Chapter 11
"I'll do it." He said.
Mathew gasped. "Non. Ivan, don't." He looked to Mr. Winter desperately. "There has to be another way! Can't we just use a steak or something?"
"Only if you want to turn into a cow." Mr. Winter shot back angrily. At Matthew's look he softened. "Theres no other way. It has to be human and it has to be fresh. And if he does this voluntarily, then I will do everything in my power to make it as painless as possible."
Matthew was about to argue but Ivan stopped him. "I'm not going to let you hurt anymore strangers, Matvey."
"AND HOW IS HURTING YOU ANY BETTER?" Matthew screeched at him, standing up and balling his tiny hands into fists.
"Matthew." Mr. Winter said sharply, silencing him. "I will take care of him myself. He will be very safe with me watching over him"
He took a step back, startled by the intensity of Mr. Winter's look. He could only turn away, muttering harsh words in French under his breath. The two Russians were resolute and too stubborn for their own good and Matthew knew it would do no good to argue with them.
Mr. Winter stood up. "I'm going to set everything up. My contact will be sending over the last ingredients later tonight." He walked out the door.
He huffed angrily and paced around on the table he was placed on. Ivan watched him closely until he settled down.
Silence fell in the room once more.
"Matvey?" Ivan said tentatively. "It's for the best." Matthew looked the other way, arms crossed. Ivan came closer, knelt next to him. "I just want what's best for you, for you to be happy. I care about you so much." Matthew held out his arms to him. Ivan smiled softly and pulled him close.
"I care about you too." Matthew whispered in the comforting embrace. He let Ivan carefully take him off the table and curled up with him. He wiggled in his embrace after a minute, wantingto see his face. Sighed happily and carefully put their foreheads together.
They both flinched when they heard a polite cough at the door. They looked over to see Mr, Winter standing there.
"I never realized you two care so dearly for each other. It should have been obvious...just by looking at the two of you." His voice seemed distant. He slowly walked towards the two. "You know," He said, looking intently at them. "There is something I could do to keep you guys together. It's sort of like a ... soul binding. The only way you two could die is if it was at the same time."
He paused to look at them intently. "I'm not sure if you should do it though. It can not be undone." His gaze showed the weight of this decision.
Ivan and Matthew regarded each other. "Perhaps we could discuss that tonight by ourselves?" He nodded.
"I should be ready by tonight."
~TreesAndCheese~
The night went by in a daze for Matthew. There was an unease that seemed to radiate from Ivan. He tried to calm him down as much as possible but he also felt rather apprehensive.
It was nearly midnight when Mr. Winter finally said he had the last ingredient and that everything was set up.
Matthew and Ivan slowly made their way the the back room, the one that was always locked. Ivan's grandfather waited for them there, a stern look in his face.
"Ivan, once the spell is set and we shut this door no matter what you hear you must make sure not to open it again." He said, his voice heavy in the gloom of the hallway.
"Why?" Ivan said in concern. "What are you afraid that I'll hear?"
"The spell itself is pretty painless. After that, though, not so much. " He noticed that he still looked confused. "Each spell requires a price, as I've mentioned before. Matthew's price for his life is that he must experience every single amount of pain that he caused as a doll."
He put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It won't be pretty." He turned to look at Matthew. "Are you sure you're willing to pay that price?"
Matthew nodded, "I am very sure." Any price was worth it to be able to be human with Ivan. Plus, he was hopeful that he could have some closure from this.
At the very least he thought it was what he deserved.
"Did you two decide if you wanted to join your souls?"
"Does it have to be now?" Ivan asked.
"No. It can be done at any time."
"Then we were hoping to wait." Matthew said quietly.
"Okay." Mr. Winter said. "Lets get started then." And he led them into the dark room.
~Treesandcheese ~
Matthew sat down tentatively in the middle of the stone floor. Chalk circles spiraled out around him, crisscrossing each other. Odd shapes and letters flowed in and out of each circle. Mr. Winter was walking around, spreading powder and colourful petals around him, muttering something under his breath in a language Ivan had never heard before, the room grew colder with each word.
Finally, he brought a shallow bowl filled with a violently bubbling, deep red liquid.
Ivan sat quietly on a chair just outside the farthest circle.
"Just a toe should do." His grandfather said. Ivan nodded solemnly. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asked gently. He nodded again. "Okay. We have to work quickly now."
He moved over to check the large dusty tome that he left on a near by table. Ivan looked over to Matthew who was sitting nervously in the center of the room. Their eyes met and they shared a weak smile. Mr. Winter's voice rose, shaking the walls. The chalk turned a bright green and started to smoke gently.
He moved closer to Ivan, wielding a silver knife. He knelt in front of him, still chanting. He positioned the bowl under his foot and carefully positioned the knife, ready to cut off the smallest toe. Suddenly he moved, Ivan gasped harshly as pain flew up his leg, there was a sickening plop as the toe fell into the bowl, turning the liquid black.
The chanting changed, Mr. Winter took the bowl and carefully poured it over Matthew's head. The gentle green smoke thickened and started chocking out the air in the room. Mr. Winter moved, practically dragging Ivan out of the rooms slammed the door shut behind them.
He knelt in front of his grandson and pressed a dark cloth, soaked in some potion,to his foot. The pain soothed immediately.
"Is Matvey going to be okay?" Ivan coughed, trying to get the smoke out of his lungs.
His grandfather nodded. "The spell worked. All that's left is the price. Remember, no matter what you hear you can't open the door."
Ivan nodded.
Then the screaming started.
Author's note.
Hello everyone! This is TreesAndCheese!
I hope you all liked the newest chapter. Hopefully the next one will be out sooner. It might even be the last chapter. ^_^
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TreesAndCheese
