Zania Castell (brokendoll) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-04-21 11:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #january 2018, gabriel, nic, zania |
Who: Zania, Gabriel, Nic
Where: The Castell House
When: Night, Friday, January 19
Warning: Blood, animal death
Status: Complete
Though the feeling of dread that Zania felt Wednesday had passed, it seemed to return as Friday drew on, though this time she knew why. She’d never been quite so anxious about performing a spell before, but the stakes hadn’t felt so high personally. If this didn’t work, how long would it be before a pack of wolves tore her to pieces between her car and her front door? And after her, how long would Gabriel have? Or Nic? This had to work, but even then the spell itself felt a bit daunting, something she didn’t really want to admit. It was a lot to take on herself, but Nic would be there and having her twin present always seemed to boost her power. Gabriel could add in his magic as well and, while it wasn’t a full coven, she thought she would be strong enough to complete the spell and then banish the demon.
There was one small detail that kept creeping up in her mind, a question that she didn’t have the answer to. The spell that Gabriel had found would allow the caster to see the demon, and thus dispel it. But what happened afterwards? Did it last an hour or two? Or would she forever be seeing the demons that lurked in their world without them ever knowing? Zania didn’t have the answers and they didn’t have the time to do the research necessary to sort them all out. She just had to hope that what they had would be enough to save them all. As the sun set, Zania prepared her workspace for the spell and waited for Gabriel to arrive. As soon as he got there, they could get started, something she was both eager for and wanted to hold off on as long as she possibly could.
Gabriel didn’t have all the answers either. That was something that came with working with such old magic. They were lucky to have what had survived, really, and if individual witches had used this spell and taken notes on it, those were lost to them. He’d often thought that the magical “community” ought to have online forums to trade just that sort of information and help each other out. Most witches hoarded their spells like dragons though, there was just too much rivalry and pettiness. At least in Gabriel’s experience. Even though he’d had his part in that sort of thing back in New Orleans, being involved in a group problem like this had changed his tune quite a bit.
In any case, he was ready and willing to help save Zania and Nic and himself. The spell called for a lot of blood, unfortunately, and Zania had to spill it. Gabriel had stepped up and volunteered to provide the animal sacrifice. It hadn’t been the easiest thing to do, but after walking in the woods for hours, he’d managed to find a deer that was old and obviously not in good health -- it was obvious to him, anyway. Gabriel had soothed it as he’d taken control of it and he’d walked them both back to his SUV. Getting it to come to Zania’s was a bit trickier, but Gabriel had managed, and eventually it was standing in the Castells’ front lawn, nosing under their bushes for any greens that had escaped the frost. Gabriel left it there and walked up to the door to ring the bell.
Zania squeezed her eyes shut when the doorbell rang, stealing herself for what was to come. She could do this, it would be worth it, but god did she wish there was another alternative. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and hurried up the basement stairs to the front door. Nic stood at the top of the stairs coming down from the second floor. “It’s time,” she told him, then opened the front door for Gabriel. “Hey,” she said, weaker than her usual greeting, but her attention had been captured by the deer on her lawn. She stared at it for a second, then scrunched up her face and looked away, back to Gabriel. “I didn’t think of this till now, but…can a deer go down stairs? My workroom is in the basement.” If not, they might be moving this outside, in which case they should probably warn Lem and Vex.
Stairs, right. Gabriel had seen the narrow basement stairs in the Castell house, and he wasn’t sure the old lady on the lawn would make it down them, at least not easily. “Oh shit,” he murmured, wincing a bit and looking over at the big animal. Gabriel sucked his teeth, then looked back at Zania with an apologetic expression. “We might need to do that part outside, at least. I read over it again earlier, and I think you can do the sacrifice separate. We’ll just need to carry the ah, the blood in ... for the circle and the rest.” Zania was going to be practically painted with the stuff, so they would need a bucket or two. At least it wasn’t sub-zero and snowing tonight.
“We should do the whole thing outside,” Nic said as he stepped up behind them. “I know you’ve prepped everything downstairs, but it’ll be way easier to clean up. I can create a-- a bubble. An illusion of the present. We can do everything inside it.” He knew it wasn’t what Zania wanted, but it would be far more practical. Otherwise, they’d have to transport all that blood down into the basement and there was a chance their house would reek of death for days. “I can even clear the snow,” he added.
