All eyes were still fixed on her and for a moment she felt like a kid again. This usually never happened to her. Being afraid when people stared at her. That phase of her life was long gone, far away in the past, so why was this feeling resurfacing now? "If you know a way, then let's not waste anymore time. Come on, let's do it. Let's bring her back." She could hear her heart beat faster and her hands got sweaty all of a sudden. What was going on with her? She never lost her nerves. That was usually one of her best qualities, to always keep a cool head and know how to talk herself out of situations like this.
Luckily Jack put a hand on Randalls Arm to calm him down a little, while Hamish shot Vera a knowing glance. He could smell the fear coming off of her and he was praying that the others were standing far enough away not to notice. "Alright." She finally said. "There is a way, an incantation. But I can't be the one to cast it." She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was about to happen.
"Why not? I mean, you are the strongest one of us when it comes to magic. Shouldn't you be the one to cast the incantation? To minimize any possible danger?" Nicole was right. Usually Vera would have done it herself, but at the moment it simply wasn't possible. "I am the one person in this room with the weakest connection to miss Bathory. In order for this spell to work, there has to be a strong one." It was a plausible explanation for why she couldn't do it, even if it was a lie.
"Then I will do it." the younger woman said a little unsure. "I mean, I am more experienced with magic than the others here and I do have a somewhat strong connection to her." Vera agreed, Nicole was indeed the next best choice to perform this incantation. Plus they were going to need a lot of blood, preferably not from the one to perform the spell.
"And what's the price?" It was Hamish who had to ask. Naturally he was the only person reasonable enough to care about the price of magic. He was the only one who knew how high a cost could be. "well, do you all know why we do blood sacrifices in order to perform magic?" If she was going to do this now, she might as well turn this into a lesson, for them to learn something. "Because blood holds power?" That answer wasn't exacly wrong, but not quite right either.
"Adrenaline. it is a very powerful substance. Our body produces adrenaline when we are in pain, when we are afraid, when we are terrified. It is also produced in moments of bliss, hence some peoples attraction to sexual magic. Some very powerful spells need a lot of blood to be performed which often leads to the misunderstanding, that somebody has to die for them to work. Like the incantation you had chosen would need the death of a powerful sorcerer." So far it seemed as if they were following where she was going with it.
"Because naturally, if you were to take this much blood from a person, death would be imminent for them. But there is another way to get the necessary amount of blood without killing." Realization dawned on some of their faces. "If you have more than one person to draw blood from." It was Hamish who spoke that conclusion out. "Exactly Mr Duke." Vera agreed.
"But if the sacrifice has to be powerful, the only person in this room fitting would be you. Or could we all donate our blood as well?" Jack followed with his own thought process. "No, Mr Morton. I am not the only candidate in this room to donate my blood. As a matter of fact, there are three people in this room much more fitting and a fourth somewhere out there intent on killing me."
"The wolves." This time surprisingly it was Randall who came up with the answer. "You want us to turn into the wolves so that you can take their blood for the incantation." She could hear that he wasn't exactly pleased about her suggestion, but ultimately she was sure he would do it. "Yes Mr Carpio. As a matter of fact, the transformation itself pumps you all up with so much adrenaline, that it will make up for the current lack of magical power in your blood. So the wolves are the perfect sacrifices for an incantation like this."
He was looking at her with a strange look. A little scared, a little disturbed maybe. "And what else will you do with my wolves blood? Who knows, maybe this is just a trick to get our blood for those horrible experiments the order has started a while ago." She didn't quite understand what he meant, but the others seemed to, so she waited for an explanation. But none came.
"It's ok Randall. She wants to help us and what she is saying makes sense. If we don't want to kill anybody, which we DON'T, then this is going to be the only way." Hamish Duke, as always the voice of reason. Well maybe not always, considering he fucked up before as well. But still, in this moment he seemed to be the only one who could get Randall to agree to this.
