Chapter 36: Returning to the Fortress
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"I remember seeing it in your memories, something about creating a curse..." I say, swallowing hard.
"But what kind of curse?" Tiana asks.
"A very powerful curse, one in which wolves are the dominant species and it will allow them to rule the land, much like Mysterium"
"Again with world domination," I mumble. "Don't evil people have other things to do with their time?"
"Apparently not," Emma answers. She turns back to Mason. "Do you know what kind of ingredients are needed for the curse?."
"Quite a few, the most that I can recall are that it requires light and dark magic, a human heart, blood and I've also heard that it needs a life to be sacrificed..."
The room goes quiet again. The darkness of Regina's first curse was bad enough, plus Pan's and a few others that have plagued Storybrooke over the years... but this one sounds even worse. I can't imagine what the wolves might do if their curse succeeds... what kind of suffering it would bring. I see out of the corner of my eye Henry is writing down what Mason said so he can add it into the storybook for later.
"How can such a curse exist?" Rumpel says after a few moments.
"I think Filtiarn created it himself..." Mason says. "Filtiarn is more than the alpha wolf, he's a descendant of the first sorcerer of Mysterium and his power is something to be feared. I've heard statements from the other wolves that his magic is to be feared more than the Dark One's himself. Its origin comes from a powerful source of evil, something that exists no matter how hard one might try to destroy it."
"What source?" my dad says, his eyebrows lifting up in curiosity.
"The evil in humanity. No matter how good a person may seem on the outside, they all have a darkness that looms inside them, coming to the surface in times of anger and fear. Filtiarn has managed to harness this power to the point that even if you are a foot away from him, he can bring out your inner darkness and use it to manipulate you. He has also managed to allow this ability to influence the pack, giving them more strength. I've felt it myself, it feels invigorating, one may never feel so powerful until you are under Filtiarn's control. It's almost like you're on a drug, light-headed and euphoric, the power coursing through your veins and you get addicted very quickly. You simply want more and more until you become a full-fledged monster and slave to the alpha."
"So what prevented you from becoming an addict and slave?" Ruby asks.
"I always remembered my humanity and I often had the one thing that the others in the pack did not...a family. The unconditional love of a father or mother, none of them ever had it like I did. It kept me sanely and reminded me that I was not a monster on the inside and out like the others. My father often told me growing up that my mother's love was always inside of me, protecting me. She fought hard that night to protect me and gave up her life in the process. I still believe that this is true, their love and Crystal's love allowed me to break free of Filtiarn's control."
"So why do you still need the necklace?" Naveen asks.
"Filtiarn can still control my body, not my soul," Mason answers. "His power has increased in the recent months. I don't know how, but it has, I've seen it myself. He's somehow been able to keep us in wolf form longer and it's almost to the point of full mind control. To him, we'd become unthinking, unfeeling machines, capable of mass genocide or worse."
The room becomes quiet for a few moments as the sounds of the city rumble below us. Clearly, we have very formidable opponents out there and they want us for some kind of curse that could destroy everything we hold dear to us.
"So what do we do now?" Henry asks, breaking the silence.
I clear my throat. "The majority of you need to go back to Storybrooke. I'm sorry that we have to cut the trip short, but we can't put ourselves in danger by being out here, away from where our magic is most powerful. If the wolves do find their way to Storybrooke, we need at least some form of power to defend it." I look over at Emma and my dad specifically. "Plus with babies on the way, I highly doubt we need to expose ourselves any more than we have to." I nod towards Belle.
"Why aren't you going?" Ruby asks. "You have a baby on the way too."
"Because," I say, I look over at Tiana and Naveen. "I promised Tia that I would bring her son home and I plan to keep that promise." Plus I'm sure Tiana nor Naveen want to leave their son in a city infested with werewolves. "It's the main reason that we came here in the first place."
Tiana smiles at me and goes over to hug me. "Thank you..." she whispers.