Zania stared at her brother, then looked to Gabriel again, then the deer. There was no way they were going to get the animal down the stairs alive and, even if they did, then they’d have to drag it’s carcass back up. The backyard just made more sense. She just didn’t like it. It wasn’t her space and it was cold. But it wasn’t snowing and if they lit a fire she could leech some of the heat off of it. “Okay,” she sighed. “Yeah, let’s setup in the yard. Can you take Gabriel around while I get my stuff?” she asked her brother. There wasn’t a lot, but that would give Nic a chance to build the illusion before they got settled inside.
“Sure,” Nic said and pulled on his jacket before heading towards the door. He held out his hand to shake Gabriel’s in greeting. “Thanks for doing this,” he said as Zania disappeared down the stairs. “I know it’s kind of the opposite of what you do with animals, so… thanks.”
Gabriel knew he could’ve gotten a smaller animal for them, but the ritual had called for a lot of blood, and better too much than not enough, right? Who knew what would happen if they only got halfway through this thing and couldn’t finish it. Nothing good. So, better safe than dead. Gabriel shook Nic’s hand with a wan smile. “No thanks necessary, man. I’ll make it humane for her in her mind, probably nicer than any death she’d get otherwise. Everything’s gotta go sometime. And it’s three human asses on the line, so ...” he shrugged a bit. He wasn’t going to love doing this, none of them were, but it would be worth it in the end. If it worked. But Gabriel wasn’t going to think about it not working. He walked off the porch with Nic and had the deer follow them around to the back yard.
It was three human asses on the line, but the kind of guys Zania usually dated would’ve been blaming her at this point, not helping her collect an animal sacrifice. Nic had thought Gabriel seemed like a decent guy for a while now, but this pretty much solidified it. If he stuck around afterwards, Nic would have to make a point to get to know him better. “Well… we owe ya one,” Nic said as they made their way to the back yard. The space between the back door and the green house was large and mostly empty, making it a good space to work if they had to do this outside. Nic stood at the edge of the yard for a minute, measuring out what he needed to hide, then nodded to himself. “Give me a second,” he said, then walked into the center of the back yard.
When Zania opened the back door, she could see that Nic had already started setting up a space for them. It was always fascinating watching her brother work, his flavor of magic so different than her own. She’d always favored spells and rituals with a specific process mapped out, whereas he tapped into something raw and magical in itself. She watched as Nic set out four pillars of ice, one at each point on the compass, but that was the only step that was ritualistic in nature. From each of those points, he built an illusion, simple but strong enough to keep the neighbors from seeing what they were up to. She couldn’t even tell he’d done it until he stepped inside and disappeared from view. Zania walked down the steps to join Gabriel, her supplies in a bag over her shoulder, and was standing beside him when Nic stepped out of the illusion.
“We’re good to go,” Nic said. “I couldn’t really get rid of the cold inside, but I cleared most of the snow, so if you want to build a fire we can do that. I’m just not sure how that’ll look from afar, smoke an all.” Trying to conceal smoke as it rose into the sky seemed like an impossible task. If they had an air witch with them, it might be easier, but there were limits to what Nic could take on without draining himself and he knew Zan needed him for the ritual itself.
Gabriel found a spot that was out of the way to watch Nic work as well. He kept the deer close to him and calm in the face of the magic, her glossy black eyes serene. Gabriel couldn’t help but be impressed by the power on display -- illusion had never been an area of magic he’d studied, and it had always seemed difficult. Nic made it look easy though. Not that there was a lot to see yet, since he was just creating a space they could disappear into. Gabriel turned and rested his hand on the small of Zania’s back when she arrived. What had happened hadn’t been her fault, even if something she’d done had kicked it off. It wasn’t a crime to break a seal, or anything unusual in the course of being a witch. She’d just had bad luck when it came to this. “I doubt anybody’ll be watching for it,” he said once they were ready. He looked at Zania again. “Ready to get started, love?”
Zania took a deep breath and nodded, figuring she was as ready as she’d ever be. The longer they stayed out there, the colder they’d be, and she really wanted to get this over with. “Let’s do this,” she said, reaching out to give Gabriel’s hand a squeeze before walking into the space Nic had created for them. The snow was gone, like he’d said, but it was still cold inside and Zania thought it might be better to wait on the fire until after the deer was dead. One less thing to spook it. Zania set her bag off to the side, then pulled her anthame from inside. It had never bothered her before, but holding it now made her feel slightly sick. The bucket certainly didn’t help. Never in her life had she imagined she’d need a bucket of blood. “I don’t even know the most humane way to do this,” she said, looking at the deer. “You’ll keep her from feeling pain till she’s gone?” she asked, looking to Gabriel. He’d already said as much, but she needed to hear it one more time.
