Who: Sebastian and Caius When: midday, Friday, Jan 5th Where: Caius’s house Status: Complete
It was difficult and time-consuming to work full time and have more than one personal crisis going on. Caius was tired, but he was persevering, mostly because he had to. He’d spent quite a bit of time alone after talking to his father about what he’d learned from Mila Moretti. Caius had gone up to one of the bluffs overlooking the ocean and stood near the edge, soaking in the bitter cold wind as he thought about what he’d learned. He hadn’t lied to Anthony -- it didn’t frighten him. Caius had already known he was a “bad” person in the eyes of most people, or would be if they knew half the things he’d done and nearly all the things he thought. That wasn’t what gave him so much pause. It was trying to figure out what it meant to him. And how to tell Reagan. But duty and real life called again, so Caius tried to put it on the back burner for now. He still had to try to get Reagan’s magic back, and maybe this new bit of information could work to his advantage.
He left the office early on Friday and drove out to Overlook. His house wasn’t quite officially on the market yet, it wasn’t ready for potential buyers traipsing through. Brianna McCarthy was likely miffed at him for not hurrying the process along, but Caius couldn’t care less. His house was still warded and enchanted and he had books and boxes he still needed to store elsewhere. It was the books he was after as he let himself into his place, old ones he hadn’t looked through in months now and hadn’t bothered to bring with him to Reagan’s yet. Caius nudged the door closed but didn’t think to lock it as he headed toward his work room in the chilly house, his mind on what volumes he wanted to check for more information about demon blood.
Sebastian had been shoveling snow off the front walk when Caius pulled up in his driveway. He had a tendency to forget that Caius lived next door, since he almost never saw him there and his few interactions with the man had been at Reagan’s house, but he’d never seen a For Sale sign pop up, so he supposed it was still his. Sebastian went back to shoveling, music blaring in his headphones, when suddenly the world began to spin. He held tighter to the shovel and fought to maintain his balance, his eyes shutting of their own accord before he could think of how to stop them. His body went limp for a fraction of a second before he inhaled sharply and stood back up. But Sebastian was gone.
Baron knew it was reckless, that it would likely put a hole in the boy’s memory that couldn’t be explained, but maybe he’d just think he fainted. She could make it look that way. She’d worry about that part later, as right now she had to work fast. She dropped the shovel and darted into the house, leaving wet boot prints on the stairs that Sebastian would have to pay for later. She grabbed what she needed, then was back down again, crossing the lawn and carefully trying the front door. It was a shock that it was unlocked, but this was a good neighborhood. They probably felt safe and she suspected Caius was fully capable of defending himself. She would have to be careful.
As silently as she possibly could, Baron crept through the house looking for Caius, her brain spinning up a cover story if he caught her off guard instead. Sebastian didn’t recognize his car, thought someone was breaking in, something along those lines… It would help explain the fireplace poker that Baron picked up along the way. If it was a burglar, a teenager might be stupid enough enough to think that was a good idea. And it would be good for bashing Caius’s head in when she got the drop on him. It took longer to find him than Baron expected, but then she hadn’t been willing to use her magic, not with wards potentially in place. He was standing in a room, looking down at something, his back to the door. Baron had enough time to note that it was a book before she swung towards his head, the poker whistling in the air.
Caius hadn’t refreshed the wards on the house in a while, and the one that served as a home alarm to him had slipped enough that he wasn’t aware of anyone entering behind him. It was hard to keep up that kind of magic when he wasn’t living there, and he’d taken everything of surface value out of the house anyway. No burglar was going to want a bunch of dusty old books. That was what Caius had his nose in when the natural sense that someone was behind him went off. Caius’s head lifted in confusion, and the whistle of metal ripping through air was as loud as a freight train to him. His heart leaping into his throat, Caius ducked and dodged to one side, whirling around to find his assailant. He barely registered that it was just a boy before he was reacting, shoving a huge burst of air toward the attacker to knock him back.
Baron was still completing the swing when the blast hit her, knocking her onto the floor, the fire iron flying from her hand. Of course it would be air, one of the two she didn’t have a defense against, but at least the blow wasn’t killing. She doubted he would make the same mistake twice, so she had to act fast. She grabbed her knife, still hoping to gain the upper hand and get what she came for, then lunged at Caius, enjoying the athleticism that came with Sebastian’s body. In her other hand she summoned fire, knowing that would draw anyone’s attention, though the only reason she didn’t set him aflame was that she needed something first. Then he could burn.
One of the seconds the boy was on the floor, Caius recognized him. It was Sebastian McCarthy, as insane as that revelation was. Everything was happening too quickly for Caius to reason out why Sebastian McCarthy would be trying to kill him in his own goddamn house, but as the boy pulled a knife and charged him, it was perfectly clear that was the goal. Dodging again to hopefully buy himself a few extra microseconds, Caius yanked the Obscurities forward in himself, his eyes going black as black shadowy smoke suddenly filled the room, ready to pounce on the boy and kill and suck and feed -- but Caius stopped them short as a spike of recognition ran him through. That fire, he knew that fire. That was about the time when Sebastian slammed into him, and Caius grabbed for the wrist with the knife as they stumbled backward together. Teeth grit and bared, Caius wrestled with Sebastian for the weapon, simultaneously pulling the air out of the boy’s lungs to try and settle him down.
