Notes :
First fic in english (not my main language) so if you find any mistakes, tell me.
Warnings : Hurt, slight physical damage (small fight), angst and despair.
Summary : No more gentle sorceress, no more sweet girl, no more warm smile... She was gone... V was alone
Yep I kinda killed my OC... or not ?
(V's POV)
The poet had been a bit harsh with the sorceress but seeing her act like she was going to die was breaking him. He couldn't accept it. He needed her, wanted her to stay with him. He had finally found someone who loved him, she hadn't spoke the words yet but he knew it, it was written in her eyes whenever she was looking at him, it was in every words she had for him even if it wasn't those ones... He had found someone to love, to protect, someone who wanted him for what he was, who he was no matter what had happened in the past... There was no way he could let her go...
'I'll always be there for you'
Her voice had sounded like a goodbye and he hated that. He wanted to prove her how wrong she was. That she was going to live, the sorceress in her visions was suffering where Lilith wasn't, they only had the glowing veins in common... Maybe was it another spell from her father, something they could stop, even if it felt strange that it wasn't hurting her if it was from him. He wanted to hope.
'Lilith Scarlett Hope Amarylliss'
Hope... Her mother had named her 'Hope' for a reason. She had the gift of visions too, she had seen her daughter's future from what was written in that notebook. Why would she name her daughter 'Hope' if not for a meaning ? The girl was wearing the name of her mother too as a memento...
She had always protected her own daughter... Maybe...
The air around them felt heavy all of a sudden, charged with magic, like back in the kitchen but more dangerous and evil here. Circling the area, calling for demons to gather from underneath the dust, revealing the blood laying on the floor. The necromancer had probably killed everyone in the city, calling for demons to do the job and repand the blood everywhere... As they all equipped their weapons, waiting for the enemy to show, V glanced at the sorceress who hadn't move at all.
Her face was hidden with her hairs floating around, body looking tense as if she was fighting something strong.
Don't tell me...
V's gaze fell on the floor, under her feet where a faint pentacle was visible under the rocks and dust but he couldn't do anything except from shouting her name as the next instant, rays of purple light hit her in the chest, coming from a small rock on the ground, one that shone like the glowing veins on her skin...
"Lilith !"
The whole group turned back to see the little witch's body floating a few inches from the ground, eyes showing surprise but lifeless, her mouth open without any sound coming out, then she fell back on the floor, inert.
The magic dissipated, as fast as it appeared, letting them approach but the poet was closer, and for once, faster. Kneeling beside her, searching for her pulse and immediately calling out her name when he couldn't.
No ! No ! No ! Don't ! Please don't leave me ! Not like this ! Not now ! Please ! I promised you...
It couldn't happen, he couldn't lose her, not now, not yet, not after that little argument... He had promised her... He had told her she would come back... And she... She couldn't be dead... Not after all they had still to discover together...
'I'll never leave you'
But she wasn't breathing anymore, the warmth of her body slowly fading as he took her in his arms. This couldn't be happening, he couldn't lose another loved one...
He heard them gathered around them, Dante coming into his sight to pick up something on the ground, visibly pissed off but he couldn't care. The love of his life was gone, her body resting in his arms.
The sorceress body suddenly shook violently, harshly breathing when the legendary hunter stood up, she was trembling, traveled by white lightning connected to whatever was in Dante's hand, trying to bring the object back to her with strength. Her voice was hoarse, crying between gasps for air that didn't seem to work.
"What are ya doing ! Stop that thing ! Ya hurting her you dumbass !" Griffon hissed, rushing on Dante's hand to make him drop the object he was still holding. "Let go of that thing !"
The whole group screamed as the bird was knocked off by a wave of magic, crumbling into ashes the next moment, back to his stalemate form as Dante let go of the small object in his hand.
It immediately fell on Lilith's torso, giving an odd sensation to the poet as the sorceress slowly calmed down. V had seen the little pendant resting on her chest somewhere, that diamond shaped dark stone with gleaming white arabesque wasn't new to him but he couldn't place where exactly he had seen it...
