Frigga

Blue light flowed from Frigga’s palms into the chalk markings on the floor and melted the design into it. Rosalind did the same, their magic glowing red as they pushed their energy forward. Their energies met halfway, flowed into each other, and melted into a deep, saturated violet as it began to light up the circle and sigils in front of them. Once every line was coated in their combined energy, Frigga and Rosalind stood and met each other in the centre of the circle.

“Last chance,” Rosalind offered, and for the first time Frigga thought she saw excitement in their eyes.

Frigga’s heart was pounding, but strangely her mind was calm, centred, and focussed. “I’m ready.”

Rosalind reached into their pocket pulling out a small, smooth obsidian pendant. “Wear this, it’s kept me safe through some nasty rituals.” They then flung the pendant’s black braided cord over Frigga’s head.

“Thank you.”

The two witches took each other’s hands for their cleansing spells, clearing the space’s energy, and once the space was energetically cleared, Rosalind and Frigga took each other’s left hand and they began to walk slowly clockwise, their right index fingers pointed towards the circle’s edge as they constructed a barrier of protection. Blue energy flowed from Frigga, red from Rosalind, and the energy began to fill the shape of a dome around them as liquid pours into a glass. This was the easy part, and it was comforting to both witches to walk through these familiar motions with a friend.

They circled until the dome was sealed and they were locked within a seamless, glowing, purple bubble. The instant it was done, Frigga knelt in the space in the north-side of the bubble facing inward in front of where she’d started, knelt down and touched her hands to the topmost sigil. Rosalind did the same on the south-side facing inward, their hands on the bottommost sigil. They locked eyes and Rosalind led them as they chanted words of protection and summoned defensive energies and family guardians. A sigil flashed with white light every so often as they did until the whole circle was brighter than a bonfire, blazing with purple and white light. A soft air current floated through the circle, and wisps of light flitted around like smoke being tugged along the breeze.

They met each other in the centre again, and Rosalind reached into their pocket to pull out a gorgeous ceremonial knife, silver handled and inlaid with different precious stones, and handed it gently to Frigga. They then reached back into their pocket and pulled out the item they would be channeling the energy into, a small jet crystal carved into the shape of a skull.

Frigga nearly giggled when she saw it. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think?” she teased them.

Rosalind rolled their eyes, but the barest of smiles was hidden in the corner of their eye. “Yes, well, it’s preferable if one wishes to keep a consistent aesthetic.”

They nodded for Frigga to take her place up and stepped back to the south point of the circle, knelt down, and placed the crystal on the sigil in front of them. Frigga stood on the north most point of the circle on the sigil inscribed there, faced north, and took a deep breath to steel herself; this was going to hurt.

She held her right arm out in front of her, the knife held in her left and she closed her eyes. “I, Frigga Thorneheart, forsake my promise to Sapphire Thorneheart,” and she placed the blade to her skin to cut through the mark.

A loud crash rang from the hallway and a harsh, ice blue light spilled in through the door. The two witches in the circle whipped around to see Sapphire walking into the room. She calmly observed the scene before her, but the floor around her feet crackled with white-blue energy. Frigga looked to the door, but Razi was nowhere to be found. Where was she? Had she left? She wouldn’t have! Had Razi been hit?

Frigga screamed as she realized exactly what happened and bolted towards the door. She needed to check on Razi, to see she was alright. What if she was dead? No, she couldn’t be dead! But Rosalind caught her and held her back by her arm though she kept trying to escape. She had to!

Sapphire stood in front of the pair of younger witches and looked at the sigils on the ground. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said with a sigh. “I did tell you that you were welcome to try and break our contract, after all.”

“Auntie, please,” Frigga’s voice shook with panic, her eyes hemorrhaging tears, and she weakly tried to push away from her accomplice to get to Razi, but Rosalind kept their grip on her waist, holding her fast. “Please, Ros, let me help her!”

“Frigga, you must stay,” they pleaded quietly, and an edge of fear underscored their voice. She saw they were trying to stay calm for her, but Frigga’s ability to be calm had already vanished.

Sapphire shifted her attention from Frigga to Rosalind and her expression putrified. “I heard the most curious thing from Theodore this evening, Rosalind. Seems as though his son has been keeping peculiar company lately.” The room started to chill and her hands glowed with a searing blue that illuminated her facial features. She was usually reserved and graceful but her rage was a blizzard around her and her hatred soaked through her every word.

Frigga stopped trying to leave the circle, though her entire body trembled with fear. She looked back to the door; she knew why Rosalind was keeping her here, but what if Razi was dead? What if she was injured and bleeding out? But Frigga couldn’t do anything about it because if she left the circle, her aunt would likely assail her in some way. She wouldn’t be able to help Razi at all if that were to happen! She stepped backwards to stand beside Rosalind and leaned on them slightly for support.

