13:4
Prairie turned her attention to where Erik stood against the back wall of the stage. “Can he walk?”
“I don’t think so. I carried him in and placed him there and he hasn’t moved.”
Dempsey hefted himself up on the stage, stretching his long legs to vault the height without using the steps leading up to it. “I’ve got him.”
He approached Erik. The sound of his voice, low, carried to Prairie though his actual words were indistinct. No response came and after a few mikros Dempsey said a bit louder, “I’m lifting you now.”
While Dempsey hoisted Erik and carried him over to where Prairie stood in front of Al’s chair she focused on Al. “I am going to place oil on your face, your throat, your chest and your wrists.”
“Do you want me to remove my shirt?”
“No. Just roll up your sleeves and open your buttons enough that I can touch your chest.”
Al leaned forward in his chair and made swift work of rolling up his sleeves. Then he unbuttoned his shirt almost to his navel. “This do?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Prairie looked at the bottles of oil before selecting the lavender and basil. She turned and held the bottle of rosemary back to Siobhan then uncapped the two bottles, placing the caps in the pocket of her jacket. Then she poured the lavender and basil into the palm of her left hand. Closing her fingers over the mixture she warmed it with both the heat of her skin and a trickle of her Magick. When she sensed it was done she opened her fingers and then leaned towards Al. She dipped the fingers of her right hands in the warmed oil then leaned forward to press them to the space between Al’s eyes. She breathed lightly over the oil, willing more Magick into it. Then she moved her fingers down to the ditch of his throat and anointed that.
Dipping her fingers again she nudged the fabric of his shirt aside so she could draw a small circle over his sternum. That done she moved to his wrists and did the same.
“Five points of the body align with the five points of the diagram,” she murmured. She heard the scratch of pencil over paper indicating Dan continued with his notes.
Al’s eyes had drifted nearly closed while she applied the oil. As she leaned back he blinked slowly and it was clear he was forcing himself to focus.
Prairie curled her fingers around his wrists. “Keep sitting. I’m going to cleanse Erik and then I’ll have you move to the center of the diagram.”
Moving over to Dempsey she indicated he should hold Erik in such a way that she could reach the five points on the other man. Man? Soul fragment? Did it matter the definition? She would think of him as Erik. He deserved that much respect. Despite being inanimate now, he was a person who had lived and breathed and laughed. And, she thought about the story of Gia and Erik, loved. He had assuredly loved.
Once she was done cleansing Erik she drew back with a hard sigh. Turning she focused on Al. “Are you okay to walk?”
“Yeah.” Al pushed to his feet. He swayed for a moment but then squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. “I’m good.”
With a nod Prairie retrieved the black candle from her pocket and held it out to Al. He took it and then drew a long breath through his nose. Casting a quick glance to where Dempsey cradled Erik against his chest, he turned his attention on Prairie.
“What do I need to do.”
“You and Erik will stand in the center of the diagram, facing each other.” She paused and frowned. “Will he be able to stand?”
“That’s all he seems capable of doing.”
“Okay. Good. So, you and he will stand in the center of the circle holding the mirror between you and the black candle.”
“Will I have to light it?”
“No. The Magick will do so if the ritual is done correctly.”
“What about our candles?” Gwen asked.
Prairie turned and looked at where Gwen held the blue candle clutched tight to her chest. “Those we’ll have to light.” She turned to Ben. “Can I please have the matches?”
Ben fished the matchbook out of his pocket and held it out to Prairie. She took it with a nod of thanks then turned back to look at the others gathered around her and Al in a loose circle.
“Al, you will need to be careful not to disturb the diagram when you enter.”
“Okay.”
“Dempsey?”
“Yes?” Dempsey responded to Prairie’s question.
“Can you carry Erik into the center of the diagram and stand him up?”
He nodded and then walked over to the diagram. It was clear he was being very careful to walk in the spaces between the lines so that his large feet didn’t disturb the pattern. With surprising gentleness he stooped and placed Erik’s feet on the floor in the center circle. Then he rose, keeping his hand hovering in front of Erik. When Erik remained upright and unmoving, Dempsey picked his way out of the diagram then turned to look at Prairie expectantly. Or maybe it was at Al. Either way Al took the initiative and walked across the stage, hoping down and moving to stand in the center of the diagram facing Erik.