"It's your choice Mr Caprio. I don't have all day and you requested me to bring her back now. SO are we going to do this or not?" Another lie. She actually did have time all day long, considering she was supposed to be at home, resting. "
"Alright, but I want Nicole to take our blood, not you." It was understandable. Yet she wished that he would finally start trusting her. This constant witch hunt he was doing was getting really exhausting. "Well, you can draw Tundras Blood." Hamish told her, while getting a little closer. Maybe a little too close for her taste, considering there were other people in the room, witnessing their display. And on the other hand she wished he was even closer than this, just because she wanted to feel him holding her, reassuring her. "I trust you and so does Tundra. So there will be no problem."
She gave him a small smile, thinking about closing the last bit of distance between them, but instead she pulled back, turning towards the others again. "I believe three wolves will be enough. I don't believe that Midnight would agree to this anyways, so will have to be enough."
That being said they made their way to the Timbers locker, ropes still laying around everywhere. Nicole went to get some clean bowls while Vera grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and started writing something down. "Alright, let me explain what we are going to do. You three will turn. We will take a bowl full of blood from each of you. Thanks to the wolves healing abilities this shouldn't be a problem." They all agreed on that statement.
"Afterwards you will turn back and link your magic with Nicole's. As I said before, Miss Bathory and I are not on the best speaking terms, so I rather stay out of this. If she were to sense my magic in this, she might not let you bring her back here." Randall was about to give some snarky comment on that, but Vera would not give him a chance, so she quickly continued. "Once you all are linked, Nicole, you will have to say this incantation here. You will have to repeat it three times." The younger woman nodded as she took the paper and started reading the unfamiliar words.
"Hold up. If we are all linked to one another, who will go through the portal and bring her back?" Jack mentioned towards the ropes. Vera understood what he meant, but this was not the spell they had tried initially. "This is not how my spell works Mr Morton. Nobody will enter the demon realm. Instead we will summon Lilith back here and she will come of her own free will. That is, if she still has one. From what I have read, if you stay in that cursed realm for too long, it changes you, makes you forget who you are." Her words became rather quiet towards the end of that statement. "But believe me, if anybody can stay sane down there, I have no doubt, it is Miss Bathory."
After Vera had practiced the incantation with the younger woman, making her pronounce everything just the way it was supposed to, they continued with the spell. Everything seemed to go as planned, until the Incantation was said. Everything was quiet and absolutely nothing seemed to happen. Was Vera wrong? Did she forget something? Why did nothing happen?
They were sitting in her living room. Bee had just told Lilith about the old woman and the necklaces that used to belong to her and her sister. Lilith still didn't know what exactly that curse was, the red haired woman had talked about before but she decided not to rush her. There was a time for everything and right now, she wanted to hear this story from the beginning. "Why were you out there on your own? Were you traveling somewhere? What about your family?" Bee seemed surprised by these questions. "I don't... I actually don't remember. All I know is that it has always been just us, Ginger and me. Ind every single life we would stick together, protecting each other no matter the cost."
In every life? Did she mean... Had she been reborn? And if so, could she remember everything from her previous lives?
"We were cursed, she and I. I don't know by whom or why, but it happened in our very first life. I think it happened the day we were born. Like, maybe we were born under a bad star or something." The red haired woman continued. "And ever since I have always had those visions, premonitions of her death or mine, mostly hers though. And always they would come true. But we found a way. We found a way to get rid of this curse. Or at least we thought so..." Her eyes went even darker than before, if it was even possible. "I mean what we did brought me here, so basically the circle of being reborn as sisters was broken."
So if they broke the circle, if they found a way around the curse, then why did she need to see her sister and warn her? Apparently this woman had been here for quite a while and she seemed to be in good shape. She probably was able to hold her ground against those other creatures lurking everywhere.
"I haven't had any visions, not until you showed up. Mostly those visions were about you, about how your friends were coming to get you. But I believe I saw her face as well. It was covered with blood and I could feel her pain. And there was this cold, this feeling I had the last time when..." She didn't finish the sentence, as a sob took away her ability to talk.
"Alright, So how do I do it?" The other wolves were like brothers to her. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to lose them over and over again, having to watch and feel their deaths. She wanted to help this woman so desperately. Nobody should have to suffer like that. "How can I take you with me when they come for me?"