And he didn't care right now, she was breathing, alive, held tight in his arms, slowly coming back to her senses. He helped her to sit as she breathed a bit easier, eyes still closed, frowning from pain, the glowing veins had shown back the moment she got hit, shining even more now and the poet heard the others ask themselves about it.
"Are you alright, Sparrow ?" He gently brushed her cheek, murmuring as low as he could "You are fine now, breathe."
"Sparrow... ?" Her voice sounded foreign, confused like when she had that nightmare a few days ago, something felt off...
"Are you alright Lilith ?" Lady asked, approaching them and extending a hand toward the necklace, "What is that ?"
"NO !" The girl grabbed the stone possessively, shaking her head violently and almost falling in the process, "Don't touch it !"
It surprised everyone, the way she had shouted, the wave of power that pushed them away, even him received it though he didn't move, hurt by that powerful spell but still at her side, holding her close.
"Lilith... Sparrow, you are safe." He murmured again, trying to ease her panic by passing his hands on her back, stopping when she pushed him away with her own hand.
"Don't touch me." Her tone implied violence, something he had never heard from her, even less directed to him, "I am not your sparrow !"
What ?
Griffon materialized back, squawking, "What the hell was that ! Hey Too..." He froze, flapping his wings while looking straight at her, "Who the fuck are you ?! You're not Lilith ! What happened to her !"
"Your bird is wiser than you all, it seems." The witch chuckled, lifting her head and V froze too. Those eyes that were staring at him were not Lilith's, the poet had seen them when she was having those visions during the last week...
Bright blue eyes, glowing with magic, glancing at him, detailing him in a way the poet didn't like. The girl in front of him didn't feel like the one he loved, this wasn't the woman of his life yet physically, it was still Lilith... Except for the eyes. She looked at the whole group for a moment, examining them from head to toe with a very critical eye.
"What's with that look ?!" Trish asked, clearly irritated by the new behaviour of the witch.
"I'm just wondering how your little group expects to defeat him..." She uttered as she stood up, refusing V's help with a sharp look. "As I said, I am not Lilith. To make it simple, she's gone. Her soul is gone, to be precise, replaced by mine. I am the Sorceress that gave her family their power. I am the first host of the two phoenix."
That was impossible. This had to be a nightmare, the girl standing in front of him looked so different from the shy and cheerful witch he had known, those lovely ambers eyes were gone, replaced by cold gleaming blue ones staring at her surroundings with a far away look.
"We should get going, if you still want to get a chance to save your friend." The poet saw her attach the pendant on her neck.
"You said she's gone, how can we save her if she's gone ?" Dante's tone was so indifferent, how could he be like that, Lilith had just...
"For now, the spell isn't permanent yet, her soul is certainly lingering somewhere, caged nearby the place he casted the real spell..." The sorceress answered "And there's a slight chance to break it if we made it there in time."
She pointed to the mountain in the background, partly hidden by the mist. Just at that moment, a strong beam of light flashed from there, reaching for the sky and separating into fragments of mirror-like, falling to the ground all around the island after the city's center.
"What's that ?!" Nero shouted, "Is that another spell he's casting ? He can't aim correctly !"
"That's not his intention, stupid boy." The sorceress scolded, retrieving the staff on her back with a satisfied look at it, "He's buying time ! He created a maze to slow us... Unless we can fly, we won't reach him in time to break the main spell..."
The whole landscape began to change, some of the buildings crumbled to show the sea or part of the mountain, stairs and arches forming here and there, the ground and the sky inverting in other places...
The legendary devil hunter laughed, looking straight at Lilith's form with no confusion written on his face. He was acting like the changement in the witch's behaviour, what she had said, what was happening, didn't bother him and it enervated the summoner. V had lost the only person who believed in him, who loved him, who was kind with him and his brother wasn't even shocked.
"Well, you are lucky then, missy," Dante said, a cocky smile on his face, "'Cause I have wings. Now if you'll excuse myself, I have some ass to kick."