Only when he was situated did it seem to occur to him that he was missing something. He turned and looked at Prairie. “Mirror?”
“Got it,” Dempsey said. He walked over and picked up the mirror then made his slow and cautious way back to the center of the diagram to hand the mirror to Al. Al reached over and grasped one of Erik’s arm. He lifted it at an angle so he’d be able to hold out the mirror and place its edge in Erik’s hand. The other man’s arm remained as Al positioned it. It was like he was one of those dolls with the articulated limbs that you could pose.
Ugh. Dolls. Prairie wasn’t sure she could think of one without adding “creepy” as a descriptor. For sure Erik resembled a creepy doll.
‘I’m sorry,’ she mouthed at the still man. Not man. No, man. Again, important to keep that in mind. Erik was a man. A person. Deserving of dignity and respect. One damned by Mary but Prairie was going to fix that.
She was.
Once she was certain that Al and Erik were placed in the center of the diagram, Prairie turned and looked around until her gaze alit on Gwen, Siobhan, and Kim in a loose cluster to her left and below the stage.
“It’s time, ladies.”
Siobhan nodded, her expression solemn. Gwen gave Prairie a tentative smile and saluted her her candle. Kim just walked over to the diagram, peering at the outer ring.
“What do you need us to do?”
Prairie walked over with Siobhan and Gwen trailing her, stopping near Kim. “I need Siobhan in the North.”
“Which one is North?” Gwen asked.
“The one with the salt.”
“Ah.”
Siobhan moved to stand near the bowl of salt then looked to Prairie. “Just outside here?”
Prairie considered for a moment. Her instincts said they couldn’t be so distanced. They had to be immersed in the ritual. “No. I think you need to stand in the space between the outer ring and the next.” She eyed Siobhan’s skirts. “Can you hike those up?”
Siobhan gave her a quick look then proceeded to do exactly that, grabbing the back of her skirt and pulling it between her legs then planting the tail behind the waistline at the front. “Good?”
“Good.” Prairie turned to Kim. “I’ll need you to stand in the third ring in the South.”
With a nod Kim moved to comply but then stopped and cuffed up her cargo pant legs so they hit her mid-calf. “Just to be safe,’ she said, then stepped into position in line with the bowl of bark.
Gwen was already rolling up her jeans. She looked up with a grin. “Me?”
“In the ring outside of Al and Erik’s, in line with the bowl of water.”
One hand at her side for balance and the other holding her candle aloft, Gwen stepped carefully into place.
Prairie ran her gaze over the diagram and the people it contained. Yes. That felt right. She reached into herself, feeling for her Magick. It gave a gentle pulse and she read that as agreement with her assessment.
Okay. She moved around the outer circle, stooping to light the incense to the East and the cinnamon bark to the South before continuing the circuit in a clockwise direction. It would have been easier to light the South and then the East but the ritual, or at least her interpretation, required North, East, South, West in the clockwise. This ritual, cobbled together as it was, required as much structure as she could give it which meant complying with those intrinsic rules.
Once she was back to the bowl of smoldering incense she took a long breath, drawing the sacred scent into her lungs. Holding it in her chest, she stepped over the lines of the diagram to take her position in the second ring in line with the bowl of incense. As she set her feet in a slightly spaced stance she released the breath of incense.
Kim eyed her. “Should I have inhaled some of the cinnamon smoke?”
Prairie considered the question. Then gave a slow nod. “I think—Maybe? This is untested.”
“Okay. Uh, also, what about the matches for our candles? If we are standing in different places we can’t all light them from the one matchbook.”
Prairie gave a slow blink. This was so much easier when she stuck to pat rituals! “You’re right. Darn it!”
“I’ve got this.” Ben sauntered over, another matchbook in hand. As Prairie watched he pulled three other matchbooks out. At her quizzical look he gave a big grin. “Always be prepared! Never know when you need to light shit up.”
As Prairie giggled, he held the first matchbook out to Siobhan. He had to stretch a little to reach her from outside the diagram so for the one he handed to Kim he stepped into the diagram carefully and moved into arm’s reach of her. When she took it he moved over carefully, going — Prairie was happy to see — in a clockwise manner, and handed the last matchbook to Gwen. Then he carefully removed himself from the diagram and stepped a short distance back, taking up position near Ivan.
“Prairie?” Ivan called, drawing Prairie’s eye. “You said be vigilant. Are you thinking there’ll be a threat and if so from where?”