Rosalind put a hand on Frigga’s shoulder. “Lady Thorneheart, your niece is unhappy,” Rosalind pleaded with more fortitude than Frigga had ever seen from them before. “She’s gone to great lengths to try and please you, to do as you’ve asked. Please let her go. She can’t keep doing this.”

Sapphire said nothing in reply. Instead, several lashes of blue-white electricity struck out from the floor at the circle’s walls. Usually a circle protected against enemy energies or malicious spirits, but a circle also provided physical protection to a certain degree; the jolts of Sapphire’s energy were absorbed into the circle itself, leaving the two inside unharmed. “And so you thought you might assist her? How very generous! How very kind! Tell me, how long did you and your mother work towards this?” She stepped closer to the circle.

Rosalind backed away and gently nudged Frigga away as well. “Auntie,” Frigga pleaded, “I asked them for help because you wouldn’t release me when I asked you! Please let me go.” Her voice shook, filled with fear, and she screamed when more jolts of electricity struck the circle. Hairline cracks started appearing along its surface.

Rosalind’s arm began to softly glow, so softly that Frigga only noticed because they’d pressed it against her as they subtly stepped in front of her. Seeing Rosalind’s protective stance, Sapphire seethed. “It seems Marcus has been ensnared by someone. That’s at least what I was able to determine. Any thoughts, Rosalind?”

Rosalind looked to Frigga and lowered their voice. “We need to do something. Frigga, you need to stay calm.”

She looked back up at them, anything but calm. Tears still streamed freely and she was trembling, but she took a deep breath, grounded herself as best she could, and nodded: she’d do this for Razi.

Rosalind looked back at Sapphire, who was waiting on their reply.  They seemed to be weighing their options but replied with a very unconvincing, “Why would I know anything about that, Lady Thorneheart? I barely know the man.” They sounded strained; not frightened really but definitely unnerved.

Their answer infuriated the older woman. “Pathetic.” She unclasped her hands and began to summon a ball of white electricity into them, her face twisted with rage. “I should have had you arrested alongside your mother after all.”

“Auntie, please,” Frigga stared with horror as the magic in her aunt’s hands expanded and intensified. “Let me accept my punishment and I’ll go. There’s no need for this!”

Sapphire took a few steps back as the energy in her hand reached a critical mass, and she threw the pure electricity at the circle. It destroyed the barrier like it was mere glass in the wake of a freight train. The younger witches took a few more steps backwards and put as much distance as possible between themselves and Sapphire, but it was no use. As soon as the circle was broken, jolts of electricity shot through the air haphazardly, and Sapphire threw a thick, whip-like bolt of lightning at them.

Rosalind flung out their left arm, cloaked in red energy, and the electric whip wrapped around their forearm. They softly grimaced, but the impact seemed minimal, as if their own energy was shielding them from the worst of it. Sapphire, now holding this whip of lightning, began to pull at them and tear them away from Frigga. Rosalind struggled and thrashed against her.

“Auntie, please!” Frigga screamed as she launched out a lash of her own magic and severed Sapphire’s chain, freeing them.

“Don’t you see, Frigga?” Sapphire reeled in her magical weapon and finally looked back at her niece. “This is what Victoria was hoping for, what this liar has been hoping for. Don’t let this whore convince you of what you do and don’t want!” She fired off another round of smaller electric bolts towards Rosalind, but they were quick and created a deflective shield before her attack reached them. Frigga also threw up a defensive shield with her left arm, moving to guard Rosalind’s left side by pressing herself against them. If she stayed close to them, Sapphire’s attacks would hopefully be less lethal.

Another round of bolts came. And another. And another; she left no opportunity to run nor fight back. They couldn’t defend forever, their defences would give way soon, and they needed to go on the offence if they wanted to gain the upper hand. But as Sapphire got closer, the impact of her magic increased. The crashes began to shake the very floor, her forcefulness rattled Frigga’s bones, and it became harder and harder to remain upright. She hit their shields with unrelenting lashes until, without warning, she struck the floor. It shook so severely that it knocked Rosalind to the ground. As they scampered to regain their footing, their shield faltered and as soon as she saw this, Sapphire launched a violent strike in the defenceless necromancer’s direction.

Frigga shoved Rosalind out of the way, getting caught up in the attack instead. Her arm was restrained by the whip and it burned her skin as she was yanked away and thrown to the ground. She could barely register the pain of being flung to the floor because the electricity tearing into her arm had lit all her pain receptors on fire. But suddenly the electricity tempered and the magic exploded from her arm into a whole-body restraint that tingled instead of stung. Frigga struggled against the magic as she tried to activate her own, but as Sapphire’s spell grew around her like ivy, Frigga’s magic became less and less responsive; not only was it a physical restraint, but it was a magical bind too. She would need Rosalind to get free because the more she struggled, the tighter her binds became.

Rosalind crouched behind their energetic shield, and Frigga saw their eyes dart between herself and Sapphire. But the attacks didn’t stop and kept them from coming to Frigga’s aid. “Lady Thorneheart, there is a better way to settle this,” they pleaded. “I don’t want to fight you.”