How could he act like that ?! How could he be so calm when Lilith... V's blood was boiling in his veins, the whole group seemed to finally go back to their senses as he heard them shout after the older man. They argued for a moment before both Dante and Nero were gone, using their devil trigger to reach the necromancer faster, letting the rest of the crew walk through the maze.
They had traveled in silence after a small speech from the sorceress about losing time to save Lilith's soul. She didn't tell them much about the spell casted on their friend, just that the necromancer had prepared this two weeks ago, sacrificing dark mages to reinforce his own power, using healers, potion makers and herborist to conceal the fact that his body was falling apart. He had killed them in the end, of course, using their blood to trace the spell on the ground where they came, closing all the other streets to make sure they followed the path he had in mind.
He had traced other pentacles in other places and had been ready to teleport the necklace if needed but in the end, they had done as he had planned. The poet was the most impacted by the changement, for some reason, the new sorceress seemed to completely ignore him or dislike him, speaking to him only if she really needed it.
He was back to his loneliness, walking behind the small group with his familiar, not uttering a word unless they asked him to. He failed to protect her, one more time, he should have paid attention, keeping her close to him to prevent this from happening...
"V... Stop that." His avian companion whispered, landing on his shoulders, "You couldn't have done much more. This bastard is fucking smarter than us... But there's a chance to save her, or at least that's what she said..."
"And you believe the words of an imposter ?" They both glanced at the sorceress, the poet still couldn't believe that the gentle and cheerful witch was gone, replaced by a cold and heartless woman... All that in the same body...
"Huuuh, gee, V, you're not helping." Griffon sighed, "We don't really have any other choice. But dontcha want Toots back ? If there's even a tiny chance then why not try it ? Better move ya ass than beating yourself for nor being able to protect her against something we couldn't fight. Hate to say it but that bastard's stronger than us. Even herself..."
The poet sighed, she had acted like she was going to die, had she seen this ? Had she seen herself being replaced by another one ? Was that what she had tried to say ?
'Do things you love and try to find happiness again, someone else even, I would be glad...'
Had she tried to prepare him for this ? Had she known ?
"Can you stop with that ? She's not gonna answer it ! Even if she knew, prove her wrong !" The demonic bird hissed, "You want answers ? Go and get them, get her back and ask her ! Stop that fuckin' habit of yours to overthink ! Move ya ass !"
As the group walked nearby another arch, Trish and Lady first, the maze suddenly dissipated, pushing the sorceress backward in his arms while the landscape came back to normal. They were in what looked like a clearing, surrounded by two rows of trees forming two perfect circles, alone, with no traces of the other girls.
"Fuck ! What the hell is happening !" His demonic friend shouted, circling mid-air around them, "Where are the girls ?!"
"Hum, somewhere else on the archipelago, maybe. The spell seems to have been dispelled. Let's continue, that's not important." The witch straightened, grunting slightly and putting a hand on her heart, near that damned necklace, chuckling the next instant.
"That necklace..." It finally hit him. V remembered where he had seen it. Two weeks ago, on the necromancer's neck... "It's the necromancer's..."
"Took you time." That devilish smile on her face, deforming Lilith's features was maddening him, "Without her, you're nothing. You can't even think properly, am I right ?" Again, she clutched the jewel on her chest, slightly wincing before chuckling and continuing her walk toward the arch in the middle of the clearing.
That was enough, that look, that smug tone, making fun of him, he couldn't bear it anymore. This wasn't the sorceress he knew, she wasn't the woman he loved, it was only an illusion. And he could harm an illusion.
"Huh V ? Hey, no, no, no !" His bird squawked.
The poet rushed toward her, pushing her hardly against the stony structure, making it tremble with the force used. His cane pressing on her chest, right under her breast, blocking her arms with his weight, rage deforming his face, he couldn't care anymore if he hurted her. This wasn't Lilith. His sparrow was gone...
Fear and hurt flashed on her face, quickly replaced by surprise for a moment as their eyes met, her head resting on the shaky structure, then she laughed, as cold as her eyes, without any compassion, any apologies.
