Danny watched in fright as Sam slipped off her chair and fell to the floor.
"Sam!" Danny jumped out of his seat. He gently turned Sam on her back; blood was leaking out of her nose. Jazz handed him a tissue to wipe Sam's face.
Mr. Lancer rushed over and knelt down next to Sam and placed a hand on her forehead.
The class was in an uproar; some students had fled the classroom and some had stuck around either out of morbid curiosity or to see what was wrong with their fainted classmate.
Tucker, Jazz and Valerie all came up and over to Danny and Lancer.
"She's burning up!" Lancer gasped. "Mr. Fenton, what in the hell is going on?"
"I-I'm not exactly sure," Danny bit his lip. "I-it's a little hard to explain, sir. S-she…Sam's, well…" Danny leaned over to whisper to his teacher.
"She's more involved with these…demons than we thought."
Lancer's eyes widened as he quickly got the message. " I see. What do we do?"
Danny was unsure and before he could answer, he heard Sam groan.
"Home…" Sam croaked. "Danny…home…"
Danny held her hand in his tightly and he delicately brushed a stray strand of hair that stuck to her clammy forehead. "Are you sure, Sam? Maybe we should get you to a doctor."
Sam swallowed and weakly shook her head. "No, please… home…arm…"
"Arm?" Tucker quirked a brow.
Danny slipped the cardigan off her left arm. His breath got caught in his throat; her arm was dark red, almost purple and swelling up through the bandage.
"Oh, dear," Lancer stammered.
"Oh, my god," Jazz gasped as she covered her mouth.
Danny hastily picked Sam up and held her in his arms. "C'mon, guys, we gotta take her home."
Danny, Jazz and Valerie rushed out of the classroom. Tucker followed after taking a photo of the board and Sam's desk.
————————————————————
It was hard to ignore the slight red hue the sky was taking as Danny and the others ran down the street that led to Sam's house.
"Are you sure we shouldn't take her to a hospital, Danny?" Jazz panted as she rushed to keep up with her brother.
Danny grunted, holding Sam even tighter to his chest. He could feel her arm throbbing. "She said to take her home. Maybe there's something there that can help."
He looked up at the sky, warily. We need her now more than ever.
When they reached Sam's home, they burst through the front door. They were all shocked to see Ida and two other elderly ladies sitting in the parlor, as if they had been waiting. They all looked completely shaken. Ida's white hair was disheveled and she clutched onto the shawl draped over her hunch shoulders.
Her fretting gaze landed on Sam. "Oh, my Button," she wailed as rushed over to Danny. She gently cradled Sam's cheek in her palm; Sam groaned as she felt the cool touch of her Gramm's hand.
"It's starting sooner than we feared," Mrs. Agatha Moores muttered. She was a tall, elvish looking woman. Her long white hair was pinned back by butterfly hairsticks, although it appeared to be less tidy as it should be.
"What is?" Danny asked, looking down as Ida dabbed a cloth on Sam's clammy forehead.
Mrs. Maria Thimbles, a short, dainty woman dressed in a crisp white dress placed a hand on Ida's shoulder. "A restless shift in air; it's a warning of great danger. Ida, we must secure the house!"
"Danger? Wait, how did you know…?" Danny asked. "Hold on…a-are you…this whole time…"
"Yes," Ida sighed. "I am also a witch, we all are. I was waiting to see if you kids could figure it out."
"We really need to start paying more attention to these things," Tucker whispered to Valerie, who else just sighed.
"Jasmine, will you, Valerie and Tucker help Mrs. Thimbles? Maria, the salts and juniper bundles are in the kitchen," Ida instructed, not taking her gaze off of Sam's bandaged arm.
"Okay…?" Jazz shrugged, and Tucker and Valerie just looked at each other.
"C'mon, kids," Thimbles guided them to the kitchen. "There's no time to lose."
Ida squeezed Sam's hand in her grasp. She looked up at Danny. "My dear, boy, we need to get her upstairs. We need to draw out the poison."
Danny swallowed. "H-how do we do that?"
"A simple detox bath," Agatha claimed and headed for the kitchen. "It's almost ready upstairs; I'll go get the remaining oils."
