The drive to Fredericksburg Manor was woefully short from Ichabod's perspective. In his head he arranged words to carry the weight of his devotion, to calm the Lieutenant, to make her stop looking at him like she had, with such fear. By the end of the drive he wanted nothing but to embrace her. Their arrival at the manor coincided with the setting of the sun, and a deep seated dread settled in Ichabod's heart. Here had his son been birthed, his life and that of his wife almost ended by a servant of Moloch which he and the Lieutenant had battled some two centuries later. There was nothing pleasant that might come of this.
Exiting the car, Katrina grabbed his arm. "This is clearly a question of the bond of the Witnesses. I believe Miss Jenny and I would be wrong to join in such a conversation." Saying this, she glanced to Jenny who seemed blind-sided but nodded all the same.
"Alright." He said, swallowing thickly. He turned, striding toward the house.
Fredericksburg Manor was nothing like what it once had been. Once a sanctuary, a place imbued with the hope of freedom, was now degraded by age, and riddled with supernatural interference. Opening the door, Ichabod's attention was immediately drawn to a chanting coming from within the house. He followed the voice, knowing instinctually that it was that of his partner. He entered a ballroom, dark with the setting sun. In a ring of lit candles sat the Lieutenant. The tempo of her chanting increased, becoming rhythmic, louder and faster until with a flourish she pronounced the last words and the candles around her snuffed out at once. She immediately pulled her pistol from her holster, turned and faced Ichabod.
"I told you I would kill you if you came near me again." She said, leveling her gun at him.
"Ms. Mills, I-I never, ever would betray you in such a manner. Have we not struggled together, suffered together and formed a bond that would transcend any obstacle Moloch could present in our way?"
"I believed you, Crane. I believed and I trusted you." She said, tears in her eyes. "But I saw it. It was horrible, and I was terrified and then," She paused. "I was his. You sold me to him."
"Abbie." He whispered. At that very moment the door to the Manor opened, and Katrina appeared at the doorway.
"It didn't work." Abbie gasped. "The hex didn't work."
Ichabod looked between the two, confused. "What is going-"
"Ms. Mills, would you join us outside?" Katrina asked.
Eyes wide and fearful, the Lieutenant took one step, then another, following after Katrina.
"You must come, too, Ichabod." Katrina called behind her. Alarm bloomed in his heart as Ichabod's legs moved against his will, following the two from the Manor.
The night sky was shattered, opening to another world. Moloch was saddled upon a great black steed, below him lie Jeremy Crane. He was gesticulating, begging, it seemed. The sound did not reach between realms. Ichabod came to a stop beside Abbie, the will to follow after Katrina leaving him. Abbie stood, slack-jawed and hypnotized, just outside of the portal.
"Katrina, what is going on? What is the meaning of this?" Ichabod begged.
"Ichabod, I am sorry. Truly, I am, but we have an opportunity to have our son back, to have our lives back. And all we must do is deliver a Witness." Ichabod was sure his horror showed on his face as his wife continued.
"When I was with Abraham I tried to get through to Henry, to turn him from his treacherous path." Tears welled in her eyes. "But he wouldn't respond. He was too subjugated to Moloch's will. But Moloch offered me this-this Lieutenant's soul for that of our son. We cannot refuse him Ichabod. We have a chance to get our son back." She turned to Abbie, her face contorting. "But she was going to ruin it. She would tell you before I was ready. She would run, robbing us of the chance to save our son. She would hex this place to fend us off. I used my powers to try to bend her to this task but she resisted at every turn. She would have us kill our son, Ichabod!"
He was lachrymose, even before he had registered it. "Katrina, I love you, I have always loved you, and never have I turned from you in any matter." He locked gazes with his wife, begging her to see reason. "But you cannot do this. You cannot trade in souls. Not even for our son. We cannot do this. I cannot allow you to do this."
Katrina shook her head. "Ichabod, you don't understand, we must do this. Moloch will not take no for an answer. We must offer her to him. Or he will take what he wants. Ichabod, you must."
His heart had begun to pound in his ears. He had no choice. He had no choice. "I will do this. I will do it."
Katrina smiled, even through her tears, she smiled. God help him.
"You must follow my instructions exactly, Ichabod. When I enter the portal, you must make the Lieutenant enter the portal, then enter, only to close the portal. You must not dwell long in this realm. My spell will not extend from realm to realm so you may find the necessity of force. You remember the invocation?"
He nodded mechanically. "I remember all." She had smiled.
"When I return, my love, I shall return with our son. We shall start our lives anew." With this she stepped into the portal. The mirrored world took her voice as she spoke to Moloch, and gestured placatingly to her son.
In the split second that it took for Katrina to enter the portal, the spell fell away. After a quick examination of circumstances, Abbie turned, sprinting into the forest. Ichabod murmuring curses, followed.
Ichabod soon learned that for a woman with such small stature, the Lieutenant was very fast. He took long strides trying to keep up with her and was only alerted to her course by her desperate, gasping breaths. Suddenly her steps ceased. Mystified, Ichabod crept forward slowly, trying to use all of his senses to orient himself. The woods became silent around him. He turned then turned again, unsure. He felt, rather than saw a presence behind him. Turning, he threw his arms out, catching the Lieutenant about the waist. She shrieked, and he held on as she squirmed and beat at his arms. It was a while until she showed any sign of tiring, but when her interjections became wordless he began to drag her with him back toward the clearing.
As the woods fell away, Ichabod was aware of Katrina's pallid face peering out into reality. With the Lieutenant writhing in his grip, he glanced at her, seeing the determination in her eyes, overlying fear and vulnerability. He stared at her face for so long that he was greatly surprised when the Lieutenant wound up her elbow and plunged it into his stomach. He doubled over, gasping, just barely fisting his hand in the waistband of her trousers. She darted away, rebounded and stomped on his foot. This he had expected and when she was near he grabbed her using his slightly more substantial body weight to bring her to the ground. His mind nearly incoherent, he saw what he had to do. Closing his eyes, he balled up his fist and swung.
Opening his eyes, he locked gazes with her large, dark eyes as she wiped blood from her newly split lip. There were tears in his eyes and he didn't look down for fear that his shaking hand would be streaked with blood. With her blood.
"Grace Abigail Mills," He thundered. "If you do not enter that portal, I will force you therein."
Her stunned face stared up at him, but slowly she stood, turning toward the portal. Just as she approached the boundary between worlds, she turned to him.
"Ichabod." She pleaded.
He didn't look at her, only clasped her hand. "We must enter."
As a sob broke from her lips, she stepped through. He followed.
Ugh, I'm kinda trolling the Miharie tag on Tumblr. I'm also kinda having trouble with commas and using then WAY too much. I didn't really like this chapter but if I wrote Abbie putting up a fight instead of being hurt, she would have won. Also, I just joined AO3 and if anyone has any advice for figuring my way around there, it'd be greatly appreciated. One more chapter. Thanks for the reviews and such!