"Hum. Bold and rough." She smiled, licking her lips slowly, "Go on, I'm sure she would have liked it. I have to admit she has a quite good body, curvy and small compared to mine but still perfectly useful. It's a shame you didn't had time to enjoy it with her..."
"Be quiet." His tone was glacial, leaning even more on his cane, "Stop speaking of her like that, you know nothing about her."
"Don't do that V ! Get a grip on yourself ! C'mon !" The demonic bird flew to his master, trying to grab his shoulder but could only seize his coat ineffectively.
"I know more about her than you think." The witch laughed even more as the arch began to crumble under her form, "Go ahead, destroy the only way to reach the mountain faster, to save your girlfriend's soul. Or more funny, hurt me while I'm still providing life in her body, break her only chance to ever come back." She leaned forward, making her corset squeak dangerously, "Those little protection can handle a lot, but I'm sure you wouldn't take the risk of marking her yourself like he did."
The arch broke and they landed on the rubbles, the sorceress facing him with that knowing look, victorious smile on her dark pink lips, her staff expelling the air from his lungs as she had put it between them in a defensive way. For a few seconds, all he saw was black dots everywhere and the feeling of her lips brushing his ear as she whispered.
"Be a good boy and learn your place, Lilith was a nice girl, I'm not. I am the opposite. Huuuh..."
The pain in her voice washed away the anger in him, gazing back at the sorceress, he saw her hand back on the necklace, her devilish smile distorted with pain, the glowing veins spreading on her body pulsating slightly. Was the spell hurting her ? Was it a message from his sparrow ?
"What is happening ?" V harshly asked, not caring to be gentle with that woman, "Is she trapped in that necklace ? Why do you keep it ?"
"...Be patient." She pushed him away, "Let's get going, now that the portal is destroyed, we'll need to hurry even more... I hope for you that you didn't condemn her."
The poet tried to grab the jewel but his hand hit a small wall of light, sending him a sharp wave of electricity through the arm, not enough to hurt badly but enough to warn and dissuade him.
The sorceress sighed, shaking her head at his action, "You can't behave, don't you ? If you really care for her, do not steal it from me. If it had to be away from me, even for a minute, she would never come back, never. You've heard me ?"
He reluctantly nodded, stood up and waited for the witch to start moving again. She knew that place and could easily find the way through the forest, making them reach the beach a few hours later. Other islands stood between them and the misty one, not as large as the one they had arrived on but separated by a good amount of water, looking pretty deep.
"Huh... Well... Yeah... I shouldn't have destroyed those bridges..." The witch scratched the back of her head, seeming really guilty for the first time. "Don't look at me like that bird, it was a long time ago and... He turned everyone against me... I wanted to be alone after all that happened..."
Griffon was staring at the sorceress with narrowed eyes, "How do you know about Lilith's father ? From her book, you lived three hundred years ago, how can you know him that much ? Who are you ?"
She stayed silent for a moment, looking at the sea, tapping her staff on the sand, clearly annoyed by those questions. The poet waited, there was nothing he could do, swimming to the other island was stupid, even if the water seemed calm, and there was no boat around...
V heard her whisper a spell, her staff pointed on the surface of the ocean, then it solidified, forming a thick path in what looked like ice. The poet froze, examining her in detail, there were no other marks on her than the glowing veins, no crackling, no sign of exertion on her face, no pain, nothing. The symbol of the two phoenix has faded, on both sides, as if even the bright bird was weakened...
"You used Nuiid's power in daytime ? Lilith wouldn't as it could hurt the bird."
She glanced at him, surprised, then broke the contact to walk on the temporary bridge, "Better hurry, it won't last long..." Waiting for him midway, "I didn't use the darkbird's power... I wouldn't... Now let's go, we're losing time."
They rushed in silence to another smallest island, V leaning on his cane for some support, the witch applying a bit more pressure on the ground with her staff, something was draining her forces, he could tell that by the way she walked, how her knuckles were turning white when she was tossing the wooden stick on the ground... But the poet said nothing, she wouldn't talk anyway.