Sapphire’s answer was yet more waves of electricity, and she was mere steps away from them. She left no opportunity for Rosalind to gain ground, striking blow after blow, and Frigga watched helplessly as she eventually wore down their defences and landed a hit to Rosalind’s left arm. They hissed in pain as they tried to back down, but Sapphire herded them away from Frigga. It was all they could do to run from the next blitz hailing down on them.

“I know it was you, rat,” Sapphire spat. “Did you think you could hide your attempt to seduce Frigga’s fiancé? If you just enticed Marcus, that he’d do what you wanted? A brilliant play, right out of your mother’s handbook! Whores, the both of you!”

She landed another blow and Rosalind crumpled to the ground with a pained cry. From her place across from them, Frigga saw their whole body convulsing. Their breathing shallowed and Rosalind was starting to panic now. The room had become frigid in Sapphire’s anger, anger that was now directed solely at Rosalind. She rushed them and they tried desperately to knock her back with a blow of their own. She blocked it easily, broke through their defences like they were nothing, and pulled them up by their shirt collar from the floor by it. “Just admit it,” she hissed.

Rosalind gasped for air as they tried to push the woman’s hands away. “I-I wasn’t trying to entice anyone, ma’am,” they choked out, and Frigga had never heard them sound so pained. “I really am trying to help your niece.”

“Liar.” Her reply was swiftly followed by another electric jolt channeled directly from Sapphire’s fist on their collar into their chest, and Rosalind screamed weakly. “This is your last opportunity to stop ruining my niece’s life. Stay out of this, and maybe you can leave here in one piece.”

She released them and kicked them in the ribs, shoving them away with another electric jolt. They rolled across the floor, but managed to land on their hands and knees. Frigga couldn’t imagine how much pain they were in, their breathing sounded like their lungs had holes in them and they coughed in a way that sounded like dry heaving, but when they looked up at Sapphire, the expression on their face was nothing short of terrified. The woman had paused to give them a chance to concede, and to Frigga’s relief Rosalind lowered their head and doubled over themself in defeat. She didn’t want them getting hurt anymore for her sake. Once Sapphire was satisfied she turned to Frigga, and Frigga’s heart pounded as she struggled against her binds. “Please,” she begged, “please just stop this.”

“I’m not going to stop. This is for your own good!”

“My own good? How is this for my own good?”

“If I let you listen to that traitor, your whole life will be ruined!”

“I don’t have a life! You won’t let me!”

Sapphire’s eyes narrowed. “Clearly you can’t be trusted to know-“ A flash of red flung her out of Rosalind’s way as they launched themself towards Frigga. Sapphire landed on the floor across the room with a thud, but Frigga’s attention was on Rosalind who had already put their hands to Frigga’s bindings and started to remove them.

“Rosalind, I’m so sorry!” Frigga cried.

“Don’t,” they rasped before the red light around their hands intensified and, with one final pulse, Frigga’s binds shattered into dust and she fell to the floor.

“Are you alright?” Frigga asked as she righted herself.

Rosalind sighed with relief as Frigga rubbed her arm where she’d been captured, but then Rosalind yelped as a familiar lash of electric energy wrapped around their left arm and tore them away from her. Sapphire flung them across the room, and they crashed into the floor with a thud. “I always knew,” Sapphire seethed as she began to stand, “that you were just like the rest of your wretched family. You’re all a stain on this coven, every single one of you, and we’d all be better off if you were never part of us.”

Frigga tried to rush to her collaborator’s side, but a wave of electricity stretched out in front of her and cut her attempt to aid Rosalind short by throwing her back to the floor. Before she could formulate a path around the barrier, Sapphire was already towering over her. “You,” Sapphire snarled through clenched teeth, “want out of this contract, Frigga?”

Frigga looked blearily up at the woman who’s cold blue aura peeled off her in waves of electric jolts, but she didn’t have time to stare because Sapphire pushed into Frigga’s space and cornered her against the wall. Frigga tried to back away, but all she could do now was beg. “Please! Please stop!” Frigga held her arms out in front of her, trying to plead mercy and shield herself from the rage.

Sapphire grabbed Frigga by her wrist and yanked her to her feet roughly. “We’re going to have a long discussion about what an utter disappointment you’ve been.”

“Please let me go,” she wailed, trying to pull her arm away. “Let us go, Rosalind is innocent in all of this, I beg you!”

Sapphire jerked Frigga’s arm to drag her towards the second door, but Frigga didn’t make it easy; she pulled and struggled, and Sapphire resorted to pulling her by anywhere she might grab a foothold, grasping at her hair and skirt, until she finally ended up with her fist around Frigga’s necklace. The chain dug into her neck, but Frigga shot out a ray of energy that burned her captor’s hand and snapped the necklace into pieces.