Gabriel walked himself and the deer into the illusion circle, such as it was. It wasn’t much different inside, but he could feel the magic working, and he was grateful for the cover. This needed to be a private thing. He stroked the deer’s neck a bit before pointing out a particular spot to Zania. “If you do it right here, it’ll be fast,” he told her, his tone gentle and soft. He could feel some of the deer’s fear pushing against the calm he’d settled over her mind, but it wasn’t much yet. It would spike and he would have to put more work into keeping her serene, but he knew he could do it. “But yes, I’ll keep her at peace and feeling no pain.” Gabriel reached out to give her arm a little squeeze, a silent ‘you can do this.’ He hated that she had to do this too, but he was right there with her. As was Nic.
If Nic could have taken this part over for his sister, he would have. He knew she’d been worrying about it, but he also knew there was no way around it. The spellcaster had to make the sacrifice. He had argued with her at one point that he could perform the spell, that it didn’t necessarily have to be her just because the demon was latched onto her. After all, it was originally an exorcism spell used for a specific type of demon and Nic doubted that the person being possessed was expected to perform the spell on themselves. But Zania would have none of it. If there was even a chance that it had to be her, they couldn’t risk getting it wrong again. So all he could do was stand aside and watch and be a pillar of strength if his sister needed him.
Get it over with, Zania told herself, then tightened her hold on her knife and took a step towards the deer. As she took a deep breath, she mentally called upon the elements and asked for their blessing, letting her intent bleed through every fiber of her being. “Mors tua vita mea,” she said quietly, then slashed the blade across the deer’s neck. She flinched as blood splurted out, then hurriedly reached for the bucket to catch it as the flow changed from a spray to a steady pour. Zania’s teeth were set hard, her focus on what needed to be done, leaving no room for anything else. Had she been in a fit of rage, killing something might have been easy, but she’d never thought she’d have to quietly and decisively take the life of another being. But it was for her own survival. Her’s and Gabriel’s and Nic’s. The deer’s death, their life.
As Zania prepared to do the deed, Gabriel closed his eyes and focused hard. There was fear in the deer’s mind, but it was locked behind the wall he’d put up, buried down deep inside of her consciousness. He put other thoughts in the forefront for her -- sunlight dappling through layers of leaves, lush springtimes that brought tender blooms and shoots of fresh grass to eat, nuzzling her young, the first drink of crisp flowing water on a hot day. Gabriel drew from her memories and his own experiences seeing through the eyes of woodland creatures. When the pain came, he blocked that as well, his brow furrowing in concentration as he kept her mentally in that idyllic space. She faded quickly and without struggle, going down to her front knees as she bled out into the bucket, then collapsing completely onto one side as her world went dark. Gabriel did his best to comfort her in that last moment before she disappeared, sending her off with love. When he opened his eyes again there were tears in them, and he swiped at his face with one sleeve. This had better work. “Got it?” he asked Zania hoarsely, and cleared his throat.
Technically, the sacrifice was the easiest part of the spell, but Nic knew that emotionally it was the worst for all of them. He could see how hard it was on Gabriel, even though he contained it well, and he hoped he wouldn’t look at Zania any differently after this. His sister seemed cold, at least for the moment, but he knew from experience it was a way to protect herself. If she let emotion take over, this would be far harder to finish. As Zania finished gathering the blood she needed for the spell, Nic spread a tarp out on the ground behind the deer. His role in this was small but important, especially for the mental states of the others involved. He could move the deer and cover it, then when they were done he could bury it and clean up the mess.
The bucket full of blood didn’t bother Zania near as much as the emotion in Gabriel’s voice. She could handle the blood, but she hated hurting someone she cared about. She wondered suddenly if, by shielding the deer from the pain of death, Gabriel somehow felt it instead. God, she hoped that wasn’t the case. She swallowed hard, attempting to dislodge the lump in her throat. Her voice still shook when she answered. “Yeah. This is… plenty,” she said softly. She wanted to hug him, but not with blood on her hands. She felt like that might make things worse. “Are you okay?” She didn’t feel great, but she suspected this was even harder for him.
