Gilbert could feel their eyes boring into him. All of them, staring at him.
"No? What do you mean, no?" Arthur rounded on him.
"That's what we're doing here…?" Alfred stared at his father blankly. "Are resurrection spells even possible…?"
"I've been talking to Nikolai…the guy dating one of the neighbors. He's been telling me about spells, and things like that. More open about it than you all have been." Gilbert sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "And he told me that resurrection spells are forbidden because fifty percent of the time they kill the caster. I, I can't let you all take that risk for me."
"I've been doing some research on this," Bhaltair took a step forward, "and as far as I can tell, that rate only applies to spells that require a single caster. The likely hood drops by ten percent with every added one. Besides, we have specialists here. This isn't as dangerous as you think."
"And as far as the whole 'forbidden' thing goes, there are loopholes." Ceilí added. "The law states that the reanimation of a being that has passed from this world is illegal. You, however, never left. That in itself lowers the risk as well, because we only have to summon one angel to bind your soul to the artificial body instead of two so that one can call your soul."
"Artificial…? A-angel?" Gilbert gaped.
"Well, angel is just one translation from the Old Script. Demon works too. It's basically a being summoned from a parallel world for a short period of time. They perform for us a certain task that we're incapable of doing ourselves in exchange for a sacrifice—don't give me that look, it's just the terminology. Sacrifices are usually things like puppies, or newborn kitte—"
"Bhaltair, shut up. There are no sacrifices. In fact, we're not sure why they help us at all. There's been some research that suggests that they covet our world, and do our bidding for a chance to escape to it." Ceilí gave her brother a Look, and he grinned unabashedly.
"I don't believe that. I think they just like to look at our purty faces." Bhaltair waggled his eyebrows at his siblings. Ceilí smacked his arm hard enough to bruise. Arthur rolled his eyes.
,,
"What are we going to have to do?" Charlie crossed his arms, scowling up at Arthur. It wasn't that he had anything against helping Matthew, but he'd never met Gilbert before, and was still a bit wary of the albino's ability to see him.
"Good question." Éimí shifted along the back of Matthew's couch, talons leaving sharp puncture marks.
"The same thing you do when you assist with a normal spell. Just because it's a resurrection circle doesn't mean it's any different." Ceilí smoothed Éimí's feathers.
"What do they do in a normal spell? Nikolai never had a spirit animal, so he couldn't tell me much about them." Gilbert mirrored Charlie's position, hovering off the ground with his arms and legs folded, though he did so without the aid of wings.
"They channel the caster's power so that it's more focused. Otherwise the spell spins out of control and destroys everything nearby." At the shocked look on Gilbert's face, Matthew quickly amended, "In a worst-case scenario, I mean. Usually the only thing that happens is the caster gets knocked out and comes to with their surroundings a bit mussed."
"But you all have your spirit animals with you, so that won't happen, right?"
"Exactly." Arthur nodded. "Now we need to set up our circle. Matthew, is your yard clear? The back one, the front's too exposed and we'll need a bit of privacy."
"Yeah, I keep it pretty neat. What about the neighbors? I think Nikolai might be over there…" Matthew gestured in the general direction of the Oxenstierna-Väinämöinen household.
"Aw, Matt, do you really have so little faith in my ability?" Bhaltair grinned, elbowing his nephew in the ribs.
"I'd like to meet this…Nikolai." Ceilí thrummed blood-red fingernails across the back of the couch, the indentations left behind shadows of the marks Éimí had left.
"I'd like to get to know him better as well, but this isn't the time. We have to cast the circle while the moon is still waxing, so we only have a few days." Arthur pointed out.
"Right, right. So where are we gonna do this thing?" Bhaltair cocked his head, bangs falling across his face like a forelock.
"Th-there's a spot, between the shed and a tree, that should be good. It's pretty sheltered, and I think there's enough room." Matthew rested his hand on the knob of the back door, wondering when his family had corralled him into the kitchen.
"Perfect. First we need to make an avatar, which might take a bit. You wouldn't happen to have any spare dirt handy, would you?" Bhaltair shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Um, no, I don't think I do…would sculpting clay work?"
"Yeah, that would be great. Can you get your hands on some?"
"My friend Lars makes pottery." Mostly bongs and flower pots, but still.
,,
"You want how much?"Lars stood on his front porch, surrounded by tulips, mouth agape. "Why do you need 150 pounds of clay?"
"I'm…I'm making a life-size sculpture of a friend of mine." Matthew wrung his hands, wondering if his half-truth was plausible.
"Uh-huh. Well, if you want some, I can tell you about a supplier I use, but I'm not just going to give you 150 pounds of clay." Lars crouched to sniff a flower, and looked up at Matthew.
"That would be great…how much will it cost?"
,,
"They're planning something risky…" Nikolai frowned out Mathias's window. "That man…his barrier would be able to keep me out…" The man in question, auburn-haired and green-eyed, was being followed by a pygmy unicorn as he dashed around Williams' yard. He seemed to be setting up the points of a pentagram.
"What's so interesting about them, Nikki? If you keep watching 'em, I might start to get jealous." Mathias tossed his arms around Nikolai's shoulders and rested his chin on his head.
"…I like the house." It was an utter lie, but Nikolai doubted Mathias could tell that.
The blond who appeared to be the owner of house's twin was molding something out of an enormous lump of clay. It had already begun to take a vaguely human form, and Nikolai had no doubt as to what its end shape would be. The posing spirit only reinforced the thought.
"C'mon, Nikki, let's get Berwald to make us some breakfast. 'S too early to be spying on the neighbors."
,,
"Why do you need to make a clay me?" Gilbert flipped in midair so that he was hovering upside down.
"It's going to be a receptacle for your soul. It needs to have something physical to bind to, or else you'll dissipate during the casting." Bhaltair called over his shoulder from across Matthew's yard.
"Awesome."
..
Chapter end! I'm sorry this took so long to get out, but I haven't been on the computer at all for most of the time since I posted chapter 15. Anyway, I hope you all liked it! Hopefully chapter 17 will be posted more quickly than this one was. (crosses fingers) If I go a little over the top with descriptions of Gilbert's aerial acrobatics, it's 'cause I've been rereading Yu Yu Hakusho, and I just finished the part with Jin…I heart Jin! He's so kyoot! Equilibrium out!