“Enough!” shrieked Sapphire as she released a massive electric flash. It took only the smallest brush against Frigga’s skin to render her legs and arms useless and a shock of hot pain tore through her spine. She screamed as she crumpled to the floor. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt, her nerves felt as though they’d grown thorns and were raking through her body all at once. Or what part of her body she could feel, her hands and legs not on that short list. Before she could try moving, Sapphire had taken up the opportunity to grab her wrist and drag Frigga towards the door. She could barely breathe, never mind fight back, and now she’d utterly failed. Razi might be dead, Rosalind was severely injured and she would never be free.

They were nearly out of the room when Sapphire was suddenly ripped away and had been tossed across the room like a bag of flour. Frigga tried to look up and, through the haze of pain, thought she saw an angel. Razi was at Frigga’s side and gathering her into her arms in a heartbeat. “Oh my gods, Frigga I’m so sorry. I got knocked out, ‘it my head, I’m so fuckin’ sorry!”

Frigga leaned into the embrace as her limbs started to painfully awaken and her panic ebb away. “I thought you were dead.”

She shook her head “One second I was looking down th’ hall, next I’m on the floor, seein’ the ol’ lady ‘urt you, fuck, Frigg, I-”

She was cut off by Frigga’s hand clumsily pulling her down to kiss. Frigga was too relieved to care about her own injuries anymore, Razi was alive. Once they pulled away and Razi confirmed Frigga was mostly unharmed, the pair looked to Rosalind. They were only now able to stand, albeit shakily, hunched over themself, and heavily leaning on the wall. They were in a lot of pain, but their attention was squarely on Sapphire. She’d crashed against the opposite wall of the large room and the significant impact had gifted the younger witches a chance to recover.

“I don’t know what to do,” Rosalind murmured as they hobbled back to the others. A hand covered their ribcage, and they trembled from the electrocution that had only just subsided. “I don’t want to harm your aunt, but we need to subdue her.”

Frigga replied with a shaky, low voice, “We could use the binding chains.”

“Th’ wha?”

Frigga stole a glance at Sapphire who was still on the floor before looking back to her sweetheart and cautiously flexing her fingers. “They’re magical chains used during summoning rituals that go wrong or to contain malevolent forces by suppressing being’s energetic flow. It’s like the circle because even though they’re not usually meant for corporeal beings, they certainly can be used on one.”

Razi helped Frigga stand now that her limbs were working again. “You’ve prolly ‘bout ten seconds to do it.” 

Rosalind straightened their posture with a wince. “It should be enough to incapacitate her so we can do what needs to get done.”

“Razi, can you buy us a bit of time? Not a lot, a minute, maybe less?” Frigga requested weakly, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder. Razi nodded, briefly placing her hand over Frigga’s before turning towards Sapphire. Frigga turned to Rosalind and took their offered hands. They both closed their eyes and Rosalind led once more as Frigga sunk her focus down to her palms.

Razi

Razi put herself between Sapphire and the others while she steeled herself for the pain she’d probably be experiencing shortly. The lady had only just regained her composure, though she was bleeding from a gash on her head, and the floor around her was starting to glow and crackle with energy again. “Sorry about tha’, ma’am,” Razi quipped, “but I gotta be leaving wit’ Frigga tonight, and we can’t do tha’ wit’ your curse-thing on her.”

Sapphire’s face contorted with disgust. “You parasite,” she seethed, her right palm glowing. “You filth. This is all your fault!” She seethed and threw a bolt of electricity at Razi who jumped to get out of the way, but the attack connected with her ankle. Wow, did it sting, now she knew why the vamp was so messed up. Despite her foot’s raging tingling, Razi managed to stay on her feet.

“Yup.” She taunted with a grin. “Though if you fucking listened t’ 'er once in a while, she mighta considered stayin’, so actually, doesn’ tha’ make this your fault? ”

Sapphire growled, “I’m doing what’s best for everyone by keeping leeches like you away from her.” The energy in her palm lit up her scowl. “You think you know her? You don’t know the first thing about her! I have done everything for that child, and what are you?”

Razi breathed deeply and trained her attention away from the pain in her leg. Good, Sapphire was distracted, hopefully Razi could keep her distracted long enough. “I’m nobody, ma’am, but I know wha’ love looks like, an’ it’s not imprisoning someone ‘till they rip their ‘air out.”

Sapphire loosed several blasts in quick succession with a fury-fill glare. The magical attacks cracked like whips against the floor and walls, but while Razi managed to avoid the worst of it, the magic finally connected with her shoulder which caused the left side of her body to go numb and throw her off balance.

Surely those two would be ready by now? Having been hit once, she became an easier target and Sapphire was gearing up for a larger strike. She had taken a step or two towards her employee and her voice returned to its calm, cold tone. “As we discussed earlier, Miss Wood, you’re dismissed from our service.” Her glare turned into a cruel, joyless smile. “Good luck with your future endeavours.” Razi gritted her teeth. She’d have no choice but to take what was next, the left side of her body was so numb that she could hardly move so she wouldn’t be able to dodge.

