Chapter 21
With renewed determination Stiles focused on Kiera who was, surprisingly enough, sitting on the edge of her bed in Deaton's clinic looking pale but otherwise alright.
He felt exhausted after hours talking with her, listening to her side of the story about being possessed by Cassandra. Well, she had no idea that she had been possessed, but she admitted to have lost time and place sometimes but had thought it had been her magic acting up after being taken away from her for some time. And now that she knew the truth, she felt terrible for everything that had happened.
The pack was out in the waiting-room, refusing to leave.
He didn't know why, but something told him that this wasn't over. Cassandra was still there. Weak and still in hiding. The glimpses were short and almost not traceable, but his magic recognized the madness within Kiera. The girl didn't seem to notice and a part of Stiles felt glad that she didn't. He was just worried about how everything would turn out.
Deaton had been certain that Kiera had no magic left since Cassandra had taken over her body for longer periods of a time, so Stiles knew this energy, this twisted magic he felt, wasn't Kiera's.
Deaton closed the door behind him as he entered and opened a small box. "Here it is."
Stiles didn't look over to whatever it was Deaton was talking about, he couldn't afford diverting his focus.
Cassandra's body was dead, it had happened sometime last night- just as Kiera had woken up.
"Here we go." Deaton put whatever it was on the table next to Kiera's bed. "Whenever you're ready, Stiles."
"What?"
"What I have here is-"
A sob stopped Deaton from finishing his sentence.
"Cassandra?"
Kiera's mouth twitched. "No. Still me." Her fingers gripped the pillow she had in her lap. "It's just- I'm so tired and you still think she's-" Sighing, she shook her head. "I don't feel like I did when she was still here. I mean, I didn't know that she was with me at all. But now that I know, I can recognize the signs and stuff but- she died! Her body died. How could she still be with me?" Drying a tear falling on her cheek, she looked at them. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I just- What's going to happen to me? What if she's still there?"
Deaton put his hands in the pockets of his slacks and looked at her. "We need to be sure. I understand your confusion and I know how tired you must be. But this is important."
Stiles looked at the box Deaton had brought. "What's this?"
"This is tea."
"Tea? What the-"
"She'll drink it and the ingredients will allow us to read her magic better. To see what we can't find." Deaton poured hot water into a cup and added some leafs from the box.
"Tea?" Stiles eyed it skeptically. "Really?"
"Yes, Stiles." Deaton stirred it with a spoon. "Tea." He turned to Kiera, who looked at them like she was about to throw up from the smell.
"It smells disgusting," she grimaced. "Do I really have to drink it?"
"I'm afraid so." Deaton handed her the cup and dried his hands on a towel. "I'll get you some water."
Just as he left the room, Kiera froze in her movements, before straightening her back, looking up from the cup she was holding while eying Stiles intently. And poured the tea on the floor.
"Shit." Stiles knew he shouldn't have relaxed. He had known something wasn't right. It had been too easy.
"Hello, Stiles."
"You're back, I see." He knew from the commotion outside that his pack had heard them talk and probably sensed his spike in heart-rate. The only problem was that they couldn't get inside, seeing how everything in this place was made of mountain-ash and Lydia was at her house gathering some of her old books on witchcraft along with Allison.
"I am. And this body feels strange, now that I know I can't return to my own." She stretched, as if to get a feel of this body she held prisoner. "So, I guess this is goodbye then."
"Why do you say that?" he asked, hoping Deaton would get back soon.
"Because this is where I take my leave."
With that, she threw him across the room with a wave of energy so strong that he couldn't even brace himself.
Coughing, he scrambled back to his feet. "Deaton!" he shouted, blinking rapidly to get the black spots out of his eyes. "Scott! Derek!"
Even with his eye-sight damaged, he could see how Cassandra opened the window and started to crawl out, only looking back to grin like the maniac she was.
"Fuck!"
His own magic crawled through him, desperate and angry. He was angry. As the pain in his head dissipated, he could sense someone holding onto his arm.
"Where did she go?"
"Scott?"
"Yeah. You okay, man?"
"That bitch! She totally blind-sided me," he grit out, as he felt his eye-sight return to normal, seeing the black veins going up Scott's arm.
Erica growled as she leaped outside the window after Kiera, and Stiles got up feeling a bit sore, but otherwise alright. "Let's get this bitch once and for all."
"Where did she go?" Derek ran into the room as he spoke. "I ran around the back trying to get in when I heard you heart-rate change, but I can't even smell her." He went over to Stiles, who leaned his shoulder into the wolf's chest.
"You couldn't smell or see anything?" Stiles looked at Derek, who shook his head.
"She couldn't have gotten far." Scott said with a frown, looking at Troye, who seemed both angry at Cassandra and worried about his sister.
Troye let his eyes glow yellow. "What are we waiting for?"
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"Wait here." Boyd said as he turned the corner, following. They'd been looking for a while, none of the wolves could trace her, so they had to use the human way: searching. Stiles had gone with Derek, Lydia and Deaton while Malia had followed Scott, Troye, Allison and Isaac.
Stiles felt his magic swirl through his body, like liquid lava- irritated because she'd gotten away again. It was like an intense itch he couldn't scratch. "She could be anywhere."
Derek was a silent figure next to him as they waited for the other betas to get back. Stiles squeezed Derek's arm, hoping it conveyed what he wanted to say. 'It will be okay', 'Be careful' and 'We'll get her'.
With a spark of certainness, Stiles went over to the other side of the alley and opened a door that creaked when he moved it.
"Stiles, what are you doing?" Derek hissed as he crossed the street after him. Lydia followed while Deaton stood guard outside until Isaac and Boyd got back.
"Stiles, stop. This is stupid, we shouldn't split up from Boyd and-"
Stiles heard Derek growl. "Damnit, Stiles!"