For a moment, Baron thought she had the upper hand, that the knife was going to sink into the soft part of Caius’ neck, pouring out all the blood she needed and then some. His eyes were drawn to the fire, just as she’d expected, but then the knife stopped just short of its target, his hold on Sebastian’s wrist keeping the blade at bay. She pushed harder, sure the boy was stronger, when suddenly she began to feel a woozy weakness that she couldn’t immediately identify. She tried to gasp for air and it suddenly became clear what was happening--he was going to suffocate them. Her and Sebastian. She tried to push through it, ignoring the pain and the need for air as hate and desire fueled the fireball growing in her other hand. Then, as her skin began to heat up with intent to burn, she was suddenly knocked back by a blast so cold she dropped the knife.
Sebastian’s eyes widened in shock and the flame in his hand turned a weird, bright blue before going out completely. He didn’t know where he was or what was going on--all he knew was that he couldn’t breathe. Kill him, you fool! a voice screeched inside his head and when he hesitated it was like he wasn’t in control of his own limbs. He grabbed the knife again and took a swipe before he began to fight it, backing away and clutching at his throat. He needed to get out of there, no matter what the voice said. He needed to get away or the man--Caius?! What the fuck was going on?!--was going to kill him.
If Caius had been thinking clearly, he would’ve blown that knife across the room. Or straight into Sebastian’s thigh or something else to incapacitate him. But something had thrown Caius completely off his stride -- it was an overwhelming sense of Reagan in the room. Which didn’t make any sense, because it felt specifically like Reagan’s magic. It glowed out of the fireball like an aura he could actually see, pulsating over Sebastian’s body. And then something else happened and Caius caught a glimpse of a woman hovering over the boy. Another familiar woman, and everything clicked into place. “You bitch,” Caius hissed, his black eyes narrowing as he snarled. Baron wasn’t gone, Baron had latched onto her blood heir and stolen Reagan’s magic, and now ... what? She was out to kill him? He didn’t register that Sebastian was back in control for the moment, struggling to breathe and get away from him -- Caius slammed into the boy to tackle him to the floor, still not letting him breathe, focused on that reddening face and the evil behind it. “Get out of him!” he shouted, wrestling to get on top of Sebastian. “Get out or I’ll fucking kill you both!”
Everything was moving so fast that Sebastian didn't have a moment to spare to understand what was happening or why. It was all he could do to survive at that point, which was where he and Baron were on the same page, the battle for inner control falling by the wayside for the time being. Sebastian shoved and kicked at Caius, trying to force him off as his lungs began to burn. How long could someone last without oxygen? How much shorter was that time when someone had forcibly removed it from their lungs? It was making him dizzy and he thought he might be close to blacking out when he realized he was still holding the knife. A wild grin curled on his lips that wasn't Sebastian at all and he took another stab at Caius, this one sinking deep into his shoulder. It wasn't exactly where Baron wanted it, but it seemed her host was stronger than she'd given him credit for.
The pain was immediate and intense, and Caius screamed, which was not a noise he was accustomed to making. Instinctively wanting to get away from the knife, Caius tumbled to one side, his hand coming up to clutch at the blade still stuck in his shoulder. His defensive magic fell away, letting air rush back into Sebastian’s body. For a couple of heartbeats the Obscurities rushed forward to surround the possessed boy, swirling madly and getting their claws out, but Caius managed to pull them back. He couldn’t kill him. As much as he wanted to in that moment, Reagan’s magic was inside Sebastian McCarthy, and if he died, it would be lost forever. Caius couldn’t let that happen, no matter what kind of blinding pain he was in.
Air rushed into Sebastian’s lungs one second and the next he was plunged into the coldest darkness he had ever felt, like being dropped into the ocean in the middle of winter. He waved his arms furiously around him, trying to rid himself off the obscurities, their little tendrils whipping out and scratching his flesh before Caius pulled them back. The second his vision returned, Sebastian ran, ignoring the shouts in his head to get the knife, to get the blood, not even sure how he was supposed to manage such a feat when he was clearly outmatched. Caius would kill him, he’d said as much, but Sebastian hoped not to give him a chance. He was out the door seconds later, running home like his life depended on it. A question flashed in his mind, was their land warded by their blood, but Sebastian didn’t know and he could feel the entity within him huff in exasperation. Baron had a new problem to deal with in the teenager she was inhabiting. She’d known it would happen eventually, but she suspected things were going to be a great deal more difficult from here on out.
Caius tried to pick himself up to run after the boy, adrenaline and injured rage pumping through his veins, but he couldn’t do it fast enough. He managed to grab the edge of the bookshelf and pull himself to his feet, his good hand clutching at his shoulder. The knife was still stuck in him, deep enough to do damage but not enough that Caius thought he would die. He wanted to storm out of the house and follow Sebastian and somehow exorcise both Baron and Reagan’s magic out of him, and he started to do so, striding toward the door ... but he knew he wasn’t prepared for that in the slightest. Even if he tore Sebastian apart with his bare hands, he couldn’t get at what was inside. And even if he could do that, doing it in public would be a terrible idea. Caius stopped at the front door and slammed it shut, then leaned his forehead against it. He allowed himself a moment, then turned around to move as quickly as he could to his work room again. There was suddenly so much to do, but first he had to pull the knife out of himself and staunch the bleeding. It was the most unexpected sort of breakthrough, but Caius knew the game had changed now, and they had to move fast.