“Razi, get down!”

Razi hit the floor as two chain lengths, one of bright red and one of royal blue, whizzed past her. With arms outstretched towards Sapphire, Frigga and Rosalind held the binding spells from their respective dominant hands as it latched onto Sapphire’s arms and nullified her ability to channel magic. The chain began to coil around her, pulled her arms behind her, and brought the woman to her knees as she screamed with rage. She attempted to break the chains with her electric shocks, but the chains enclosed and contained her in an ethereal prison that muted any sound she attempted to make.

Rosalind fell to the floor as they gasped for air, Frigga ran to Razi. Razi held onto Frigga like she was the world’s last sunrise, and Frigga sobbed into Razi’s shoulder. Razi looked at Rosalind who’s muscles were still spasming along with the rest of them and was their skin smoking? Their arms were covered in welts and one of their hands was clutched to their ribcage, and Razi couldn’t believe they were still conscious.

Razi’s head was foggy and throbbing from knocking it earlier, and Frigga was shaking from the electricity that she’d been struck with, but it didn’t matter; Frigga was fine, she was right here and everything was going to be fine. Razi grounded herself with the feeling of her love in her arms, and she pressed her cheek to Frigga’s.

“Frigga, we can still do it,” wheezed Rosalind.

Razi and Frigga looked at them and then to the clock. It was 7:15; there was still time and the circle was miraculously still intact, glowing softly purple. “I don’t think you’re up for it, Bloodswell,” Razi said skeptically. “You’re pretty banged up.”

Razi took a look at Rosalind and saw that, not only were their arms welted and bleeding, but so were their temples and their entire body was still shaking. Frigga knelt in front of the void-shaped heap on the floor who was hunched over themself on their knees, and gained their attention. “You’re hurt.”

“If we don’t do it now, we’ve lost our opportunity,” Rosalind breathed, shuddering a bit. “And I’ve been through worse than this before, I can still do it.”

Frigga frowned at the concerning statement and Razi wondered what the fuck they’d gone through if this wasn’t the worst of it. “Are you sure?” Frigga questioned, “Because you’re shivering.” Her left palm lit up with the same glow she’d used on Leland as she placed it on Rosalind’s shoulder. It seemed to ease some of their shakiness and their muscles relaxed.

But they pushed her hand away. “Save your energy,” they protested. “It’s now or not at all, and you don’t have time to wait for another full moon. We have to hurry, before the chains fade.”

From the conflicted look on Frigga’s face, Razi figured they were probably right. She cast a glance at the faintly glowing circle behind them and then nodded. “Alright, we’ll give it a try.” She stood, helped Rosalind back to their feet, and glanced at Razi. 

She stared at her accomplices, stunned, like the witches had started turning inside out. “You people are fuckin’ crazy,” she muttered, lightly flexing her left hand that had started tingling. She winced as her hand opened and closed, before she hesitantly turned to Sapphire. “I’ll keep an eye on ‘er,” she said as she took a spot beside Sapphire who, while struggling fiercely to break free, was still quite magically bound and gagged, and watched as Rosalind and Frigga returned to their places inside the glowing circle.

They started from the beginning, clearing the energy, building the protection circle, and then finally invoking the spirits. When that was done, Rosalind placed their crystal back down on the sigil in front of them. They cast a quick glance over their shoulder to Sapphire, and Frigga did the same before the two of them exchanged one last look. Rosalind nodded. Razi’s stomach lurched.

Frigga turned back to the north, and repeated her ritual declaration: “I, Frigga Thorneheart, forsake my promise to Sapphire Thorneheart.” She raised the knife to her right forearm and placed it over where the contract’s mark was. She inhaled sharply and then pressed the knife into her skin, puncturing the seal.

White light erupted in streams from the mark, wrapping around her like vines. Her arms, her torso, her neck, Frigga was completely incapacitated, enveloped in the streams of crackling white light. The magic lifted her up into the air and the witch blacked out as the energy forced itself into her skull. She hung limply in the air, though barely any of her was visible at all, and the bloodied ceremonial knife fell from her hands and clattered to the ground.

Rosalind immediately started their own spell, securing a stream of their own magic from Frigga to themself and then another stream of magic from themself to the crystal. The energy seemed to used the pathway to move down one stream, through Rosalind, and then out through the other into the crystal. It looked like the electricity Razi had been struck by before, but it ran through their arms like thread being stitched into a seam. Rosalind didn’t scream, not even when Razi saw their skin split under the pressure, and they didn’t let go. They held onto their two energy streams with a militant focus as massive amounts of painful magic flowed into their left hand and flowed out from their right. Their body was practically vibrating under the intense pain, but they kept moving the corrupting energy from Frigga into the crystal.