Gabriel had felt some of it as he was doing his part, but not nearly what the deer would’ve felt if it had been fully in control of its own mind. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, his empathetic nature just made him hurt for it. That was okay. Hurting emotionally for a short time was far better than eventually being torn apart by mountain lions or overwhelmed by venomous snakes or whatever was coming for them next. It was especially worthwhile for Zania’s sake, someone he’d come to care about quite a lot. Gabriel nodded and reached out to lightly brush his fingers against her cheek. “Yeah, I’m a’ight,” he assured her, his voice a little stronger. He glanced over at what Nic was doing, glad for his help too. Gabriel would help bury the deer, give her back to the earth, but there were more pressing matters for them now. “She was at peace as she left, just so you know.” He almost asked if Zania was okay, but he thought he probably knew the answer to that.
Zania closed her eyes for a moment as Gabriel brushed her cheek, giving a quiet word of thanks that he was there for her. It wasn’t just the magical support, but the emotional support as well. This would have been so much harder on her own. “Good,” she said softly. “I think that was the hardest part. The rest seems very technical.” It would push her magically, but she’d take that over what she’d just done. Zania looked around the space, her mind shifting to the spell and what came next. “I’m gonna build a fire real quick, so I don’t freeze, and setup the circle. If you want to help Nic move the deer, I think I just need a minute.”
“‘Course,” Gabriel murmured with a nod of understanding. They had to stay focused and he wanted to get this done and over with. There was still the chance that it wouldn’t work, or it would backfire on them somehow again, so he needed to keep his head in the game, and so did Zania. Her more than him, probably. He turned away and walked over to help Nic roll the carcass onto the tarp so they could move it out of the way. It wasn’t easy work, she’d been a big deer, but it was grounding to focus on something completely physical in his own body for a little while. Gabriel didn’t try to chit chat with Nic either, not wanting to distract Zania while she got ready for some heavy magic.
Nic was fine with not talking. In fact, he preferred it. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk and didn’t think Gabriel was either. He was glad to have a task to focus on and tried to keep his mind on that, lest he start to worry about all the things that could go wrong. He glanced up when Zania lit the fire, but then kept on working, appreciating the light and the warmth. By the time the deer had been moved and wrapped, he could see that Zania had finished her prep-work and he stood to the side, waiting for her to start.
Even with a fire lit, it was cold and without walls to trap the heat in it was going to stay that way. Zania knew she could have gone inside for this part, but Nic was right, it would be far easier to clean up outside. She’d set up a large circle on the ground with each of the candles at the four points dipped in the sacrificial blood. Inside, she sat in a smaller, protective circle, this one drawn in blood. “Okay,” she said, waiting till both Nic and Gabriel were done to speak to them. “Whatever happens, stay outside the circle. I’ll be sealed off, but it’ll be sealed in and it’s going to be pissed. You won’t be able to see it, but I will.” At least, if this worked, she would be. She had no idea if the demon would know what was happening, but if it could retaliate, she suspected it would do its best.
If they ended up with a fight on their hands, Gabriel wasn’t sure what he could do, but he would try his best to defend her. Even if that meant just trying to juice up her magic. He wondered for a second if he and Nic should spread out, be on either side of her as much as they could, but he only ended up putting a few feet of distance between them. He shook his hands out a bit, a physical manifestation of shaking off what they’d had to do to the deer so he could focus on the present. They had to do this. “Got it,” he said to Zan. “Ready when you are.”
Zania gave them both a weak smile, then closed her eyes, her focus turning inward. Some of what needed to be done was simple, and it felt that way at the start. She invoked the elements and created the inner circle, protecting herself from harm. The blood strengthened it, along with a ritual that had been passed down through her family, and she knew the circle was sealed when she opened her eyes and saw the blood begin to boil on the ground. That part she’d done before, but what came next made her both nervous and a little bit excited. She’d never attempted something like this on her own and if she could pull it off then it would be a great accomplishment. Of course, she wasn’t entirely alone; she could feel Nic and Gabriel’s magic there to back her, to make sure she was strong enough to complete the task at hand.