Prairie frowned as she considered his question. Then she let her focus go inward as she probed her Magick. Nothing came back to her from it. She was hoping that meant a lack of threat rather than it didn’t know. If it didn’t know it would feel different. At least she thought it would.
“I’m not sure there will be a threat. But, just to be safe, maybe keep an eye open for anything?”
“Got it.” Ivan looked around at Ben, Dan, Abe, Patti, and Dempsey. “How about we evenly space ourselves around the circle, facing out. Patti?”
“Yeah?”
“Prairie said chant or song. You got one?”
“Do bears poop in the woods?”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ivan said with droll humor.
“Yes!”
“Something we can follow?”
“Yeeees,” Patti’s response was a little less quick and quite drawn out. “Give me a tic.” She pursed her lips and searched the vaulted ceiling with her gaze or maybe she was feeling out her Magick. Either way after a few mikros she gave a decisive nod and focused on Ivan again. “Maybe a spiritual with a lot of clapping. Or a sea shanty. With a lot of clapping.”
“And stomping?” Ben asked.
“Sure. Stomping.”
“Ben the Harmonizer is at your service.” Ben gave a sharp salute then lifted his feet one at a time before bringing them down hard on the marble floor.
“That is–” The corner of Patti’s mouth curved upwards, “stomping.”
Abe bounced on their feet. “I can stomp too!”
“Of course you can, sweetie.” Patti swept her gaze to Dan, Dempsey, and Ivan. “You?”
Ivan made a show of slow clapping while adopting a droll look and Dan just took a deep breath before focusing hard on his book. Dempsey thumped his shield against the floor in a rhythm that bounced off the walls of the old castle. That settled Patti called over to Prairie. “Song crew ready!”
“Great.” Prairie turned her attention to the others in the diagram. “Please focus on what you are giving to the ritual.”
Gwen met her eyes. “Compassion.”
“Wisdom,” Siobhan added.
“Stubbornness.” By her tone Kim really loved the idea of that.
The other three settled, Prairie called, “Al?”
Al stopped staring at Erik and shifted his attention to Prairie. When he nodded, Prairie took a long breath through her nose and blew it out through parted lips. “Please light your candles. Except,” she added, “for you Al. Yours will light itself if this works.”
“Which it will?”
“Which it will.” She shook her head. “I forgot the most important part. When your candle lights focus on the mirror and say ‘I send the darkness to its source. In its place I welcome light’.”
“Anything else?”
“Hope.”
“Hope?”
“Believe. Hold on to the light. Let it fill you.”
Al drew a long breath through his nose then nodded.
Prairie turned her focus to her friends standing ready with their candles. “Now.”
“Compassion,” Gwen intoned and struck her match.
“Wisdom.” Siobhan lit her match then set it to the wick of her candle.
“Determination.” Kim didn’t use a match. Instead, she drew up a small flame to dance around the tip of her index finger and lit her candle with it.
Intinsically they must have known to do the lighting at the same time as that was exactly what they did. Prairie hurried to strike her match and set the wick of her candle aflame. She stared at the flame and whispered, “Life.”
She blew the word over the candle, then closed her eyes and filled her mind with images of Life. Flowers pushing from the earth after the Winter’s snow. Butterflies in a swirl in a butterfly house, dancing around the still closed and hanging cocoons of their brethren. The nest of two birds built on the sill of her window, three eggs within, as one small wet head broke free of its shell. Over and over she layered the images. A baby crowning. A family clustered around a bed in the cicu as a loved one breathed their last. All facets of life crowded her mind. Over and over. Translucent image over translucent image forming a kaleidoscope of life.
Magick flowed from her. She could feel its spin as it hit the lines defining her ring of the diagram, adjusting its flow to swirl along the channel formed by the lines. She couldn’t see it, more was the pity, so she had to just use her judgement and Magick to determine when it reached the pinnacle of power. When it hit the point that she felt it pressing against her skin from without and within, she drew a deep breath, expanding her chest with air and Magick then she started an intonation.
“With the power of compassion, knowledge, determination, and life I command the parasite to vacate its host!”
The Magick in the diagram surged, swirling faster until Prairie had to brace her legs to keep herself upright. The loose hairs around her face whipped to the side, partially obliterating her vision. More tugged loose and she felt her ponytail give up the ghost.
Give up the ghost. Ha!
