Life’s a Witch and then you Die (Part 8 of ?)
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Title: Life's a Witch and then you Die
Author: AdventureLucky7
Fandom: The Hollows
Pairing: Rachel/Ivy (Seriously I will get there, it's just going to take a bit…)
Rating: Mature, for language so far
Disclaimer: The Hollows characters and universe belong to Kim Harrison, I am just borrowing them for the story.
Summary: What happens when Rynn Cormel forces Rachel to find answers, and she discovers answers to questions she wasn't even asking? Rachel/Ivy, Ivy/Rachel, Ravy
David and I were crouched in the back of the garden, both of us staking out territory behind tombstones. During training in the I.S. we were taught to drop our awareness into a kind of tunnel vision when in danger. It would be easy, especially when your fight or flight reflexes kick in to panic, or react blindly. Give into those instincts and someone was going to die that night. It might be you, it might be the tag, or it might be the person you are trying to protect.
The tunnel vision forces you to focus on the danger, not your reaction to it. I have never been as grateful to I.S. as I am tonight. On the edges of my conscious I can feel my panic over what we might find in the church, but right now it's manageable. Curling into a fetal position would come later, after I knew we were all safe, after this was all over.
We had agreed to give Jih fifteen minutes for reconnaissance; it had now been nineteen. Glancing at David I motioned to him to contact Keasley again, early this time to let him know we were following after Jih. As David and I crept from behind the tombstones a part of me was suddenly very tired of the fear I felt at the edges of my consciousness all night. Someone had attacked my home, and my family, anger began to take the place of fear. Anger was good, that I could channel and use to burn away the nerves. I am a frickin' proto demon for turn's sake, you think the vampire is scary when she's pissed?
The closer we got to the church the angrier I became, I had hunting plans damnit. Sure they were a little ambiguous at this point, but I am damn tired of life getting in the way every time I tried to make a relationship work. In a moment of weakness I even promised that I would watch Finding Nemo with the Pixie hoard again as long as they were safe.
Reaching the door I drew the splat gun from its holster. Nodding at David he opened the door and I burst through the opening, sweeping the area. All clean. Silently sweeping each room in the church I didn't see anything suspicious. When we walked past the belfry entrance I braced the door shut. I wanted to avoid anymore unpleasant surprises tonight, and we still had the sanctuary to check.
As we neared the sanctuary the smell of decay and redwood grew stronger. Slowing my pace I switched to my second sight and checked for booby traps. Again, nothing, my unease was increasing with each step. It wasn't until we reached the sanctuary entrance that I put a hand out to stop David from walking any further.
Looking up I noticed a charm hanging from the entryway of the sanctuary, it looked familiar but I couldn't place it. Moving my awareness to just beyond the sanctuary entrance I could see a protective circle, inside swirled a sickly looking fog.
As my eyes adjusted to the fog I was suddenly able to make out a large shape on the ground, vampire size. I froze as I recognized small shapes draped across every surface in the sanctuary. It was Ivy and the Pixie hoard, I nearly started hyperventilating until David laid a hand on my shoulder.
"I can hear breathing and heart beats Rachel, they're alive."
I closed my eyes for a moment and felt a bead of moisture roll down my cheek. They're alive, I can work with that. I will watch Finding Nemo twice I thought, and bake Ivy cupcakes everyday for the next month.
"What do you see?" David asked softly in my ear.
I swallowed, and pushed my emotions back behind my tunnel vision again "There's a protective circle inside the sanctuary, and some kind of fog trapped by the circle. If fog could be a pus green color anyway."
"Can you break the circle?"
"That's the thing, I shouldn't be able to but I have the distinct feeling whoever cast it is long gone." A lightbulb went off, I recognized the charm.
"Stay here." I told David.
One of the most basic skills you learn when studying for a witch's license is how to make a protective circle. Witches use them all the time for casting and charm making, it's the best way to prevent accidents. However, like all things based on natural law, protective circles have their counterpart: retaining circles. Retaining circles are a more obscure kind of spell because they are generally used as traps. In essence a retaining circle will let anything through its walls, it just wont let it back out again.
My guess is that Jih saw her family and rushed to see if they were okay. Once inside, the circle wouldn't let Jih out again and she succumbed to effects of the fog. I grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen and walked past David again to stick it halfway through the barrier. Once I was satisfied, I tried tugging the spoon out, but it refused to move. Definitely a retaining circle.