Dipping her hands in the bucket of blood before her, Zania began to chant, once again closing her eyes to strengthen her focus. The blood had started to cool in the winter night air and it turned her stomach, but she didn’t let it deter her. Slowly, she drew lines up one arm, then the other, her voice growing slightly in volume the more blood that decorated her body. It was meant to draw the demon in, to paint her as a sacrifice and tempt it to come for her soul as it would have if the minions that it sent had been able to rip her to shreds. Blood dripped from the lines she drew round her neck and by the time her fingers made their way to her face Zania could feel the power of the spell and the pull it would have on the demon. She could also feel it’s underlying motive, to grant her the sight that would allow her to banish the demon. Before circling her eyes with the blood, she added in another mixture, one carefully prepared per the instructions. She could feel it soaking in as she drew, a burning that caused her vision to go so bright a white that she could see nothing for a moment. Fear rippled through her before her vision returned suddenly, only now she could see the demon that had been tormenting her.
It was large, at least ten feet tall, and it loomed over her, attempting to claw its way into the sacred space. Its body was almost skeletal in nature, black muscles holding together ashen colored bones, and its hair blew back into the night like snakes crawling towards the sky. Its mouth was a black pit, snapping angrily at her, but worst of all were its eyes--tiny pinpricks of light in holes of despair. It was the most terrifying creature Zania had ever seen and she could feel it trying to tear through the magic that contained it. Pain radiated behind her eyes, but Zania knew she had to hold on. If she didn’t destroy the demon now, it would destroy them instead. There would be no more waiting on little creatures to torture them. It was ready for blood.
Gabriel could feel the magic gathering as Zania began, like glittery tiny pinpricks against his skin. Like standing in sleet, but all over. He closed his eyes for a few moments while she painted herself, turning his focus down into the earth under his shoes, drawing power from it. His specialty was animals, but they all came from and returned to the same earth. He tried to tap into that connectedness for Zania, to boost her own fiery magic so she could get this done. The wind started to pick up, Gabriel heard the tree branches around them swaying harder now. Gabriel felt a strong pull of something in the middle of his chest and his eyes opened again. Zania was staring up at something he couldn’t see, but he could suddenly keenly feel. It was just a vibe of dark malevolence, and he felt his mouth go dry as he watched his girlfriend stare it down. Gabriel worked on keeping his breathing slow, channeling as much of his magic in her direction as he could.
Even if he couldn’t see it, Nic could feel the spirit’s presence like he’d been wrapped in a blanket of cold dread. He could almost pinpoint where it must be from the way Zania glared up at it, calm and defiant while facing a monster. Nic’s magic reached out to hers in the frigid night air, adding to her strength and checking for weakness. It was then he could feel the assault the demon was doing on the outer barrier, attempting to escape now that it realized it was trapped. If it got out, they were dead. Maybe not now, but whenever it decided to come back for them. Summoning a small blade of ice, Nic quickly cut both his palms open and began to chant quietly, binding his magic to the outer circle with a blood offering. If the demon broke the circle now, it would likely kill him, so hopefully it was enough to seal the demon in.
Though the spell had granted Zania the ability to see the demon, it didn’t allow her to hear it and for that she was thankful. She didn’t need to hear it to know how pissed it was, she could see it spitting and screaming, lashing out in any way possible, and even with the inner circle protecting her she could feel some of the blows reach her. Little tiny cuts began to litter her skin, but Zania didn’t let the pain distract her. Instead she fed on it, determined to destroy the creature that had caused her so much pain. Using her anthame, Zania sliced open her left hand, then drew a rune on the ground before her before she began to recite the incantation. The wind was so loud now that she could barely hear herself speak, and her voice rose to a shout as the rune began to burn a bright red. She could feel the power flowing through her, her magic backed by Gabriel’s and Nic’s, and it surged as the rune turned a blinding white, burning in her veins and dragging the demon into its trap. Despite the pain, it was exhilarating, and she couldn’t help but grin as the demon began to flail and fight against the trap.
Gabriel heard Nic start to speak, but he didn’t let that derail his focus. He was pulling energy up from the earth, from all of the hidden animals around them, tiny and not, and putting it into protecting the ground that surrounded Zania. Blood magic had never been his thing, but he had access to countless living things in the world and the tiny sparks of earth magic they all held inside. His eyes opened briefly when Zania began her incantation, but he shut them quickly as her voice rose and the blood flowed. Gabriel worked to fight off any doubt in his own mind and just tried to keep doing what he was doing. He couldn’t see what was happening to the demon, and that made all of this even harder. But he could still feel that sense of danger in the air, so he knew it wasn’t gone yet. None of them could relax until it was.