Her mouth curved on a big smile, amusement and the power of Magick combined suffusing her.
From outside the circle she heard Patti start singing something about ruling the seas. A quick look over showed her pointing at the others outside the diagram and they all sang out “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” Patti sang another few lines then pointed again and the others sang out with varying levels of skill, “Fee Fi Fo Fum!”
Whatever they lacked in actual singing talent they made up for with gusto. Abe marched in place, swinging their arms. Ben stomped with a single foot, hard enough his pants flapped, and then pumped a fist in time with his “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” Dempsey leaned forward to really apply his shield edge to the floor. Ivan caught Prairie’s gaze and grinned then hollered out, “Fee Fi Fo Fum!”
The tug of Magick grabbed Prairie’s attention, drawing her focus back to the ritual. A quick look to the center of the diagram showed an unlit black candle. Frowning, Prairie drew a long breath and pushed more Magick out into the channel she stood in.
She closed her eyes and sent her Magick towards the center of the diagram, frowning as she felt the utter stillness of the air within. Then she focused inwards, testing her Magick. Fine. It was fine. The well within swelled and surged, pulsing Magick into the diagram. A quick look showed Kim, Siobhan, and Gwen looking determined. Gwen closed her eyes. Her mouth moved and she sheltered the flame of her candle with a cupped palm. Siobhan clasped both hands around her candle and stared into the flame. And Kim’s jaw set while she glared at her candle.
The failure wasn’t here. Or, she shifted her gaze to the line behind Siobhan. Was it? Was it possible the Magick was flowing into the church and not into the center of the diagram. Driven by instinct she called out to Spiritus and it responded, forming a dome. It began at the point of the outer line of the diagram, arching above them to enclose the space in silence and softly filtered pink light.
The sound of her friends outside of the diagram and dome cut off though a quick look showed them still bouncing and stomping and singing out. An echo of power rose under Prairie’s feet and within her Magick she felt the closure of a circuit as the dome became a globe enclosing Prairie, her friends, Al and Erik.
Suddenly Prairie was aware of pressure on the outside of the dome. Then she felt whatever energy was causing it bounce off. It was like the extension of Spiritus was actually an extension of her own Magick. Maybe it was. Maybe it was some hybrid. Maybe it really didn’t matter?
Deep inside her a certainty shimmered into life and she knew that outside pressure was Mary’s connection to Al, repelled by Prairie’s Spiritus bubble. Yes.
In the sudden silence Siobhan’s response was almost ludicrously loud. “Pink.”
This drew Kim’s attention from her candle. She grinned across the diagram at Siobhan. “Pink.”
Gwen looked away from her candle, shooting Siobhan a scolding look. “Focus!”
Siobhan took another look around, her gaze flowing over the pink dome over them. Then she shook her head, lofted her chin, and said, “Wisdom.”
Going with the instinct that called her to call Spiritus Prairie repeated, “I command the parasite to leave the host!”
Magick flowed from her mouth with the words and she swore she could see it fly across the diagram to the center. Only to stop at the final line encompassing Al and Erik.
What? What was missing? Mary’s energetic connection to Al was repelled by the bubble of Spiritus. Kim, Siobhan, Gwen, and her focused energy were flowing through the diagram, building with each swirl. Yet, that black candle remained unlit. Why?
Prairie shifted her gaze from the center to run it over Kim, then Gwen and Siobhan. Each of them met her gaze. Each with a different expression but all showing that they could feel the ritual wasn’t working.
Focus.
The word whispered within her. And she knew it was not her thought, though it was in her voice.
Focus.
I am! She gritted back at the disembodied voice. I am focusing!
Focus the energy.
Oh. Darn. Of course. She was the conduit. Her job was not simply to provide the energy of life to this ritual. She was part of it but she was also the practitioner, meant to bend the combined energy to its purpose.
Instead of just saying the words this time she took the Magick swirling in the diagram and molded it into the command. “Leave!”
Imagining her Magick as a scalpel she sent it flying across the diagram at Al. In her mind an image formed of Al’s Spirit. The grotesque black patch, stitched with red sutures, stood out stark against the white and blue of the Spirit’s natural form.
No, they weren’t red sutures. They were swollen, infected half-healed incisions. The edges of them peeled back, the flesh swelling around the sutures, turning them red with blood and gore where they were, in fact, as black as the patch of Mary’s Spirit.