"So Naveen, Tiana, Mason and myself are staying here in NYC, the rest of you need to go back to Storybrooke and cast some new sort protection spell on the town."
"Yes," Mason says. "And it should not be easily detected by magic."
I look over at my dad. "Do you think you can do that Dad?"
My dad actually looks uncertain. "I'm not a miracle worker Crystal, I can't guarantee anything. And if I do cast a protection spell that prevents people from entering the town, that means it will keep you out too. You won't be able to return as easily, if at all." That thought scares me for a moment, being unable to return to what I know as home, but Emma comes to the rescue to put my worries at ease.
"We could try using blood magic," Emma suggests. "If one of us gives their blood for the spell then, that person only will be allowed to let people in or out of the town."
"But who's blood will we use?" Belle asks.
"Emma's," I say as if it is so obvious. I know we're all thinking that Emma is the only trustworthy person to do it. She has a good equilibrium when it comes to trusting and mistrusting people, plus her extra "superpower" of telling if someone was lying is a good benefit in case anyone tries to pose as us. She's also the Saviour and wouldn't change on a dime for anything if it meant giving themselves an advantage...Yes, I'm talking to you, Dad!
Emma nods slowly in agreement.
"We'll keep in touch via text and email and we'll let you guys know when we need to be let back in," I clarify. Hopefully with Brendan in tow.
"We'll also need my mom's help in order to ensure the safety of the town," Henry adds. "If anyone knows about making this place invisible, it's her." We can all agree on that.
Ruby then pipes up. "Shouldn't I stay behind in case there's another wolf attack, you obviously needed me tonight?"
"That would be very unwise," Mason says.
"How come?" Ruby asks, her anger growing a little bit. Clearly, she did not want to leave New York just yet.
"Well, for one thing, if Filtiarn continues getting stronger he might be able to extend his control beyond the wolf pack and influence similar species. If you are around, you may just become one of his slaves."
"And like you're any better?!" Ruby snaps. "You could have died tonight."
"Ruby please try to understand," I say. "This is not something that you or anyone in this room is prepared for, we can't risk putting more lives in danger and that includes yours. We need to be ready for anything. We don't know the extent of Filtiarn's abilities or what the pack is capable of. We need to protect our home and we need someone like you to patrol the woods back home and provide that extra protection," I add.
Ruby moans and then sighs. "Fine, I'll go home, but you guys owe me another trip here!"
"We'll worry about that when the threat has been extinguished," Mason says gravely.
"Then it's settled, tomorrow we head home," Belle says. I can also see some sadness on her face.
I feel a bit sad and guilty. This was supposed to be a sort of 'adventure' for everyone, try something new and get out of the small town, but when a new threat is on the attack, we have to protect the fortress and the soldiers.
I suddenly get an idea. "How about we do one more fun thing before you leave?"
"What is that?" my dad asks.
"Crystal, we shouldn't leave the hotel in case the pack is out there," Mason says.
"Just follow me," I say.
I slip down the hall with the others behind me. I find the stairwell and head up to the roof. I unlock the door using my magic and we all enter the cool night air, the wind blowing through our hair and chilling us quite a lot.
"O-kay, we're on the roof, now what?" Ruby asks.
"Just watch," I say quietly.
With great concentration, the lights of the city go out again. I always ignore the sounds of horns blaring because it might make me feel guilty that I risk causing car accidents in the street. Once we're in the dark, the stars are more visible. With my hands glowing, I begin to move the stars and create streaks of light across the black canvas of the sky. I smile warmly, looking at the others as they stand there in awe and disbelief.
"This is how I maintained control of my magic when I lived here," I whisper as an explanation. Mason puts his arm around my waist and kisses my head as I flick my wrists to make it seem like two streaks of light are racing each other. I make a few stars twirl in circles, making them look almost like yellow fireworks. A feeling of nostalgia washes over me, taking me back to the nights when I did this to let off steam. It also showed me that my magic wasn't all bad and I was capable of creating beauty.
I'm just hoping these powers can be helpful in protecting those I love.