Looking up at the demon, there was a moment Zania thought that it might unhinge its jaw and swallow her whole. It planted a hand on either side of the circle surrounding her and leaned in, fighting against the protection spell, its gray, rotted flesh tearing away from its face as it snapped at her with razor sharp teeth. Though she’d done nothing to alter her sense of smell, it was close enough that the putrid stench of death surrounded her, and Zania’s stomach churned with the prospect of vomit. Then it screamed, a noise that broke through the barrier between their worlds, blasting them with a headache inducing shriek as it was pulled into the rune. One second it was there, then it was gone, leaving the blood on the rune to sizzle and die. Zania started at it for a second, panting hard, then closed both circles with a swipe of her hand before slumping forward onto her hands. It was done.
Gabriel’s hands automatically flew up to cover his ears at that piercing scream -- not that they did any good. Part of him was glad he hadn’t had to look at the thing, because that noise was an otherworldly type of awful. Then it was gone and that feeling of foreboding was gone, and Gabriel stopped concentrating and opened his eyes to see Zania leaned forward and breathing hard. He rushed to her, falling to his knees at her side and reaching out for her. “Are you okay?” he asked breathlessly, his own heart pounding hard and fast. Gabriel didn’t feel like he’d done much, but he could still sense how drained he was, how much magic he’d been trying to funnel her way.
Nic grimaced and flinched hard as scream hit him, initiating what was sure to be a migraine later. It didn’t last long, thank God, and when it stopped he saw his sister close the circles, a sign that it was over. Nic immediately dropped the protective barrier, allowing Gabriel to run to her side and for him to relax. Zania had pulled most of the weight, but he was still left exhausted. All three of them likely were. He took a deep breath, then followed behind Gabriel, hovering close by to make sure Zania was okay.
“Yeah,” Zania said with a little nod, her voice still soft and breathless. She hurt all over and needed a good healing, especially where she’d cut herself, but she was okay. The pain she was feeling was nothing compared to the knowledge that she’d pulled it off and they were all safe. “I want a shower,” she said with a little laugh, then opened her eyes and looked up at Gabriel. Little tendrils of green light swam around his body, some brighter than others. It almost looked like he was smoking. Zania blinked, but the aura remained, and her gaze ticked over to Nic. He had the same sort of halo surrounding him, except it was a deep blue, almost purple. Her eyes stung and she wiped at them, smearing the blood on her face. “I think I… need to rest a little. After the shower.”
A jolt of disquiet went through Gabriel when Zania opened her eyes and looked at him. The whites were completely bloodshot, the bright red contrasting oddly with the green of her irises. It had to have been the strain of the magic, he thought quickly. She wasn’t acting like she was grievously injured, but ... gods. She had to have one hell of a headache. He still did from that shriek, and he’d been further away from it. “Yeah,” he said a bit unsteadily. “Yeah, uh ... are you okay to stand?” Gabriel was already moving to gently take her arm to help her up. There was still the deer carcass to take care of, but they all probably needed a rest now.
“Yeah,” Zania said, but then had to grab hold of Gabriel for a bit more support. As her adrenaline began to fade, the pounding in her head became worse and she got the sense that she was worse off than she thought. Her eyes burned and she rubbed at them, annoyed when that didn’t alleviate the pain. “I’m kinda… dizzy. And my head is killing me,” she muttered. “I might need some help.” It hurt to admit it, but she didn’t think she could make it to the door on her own, not without falling or crawling, and that was worse than needing help. “Nic, can you make me some of the, um, the tea with yarrow in it? You know the one.”
Nic knew exactly what she was talking about and decided that making the tea was more important than cleaning up the mess in the backyard, at least for the moment. The red in her eyes was unsettling, but hopefully just a temporary side effect to having seen what she’d seen. He wasn’t sure the tea would help with the blood in her eyes, but it should help with whatever pain she was feeling. “I’ll start it as soon as we get you inside,” he said, moving to the other side of her and taking her arm. She looked like she was about to fall over, even with Gabriel supporting her, and he almost asked if one of them could just carry her and have it done with.