She slashed at the incisions with the scalpel of the combined Magick. “Leave!” she gritted out as she felt the Magick from the diagram slam at her from all sides and then flow through her, making her conduit she’d called herself.
“Leave!”
The sutures split, the gap between the white and blue of Al’s Spirit and the patch of Mary’s black soul growing as Al’s Spirit, no longer constrained by the sutures, drew away from the intruder. Elation rose in Prairie. Then crashed as she watched the ends of the severed sutures whip forward and dive back into Al’s Spirit.
No! She slashed and slashed at the sutures with her scalpel of Magick. The sutures split. The gaping wound of Al’s Spirit opened. Closed. Opened.
Without real thought she reached for more Magick. It flowed through the diagram and into her. In the back of her mind she felt the direction of the energy flowing from Kim, Gwen, and Siobhan. She tried to sip at it like through a straw, mindful of not draining them, but it was so hard when the sutures kept reforming and she needed more.
Her gaze went over her friends. Kim. Gwen. Siobhan. Despite their clear focus they still met her eyes and each silently sent her their support. A song played through her mind. Something about Mother, Maiden, Crone. It thrummed in her blood, in her Magick, firming her conviction as she met each of their gazes and nodded in acknowledgement of their conviction.
She closed her eyes and pictured floodgates cutting off some of the flow from her friends. Then she opened the gates enough to allow their energy to flow to her, just in a controlled way that wouldn’t pull too much from them. She directed that flow towards the center of the diagram, to Al and Erik.
And then the screaming started, drawing Prairie’s focus from the within she’d fallen into so she could feel the Real again. The first thing she saw as her vision cleared was Al’s open mouth, from which the screams emerged. Then her gaze skittered to Erik.
He was no longer still, though he did remain standing firm facing Erik. His eyes were wide, terror-wide, with the whites showing all around his irises. And he screamed too. Their combined voices formed a song, most likely weaving his Magick in the exhalations.
“No!” Kim’s scream drew Prairie’s horrified gaze from Erik and Al. Kim’s features were set, her eyes narrowed. “We are not going to fail!”
Prairie felt the moment Kim’s determination peaked, shifting the energy in the diagram. And then a nimbus of fire bloomed around the other woman. Not like when she summoned fire to her palm. This started as a corona and then flowed down over her until her entire form was wreathed in flame.
As if drawn by the burst of Will manifesting as fire, Siobhan hollered. “We will not fail!”
Prairie snapped her gaze to Siobhan and blinked as vines burst free of Siobhan’s flower crown and whipped out, forming a dancing wall behind Siobhan that for all the world looked like wings formed of plants.
A sob from the West drew Prairie’s attention to Gwen. Tears poured from Gwen. Almost cartoonish in their flow they cascaded down her face, the pink light of Spiritus causing them to glint and gleam as they poured down her neck and over her chest. Almost instantly her tee-shirt clung to her form, weighed down under the deluge of tears.
“He hurts so much!” Gwen’s voice broke on the last word. She hiccuped and sobbed but she kept her hold on her candle and then she lifted her free hand and clamped it around the one holding the candle. The flow of energy and Magick in the channel she stood within grabbed the smoke from the candle, weaving it into the mass of power.
A quick look at Siobhan’s candle showed a similar phenomenon. Prairie turned her gaze to Kim. Somehow despite the other woman being engulfed in flames her candle retained its structure and the smoke from it was also being drawn into the dance of Magick within the diagram.
As Prairie watched with wide eyes, all the smoke flew at her, whipping clockwise through the diagram and hitting her with almost physical force. She opened her mouth, sucking it in, and then she expelled it on a scream. A wordless, visceral expulsion of every single thing she was feeling until all she had was Magick and rage.
“Leave!”
The sound whipped out of her. She felt it tear from her throat and over her parted lips and then there was a whirlwind that wasn’t air and wasn’t Magick and was both and more at once.
The fabric of Siobhan’s skirts rippled with the force of the invisible hit but remained rucked up. Her plant wings didn’t even shudder. Rather they grew, riding the line of Spiritus bubble and meeting at the far side behind Kim, forming another barrier.
The nimbus of fire around Kim flared, meeting the vines. Instead of going up in smoke and sparks the vines absorbed the fire, expanding with the power so they doubled in size and formed a deeper barrier around the dome.
