Santa Carla, 1987
October watched upside as Jess hefted the leather bound book up in her arms and closed her eyes. She recognized the book for what it was as well. A malleus maleficarum, and from the way the lights flickered and how the house shook; it was a real one.
Whispers echoed around the room as the spell resumed.
This might actually kill me, she thought to herself.
"You can't do this! Please, stop!" she cried out, writhing in agony.
Black ichor welled up along the deep gashes on her arms and her eyes rolled back in pain.
No...it can't end like this. I can't lose the boys again. I just got them back…
"YES! It's working!" Maud exclaimed in triumph as she dropped the effigy and held out her hands. "Your magic is mine."
The inky black ichor trickled down October's arms, pulled in Maud's direction like a magnet. Rivulets of ink stretch up, up into the air, detaching from her body completely and reaching for Maud's awaiting fingertips… before it splattered against the dirty basement floor.
Maud blinked in confusion. "Jessica, what just hap-"
The little girl no longer held the malleus maleficarum. Instead, in her small hands she clutched an effigy that looked exactly like Maud.
"I'm sorry, sister, but you brought this on yourself. May Hecate have mercy on your soul."
October and Maud looked on in horror as Jessica reared back her arm and sent the effigy into the cement wall where it shattered on impact.
October's faded to the sound of her sister's screams.
A few days later…
Jessica Sanford had known she couldn't simply return to her life as though nothing had changed. Although, on the other hand, a spell to dissuade her parents suspicions and they were none the wiser as to their twelve year old daughter's recent nocturnal outings. Still, there were others out there she knew would not let her escape back into a semblance of normalcy so easily. And on the fourth night they finally came for her…
Night had fallen moments ago as Jess put away the last clean dish from dinner. The entire meal her parents had needled at her to start preparing for school to start again.
"I hope you enjoyed your summer sweetie, because with school starting next week, things are going to have to change around here," her mom informed her between bites.
Jess rolled her eyes.
Now that she could use her magic, school was going to be a cake-walk from there on.
And besides, school was the last thing she was worried about after everything that had gone down at her sisters beach house.
"I think we need to revisit your curfew too, Jess," her father shot her a meaningful look.
Jess groaned, earning an amused chuckle out of her parents, the sound expected from their budding teenage daughter. In reality, however, Jess was not looking forward to having to use more magic on her parents on the occasional night that would inevitably sneak out. She hated having to do that mostly because it ruined the illusion that she was just trying to maintain a normal childhood.
"Sounds great," she said sarcastically.
Her unfortunate tone led to dish duty that night and the entire time she spent scrubbing the dishes, she couldn't help glancing out of the kitchen window into the swiftly darkening yard.
The pit in her stomach grew exponentially as the sun finally extinguished.
Apparently her anxiety was totally justified because when she went up to her bedroom for the night, the room was not empty as she expected it to be. The bedroom light was already on and the four of them were spread around the room like they owned the place. After the initial shock passed, Jess quietly closed the door behind her and muttered a spell to keep her parents from barging in.
Jess picked out the leader of the tribe quickly. David. He was the one her sister's lackey, Max, had regarded as highly important. She looked him and the eye, bracing herself, and asked him "Are you here to kill me?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, obviously calculating his reply, which she didn't understand why he was biding his time at all if he was indeed there to kill her.
"Depends," he said, his tone impassive.
She raised a brow. "On?"
"You're going to tell us what the fuck happened."
One of them spoke up, their words playful sounding, but the look in their eyes promising chaos. "Yeah, you left the party so fast, we didn't get a chance to chat..."
Jess remained pressed against her bedroom door, trying to keep as much distance between as she physically could. She weighed her options quickly. Yes, they had the advantage of speed, but she had the benefit of unpredictability. While they knew what her sister, October, had been capable of, her magic was just the tip of the iceberg.
She grit her teeth. "What did you do with my sister's bodies?"
"We burned the widow to a crisp and threw the husk in the ocean," the dark haired one bragged spitefully.
She nodded thoughtfully, not willing to give away her true thoughts. "And October?"
The leader shook his head slowly without breaking eye contact.
"What. Happened." He was no longer asking.
She swallowed nervously despite the fact that she knew she had the upper hand.
"First of all, I want to apologize for everything Maude, and by extension, me, put you through. It probably doesn't mean much to you, but I need you to understand that I was literally her puppet."
"She was controlling you?" one of the blondes asked dubiously.
"Yes. No." She huffed in frustration. "For the most part she was. I was able to defy her in some ways which is how I was able to send October to the moment of your collective murder."
That bit of information piqued their attention. "That was you?" the leader asked.
Her mouth twitched nearly curving into a smirk. "Yeah. That was me. You're welcome, I suppose."
An renewed air of suspicion settled amongst the vampires. "Why?"
She frowned. Why had she sent October through time? The question made her hesitate.
"It was…" she hesitated, worried the boys wouldn't believe her innocence. "It was Maude's idea to involve October at all. I had hoped that they would be able to work out their problems with each other."