"Let's get to the bathroom, dear," Ida said, leading Danny up the stairs.
Sam groaned in pain as leaned her head on Danny's shoulder. Danny's brow furrowed; he held her closer. "Just hang tight for a little longer, Sam. You'll be better soon."
Ida, despite the horrific situation, couldn't stop the small smile on her face. They made it to the top floor and headed straight for the luxurious Victorian bathroom. Silver faucets, white tile, and light lavender floral patterns all the opposite wall. A beautiful, white clawed foot bathtub stood in contrast to the reddening sky outside the open window. Lit candles scattered the counters.
The bathroom was beautiful, but that didn't stop Danny from coughing at the intense smell of apple cider vinegar, along with the smell of citrus, lavender and mint. The bath water was a light pinkish, orange color with leaves of mint and slices of oranges floating on the surface. His eyes watered a bit.
"Set her down by the tub; we need to get the bandage off," Ida instructed as she got some towels out of the linen closet.
Danny did as she said, and gently set Sam against the tub. Even in her unconscious state, Sam could feel the cold tile act as a balm for the ever raging heat.
"What's happening to her? Was it really that…creature? Anguis, I think Sam called it?" Danny asked as he watched Ida gently unwrap the gauze.
Ida huffed. "The claws of the serpent are venomous to the touch; if a wound like this isn't treated properly, it will continue to putrefy."
Putrefy? Danny shivered. "Sh-she put some sort of medicine on it…she said it would be fine…"
"Iris root, yes, I know," Ida spoke , her tone icy. "A remedy for normal afflictions, yes. Demonic venom requires purification and detoxification."
Danny clenched his fist. I was there with her that night. If I had been faster, more careful…hell, I knew something was wrong with her this morning. If I had done something, maybe she wouldn't be…
"Don't blame yourself," Ida said, gently. "The life my granddaughter leads is bound to have its dangers. Just as you, Phantom."
Danny's breath hitched and stuck in his throat. He looked at Grandma Manson in shock. "How…h-how did you…?"
Ida suppressed a snicker. "Did you honestly think that I believed that lie about the Baxter kid beating you up when I saw you outside my door?"
The incident. Danny thought back to his conversation with Sam a few months back when she first arrived. He had gotten in a nasty battle with Plasmius, Vlad Masters ghost alter ego, and couldn't go to a hospital. Too many questions would be asked.
Ida Manson had opened her door to him, Tucker and Jazz that night.
Danny scoffed. "And here, I thought I was being slick…"
Before she could answer, Ida gasped after she released the gauze from Sam's arm. Danny stifled the bile rising in his throat.
The wound was so infected, her arm was swollen like a balloon; the skin surrounding it was a sickly purple, almost black with a few stray veins visible. It was caked in pus and blood. The faintest trickle of black slime leaked out.
Tears ran down Ida's wrinkled cheeks. "Danny…"
Danny forced his gaze from the wound. "Yeah?"
"Dangers will be mounting by the second. My granddaughter is very strong, but what is to come, Sam cannot fight it alone," Ida spoke softly. "Take care of her, Danny. She needs you; she may not know it herself, but she does."
Danny swallowed again. Sam…
There was a knock at the door, and then Mrs. Moores walked in. Various bottles of essential oils were cradled in her grasp.
"We must begin," she said. She sent a stern gaze at Danny. "I'm afraid you must step out, young man."
Danny sputtered. "B-but, but I-I…" He looked at Sam. Her pale, clammy cheeks made his heart clench.
A warm hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to see the toasty brown eyes of Mrs. Thimbles. She had a comforting smile on her aged face.
"Your friends are outside the door, won't you join them?" She chirped. "You may wait out there with them. This will only take a moment."
Danny tightened his jaw before taking a deep breath. "Okay."
"And, no matter what you do, do not peer inside," Agatha instructed. "The ritual must go uninterrupted to save her."
Danny only nodded and stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
The ladies carefully stripped Sam of her clothes. Ida placed a hand on her granddaughter's forehead.
"Button," she spoke, softly. "We must put you in the water."