From the center of the diagram Al and Erik’s voice wove together, no longer screams but lyrics.
“Submit to sorrow, bow to pride.”
It wasn’t a song Prairie knew and yet somehow she was singing along. A quick look around the circle showed Kim, Gwen, and Siobhan doing the same. Their voices wove with Al and Erik’s, intoning to ignore the entity inside.
High water. Hell. They would not give in! And then the lyrics shifted and they were calling out to accept the entity inside.
A surge of Magick pulled from Prairie and then she heard Al’s voice, no longer a scream though definitely ragged. A flare of light drew her gaze to the black candle in his hand as the wick flared to light.
In the heart of the ritual Al and Erik stood facing each other, the mirror held between them. Their gazes met over the reflective surface. The pink light of Spiritus bounced off the mirror, lighting the nearly identical faces from beneath.
The moment felt sacred, suspended in the heart of the ritual.
“Are you ready for this?”
“I have waited a very long time to come home,” Erik said. “Lifetimes. I am tired of being alone. Yes. I am ready for this.” He stopped. Swallowed then blinked. “Gia?”
“I’ll take care of her.”
Erik gave a smile that was so sad Prairie’s Spirit ached to see it. “She came for me.”
Al gave a solemn nod. “She did.” Then he drew a long breath. “Do you forgive me?”
“What’s to forgive?”
“I dragged you into this.”
“No.” Erik’s tone brooked no argument. “She did.” He closed his eyes and lowered his chin. “I want to rest.”
Al nodded and then leaned forward to press his forehead to Erik’s. “Come home.”
Prairie’s eyes grew so wide they actually hurt as she watched Erik’s form break up, becoming part of the smoke and energy and Magick swirling in the diagram. It ran the circuit of the diagram. Flowed from the center circle to the channel Gwen held. Her tears stopped flowing down her face, caught up in the Magick.
Then the combined energy poured into Kim’s channel. The fire wreathing her pulled away from her, like taffy, joining the swirl of tears and smoke and Magick. When it hit Prairie’s circle she relaxed as much as she possibly could and let the substance flow through her, pulling Magick as it went. It went one last circuit around the final channel Siobhan held, snatching at the glowing vines and weaving them into the mass of tears and flames and smoke and Magick.
A blast of light filled the dome, dazzling Prairie’s vision. She blinked to clear it in time to see all the energy funnel from the top of the dome and flow down to hit the mirror Al held.
“I reject the darkness!” He screamed. “I accept the light!”
More light flared from the mirror, less blinding only because of its contained locus. With watering eyes Prairie focused on Al’s Spirit. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she watched the weeping sutures explode. The force of the expulsion too much for them, they lost all cohesion. The patch of black, no longer bound by the sutures, exploded from Al’s Spirit, expelled by the force of his will and the power of the ritual.
Prairie scrambled to banish the bubble of Spiritus before the dark patch hit it. Without those constraints, the patch flew upwards, projected towards the vaulted ceiling. Prairie tracked its progress until it disappeared in the shadows there. There was no question in her mind it didn’t stop there, but instead returned to its source, compelled by the mirror to reflect back to Mary.
The image of the suppurating wound on Al’s Spirit in her mind, she hoped its return hurt the other necromancer. She wasn’t a vindictive person. She tried to be nice. Gentle. Kind. But there was nothing in her heart for Mary except disgust.
“Whoa.”
Kim’s voice drew Prairie’s attention from the ceiling in time to see the other woman sway on her feet with her hand pressed to her temple. The nimbus of flames pulled back until it was a thin layer hovering close to her form, then gave one small pulse and disappeared.
“Is it over?” Siobhan whispered. Her head slumped forward, weighted down by the limp vines falling from her crown and pooling on the floor. She reached up shaking hands and lifted the crown from her head then dropped it in front of her.
Rather than answer, Gwen stumbled forward on liquid legs and dove for Al’s form slumped in the center of the diagram. She slapped her hand on his chest and closed her eyes, her head falling forward. After a long moment she drew a harsh breath then looked at Prairie and gave a short nod.
The breath Prairie hadn’t been aware she was holding seeped out of her and her shoulders dropped.
An enthusiastic “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” had her turning her gaze to where Patti, Ben, Abe, Dan, Dempsey, and Ivan formed a loose circle around the diagram. She squinted at movement at their feet.