The charm above the doorway acts as a focus; it's why retaining circles make such great traps. A witch can use a focus charm to act as a stand in, that way he or she doesn't have to be near to maintain the circle. Once the charm is broken, the retaining circle would fall. There were still a few pieces of the puzzle I didn't understand. A focus charm isn't black or powerful enough to need a sacrifice, which left the fog as the source of the scent of decaying flesh.
"Let's sweep the belfry, and then have the ladies bring over Keasley, I need a second opinion. I can break the circle; it's the fog behind it that makes me nervous."
David nodded his agreement and we headed to the belfry. Please let Bis be safe I thought. Moving up the stairs David nearly walked into my back when I stopped suddenly at the top. Every single one of my demon books were missing. Pushing past me David finished checking the belfry while I walked to the table I normally used as my unofficial demon magic study table. This isn't good, I have a lot of enemies but none of them would benefit directly from stealing the books.
Glancing up I whistled for Bis, no response. Bis wouldn't leave without a very good reason, and I felt goosebumps crawl across my arms. Someone had done a lot of black magic, and planning, to steal my demon texts.
David called Keasley on his phone, and we made our way back down the front of the sanctuary to wait. Well David waited, I mostly paced. Maybe it was time to make a list again of everyone who wanted to kill me.
It felt like centuries later, but David perked up at the sound of Keasley's approach. I headed to the front of the church to open the door for Keasley and the ladies, who were now back in human form. Once inside Keasley and I moved back to the sanctuary entryway to take stock of the situation.
"Do you recognize the fog?" I asked.
Keasley shook his head no, "Perhaps if one of the Weres could dump salt water on the charm and then bolt out the back door. The fog will probably dissipate and we could check on our friends."
Part of me smiled when he referred to Ivy and the Pixies as our friends. Glancing at David he nodded his agreement and he called Serena over who was the fastest of the three Weres.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed my dented spell pot to fill with salt water to break the charm. When I was finished Serena stayed in the kitchen while the rest of headed to the back of the graveyard. When we were a safe distance away David whistled, I heard the spell pot hit the floor and Serena came flying out the back door. Following the Were just a few moments later was the sickly fog.
It only took about half an hour for the fog to completely disappear out the church, and once it was gone we headed back inside. Motioning for the Weres to stay at the sanctuary entrance I slowly made my way to Ivy. Getting to the vampire took much longer than I expected because several Pixie children littered the carpet. Slowly I picked up each pixy and moved them out of harms' way.
When I reached Ivy I reached out to touch her cheek with my trembling hand. When my fingertips touched warm skin I finally allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. I ran my fingers through Ivy's hair, starting at her temple. Each time I moved my hand through her hair I felt the tension leave me a little more, I needed to convince myself that Ivy was alive. Fuck the cupcakes, I would kiss Ivy once I broke this damn charm. Revelations seem to catch me at the strangest times and I swallowed nervously. Try waking her up first the voice in my head said, laughing at me.
Should I be worried the voice in my head is smarter than I am sometimes?
Taking stock of the rest of the room I saw Jenks and Jih on the couch. Part of me was still very worried about Bis, but I would find him too once Ivy and Jenks were awake.
Standing up I saw Keasley and the Weres at the doorway all wearing relieved smiles. Nodding my head I walked past them, and picked up my dented spell pot to fill with another dose of salt water.
Kally offered to carry the spell pot once it was full, and I was grateful for her help. The damn pot was heavy and I was reaching the point of exhaustion.
"Lets try this on Ivy first, I think I am going to need a spray bottle for the Pixies." Kally nodded her understanding, and promptly dumped the entire contents of the spell pot on the vampire.
We waited a moment, nothing happened.
Frowning I kneeled down next to Ivy and checked her pulse. It was slow and steady under my finger tips, no change at all. Sitting back on my heels I regarded the vampire in front of me. That's strange I thought salt water should easily break a black earth charm.
Then it hit me, and my stomach dropped to the floor. There is only one other kind of dark spell that would require a sacrifice, that salt water couldn't reverse.
A demon curse.
I didn't have the heart to leave you guys hanging long on the last chapter. Ch7 was really all about transition from girls night out to danger in the church. Ch8? Helluva lot more fun to write. As much as I love introspection into Rachel's feelings for Ivy as much as the next person, I think we all needed a break.
Insert danger, and demon curses.
All I ask is that you refrain from throwing objects at the latest cliffhanger...