Gabriel wasn’t in the best position to support Zania’s full weight, so he was glad when Nic joined them on the other side of her to balance it out. She was very unsteady, and that almost worried him more than the state of her eyes. His own head was aching, and he knew hers had to be much worse. As they made their way out of the circles and toward the door, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride mixed in with the worry, too. “You did it,” he murmured to her, a weary but genuine smile crossing his face. “You fucking did it, you saved us.” He steadied Zania while Nic opened the door for them and helped her up the step and inside. “Okay ... where we goin’? Bedroom, living room ...?” She had wanted to take a bath, but considering how wiped out she seemed, Gabriel wasn’t sure if they were going there first or not. He glanced at Zania’s face and then Nic’s for direction.
“Fuckin’ right I did,” Zania grinned. She knew she hadn’t done it alone, but she still felt all kinds of powerful. She’d performed an exorcism-- she’d banished a demon. If it hadn’t completely wiped her out, she’d have been in the mood for celebrating. Maybe they could do that tomorrow. “I want a shower,” she frowned, not sure why the living room was even being discussed unless it was just to stop and take a break before climbing the stairs.
“You can barely walk,” Nic said, which was an understatement. He and Gabriel were practically carrying her. “How do you expect to stand in the shower?” He understood she was gross, but if she didn’t have the energy to stand then that could wait. “Why don’t we stop in the kitchen, let you have some tea, and then see how you feel?” If the tea didn’t heal her enough to get her walking on her own, then they could argue about it, but he didn’t see the point of doing that quite yet. Hopefully Gabriel would agree with him that she needed to rest more than she needed to be clean.
Gabriel did agree with Nic; unless they put a chair in there for her, he didn’t want Zania risking a shower yet. “C’mon, we can get your face cleaned up in there, at least,” he murmured, turning them toward the kitchen. Zania might protest, but she wasn’t in much of a state to really fight them about it. Hopefully, anyway. They all needed to have a seat and take a few deep breaths anyway. Once they were in the kitchen, he helped her sit down in a chair at the table, then went to the sink to get a warm wet rag and some hand soap for Zania to clean her face with. It wouldn’t help with her eyes, but maybe the tea Nic was already preparing would.
Zania pressed her lips together, but decided she could make it to the kitchen and then decide. That seemed fair and she had to admit she wasn’t sure she could stand on her own. She’d never had anything drain her like this and it was frustrating to say the least. Just getting into the house helped; it was a warm, safe space and sitting felt divine. As soon as she was off her feet, Nic got to work making the tea, and Zania shut her eyes for a minute. There were still auras around both the boys and they were much more visible there in the light of the house. They were fascinating, but worrisome, something she expected to fade when her eyes healed. “Okay,” she sighed. “I could definitely sit for a minute. Could you guys see anything? When it was there?”
Gabriel ended up getting a tupperware container of water and a couple of rags so he could help her clean up, then returned to the table with Zania. “I couldn’t see it, but I sure as fuck could feel it,” he answered as he settled in. “And I heard it scream. Fuckin’ hurt, too. ... here ...” The last word was softer as he wet one of the washcloths and gently started to clean the dried blood off of Zania’s face. She could probably do it herself, technically speaking, but he was filled with a need to take care of her at the moment, as far as he actually could. Plus it was easier when one could see what they were doing. “What’d it look like?” he asked, curious and still kind of awed that she’d done it mostly on her own.
“Yeah, I couldn’t hear it till the end there, and then I thought my ears might bleed,” Zania said, lifting one hand to touch her ear. She sat still, letting Gabriel clean the blood off her face. Had she been a little more with it, she might not have let him, but she wasn’t all that worried about her pride at the moment. She’d banished a fucking demon and was allowed to feel a little overwhelmed in the aftermath. “It was massive,” she said, her eyes shutting. “It must’ve been ten feet tall, even leaning over me. Black and skeletal, with long bony fingers and hair that just rose up into the sky. And white eyes…”
He winced a bit and made a face while her eyes were shut -- that sounded fucking awful. Gabriel had never seen a demon before, though he’d encountered some bad spirits here and there. That sounded on a whole different level, like some horror movie shit. And Zania hadn’t flinched in the face of it. If he wasn’t so worried about her, he thought he definitely would’ve been turned on by that. His girl was fucking brave. He kept gently cleaning her face of all the ritual blood, sending out another silent thanks to the deer’s spirit that allowed them to do this. “And you stared it down like the punk bitch it was,” he murmured, a tiny smile crossing his face. “You did so good, babe.” Gabriel just hoped nothing inside of her was permanently damaged, and that this was really over.