It took them another two hours to reach the misty island, the sorceress had used the same icy bridge again, they were lucky to only have to cross one island between the main one and the final one, the archipelago was huge and full of little isles. Another deep forest stood between them and the mountain and V saw on the sand a few meters away the same arch that was in the first forest, broken too, with blood and pentacles everywhere.
"It seems I prevent us from a lot of trouble." The poet pointed his cane to the arch, hearing the sorceress sigh heavily, "You really thought he would have let you use it without any trap ? Or maybe was that your intention ? Maybe you work for him ?"
She turned back to him, that devilish smile back on Lilith's face and V immediately sensed his blood boiling, his hand turning into fists or clenching around the handle of his cane, almost hurting.
"You still don't trust me at all, don't you ?" She slowly walked toward him, waving Lilith's hips intentionally, provocative, "But all you do is speak. You talk, talk but when it comes to act, you run like a coward. Right now, who is protecting her ? Not you, I can tell that. All you do is beating yourself and doubting the only chance to get her back. I wonder why she choose you ? Why you especially ? You need the help of demons, can't fight yourself, not to mention your lacking in physics..."
She suddenly fell on her knees, a silent, painful, cry written on her face, her hands grabbing the necklace with strength, making the chain on her neck trembling, the glowing veins were pulsating again and for a second, as he kneeled in front of her, V swore he saw Lilith. Her own eyes behind the tears falling from the narrowed blue one, her anger directed toward the soul controlling her own body right now...
The poet grabbed her face, hoping to see her come back but it didn't happen. The sorceress closed her eyes, calming her breathing slowly and opened them again, bright blue, gleaming with magic, cold as ice, staring at him without any expression for a long time before pushing him away and standing up on her feet without help.
"We're close, better get moving." She spoke but V stopped her. He needed answers.
"What is happening ? What are those veins, where is Lilith, tell me everything or I'll make you talk." His tone was glacial, like when he had fought with the gentle witch after the riot battle, pointing his cane on her collarbone to emphasize his words.
"Really ?" She snorted, "Well, fine. I have nothing to lose here, I might even gain a new body and a new life. You, on the other side..." She leaned a bit more against his cane, making the sharp metal mark the delicate skin, "You'll lose her. And don't expect me to replace her. Unlike her, I don't like you. The one I ever loved is gone and I will never replace him."
He retrieved his cane to grab her by the arm, flushing her against him with a strength he, himself, didn't suspected from him. "Don't play that with me. Every spell has a price to pay. Tell me everything, witch. I don't care about your help, must I split myself again, must I sell my soul, I'll do everything I can to bring her back. She's everything to me, and if you loved someone like you just said, you should understand that feeling. I don't intend on replacing her, she's unique and all I want."
The poet let go of her, "We can talk and walk, don't we ?" Pointed his cane toward the mountain, the mist was so dense they couldn't see the top of it, "Lead the way, you seems to know this place."
V watched her stare at him, shocked for a second, then chuckle, walking by the first trees and bypassing some rock to lead him to a long row of stairs going upward in the mist, sometime missing parts and dangerous to use but still useful and their only way to go without climbing. The way was going to be long and he hoped they had still time to save her... The glowing veins had started to fade, slowly, the moment she had left the maze and he hadn't see it at first but now that they were not vivid anymore...
She had stay silent, looking at the sea while climbing the first steps, the mark on her back even less visible, another sign that they were losing time...
As if she knew he was looking at it, like Lilith's ability, she put her hand on her back, sighing, "I know, it's fading. That the spell's work... It's replacing her soul with mine, but the birds are linked with her, to her soul... They were mine once yet..."
He watched her remove her hand slowly, continuing to walk on the path, waiting for her to tell the story behind this. She was going to tell it, the sorceress had looked relieved after his little demonstration, maybe was this all a test, maybe was she waiting for him to prove he could take care of the little witch, he didn't know and didn't wanted to, the most important thing was Lilith and getting her back.