It felt like an eternity, though it was really just a few minutes. Eventually, the white strands of magic began to shrink and slow. Strands of red hair began to peak out, then a delicate hand dripping with blood, and slowly Frigga came back into view as she was slowly lowered to the floor. The last of the white energy disappeared, the energetic flow from her to Rosalind ceasing, and Rosalind collapsed to the floor too, their task finally complete.

Razi stared at the two witches on the floor. While she had been warned to expect this, it was still a horrifying sight: Frigga, usually so warm and loving, was unconscious on the floor and bleeding from her arm after being engulfed by a curse and Rosalind, usually proud and tight-lipped, was heaving, gasping for air, unable to find any strength in their shredded arms to even attempt to sit up. But the sphere of purple light was active which meant they would be safe for a moment or two more. Razi looked down and saw the spell keeping Sapphire at bay was starting to flicker. Whether because it had a time limit or because the casters were incapacitated, the magic was starting to weaken and Sapphire was about to be set free.

Razi backed away from the struggling witch, unsure if she should stay close to physically subdue her or if she should stay out of the woman’s reach. She didn’t want to get zapped again, once was more than enough, but she would if it meant protecting Frigga. Before Razi could make up her mind, Sapphire broke out of her prison with a blinding torrent of magic. Razi’s back was nearly brushing the circle’s wall, she was a few steps away from the wheezing necromancer, and now she was grateful to have an extra witch on her side because the look on Sapphire’s face was toxic and wild. The Lady shakily stood, and she breathed heavily.

“Leave it old lady,” Razi urged. “It’s over an’ there’s nothin’ you can do ‘bout it.”

The witch merely stood with her hands folded together as she continued to catch her breath. “It seems that way,” she said as she rubbed her arm where the chain had bitten into her. “And now my niece is most likely dead, thanks to you.”

Razi didn’t know what to do. Should she take down Sapphire? Should she wait? Razi didn’t take her eyes off the woman because even weakened, she was still the most dangerous person in this room. Breaking out of her binds seemed to have worn her down a lot, but not entirely because the room began to hum with electrical charge once more, though fainter than it had been. Sapphire’s face was no longer angry, nor was it anything. Her expression was void of anything at all, and that was the most terrifying thing. At her feet, the ground began to flicker with electricity again and small jolts peeled off towards Razi and licked at her ankles.

The stinging set off Razi’s temper; this woman had toyed with them long enough. 

She jumped Sapphire, fist raised, expecting a shock in retaliation. Sapphire had anticipated her, but not how quickly it had come and was struck in the face. She was knocked to the ground, her nose bleeding furiously. But the second Razi’s fist contacted, she was electrocuted and paralyzed to the spot. Her brain shut down, she was in too much pain to do a damn thing, but she prayed this would give the two inside the circle enough time to get back on their feet.

“Insolent,” Sapphire spat venomously as she loosed another lightning whip towards Razi, swept her off her feet, and threw her into the wall. She landed in a heap on the floor.

Rosalind

The floor shook as Sapphire’s magic collided with the circle, and through their heaving Rosalind finally registered the immediate danger. They couldn’t remember the last time they’d been this drained or had felt so much pain. They couldn’t tune in or even so much as focus to try, their body hurt so much. At the second crash, Rosalind looked as best they could to look at Frigga, but saw she wasn’t moving. If she was alive at all. No, she was breathing much to their great relief, but Rosalind didn’t know if she still had magic to contribute even if she had been conscious. They were completely alone and the circle had cracked. They were out of time and needed to do something. Rosalind tried to rise, or at least lift themself to sitting, but they still hadn’t caught their breath and their vision was blurred with exhaustion.

When Sapphire broke through their protections, she calmly walked to Frigga and knelt down before she checked her pulse. After a brief pause, she finally said “Well then, Rosalind Bloodswell,” she turned her eyes to Rosalind who had managed to prop themself up on their elbows by now despite their weakness, “not only is she still alive, but she’s also retained most of her magical ability.”

She scooped up the ceremonial knife and crystal from the floor and inspected them like they were trinkets for sale at the market, and Rosalind’s heart pounded so loud that they could barely hear Sapphire over the blood rushing in their ears. “Interesting approach, exploiting such a minor imperfection in this way. I always assumed you were just good for playing with ghosts.”

Sapphire flung the items aside and stood in front of Rosalind as they collapsed back to the floor. Maybe they could get out of this if they rested and then… No, no, what the hell were they trying to do? “I was starting to think you were different than the rest of your family,” she said, “but you were the most brilliant and cunning out of all of them in the end, weren’t you? I don’t remember the last time I was pushed this far. Very impressive.”