Upon hearing her grandma's voice, Sam managed to crack open a single violet eye, exhausted from fighting off the poison.
Sam groaned and weakly lifted herself up with Ida and Maria's help. They guided her to the tub and set in the medicinal water.
"A-agh!" Sam shrieked. A sudden burst of energy clutched her. She hissed as the water stung her infected arm. A sickly dark green aura surrounded the wound.
Ida, Agatha and Maria gathered around the tub. They hovered their hands over the suffering girl; their palms admitting a soft light. The light embraced the entire bathroom.
"Blessed beings above,
Cleanse this child.
Drive out the foul blight;
Bring forth your protection,
Fill the child with light…"
Each elderly witch spoke the prayer. Their voices were even and calm. As they prayed, Sam gasped and squalled.
"I-it…it's so hot! It burns!" She screamed. Tears fell down her cheeks. The wound began to sizzle as a foul ooze seeped out. "S-stop! Make it stop!"
The three ladies used all their strength. A large burst of light shined.
"Banish!" Ida cried out.
Sam shrieked as, finally, the poison burst out from the wound in a cloud of smoke. The ghastly squealing sound, like a rat, rang out and the smoke slithered out the window.
The air in the bathroom became lighter and peaceful. With the disgusting presence gone, the three elder witches relaxed, though they were feeling drained. Maria sat down on a vanity bench to catch her breath.
"Not as young as we used to be," she laughed.
Ida and Agatha chuckled with her.
——————————————————-
"Banish!"
Danny jumped at the outburst from behind the bathroom door. He recognized it as Grandma Manson's voice.
He, Jazz, Tucker and Valerie sat on the floor outside the bathroom, waiting anxiously for word on Sam. Jazz fiddled with her hair as she laid her head in Tucker's shoulder, while Valerie was back to texting on her phone. Her expression was a mix of stress and bliss; whoever she was talking to must've calmed her nerves. Danny was impatiently bouncing his leg as he kept his eye firmly on the door.
"W-what are they doing in there?" Tucker stuttered.
A piercing shriek rang out from the bathroom.
Danny instinctively shot up from the floor. "Sam!" He rushed straight for the door.
Tucker quickly caught his shoulder. "You can't! We were told to wait out here."
"B-but…Sam, she's…" Danny whimpered. A cold sweat formed on his brow.
"Danny," Jazz softly spoke as she stood in front of her brother. "Her grandma's in there with her, and so is Mrs. Moores and Mrs. Thimbles.
Jazz's heart went out to her little brother. It went against his instincts to sit still like this. "Mrs. Thimbles said that we might hear some commotion. Just relax; I'm sure we'll get some news soon."
Danny gave one last look to the door before taking a deep breath. "O-okay."
He took his seat back against the wall and rested his forehead on his knees.
"We got all the windows, right?" Tucker asked as he and Jazz sat back down as well. "Mrs. Thimbles said we had to make sure to put salt on all of them."
"Yup," Valerie replied, looking up from her phone. "And we hung all the juniper branches, too. She said it would protect the house."
Tucker sighed and took off his cap. He rubbed his head. "This is all so surreal. I mean, I still haven't even been able to wrap my head around all this witch stuff, yet."
"We are out of our element, I suppose," Jazz said. "At least, we have more allies who know about what's happening."
The door clicked as Mrs. Moores stepped out. Danny stood at attention the minute the door opened.
"How is she? Is she okay?" Danny asked. "Why did she scream? Is it something serious?"
Agatha chuckled. "Goodness, child, take a breath. Yes, she is fine now. The poison has been driven out."
Danny let out a relieved breath.
"That's great!" Valerie cheered.
"Indeed," Agatha chimed. "We're going to clean her up a bit and put her to bed. If you children would like to wait in her room for her, you may. It's just down the hall."
"Of course," said Jazz. "C'mon, Danny."
Danny was about to follow them, but gave Agatha one last look.
"Are…are you sure she's okay, now?" He asked timidly.
Agatha just smiled and patted his back. "She's just fine. Go on, now."
Danny sighed and followed his friends into Sam's bedroom.