Weaving between their loose line was at least ten—no fifteen mice. Some were marching in place, little arms swinging. Others clapped. Abe leaned over and shook their shoulders at one. It swayed towards their young friend, returning the shake. The two bracing Ben jumped up and down in time with his stomps. As the human members of the circle sang out “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” the mice as one joined in, their tiny voices piping out, picked up by the acoustics of the space so they sounded like thirty mice instead of fifteen.
It appeared they’d missed something after the bubble of Spiritus obscured their view of their friends.
Prairie shook her head and looked over at Kim. The other woman was staring with narrowed eyes at where Sass swayed on Patti’s shoulder, waving a hand as if directing the other mice. Then Kim’s shoulders raised and lowered while she blew a deep breath out of her mouth and she shook her head with weary acceptance.
Patti stopped her singing to call, “Hey, the thing is down!”
Almost as one their friends surged forward. The mice trailed very slightly behind them but then pushed past to run for where Gwen ministered to Al.
Dempsey drew to a quick halt at the edge of the diagram. “Is it okay to enter?”
Prairie nodded, her gaze locked on the mice. “If it wasn’t the mice would have already done the damage.”
“Good point.”
“When did they show up?”
“The mice?” Dempsey asked.
“Yes.”
“A little bit after the pink bubble.”
“They wanted to help Al.” Prairie shifted to look at Patti. The other woman drew a soft finger over Sass’ head, then added, “Seemed wrong to not let them.”
“Ugh.” Al’s exhalation drew Prairie’s gaze. He sat up slowly with Gwen’s help and as soon as he was in a somewhat upright position, the mice swarmed over him. Some seemed okay with plunking themselves on his legs but several clambered up his chest, digging small claws into the material of his shirt to keep their positions. One made it all the way to his shoulder. That one rose up on two legs and patted her face, drawing his gaze. “Thank you, little friend.”
He shifted his gaze to Prairie. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t–” Prairie’s voice trailed off as a wave of exhaustion hit her. She swayed from side to side. Before she could fall sideways, Ivan stepped in and pressed his hand to her rib, bracing her. She tossed her head, throwing her loose hair out of her face so she could look up at him with a soft smile of thanks.
“Well, crap.” Kim’s words had Prairie looking in her friend’s direction as she sat down on the floor with a thump. “Is the room spinning for anyone else?”
“Yes.” Siobhan sat down and leaned back on her hands. After a few mikros she lifted one hand to touch her flower crown. “Did I?”
“Grow wings of plants?” Kim asked.
“That.”
“Yes.”
“Really?” Patti’s voice was full of incredulity. “Wings?”
“Well Kim turned into a torch,” Siobhan retorted.
Gwen sniffled and looked up from where she’d been switching her attention between Al and the mice. “More like a star?”
“Really?”
“That’s how it looked. More like a glow of fire than being on fire?”
Siobhan nodded her agreement. “That sounds right.”
Abe leaned in to stare at Gwen. “Wings and a star. What happened to you?”
“Cried. A lot. Very not super power awakening.” Gwen pouted her lower lip way out.
Prairie pressed her hand to her throat. “All I did was scream.”
“And save me.” Al’s quiet voice rang with gratitude. He carefully removed the mice from his person and then rose to his feet. When he swayed, Dan stepped up and braced him from the side. He looked gratefully at the other man then turned back to Prairie.
“You need to leave.”
Ben stepped in with fists at his side. “You need to tell us the information you promised.”
“I will.” The more Al spoke the weaker his voice got and the more he leaned into Dan’s support. “But not today. I doubt this went unnoticed by her–” He paused and then his expression melted into one of wonder. “Mary.” He gave a weak smile. Prairie could tell it cost him. “I can say it again. I doubt Mary didn’t feel this. Maybe it hit her and weakened her but you can’t gamle on that. In fact, if it did there’s more chance she’ll come to me for answers and you can’t be here when she does.”
Ben visibly grit his teeth. “You owe us.”
“I do.” Al pressed his hand to his abdomen, right above where the black patch of Mary once sat. “I owe you everything. But for now, go.”
“We do need to go.” Siobhan rose to her feet then walked over to Al. “But can you give us anything to work with on our own?”
“Mary wants to create a new world.”
“How?”
Al looked at Dan. “Ask Maise how this world was formed.”
“ARFA.”
Al swayed again and Dan barely managed to hold him upright. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he went liquid against Dan.