:)
Title: Life's a Witch and then you Die
Author: AdventureLucky7
Fandom: The Hollows
Pairing: Rachel/Ivy (Seriously I will get there, it's just going to take a bit…)
Rating: Mature, for language so far
Disclaimer: The Hollows characters and universe belong to Kim Harrison, I am just borrowing them for the story.
Summary: What happens when Rynn Cormel forces Rachel to find answers, and she discovers answers to questions she wasn't even asking? Rachel/Ivy, Ivy/Rachel, Ravy
David and I were crouched in the back of the garden, both of us staking out territory behind tombstones. During training in the I.S. we were taught to drop our awareness into a kind of tunnel vision when in danger. It would be easy, especially when your fight or flight reflexes kick in to panic, or react blindly. Give into those instincts and someone was going to die that night. It might be you, it might be the tag, or it might be the person you are trying to protect.
The tunnel vision forces you to focus on the danger, not your reaction to it. I have never been as grateful to I.S. as I am tonight. On the edges of my conscious I can feel my panic over what we might find in the church, but right now it's manageable. Curling into a fetal position would come later, after I knew we were all safe, after this was all over.
We had agreed to give Jih fifteen minutes for reconnaissance; it had now been nineteen. Glancing at David I motioned to him to contact Keasley again, early this time to let him know we were following after Jih. As David and I crept from behind the tombstones a part of me was suddenly very tired of the fear I felt at the edges of my consciousness all night. Someone had attacked my home, and my family, anger began to take the place of fear. Anger was good, that I could channel and use to burn away the nerves. I am a frickin' proto demon for turn's sake, you think the vampire is scary when she's pissed?
The closer we got to the church the angrier I became, I had hunting plans damnit. Sure they were a little ambiguous at this point, but I am damn tired of life getting in the way every time I tried to make a relationship work. In a moment of weakness I even promised that I would watch Finding Nemo with the Pixie hoard again as long as they were safe.
Reaching the door I drew the splat gun from its holster. Nodding at David he opened the door and I burst through the opening, sweeping the area. All clean. Silently sweeping each room in the church I didn't see anything suspicious. When we walked past the belfry entrance I braced the door shut. I wanted to avoid anymore unpleasant surprises tonight, and we still had the sanctuary to check.
As we neared the sanctuary the smell of decay and redwood grew stronger. Slowing my pace I switched to my second sight and checked for booby traps. Again, nothing, my unease was increasing with each step. It wasn't until we reached the sanctuary entrance that I put a hand out to stop David from walking any further.
Looking up I noticed a charm hanging from the entryway of the sanctuary, it looked familiar but I couldn't place it. Moving my awareness to just beyond the sanctuary entrance I could see a protective circle, inside swirled a sickly looking fog.
As my eyes adjusted to the fog I was suddenly able to make out a large shape on the ground, vampire size. I froze as I recognized small shapes draped across every surface in the sanctuary. It was Ivy and the Pixie hoard, I nearly started hyperventilating until David laid a hand on my shoulder.
"I can hear breathing and heart beats Rachel, they're alive."
I closed my eyes for a moment and felt a bead of moisture roll down my cheek. They're alive, I can work with that. I will watch Finding Nemo twice I thought, and bake Ivy cupcakes everyday for the next month.
"What do you see?" David asked softly in my ear.
I swallowed, and pushed my emotions back behind my tunnel vision again "There's a protective circle inside the sanctuary, and some kind of fog trapped by the circle. If fog could be a pus green color anyway."
"Can you break the circle?"
"That's the thing, I shouldn't be able to but I have the distinct feeling whoever cast it is long gone." A lightbulb went off, I recognized the charm.
"Stay here." I told David.
One of the most basic skills you learn when studying for a witch's license is how to make a protective circle. Witches use them all the time for casting and charm making, it's the best way to prevent accidents. However, like all things based on natural law, protective circles have their counterpart: retaining circles. Retaining circles are a more obscure kind of spell because they are generally used as traps. In essence a retaining circle will let anything through its walls, it just wont let it back out again.
My guess is that Jih saw her family and rushed to see if they were okay. Once inside, the circle wouldn't let Jih out again and she succumbed to effects of the fog. I grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen and walked past David again to stick it halfway through the barrier. Once I was satisfied, I tried tugging the spoon out, but it refused to move. Definitely a retaining circle.