She sighed and took a short moment to gauge their responses. Just as she feared, there was not a touch of sympathy between them. Only quickly growing disdain and thinning patience.
"But what she really wanted was October's magic. She knew the process of taking it away from her would kill October so in the end she would get power and her revenge at the same time. It was a two-fer."
A shudder ran through all four of them simultaneously and she knew their patience had finally run out.
"Then what happened?" David snapped. "Did they kill each other? What the fuck were you doing?"
She glared at him as tears began to sting her eyes. How dare he speak to her like she didn't just lose everything, everyone, she cared about. She just lost her entire family and he thinks he can come into her home and interrogate her? How fucking rude.
"I stopped the widow. I killed my own sister after I watched her murder October. Is that what you wanted to hear, asshole? If you're not here to kill me then get the fuck out of my house. Now."
A coldness washed over David as he drew himself up. She met his sharp gaze dead on, unblinking. The others straightened up as well and she sensed the conversation coming to end. About goddamn time.
"If you want to say goodbye to October, be at Hudson's bluff in an hour."
Jessica was seriously getting tired of sneaking out after curfew. And by sneaking out, she really meant placing her parents under a temporary sleep spell. This time, however, she felt justified.
On the dot, she arrived at Hudson's bluff accompanied by a deep well of grief as she instantly zeroed in on the loose dirt of a freshly dug grave in front of where the vampires were lined up.
As she slowly approached she began to notice other details, like how they had clearly outlined the grave with candles that refused to stay lit on the gusty cliffside. The set up was a bit… off... to be appropriate for a funeral or a wake, she thought. No, there was more an air of... necromancy.
She stopped at the foot of her sister's grave right as it occurred to her why David had been merciful so far.
"Bring her back."
She blinked at him in disbelief. "What?"
The curly blonde, elaborated. "We know you can raise the dead, so bring her back."
They stared at her expectantly.
Shit, she cursed inwardly. They are never going to forgive for this.
She nodded solemnly to herself and the boys mistook this gesture as her agreement.
"I need some room to work," she said, avoiding eye contact and she fixed her gaze on the outlined grave.
The boys backed off a short ways away and she only hoped it would be far enough to give her time for what she needed to do.
Outstretching her arms so her hands hovered over the grave, she lifted with her magic and the body buried below was pulled from the earth.
The boys held their breath as Jessica suspended October's body, wrapped delicately in a sheet, in the air. But something didn't feel quite right. This wasn't the same manner that David, Dwayne, and Paul witnessed when October herself had performed the same spell.
She snapped her fingers and the shrouded corpse burst into cobalt blue flames.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The boys shouted in outrage.
In the fire light, they could see the tears streaming down the little girl's face. She backed away a step, preparing herself for the possibility of the vampires attacking. She really hoped they didn't. The last thing she wanted was to hurt them.
"I'm so sorry. But I can't bring her back. I can't leave her body here either because it's not even supposed to exist in the time period."
The tall blond snarled. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T BRING HER BACK?!"
She wrapped her arms around herself and sniffled. "When a witch dies, they die. A new cycle is supposed to begin. I don't have the power to bring her back now."
Goddess, this whole thing was her fault. She was going to have to carry this guilt forever and live with the consequences whatever they may be. Hecate was sure to deal out her punishment in time.
The tall blond raged, "That is bullshit! We're just supposed to wait until she reincarnated or whatever?"
"If she reincarnates at all," she said softly.
She winced. Part of her wished she could have been introduced to her sister's soulmates under more wholesome circumstances. It felt like all she did since she met them was ruin their lives.
"What do you mean if?" the dark haired one growled.
The brilliant blue flames cast an eerie glow over the five of them as it consumed her sister's corpse. David, still as a statue, hadn't looked away from the quickly disappearing body once. She found it difficult to watch his grim expression for too long especially with the angry and accusing hostility his brothers aimed her way.
She swiped at her watery eyes and forced herself to face them. "Because of the spell that killed her, she might not be able to."
"How will we know for sure?" David surprised her by speaking up. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, the blue flames throwing ominous shadows across his features.
Resisting the urge to shudder, she chewed on the inside of her lip, thinking. There was one way...but it was a long shot.
"I can set a sort of magical alarm that will be set off when she comes into her power. I'm sorry but that's all I can promise. Although…" She paused as another idea formed in her mind.
"How about I owe you one favor. Doesn't matter how big or impossible it is. My magic is at your disposal for exactly one time. No expiration date."
David raised a skeptical brow. "So you'll grant us one wish if we ask?"
She might be imagining things, but she sensed a hint of amusement in his voice to which she huffed and placed her hands on her hips. Regardless, she recognized the olive branch he was graciously extending to her.
She rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm not your fucking fairy godmother. It's a favor. And a generous one at that. We'll call it a 'Get Out of Jail Free Card'. I suggest you use it wisely."
A/N: This fic has been crossposted on AO3 under username eyesandarrows.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this work.