlos to lose focus. But Cecil relaxed quickly after that, so Carlos went back to his internal litany of reasons he stayed in Night Vale.
Before long, Carlos could feel the magic Dana was casting, like it was some sort of thick, cloying perfume in the air. It smelled faintly of spices and blood, a fairly repulsive mix. But the power of the spell was intoxicating. Carlos found it harder and harder to focus on anchoring himself - and, by extension, the others - to Night Vale. But he couldn't stop. Dana had made that quite clear. Carlos pushed away thoughts of the power of the spell and instead focused on Cecil, Dana, Old Woman Josie, Tamika, Erika, John Peters (you know, the farmer?), Big Rico, Officer Marcel, all of his friends in Night Vale... He had to focus.
Dana's chanting grew louder and louder. Carlos pressed his eyes closed to concentrate. Cecil looked pained, which was ruining Carlos' focus. As much as he hated it, he had to close his eyes and focus.
Dana was yelling. Carlos was concentrating. Cecil was gasping, sounding pained. Carlos didn't look at him, he couldn't. He had to focus. He had to focus!
Dana screamed the end of the spell. Carlos forced himself to keep thinking about Night Vale. Cecil let out a hoarse cry. A wave of power flooded over Carlos like a tsunami, almost pushing him backwards. Dana stopped chanting, Cecil's labored breaths returned to a normal rate, and Carlos cautiously opened his eyes.
"You did a good job," Dana told him, sounding exhausted. "You can stop now."
Cautiously, Carlos stopped his litany of names and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Did it work?" he asked Dana. She shrugged.
"It should have," she replied. "But I don't know where the caster is."
Cecil let out a panicked squeak. Carlos and Dana looked at him quickly to see him pointing forward. In front of them was a horrifyingly familiar figure.
"Hello," said a horrible voice as teeth and lips curled into a terrifying smile. Carlos' eyes went wide.
If not for the eyes - the empty, soulless, black eyes - Carlos would have thought he was staring at Cecil.