The charm above the doorway acts as a focus; it's why retaining circles make such great traps. A witch can use a focus charm to act as a stand in, that way he or she doesn't have to be near to maintain the circle. Once the charm is broken, the retaining circle would fall. There were still a few pieces of the puzzle I didn't understand. A focus charm isn't black or powerful enough to need a sacrifice, which left the fog as the source of the scent of decaying flesh.
"Let's sweep the belfry, and then have the ladies bring over Keasley, I need a second opinion. I can break the circle; it's the fog behind it that makes me nervous."
David nodded his agreement and we headed to the belfry. Please let Bis be safe I thought. Moving up the stairs David nearly walked into my back when I stopped suddenly at the top. Every single one of my demon books were missing. Pushing past me David finished checking the belfry while I walked to the table I normally used as my unofficial demon magic study table. This isn't good, I have a lot of enemies but none of them would benefit directly from stealing the books.
Glancing up I whistled for Bis, no response. Bis wouldn't leave without a very good reason, and I felt goosebumps crawl across my arms. Someone had done a lot of black magic, and planning, to steal my demon texts.
David called Keasley on his phone, and we made our way back down the front of the sanctuary to wait. Well David waited, I mostly paced. Maybe it was time to make a list again of everyone who wanted to kill me.
It felt like centuries later, but David perked up at the sound of Keasley's approach. I headed to the front of the church to open the door for Keasley and the ladies, who were now back in human form. Once inside Keasley and I moved back to the sanctuary entryway to take stock of the situation.
"Do you recognize the fog?" I asked.
Keasley shook his head no, "Perhaps if one of the Weres could dump salt water on the charm and then bolt out the back door. The fog will probably dissipate and we could check on our friends."
Part of me smiled when he referred to Ivy and the Pixies as our friends. Glancing at David he nodded his agreement and he called Serena over who was the fastest of the three Weres.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed my dented spell pot to fill with salt water to break the charm. When I was finished Serena stayed in the kitchen while the rest of headed to the back of the graveyard. When we were a safe distance away David whistled, I heard the spell pot hit the floor and Serena came flying out the back door. Following the Were just a few moments later was the sickly fog.
It only took about half an hour for the fog to completely disappear out the church, and once it was gone we headed back inside. Motioning for the Weres to stay at the sanctuary entrance I slowly made my way to Ivy. Getting to the vampire took much longer than I expected because several Pixie children littered the carpet. Slowly I picked up each pixy and moved them out of harms' way.
When I reached Ivy I reached out to touch her cheek with my trembling hand. When my fingertips touched warm skin I finally allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. I ran my fingers through Ivy's hair, starting at her temple. Each time I moved my hand through her hair I felt the tension leave me a little more, I needed to convince myself that Ivy was alive. Fuck the cupcakes, I would kiss Ivy once I broke this damn charm. Revelations seem to catch me at the strangest times and I swallowed nervously. Try waking her up first the voice in my head said, laughing at me.
Should I be worried the voice in my head is smarter than I am sometimes?
Taking stock of the rest of the room I saw Jenks and Jih on the couch. Part of me was still very worried about Bis, but I would find him too once Ivy and Jenks were awake.
Standing up I saw Keasley and the Weres at the doorway all wearing relieved smiles. Nodding my head I walked past them, and picked up my dented spell pot to fill with another dose of salt water.
Kally offered to carry the spell pot once it was full, and I was grateful for her help. The damn pot was heavy and I was reaching the point of exhaustion.
"Lets try this on Ivy first, I think I am going to need a spray bottle for the Pixies." Kally nodded her understanding, and promptly dumped the entire contents of the spell pot on the vampire.
We waited a moment, nothing happened.
Frowning I kneeled down next to Ivy and checked her pulse. It was slow and steady under my finger tips, no change at all. Sitting back on my heels I regarded the vampire in front of me. That's strange I thought salt water should easily break a black earth charm.
Then it hit me, and my stomach dropped to the floor. There is only one other kind of dark spell that would require a sacrifice, that salt water couldn't reverse.
A demon curse.
I didn't have the heart to leave you guys hanging long on the last chapter. Ch7 was really all about transition from girls night out to danger in the church. Ch8? Helluva lot more fun to write. As much as I love introspection into Rachel's feelings for Ivy as much as the next person, I think we all needed a break.
Insert danger, and demon curses.
All I ask is that you refrain from throwing objects at the latest cliffhanger...
:)