She was too close. Rosalind tried to find a reserve of energy, somewhere, somehow, to summon and protect themself, and they forced themself to their knees in an attempt to stand. The bones in their legs were barely solid and their shoulders ached like thorns had been pressed into them. As they tried to brace themself to stand, Sapphire kicked their leg out from under them and they collapsed to the floor flat on their back. This couldn’t be it, there had to be a way out of this, but the scraps of energy they had left were being wasted in their panic; Rosalind’s heart beat too quickly, their muscles pulsed with exhaustion, and their lungs heaved for oxygen. It was only now they realized that the electricity in the air had dissipated and the buzz quieted, and now the room was just…

Cold.

Sapphire hummed at the sight of them on the floor as her magic faded away and she knelt in front of them. “I’m feeling generous,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension, “You look tired and you must be in so much pain. Why don’t you take a nap?” She closed her hands around Rosalind’s neck and pressed her weight down on them.

The panic in their body tried to intensify at the invasion, but Rosalind had barely been breathing as it was. With this woman leaning her weight on their neck, it was all they could do to vaguely flail in protest. Pressure began to build behind their eyes and their vision swam and dizzied. They were going to die, but not how they thought it would happen. They thought they’d imagined every possible way this might have gone wrong, but they’d missed this possibility. If they could have formed a thought, Rosalind would have found some humour in that. As it was, the only thing that ran through their mind was the memory of their last conversation with Marcus.

Death didn’t scare Rosalind, it was familiar territory, but their heart broke when they remembered that their final moments with Marcus had been a lie. A tsunami of regret overwhelmed them, regret that they’d kept their silence for all those years just to have a paltry nine days with him before they died. Those nine days had been worth the years of waiting, but they wanted more because it was never going to be enough. His sweet smile, the one he’d smile whenever they saw each other after being apart, filled their mind and it gave them a small boost of strength. Rosalind grasped at Sapphire’s wrists, but it wasn’t nearly enough to do anything other than dig their nails into her skin. They could barely move a single limb, never mind fight. They were going to die.

They felt their consciousness begin to fuzz and tried desperately to find some magic within them. Anything at all, even the merest morsel! But there was nothing, their energetic reservoir was completely exhausted. With every second the burning in their chest became worse and more distant and the pressure behind their eyes more forceful. They couldn’t feel the pain in their legs anymore and their vision was starting to turn black. It was almost over; they would pass out any second and Sapphire would win. They were going to die.

A deafening crack ripped through the air, and suddenly Sapphire’s hands were gone. Rosalind gasped and coughed, not comprehending what was going on. Their ears rang as the blood rushed in and out of them, and was someone yelling? Rosalind couldn’t recognize any voices. Their vision was still blurred, their consciousness shrouded in fog. The stinging ache in their limbs returned and the burning in their lungs’ relieved slightly with each hellish cough. Their vision darkened and narrowed. Fuck, they were going to faint. 

Just as that realization dawned on Rosalind, they were scooped up and cradled by someone. Though they couldn’t see or hear the person who had rushed to their side, they did recognize the smell of earthy moss and exotic spice, the feeling of the baby soft hands caressing their face, and the warmth of the arms holding them. Just before they passed out, it occurred to them that they must be a horrendous sight and, if they hadn’t passed out their ears would has been red from the humiliation of it all. At best, perhaps they looked dramatically spent or possibly even raggedly heroic.

Hopefully, Marcus would think so.

Marcus

That morning, Marcus noticed Rosalind’s hands trembling. They had been almost silent during his entire visit, and he assumed they were just tired at first, but when they didn’t perk up after dinner, he feared he’d done something wrong and they were mad at him. That sore spot had been handily soothed by a glorious evening, but when they were still silent in the morning? He knew something was up, but why were they being so secretive? They’d been so open with him until now, but they’d thrown their iron walls back up again and being so suddenly shut out again was jarring.

After they asked him to trust them, Marcus hugged Rosalind and his heart broke because it wasn’t only their hands that was shaking. He thought back to Frigga’s visit and wondered if this was somehow connected. But it couldn’t be, not if the thing, whatever it was, was happening tonight because he was hosting her and her aunt, right?

But when Sapphire arrived for dinner, she began making apologies on Frigga’s behalf; she had “suddenly become ill” huh? That combined with Rosalind’s fear was enough to convince him that his paramour was helping Frigga out of that contract thing tonight, especially because it was a full moon. The coven would normally have met to do some magic, from what he understood full moons were more powerful somehow? Or maybe it made witches more powerful? Something like that. He didn’t get it, so he took their word for it. 

The visit went smoothly and the woman seemed in as good a mood as Marcus had ever seen her in, but when Lady Thorneheart’s stodgy manservant came up to her and whispered something in her ear, she left abruptly. That was no good. If Rosalind was working with Frigga, and this had something to do with that bonkers contract, Sapphire returning home would probably be bad. Frigga had set up this visit, so they were probably at Thorneheart Manor.

He tried to delay her by asking after Leland and tempting her with dessert, but she was far too determined for that. He wanted to help Rosalind, but what good was he in a situation like this? He didn’t have a magical cell in his body and his limited knowledge of magic had him floundering. If only he’d paid closer attention during Frigga’s visit, perhaps he’d have more of an idea how to be of service.

