Part Two: Light

Chapter Four: What Has Been Done -

What is more unfair
Than having to choose
Between being a monster
Or being a hero?

—When you have to be both.

When you learn that
The road to Hell
Is paved with more
Than just good intentions.

May 2nd, 2011

Hecate sat in the middle of a loose circle made of salt, an empty brass bowl in front of her. She had placed the bundles of plants Adrienne had in small piles around her - the bark of yew, cypress, and elder trees, along with bits of a wormwood bush leaves and flowers from foxglove and dittany of crete. There was also a few baggies of hair that Adrienne had summoned from her family's graves. Fresh incense sat, waiting to be burned.

Adrienne waited impatiently as Hecate sliced the wood into thin sheets, occasionally asking questions about why something was included or the properties of a certain ingredient. In an effort to appear less threatening, Adrienne had worn a pale yellow summer dress with flower decals at the waist and a pearl pendant. She'd asked the goddess if she could help, but apparently the only job she'd been qualified for was holding the special purple matches (which were admittedly quite pretty).

Adrienne heard a clicking sound, quickly identifying it as the door being unlocked and opened. Vetis walked in, looking wary. Adrienne felt guilty when she saw him, remembering what she'd done to him earlier. She taps Hecate on the shoulder. Adrienne expects her to jump, but she only nods absentmindedly, waving her away before returning to her work.

Adrienne joins Vetis by the door, pulling him out into the hallway. When she let go of him, she saw the wary, almost scared look he had, and felt her heart break a little. They stand awkwardly for a few seconds, and Adrienne is strangely reminded of how she felt when she first had a crush on Adam, making this weird on two levels.

"I'm sorry," they said in eerie unison. Adrienne frowned. "You first."

Vetis let out a heavy sigh, exhaustion etched into his features. "You were right. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, especially not in front of other people. You're a leader, and as your subordinate, I must show respect to you at all times."

Adrienne shook her head. "God no. Vetis, if you have a concern, then you should tell me. I was being stupid. You've never lead me wrong before, and I should listen to your opinion."

Vetis's eyes, already dull, dimmed further, and for a moment he looked really sad. It was gone in a moment, but Adrienne was sure she'd seen it. But things still weren't quite right about them, so she decided not to mention it just yet, and continued on to her own apology instead. "And I shouldn't have froze you earlier. You're not an enemy, you weren't trying to hurt me, you were just trying to talk to me, and I overreacted."

With nothing left to say, she hugged him. It took him a moment to return the gesture, and it was stiff at first - they hadn't quite regained the ease they'd had before. But they warmed to each other after a few seconds, and it felt better. More natural.

Vetis pulled away eventually, asking, "So what's going on in there?"

Adrienne looked back to the room. "Oh, there's a Greek magic goddess getting ready to summon my family's spirits to the earth."

… "What?"

Adrienne sighed. "Well I went to the place that Sachiel told us about, and it was true. They were trying to come up with a way to kill me." She noticed his alarmed look, and assured him, "Don't worry, I killed them. Except for this one, because… because she said that she could summon my family's spirits, and I think she's telling the truth." She looked excited now, and so young in that dress. Vetis almost couldn't help but be happy for her. But there was a glaring problem.

Vetis didn't know if the angels had said anything to Adrienne's family before killing them, but all it would take was a few words before she knew he'd set them up.

He wanted to say something - maybe try to kill Hecate before anything could be revealed - but he was already on thin ice with Adrienne. One wrong move, and he'd fall through.

Besides, it was hard to worry about anything when Adrienne smiled like that, eyes shining and lips spread wide.

She grabbed his wrist, pulling him back into the room. Incense was burning, filling the room with the heady scent of bay laurel and thyme. Gray tendrils of smoke slinked around them. Hecate had finished arranging the plants, and the bowl was filled with thin sheets of bark, whole leaves, and sprigs of flowers. "I'm ready to begin. Who do you want to see first?"

Adrienne thought about it for a moment before saying, "My dad. Josef." Hecate emptied one of the bags of hair into the bowl and reached a hand to the nephilim. Adrienne handed her the matchbox. Hecate swiftly lit a match and dropped it in the bowl. Green fire erupted from it, casting its glow over the women and Vetis. Hecate began chanting in ancient Greek.

"You who lived yesterday, I'll call you from my mind to yours. Come back from the shadows into the light and show yourself here."

The smoke from the incense coalesced, forming a shapeless mass roughly the size of a man. Slowly, details began to appear. The smoke shaped itself into a proper body, slowing forming legs and arms, a head and neck. After a moment, the small details came in, the eyes and nose, the fingernails and mouth. Finally Josef stood before them, made only of gray smoke and wearing the clothes he'd died in.

Josef blinked, looking incredibly confused. His eyes flitted around the room before falling on his daughter. "Adrienne?" His voice was quiet and rasping. He sounded like he was sick.

It was the most beautiful sound Adrienne had ever heard.

Adrienne rushed forward, and was distantly surprised to find that she could touch him, though he didn't feel the same as he used to. He was less solid. She almost felt like her hands would slip right through him. Still, she doubted that she had ever been so happy.

But Josef did not share the sentiment. He was stiff when Adrienne touched him, and rapidly pushed her away once he regained his senses. Adrienne blinked owlishly at the rough treatment. "What's wrong?"

"'What's wrong'?" He sounded half-hysterical, like he might start laughing any moment from insanity or frustration. "Adrienne, what's wrong with you?"