The human followed the long hallway and entered the first open door to the right.
"Stiles." Cassandra was leaning against the wall, visibly shaken and weak from running. "You just can't help but to irritate me, can you?"
Stiles looked around, taking in their surroundings. It was an empty room, probably used for storage. But now there was nothing there, other than Cassandra and himself.
He pushed the shield of energy out of his body, to surround only the two of them so the others couldn't get to them. He didn't know why. He just did what his magic was telling him.
A cold stare assessed him through the slits of Kiera's eyes. It was painfully obvious that this was a dark witch- there was nothing remotely warm about this person. There was nothing there that reminded Stiles about the girl he had come to know as Kiera.
With that in mind, he divided his energy in two currents towards her while blocking her waves of pressure, trying to force him off his feet.
Stiles clenched his jaw in concentration and focused on his energy. Split in two, his magic wasn't as strong but he had one current that restrained her while the other one hovered around her, waiting.
"What the- Let go of me!" She spat, the anger so strong that she vibrated. Struggling against the hold he had on her, she reminded Stiles of a wild animal. Her hair was in disarray and spit dangled on her chin from when she spoke.
She kept babbling and Stiles didn't dare to look away from her. He knew he wasn't back to full strength after their last fight, but this was the only chance he had to saving Kiera. He just knew that if this didn't work, Cassandra would manage to kill Kiera and get away.
"-and when she is gone, then I'll be out of here. This is a hell hole! How can you even live here? And the things you do- laying with werewolves and befriending them. You are a disgrace to witchcraft!"
He shut her words out and took a deep breath.
Deaton had told him how they could separate Kiera and Casandra. The things was that it was tricky.
Stiles had never been up against something like this before. But he knew how it felt to be possessed. And although that knowledge made him feel sick, he also knew the loopholes. And he used that to his advantage.
The magic that had been hovering close to Cassandra flew into her body when Stiles flicked his hand.
"Spiritual guides, I ask you. Help this human to regain control over her mind and body." He heard Casandra's terrified scream when she heard his words and understood what he was about to do. "Om chitta hum phat svaha. Om shri mati asur svaha."
He repeated the mantra as he felt his magic battle with Cassandra's twisted one inside Kiera's body.
"Om chitta hum phat svaha, Om shri mati asur svaha." He repeated the mantra over and over, until his voice shook and sweat broke out all over his skin.
Cassandra's screams could still be heard, and his shield must have dropped when he saw, from the corner of his eye, that Derek and the rest of the pack had entered the room.
"Do not interfere," he heard Deaton whisper.
With a blast of energy from Cassandra, Stiles stumbled backwards but he shook helpful hands of him. He couldn't afford anyone breaking his concentration.
"Om ah hrih singhandana hum phat." With that, Cassandra froze on the spot, her scream shut off like it had been cut with a knife.
"Om ah hrih singhandana hum phat!" Stiles dragged air into his lungs and murmured the same thing over and over again, until Kiera's body sagged and slumped to the ground.
Scott threw himself over Kiera, but Stiles stopped him with a blast of energy. "Do not touch her. She is not done."
The wolves gathered behind Stiles and Deaton stood next to Stiles. "Don't stop. It's close," the man said quietly and Stiles stopped his chanting, but not his magic.
He could see the body twitch and turn and the smell of something rotten spread inside the room.
Stiles felt his tattoos move, sliding over his skin in gratification and protectiveness. "Spiritual guides, I ask you kindly. Help Kiera, the rightful spirit to this body. Help her be free."
Just when he pulled his magic back from the body that was now laying unmoving on the floor, Kiera's mouth opened in a soul-piercing scream as something rose from her mouth.
Deaton quickly caught the purple rose petal in a jar.
Stiles went over to Kiera's body and checked her pulse. "She's still here."
Troye ran over to them with tears streaming down his chin. "Kiera?" He took her hand, like she was made out of glass. "Kiera, stay with me. Please!"
Scott hurried over to them and looked down at Kiera. "She's Kiera?" He looked at Stiles. "And you're sure?"
Stiles grimaced and stepped away from the hand Scott was about to put on his shoulder. "Pretty sure, yeah." He felt drained and sore and didn't want anyone touching him. His tattoos were still moving and he could feel the magic curling into itself, wanting to get away from the situation now that it was solved.
With his energy so low, both mentally and physically, he sometimes reacted like this. When people touched him, it felt like needles piercing his skin. And he knew it came from sensory- overload, his magic having been used to its limit.
Scott looked at him with a hurt expression and Stiles was about to explain when Deaton cleared his throat.
"Get the girl to a hospital. Tell them she'll need fluids and something for the infection."
"Infection?" Stiles looked down at the girl that was now laying on her back, looking more dead than alive.
Troye was holding her hand in a grip so tight that Stiles hoped he wouldn't break any bones in her fingers. The boy kept whispering to his sister in between sobs and Stiles looked back at Deaton.
"Possession and infection attacks the body the same way. The witch that possessed her may not be in there any longer, but the marks it left can be seen as an infection. The doctors will know what to do with her."
With that, he left the room. As if nothing had happened.
Stiles shook his head in amazement. Deaton was so weird, but Stiles had to admit the guy knew what he was doing.
"Wait, what will happen to that purple thing in the jar?" Isaac called after Deaton, but Derek answered.
"He'll put it somewhere safe."
Scott gathered Kiera in his arms and looked at his pack. "Who's driving?"
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Author's note: Thank you, thank you for reading and following my story. You guys make me smile! Hope you liked this chapter as well:)
Om ah hrih singhanada hum phat- a mantra purifies negative karma and pacifies naga harm and such.
Om chitta hum phat svaha/ om shri mati asur svaha- a mantra that protects you from upper spirit possession or harm.