The poet didn't waited long, she began to talk after picking a beautiful wild flower alone between some rocks, the same flower that was on the mark between the two birds. The necromancer was as old as her, an ancient powerful and rich mage that lived three hundred years ago on a 'nearby' island as huge as the archipelago with his family. She had met the man's son when he came to her, searching for a potion to heal his mother, the poor woman had been deadly wounded by a demon and all she could do at that moment was to ease her suffering, nothing else. But the rich husband didn't care, not believing her even though as a wizard he knew it.
Watching people die at that time was usual, even magic couldn't save them from death, their potions were not as powerful as they were now, their knowledge not that advanced and even with the profusion of the nature's gift, they couldn't do much more. She was a great witch, had been, and the villagers of the archipelago knew her power, some feared her, others adored her and offered her present in exchange of services. Her life had been pretty simple and peaceful before the man's arrival.
He had never accepted his wife's fate, threatening the sorceress when the poor woman died, sending assassins to her island, forcing her to reinforce her magical protection around her house. She never minded, she was used to that, before this place, she had lived in another one where others being were even more harsh toward her, that's what a witch's life was at that time. Their power both feared and admired, outcast but useful and needed...
This reminded him of what Lilith had told him about her power and past, she hadn't always been threated well, when people heard that she was a witch, a lot of them were considering her differently, the word 'witch' was even mean some times...
The mage's attempts to killing her stopped after two years, and she received the visit of his son, asking her to forgive his father, that the loss of his wife had drove him mad, that he was just terribly sad, lonely and lost. He stayed on the island a few days, due to a huge storm passing by, learning how it worked for her, how her life was, how he could ever pay for his father's mistakes... She gently pushed him away, telling him that he had nothing to be forgiven, she could understand and didn't care about what had happened but as he insisted, she took the opportunity and asked him to be her assistant. Times were hard on the island and some help with the herbalist's stuff wasn't bad.
The way she spoke of him, the sparkle in her cold eyes, it was him, the man she had loved. It felt strange to him, seeing Liliht's body, her own lips, her own voice speaking about someone else like that, even if it wasn't her, it wasn't her eyes, it wasn't her presence... But it hurted the same, something in him was raging, he couldn't tolerated that... Lilith was...
How can I think that... I don't own her... I just... want her... I want her to be mine... mine and mine only... I want her to love me and only me...
The necromancer's son came back to her more and more after that, mainly to work during spring and summer, sleeping on a simple nat in her house, but with time, they grew up closer. He was a good mage too, more of a fighter, using mainly ice and darkness but not on the dark side, never. This little flirt didn't pleased the rich father, of course, and he let them know, calling back his son, menacing the witch...
It didn't ended well, both father and son fought, the younger one leaving his family to create a new one with the woman of his heart on the archipelago, leaving happy for a short amount of time.
"In a way... We were similar as you two..." She whispered, glancing quickly at him, " Both day and night, completing each other, not whole without the other... Drinking tea was one of our favorite moment," She smiled, sadly, "In front of the fireplace, in the garden, that was our moment of peace... He knew we loved tea..."
Her tone changed from sadness to anger as she continued, telling him how one day the dark mage had came to her house, faking being sorry and wanting to apologize... If she had known... He had brought a exotic tea for them, freshly imported, chosen just for them and let her prepare everything. She had watched them talk harshly for a moment, brought the three cup of tea on the garden table then went back inside for some homemade cookies. She should have seen it, the way her own cup was not in the same place, the way her lover was looking at his father, the whole situation screamed to her to break the cups and toss the tea but she didn't. She let him drink...
"It took him an hour to die, all my spell, all my potions did nothing... I couldn't save him..." She murmured, head low, almost crying but there was no tears falling on her cheeks, "He blamed me and we fought... All that in front of him... The last thing he saw was me and his father fighting..."
She stopped for a second, the top of the mountain was close and they could hear the sound of a battle going on, Dante and Nero were still fighting him. Lightning of different colors were shouting through the mist to the sky, showing how terrible the battle was.