Adrienne looked confused, and her hands were starting to form fists as if in self-defense. "What do you mean?"

Josef looked at his daughter in disbelief. "Adrienne, I've seen you. I watched over you for weeks, until I couldn't stand to look anymore. And still I knew, still I felt every horrible thing you did. Adrienne, you have tortured and killed people. Tonight only, you killed over a dozen people."

Adrienne's eyes glowed dimly. She could hear her teeth scraping against each other. "Those people wanted to kill me. I did what was necessary -"

"Necessary? Was it necessary that you mutilate an innocent angel? You would have killed her if she hadn't given you any information!"

"The angels are not innocent! Or do you not remember what they did to you, to us?"

"What they did does not justify your own actions Adrienne. You're developing this black and white view of the world that isn't right, and isn't possible."

"What do you want me to do? Stop? It's too late for that. The guilty are going to get what's coming for them, and I will be the one to send it."

"Okay, fine. Say all the people you've hurt, everyone that you killed, all the blood on your hands is justified. What about what you're planning now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know what you're planning. I know what he talked you into." His tone was accusing, and he looked past Adrienne to Vetis, who seemed surprised at being addressed.

Adrienne's eyes turned completely white now. "Do not talk to or about him. I am only alive because of him."

"Maybe you shouldn't be."

Adrienne felt like a bucket of ice-water had been dumped over her head. She knew Vetis had placed a hand on her shoulder, but she couldn't feel it. "You don't mean that," she said quietly.

Josef didn't try to take it back or defend what he said. "Adrienne, don't you understand what you're doing? You're going to destroy the entire world."

But Adrienne wasn't listening. She had gone away, safely hidden in a corner of her mind. Vetis, realizing she wasn't going to say anything, said, "Adrienne knows what she's doing. She understands the consequences -"

"I felt it." Adrienne's eyes were a dull brown and hooded, her head hung low, and she wasn't looking at any of them. "The pain. All the pain in the world, from every man, woman, and child. I felt like I was going to die. I thought I did. I thought I died and was in a place worse than hell."

"But that's not all the world is. There are good things, things that are worth living and fighting for -"

"Maybe there are good things in this world, I don't know anymore. But I don't think they're worth it." Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She looked at Josef pleadingly. "Please understand. I'm doing this because the people - humanity - deserves peace."

"And they'll get it, when they die when they're meant to."

"They are meant to die when I decide they are. Adrienne, please. If you don't stop, then soon you're going to get to a point where you can't anymore."

"I certainly hope so." Her eyes were still dark, but there was steel in her voice now. She looked to Hecate. "Banish him."

Josef tried to speak, but could not say anything. As he looked around in confusion, his hand at his throat, Hecate began chanting. "You who lived yesterday, thank you. Now fly away from this earth, and join the world of spirits." Josef's body began to unwind. His arms and head disbanded, leaving only his eyes in the gray mass. Soon, those too were gone, and tendrils of smoke filled the room once more.

Adrienne and Vetis stood in silence. Vetis stared at her back, wondering if he should say something. "Are you alright?"

Adrienne didn't respond for a moment. She looked lost, a far-away look in her eyes. Finally she said, "I don't know." Her voice cracked and tears began to stream past her eyes. Vetis moved forward, carefully putting one arm around her. Adrienne buried her face in his chest, sobbing as she held onto his shirt.

Vetis shut his eyes as he held her. He rocked her softly, kissing her temple. He opened his eyes again when Adrienne had calmed some. His eyes caught Hecate's. "What do you want to do with her?"

Adrienne dragged in a breath. "I don't care, I just don't want her here."

"Should I kill her?"

Adrienne thought about it, eventually shaking her head. "No. She did what I wanted. Just get her out of here."

Vetis nodded, running his hands over her arms in comfort and kissing her head once. "I'll be back in a minute."

Vetis lead Hecate back to Earth. She turned away from him, ready to leave, when she felt his hand on her wrist. She looked back to him. There was an angel blade in his other hand. His eyes were a vibrant red. Wings stretched far above them both.

Vetis tightened his grip, preventing her from leaving. "Adrienne said to let me go."

Vetis rolled his head and shoulders in a 'Well yeah, but...' gesture. "Yeah, but what Adrienne doesn't know won't kill her."

Without another word, he pierced her chest with his angel blade.

When Vetis returned, Adrienne had left. He found her in her room, lying motionless in bed. He carefully closed the door behind him, just loudly enough that she knew he was there. When she didn't say anything, he asked her, "Are you okay."

After a few seconds, Adrienne slowly shook her head.

Vetis moved forward, coming to stand by her. "Do you need me to do something. I could get you some food, or a blanket-"

"Vetis," Adrienne stopped him. Her voice was small and weak, and her eyes were red. She was curled up in a ball on top of the duvet. She'd changed into a white nightgown, leaving the yellow dress fro before partially torn in a pile in the corner of the room. Vetis thought she looked very young, and very innocent. "Could you just… can you hold me?"

Vetis's surprised shone through his eyes, but he didn't let him stop it. He nodded and took off his shoes. He got on top of the other side of the bed, behind Adrienne. He lay awkwardly, not quite sure what to do until Adrienne rolled over to face him, moving closer. Vetis wrapped her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin.

The poem is "you are not heads or tails; you are the coin" by dvoyd on tumblr. The words for the spell Hecate used to summon Josef can be found here: /a-spell-to-invoke-a-dead-spirit-or-ghost.