There was a chance Zania would have nightmares about the demon, but that was such a little thing in the grand scheme of things. Surviving mattered more than whatever the consequences were; Zania had decided that early on and she still believed it now, even with her eyes burning. She opened them to smile back at Gabriel, pride blossoming inside her once more. “Thanks,” she said. “We’ll celebrate tomorrow, I swear.” She was really hoping that her eyes would be back to normal by then, but if not she’d have to tell them about them. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was seeing, but it was a bit distracting. Nic brought the tea over and she took a sip, humming happily as she took her first sip. That was bound to help.
Gabriel got his hands out of the way so Zania could drink. He’d gotten most of the blood off of her face anyway, so he stood to take the bowl of dirty water to the sink. As he turned back toward the Castells, something occurred to him. “Oh hey,” he said, moving back to where Zan was sitting. “The marks ... lemme check ...” He brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek, then moved her top so he could see the back of her shoulder. Where the demon mark had been lingering like an unwanted tattoo, there was nothing but blank, smooth skin. Gabriel let out a little bark of a laugh and gave Zania’s upper arm a little squeeze. “It’s gone.”
In all the excitement, Zania had completely forgotten about the marks and immediately reached up to help pull back her shirt so he could take a look. Even though she was confident that the demon was gone, she had no idea if the marks would disappear as well, so she felt a rush of joy upon hearing it was gone. “Thank God,” she laughed softly. “I don’t mind random tattoos, but I hated the thought of that thing branding my skin.” If they’d needed a sign that that thing was gone for good, that would be it. Zania relaxed, took another sip of the tea, and closed her eyes for a moment. “I could maybe skip the shower,” she admitted.
Likewise, Gabriel felt a worried tension in him completely un-knot for the first time in what felt like forever. It had been possible that the demon being banished had been some kind of illusion, but he was fairly sure those marks wouldn’t have disappeared if that was the case. “I mind random tattoos, fuck that,” he said with a little laugh. “Good riddance. But sure, uh ... you want me to take you upstairs to bed? Shower can come after.” He raised a brow at her, not sure if Nic’s tea had taken hold enough to make her feel well enough to climb the stairs. He would more than happily carry her up if she needed him to, but he knew his girl had a boat load of pride and he didn’t want to step on her toes after that kind of victory.
Zania could feel the tea working, but she’d be foolish to think she could climb the stairs by herself. Even if she felt strong enough, if there was a chance she’d over-estimated her abilities then it wasn’t worth the risk. “I could probably walk if you helped me? Then finish the tea in bed.” It wasn’t what she wanted, but she was trying to be realistic at that point. Maybe a stronger witch would pop right back up after a ritual like that, but she still felt like accomplishing it at all was something to be proud of. And maybe next time she would be stronger, though Zania would prefer not to have to do that specific ritual again, ever.
Considering what Gabriel had felt from the demon, he was impressed that Zania wasn’t flat on her back at the moment. Maybe his and Nic’s magic added to the mix had helped some, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to pull that ritual off on his own. “Sounds like a plan,” he murmured as he gave Zania’s hair a stroke. “Once she’s settled, I’ll come back down and we can clean up outside.” That part was addressed to Nic, and Gabriel gave him a nod. He wasn’t going to leave the poor guy with the whole job of taking care of the dead deer. Considering his element, Gabriel could make digging a grave for it very easy on them, and then they could give the deer back to the earth. It wasn’t pretty, but that was nature. “Ready?” he asked Zan, standing ready to help her up and get her going.
“Sounds good,” Nic said, giving Gabriel and Zania a little smile. He was trying to stay out of the way and still do everything he could to help, which didn’t feel like much from where he was standing. He knew Zania didn’t need both of them hovering and it seemed like Gabriel had everything under control. Catching up with his sister could wait til morning, when she was hopefully feeling better. There were a hundred questions he wanted to ask, but nothing mattered at the moment except her feeling better.
“Thanks, Nicky,” Zania said, shooting her brother a smile before reaching for Gabriel to get to her feet. She was a little bit unsteady, but not near as bad as she had been before. Her whole body still hurt, but she didn’t feel like she was going to fall over. “Let’s do this,” she said, and held tight to Gabriel as she made her way towards the stairs. Never in her life had she been so exhausted from completing a spell and she couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and pass out. It would be the first time she slept well in weeks, no longer worried about what new threat might be waiting for her when she woke.