Naomi

I called my dad multiple times last night and this morning. I am getting impatient. I hope that he picks up because it's urgent. I am relieved that Ivelisse didn't act up for the rest of the night. The coven felt rejuvenated that she was acting like her old self; however, they're not a bunch of fools. He is part of the plan. The coven knows about it. They tell me that it's the blizzard interrupting our cell service, but I am sure he is ignoring them on purpose.

No, we're not sacrificing him. Don't even think about it.

"Nao, leave him a message," Blathnaid suggests, knowing that he won't answer my calls at all.

I exhale, trying not to bang my fist into the wall. After voicemail tells me to leave a message I said, "Father, please, come back. We figured out a way to cure Ivelisse. Please, dad, listen to me. I am so sorry." My tone turned sincere before hanging up. I sigh again, fearing doubt.

The blizzard has turned very harsh; snow is up to two feet and a third. The wind is pushing the already freezing temperatures into the negatives in Fahrenheit. We only have one more day until the blizzard stops, but Ivelisse's body will no longer belong to her.

"If he doesn't come or call back at dusk, we must continue without him," Ella notifies.

I nod and sternly look at everyone, "And I want everyone to keep an eye out and never drop your guard. Any hesitation will mark Ive's life."

"And ours too," Blathnaid adds.

The windows vibrate, along with the house rattling to the gust outside. It has been doing that for the past several hours. Ella told me the gust is up to fifty miles per hour. It's the most wicked weather I have ever seen in my entire life. London's weather is mostly fair and friendly, not the other way around. Crowds will be around in the city. Currently, the streets are vacantly in black and white. Mostly, white.

A shriek coming out of Dominique's mouth shot our heads upstairs. A shriek like someone is sawing her arm off. The scream never ended as we sprint to her aid. Her torso and head are sticking out of the bathroom door. She's still crying bloody murder. Our hearts drop to the pit of our stomachs. Everyone, including Ivelisse.

A grotesque creature on all fours with no eyes. It has a large slimy mouth with sharp teeth on all sides, eating her leg slowly. It notices us, drops our legs, and shrieks at us. Rick helps pick Dominique up and carries her away from the creature. I slam the door and block it from the outside. That vile creature scratches and bangs on the door, dying to escape. For safety measures, I enhance the door, making it hard to break before going down into the medical room. There are very deep bite marks in Dominique's leg, oozing a lot of blood.

"She needs surgery for it," Rick states.

"How are we going to explain that to the surgeons?!" Dominique asks in a shocked state of mind.

"Wolves?" Markus suggests.

"Why would a woman dare to leave the house in a wintery mess?" She retorts.

"Relax, Domin," Rick orders her, "Let's say you're a hermit that your house has been buried by the snow. You aimlessly wander into the woods and get your leg chewed off by wolves."

"Am I a hermit to you?" She snaps.

"We need to get you some help, Dominique, before the blood loss gets to ya."

"It already has! I can already see my vision fleeting."

I roll my eyes and let out a sigh as they argue back and forth. Dominique's response to us trying to get her to the hospital is putting her on edge. Guess what? I got another trick up my sleeve.

"Oh my God," I let out, "Watch this magic trick." I walk towards her. My hand glows gold as I place my hand onto her melded leg. I concentrated the energy into her, healing her leg within a minute. See? Less energy and less time. They all stare at me as my hand stops glowing.

"What did you do-?" Ella asks, still comprehending what she just saw.

"Healed her," I said casually.

"So you've healed her while you left me to recover after being choked?" Blathnaid comes in. She sounds jealous, disappointed, but feigned. She is rolling her eyes with a smile.

"And hadn't healed me yet and released me from this prison," Markus comes in. His voice sounds like he is trying hard not to sound heated.

"Sorry, I am not an E.R," I deadpan, "I wasn't thinking about healing anyone at the time, but now I do."

"Jeez, how did you get all these powers?" Ella asks, finally curious, "Are you sure you were human?"

"Amateurs are not allowed," Markus interferes before I can answer.

Their eyes widen and look at each other back n' forth individually. Since now they know that we did something to earn these abilities, they might start asking if they can try.

The reason why I didn't heal Blathnaid was that I wasn't focusing on healing, rather on trying to save her life and fending off the entities. I haven't healed Markus to avoid being on the Devil's, God's, and the Fallen Seraphim's crap list. If he wants to be out of the wheelchair, he must redeem himself. He is on his own.

Or is he?

"Can you teach us?" Ella asks kindly.

"I am not sure if you can-"

Markus cuts me off with a plain "No." They all look at him strangely.

"The cost is too high and the damage is unbearable," he explains.

This is the first time in a while Markus decides to talk about his harsh experiences with magic.

"What do ya mean by damage, Markus?" Ella asks.

"If I had the visions of what I went through, I would show it without holding back the rotten fruit. It's through years of an internal battle and those years I dire to change," he confesses.

"Years in a wheelchair?" Rick joins in the questioning party.

"You see, when a God hates you and despises you for what you have done, they will punish you. Simple as that," he spat, "Much worse than Ivelisse."