The sobbing stopped and Bee gave her a genuine smile. "It actually isn't that hard. Give me your hand." Lilith did as told but the moment their hands touched, a pain shot through her body. Something was wrong. What was that woman doing to her? "It's ok, It'll hurt for a moment, but it will be over soon." But it did not seem to Lilith, that the pain was going to stop. No, instead she looked at her hand in horror, as a symbol was burning itself into her flesh. It was a symbol unlike any she had ever seen before, but before she could ask the other woman about it, her vision became blurry.
"NO!" She could hear Bee scream. "Not yet, the transference is not done yet. Stay with me a little longer." Her words were getting more feint, like she was suddenly so far away. "I know you want to see them, but please take me with you, hold on to me." Lilith had no chance to say anything to her anymore, because suddenly everything around her was so bright. She tried to open her eyes but had to blink a couple times, before she adjusted to the light. Where was she? Something smelled familiar. And something smelled odd.
"Is that bird blood? Who the fuck spilled bird blood in my locker?" She was home. As unbelievable as it seemed, she was finally home again.
"Is that bird blood? Who the fuck spilled bird blood in my locker?" They would recognize that voice anywhere. Without wasting a second Randall threw himself on the ground next to the locker, as Lilith started to get up. Apparently she was cramped in Timbers locker, however she fit in there was a mystery. But as she sat up two arms already pulled her in a tight hug. "It is you, it's really you." Following his lead now the whole pack, or at least those who were present, crowded her, literally taking her breath away.
Vera took a couple steps back, watching the scene in front of her from a distance. And as she watched, she noticed Nicole being frozen in place. "Lilith, what is that?" Her voice sounded scared and everybody seemed to follow her eyes to what she was talking about.
"That's a demon mark." The short explanation earned Vera their attention, as now Lilith noticed the guest. "What the hell is she doing here." Completely ignoring her remark about her name Sigil. "Oh don't mind me, I just helped bringing you back from the demon realm. You're welcome. And you know what, since I am no longer needed, I'm going to leave. You can clean this mess here on your own." Hamish wanted to stop her, tell her she could stay, but Lilith was faster than him. "Sure, go ahead. Nobody is keeping you here and nobody wants you here."
As happy as he was to have Lilith back, somewhere deep within he knew, this would make things for him and Vera only much more complicated as they were already. But he liked a challenge and for his girlfriend no challenge was too hard for him. They would take care of one problem at a time. Lilith was back so next on the list was Veras magic. And of course the information she had requested.
"Well look into it, Vera, as promised." With that she gave him another smile, before disappearing. But as soon as she reached her car and sank down into her seat, the smile was gone. It was hard, witnessing others perform magic. And no, she didn't just witness it. She could fell it. It was there, the magic, close enough for her to feel it but too far out of reach to grasp. It was like she could almost touch it with her fingertips but nothing more. In other words, it was pure torture. A kind of torture that she was more than familiar with.
There had been one moment int her life, in which she had felt the exact same helplessness. Her baby. Able to see and touch her but unable to grasp the problem for her suffering, until it was too late.
After a while she finally took a deep breath, started the engine of her car and for the first time since she came to Belgrave, she decided to pay her baby a visit. Why? she couldn't tell. But now more than ever the longing to see her again, to talk to her, was so overwhelming that it left her no choice.
And while everybody seemed to be keen on reuniting with someone else, a red haired woman awoke to an unknown surrounding. Had it worked? Had she finally managed to break free? Carefully she eyed the room she was in, until her gaze was fixed on an item on a shelf. Her hand immediately shot to the one hanging around her neck and as she held them next to each other, she knew. "Well sis, seems like we really will meet again. I can't wait to see what you have done with your life this time."
She put the other necklace back where she found it and instead went for a knife that caught her eye with its unique shape and colors. "My, you could come in quite handy." Slowly she pushed her sleeve up a little, revealing quite a collection of scars shaped in strange symbols. And as quickly as she used the knife to carve a new one into her arm, the woman disappeared into thin air, as though she had never been in this place to begin with.