The dark mage hadn't stop there, his son's death had only triggered more hate from him and both him and the sorceress used their full potential to fight against the other. She had the bright phoenix on her side at that time and the desperation, the sacrifice of her lover had made her create eternal ice around his body, keeping him with her forever as a reminder of her failure. She had chased the dark mage from the archipelago and kept the young mage's body in a cavern letting him rest in peace there while she swore to take revenge...
"I've tried to brought him back using Lekha's power but... It didn't worked... It only brought back his power, that's how Nuiid's was 'born'... He's what's left of the one I loved... The glowing veins appeared right after that... I broke myself too much, even Lekha couldn't heal me... The more he tried, the more I broke... I was slowly dying..."
"Why did Lilith had the same effects, she didn't do anything... right ?" V asked, uncertain himself, from her own words, time had stopped when she got Nuiid back...
"She didn't broke herself." The sorceress smiled, almost the same smile as his sparrow, "It is a really rare ability, even more among the magic community, she is really something, your girl. Her power is linked with her emotions, it can weaken her or make her stronger, same for the birds, they share the connections through emotions, feelings. Her soul and mine resonated before he even began the transfer, like we were one already. I can't explain it in other words, I don't understand it myself... The only other person who had that ability was..."
"The necromancer's son" V ended her sentence, watching her nod in silence as they slowly reached the last row of stairs. They could see the big mansion through the mist, big door open as an invitation, certainly full of trap.
"We'll need to get inside. I need to be exactly where he casted the spell to break it, unless she will never be back." The sorceress began to rush, stopped by V's cane on her shoulder.
"Perhaps, but why would you want that ? And you didn't answered all our questions." V scanned her, the glowing veins were almost gone now and the pendant wasn't as bright as before.
She sighed, "I'll answer it, let me go before it's too late. She's fading !"
V released her, using shadow to rush behind the sorceress, grabbing her in the process and letting her direct him toward the house. They stopped in front of the door, making sure there was no demon inside before stepping in.
"There... huuh" The sorceress kneeled, hand on the pendant again, the marking of the birds flashing upon her shoulders for a second, "Stop that ! There's no point ! I... I need his help..."
V watched her in both surprise and shock as the end of her hairs turned red, purple then back to blond before she stood up, leaning on her staff and huffing. She had talked to someone and from her own words, it couldn't be the birds...
Sparrow !
His heart ached, she was still there, fighting, visibly not wanting him here... His flying companion didn't gave him time to think much about it, pesting about the messy place and the dried blood on the floor, bringing V's attention to it. Lilith had spoken about what had happened to her in this house, not in details but her evasive words were enough for him to know how terrible it had been for her. The huge dark reddish pool on the floor was her blood, dry after all those years, the ashes of the man she had to kill stuck in it.
"Fuck ! That's a lot of blood !" Griffon hissed, "How did she survived this ?! Any normal human would..." He didn't add anything, the sorceress look was enough.
"You asked me why I would help her get her body back, what would I gain from it..." The sorceress approached the bloody floor with a disgusted look, "Freedom... And peace... He did the same things to me, to her mother and to her... Though this time, for her... He used someone else... I wonder why... If he was scared of being a father again he..." She stopped her sentence, hand on the necklace, wincing, whispering to it but V could hear her, "You'll have to tell him that one day... Fine. I won't say it." She began to trace the pentacle the poet had seen in the street in the blood, "He had turned a part of the island against me after our fight and I destroyed the bridges, hoping to be left alone to mourn the loss of my love..."
As she slowly completed the pentacle, inverting some symbols, adding others, she told him what happened next, how she had tried to heal her broken body till the end, drinking healing potions again and again till her last thread of sanity broke and lead her to him, asking for help...
"He did it in a way..." She laughed, finishing the last symbol "And I deserved this... But not them. Not the family chosen by my birds ! I am the one responsible ! I am the one who cursed him !"
She shouted the spell, standing in the middle of the pentacle, her body floating like a few hours ago, surrounded by light for a short time, then fell on the floor.