It was then he remembered the new contraption his father had brought home from his meeting yesterday. It was pretty great and it was pretty dangerous, and it required zero magic which was Marcus’ favourite part. Good thing his father had shown him how to use it because it was complicated and difficult to use; he’d accidentally broken off an arm of one of the statues in the garden. It was Scarlet Thorneheart’s, an ancestor of Frigga and Sapphire’s, which he hoped wasn’t a bad omen. Marcus didn’t bother asking for permission to take it, he’d just ask for forgiveness later. He swept casually into the den, plucked the item from its rack, and left immediately afterwards. When Jenkins asked, Marcus replied that he was merely going to pay Frigga a visit to check in on her. Not a lie, not really. He was about fifteen minutes behind Lady Thorneheart, and despite asking the carriage driver to go as fast as possible, he arrived fifteen minutes after the Lady at Thorneheart Manor.

When Marcus arrived, the door was ajar and the foyer abandoned. He heard the telltale sounds of magic and saw a faint glow illuminating the top of the stairs: the coven’s meeting room. He approached it cautiously with his waiting weapon at his side, and as he turned the corner, he saw a hallway filled with items recently acquired for Rosalind’s ceremony. They’d been knocked about and there was a dent in the wall about the size of a human head. By now the light had faded and it was silent excepting Lady Thorneheart’s voice. She spoke quietly and a bit too calmly. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and his stomach lurched, but then he heard nothing except a little bit of shuffling.

Marcus was usually a laid-back man, happy to let differences go and go through life as a generally care-free person, but when he peeked into the room he decided: if Rosalind died, Sapphire would too. Lady Thorneheart had her hands on Rosalind’s neck in an attempt to strangle them, and Frigga and Razi were in unconscious, unhelpful heaps on the floor. Without hesitation, Marcus aimed and fired. He barely heard the explosion, gripping the shotgun tightly as he braced against the recoil, and watched as the bullet disappeared into the woman’s back. She was knocked forward, her hands releasing Rosalind, and she tried to see who had interrupted her. She didn’t make it that far, and collapsed instead.

The second she fell, Marcus ran over to his beloved who was gasping for air and shoved Sapphire away with his boot. She fell over with a pained yelp and didn’t rise again. Marcus fell to his knees next to Rosalind who was bleeding from a gash on their temple, was badly burned in places, and their arms covered entirely in small slashes as if rose thorns had been raked over them. He gathered Rosalind into his arms as their gasping slowed and their breathing was beginning to steady. They were about to pass out, but before they did, Marcus could swear he saw a small smile make it onto their lips. Their whole body was shivering, or trembling Marcus couldn’t tell, but despite looking like they’d been run over by a carriage,  they were alive and they seemed to be stable. That didn’t stop his eyes from flooding with tears or his heart nearly exploding with panic. He needed to contain himself; Rosalind was relying on him. He ran a thumb over their blood-smeared cheek and bit the inside of his lip.

He should have known. He should have been here. He was such a fucking idiot for not coming earlier and now Rosalind was hurt.

He held Rosalind tight in his shaking arms, trying not to sob, trying not to scream in rage. He felt their breath on his skin as they slept. Taking the chance to look them over a bit more closely, he was horrified. Their knees were scuffed and bleeding, their palms were shredded like their arms, and a bruise was starting to bloom across their neck and jaw. Marcus looked up to see if there was anyone that could help, finding Frigga starting to awake and Razi had quietly made her way over to help her. “What happened?” He demanded, his voice cracking and wavering.

Razi helped Frigga to slowly sit up and took a look at a laceration on her arm; it was bleeding, but the magical brand was gone. Marcus saw that from his place several feet away, and the realization dawned on him: “Oh my gods, you did it!” He stared at Frigga as Razi began to wrap her wounds in some gauze she pulled from her pocket before he looked back at the witch in his arms. Their breaths were still steady, albeit shallow. Marcus pressed a tearful kiss to their forehead and softly muttered to them, “Rosalind, Baby, you did it.”

There was a poignant quiet in the room, as Marcus cradled Rosalind and Razi saw to Frigga. Razi then looked over at Sapphire. “’S th’ ol’ lady dead?” she asked.

“Unconscious, I think.” Marcus looked to the servant and squinted under the strain of staying calm. “Can you find help? Ros needs a doctor. Please.”

Razi looked to Frigga, who gave a weary nod, and stood to her feet. “I’ll get Gert. She knows some basics, I think, an’ she knows ‘ow to get ‘old of ‘elp. Back in a bit.”

She left. Marcus broke down into sobs and clutched Rosalind to his chest, uncaring of the blood being smeared on him. It was all he could do to just thank his stars he had got there when he did, that he’d followed his gut.

If he hadn’t, Rosalind would be dead and his entire heart would have died with them.