“Damn it!” Ben snapped. He glared at Al even as he moved in to help Dan support the supine man’s form. “There’s an apartment off the manager’s office. Let’s move him there.”
“Here.” Dempsey dropped his shield and walked over to Dan and Al. “I can carry him.”
“I can too,” Ben said.
“Without throwing out your back?”
Ben rolled his eyes and stepped back. “Fine.”
Dempsey walked over and slid his arm beneath Al’s. Then he looked to Dan. “I’ve got him.” He scooped Al’s tall form up in his arms, hiking him up against his chest, then he looked over at Ben. “Where’s this office?”
“This way.” Ben headed off towards the entrance of the church with Dempsey trailing slightly behind him. Claws clicked against the marble floor as the mice followed behind them in a wave.
Prairie leaned into Ivan’s hand and drew a deep breath then slid her gaze over to Siobhan. “Do you need help?”
Siobhan shifted on her feet then met Prairie’s gaze. “I wouldn’t complain.”
“Me neither!” Gwen retorted.
Abe walked over and offered Gwen an arm. Gwen took it and weaved it around her waist, then leaned into Abe. Patti sidled over to Siobhan and held out a hand. She took it then smiled as Patti slid her arm around her shoulders, then looked to Kim.
“You have to feel as bad as we do.”
“Yeah. Kinda. But, ugh, touching.”
Siobhan raised her brows. “Shut up and let Dan help you.”
“Fine.” Kim rolled her eyes then looked at Dan. “Help?”
He walked over and held out a hand. “Going to put this around your waist.”
“Okay.”
When she nodded her agreement he did as he’d said and it was a testament to her exhaustion that she relaxed against his hold. In that way with Ivan supporting Prairie, Abe with Gwen, Patti and Siobhan, and Dan with Kim they turned to leave.
Before they’d gone more than a few steps a thought occurred to Prairie. She tapped Ivan’s arm. When he looked down at her she said, “We need to go back.”
“Back?”
“I left the diagram on the floor.”
Without any more questions Ivan did a neat about face and retraced their steps to the diagram. When Prairie started to let go of his hold to approach the chalk lines she swayed and nearly tipped over. Ivan tightened his hand on her ribs.
“Sit.” He walked her over to the edge of the stage and gently pressed her down to sit on the step. “You stay here. I’ll do it. Is there anything special that needs to be done?”
Prairie eyed the line closest to the stage. “No. Just sweep the chalk away.”
Abe lead Gwen over and helped her sit next to Prairie. “I’ll help.”
“Me too,” Patti said and made short work of settling Siobhan on the edge of the stage before approaching the others clustered around the chalk lines.
She turned and looked at Prairie. “Just sweep it away?”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
Patti stooped and started sweeping her hands over the chalk lines. Abe stepped deeper into the diagram and did the same while Ivan moved to the center and started moving outwards. Dan walked over, sat Kim next to Siobhan, then moved to help clear chalk.
Within a very short time the chalk was nothing more than a bit of dust on the marble floor that held no shape and no chance of harm. Once it was gone, the sweepers moved over and collected Kim, Gwen, Siobhan, and Prairie. Being seated made Prairie very aware of just how tired she was and she found herself grateful to be able to hold on to Ivan as they made their slow way out of Stripped. She found herself burrowing into his side and when he tightened his arm around her she relaxed into his strength. It put her nose really close to his armpit which normally would have been kind of ick but surprisingly, despite their adventures, he smelled good. Must be some great deodorant. Or maybe cologne.
Oh, yeah, her mind was definitely as tired as her body! Rather than pull away a little or make excuses she just tilted her head a little and took a surreptitious sniff of his shirt.
Ivan paused at the front door and looked around the group. “Where to?”
“Probably good to stay together in one place.” Ben’s voice came from the back of the group where he’d joined with Dempsey. “Al thinks Mary will come here but just in case we shouldn’t go home separately.”
“We can go to Maise and Regan’s,” Dan offered. “I need to ask Maise about what Al said.”
“Oh, please let me be the one to tell Regan we are staying,” Kim said with a small grin.
“Don’t set anything on fire!” Prairie leaned her head against Ivan’s side, sighing a little as he tightened his arm around her shoulders.
She smiled when Kim lifted her brows and quipped, “Now where’s the fun in that?”
Enter The Woods 