"My journey was agonising too," I add in, showing my form, "This didn't come painlessly. Blathnaid knows my absence from school and my transfer. I was in a coma where I can still feel the pain. So, Ella, it's best not to have the glamorous image of transforming into your head. I wish it could be like Marvel or some anime B.S."

They are all silent. The winds start to terrifyingly howl like a cry from the lost souls. They can rock the windows, but can't break through, for they are the eternal damned. Whoever hears them will be doomed to be dead. It's not them, but it's the gale. The gust doesn't seem to end. Windows rattle and the house uncomfortably cries.

"Jeez, the wind," Blathnaid breaks the silence.

Rick goes to the window and peaks at it. He can barely see out the window due to the wind showering the outside world with snowflakes. It's like a very dense fog that's cruel, bitter, and deadly. Anyone caught within it will struggle.

"T'ey're comin'," Ivelisse says out of the blue with an emotionless face. I wish that these entities will just reveal their voices, so we will know which one is which.

We all wince at her. "Who?" Rick asks obliviously.

"T'ey're already in the walls," She says, "Most of you can't fight them." She then freaks out, "'ide! 'e keeps w'isperin' to me t'at we'll die!"

The abyss wave doesn't knock out my vision this time, only the others. Ella, Dominique, Blathnaid, Rick, are all frozen in place, pleading for the blindness to end. I do see Aelen vanishing without a trace. Ivelisse runs out of the room. I grab Markus and Blathnaid by the arms before teleporting to the attic. They don't yelp as they feel someone grabbing them. It takes a minute for their sight to be restored.

Blathnaid looks at me, disorientated and wondering why we are in the attic. I place a hidden lock upon the attic door to prevent whatever is down there to get up here. I also place a shield bubble for extra protection.

"Why us, Nao?" Blathnaid asks.

"You two were the closest. There was very limited time until darkness emerged," I told her.

"Can you get the others?"

"I will," I tell her, "But we need something to communicate with."

Heavy pounding above us, on the rooftop. Something heavier than snow that is raining down. My zoomed sight removes the roof from my vision. Snow is no longer falling from the sky, but ice balls. Hail, I should say, the size of softballs. It's rare to see it in a blizzard; sleet is much expected. Hail comes from a thunderstorm. So why is there hail, instead of sleet?

"It's hail," I alert them.

Blathnaid's brows furrow. "Hail?"

"Yes, hail. It's not sleet. It's softball sized hail."

Blath gulps. With the freezing temperatures, it's doubtful that the hail will melt. It's going to pile up and pile up, breaking glass from cars, skylights, and windows. That's not all; we hear inhuman growls and roars around the house. Monsters are patrolling downstairs. I cast a sound barrier just in case Blathnaid and Markus decide to get loud up there.

The sound barrier can help when the whole coven is up here. I also hear barking and howling from dogs. Good heavens, not this again. I won't use a bat this time.

I teleport out of the attic, leaving the two troublemakers alone. I notice the changes in the house. The walls are covered in goo. Grotesque creatures clawing, trying to break through. They are like bees growing in fluid-filled eggs before bursting through. Dark branches spread throughout the house, creating a minefield of creatures and entities to come. All doors are closed. I stealthily check the doors closest to me. I find Ella hiding in the closet in a room, praying to her matron goddess. Her hands are clasped together in her closet altar. Her altar has decorations dedicated to Hecate with her sigil, candles lit, and everything. I am surprised she lit her candles in such a short time. She gasps once she sees the doors open, but relaxes when it's just me.

"Take my hand," I urge her quietly, "Sorry if I interrupt you calling for a goddess."

She takes my hand and I teleport back to the attic. The attic looks safe still. No aliens developing in the walls and dark branches growing. I hope that it stays that way.

"Stay safe, I will be back with the others," I inform her before teleporting away.

The wind gusts are picking up and the hail is vicious. I can hear the windows crackling, along with closer barking. They are patrolling the house like guard dogs. It's only a matter of time until they burst into the house.

I check through the doors. Hell, I check the bathroom where the grotesque creature was in earlier. It is gone. No one here. Patrolling the upstairs rooms is mostly complete. I just need to open one more door. I open the door and jump back as I see an unknown woman with her body fully impaled by a dark spike in the bedroom. Okay, that's disturbing and upsetting. The woman looks decayed as if she has been staying there for a while. The coven popped into this room before and never mentioned any girl hanging herself in here.

I check the closet in the room. No one, duh. I turn to take my leave.

I feel my arm being tenaciously gripped, making me spin around to see the decayed woman holding my hand. Her hand is dead cold and tight. She looks at me with sunken eyes. I try to fight her grip. Her other hand grabs onto me with an inhuman grip.

"Please, don't let me die here!" She quivers, begging for help.

"What the hell?" I utter while fighting her grip. Girl, you are already dead.

"Please! Please!" She continues to beg breathlessly.

"Let go of me!" I demand, getting frustrated.

"Why won't you help me?!" She screams. Her voice has a witchy tune to it.

"Let go of me!"

"Why won't you help someone that loves you," her voice sounds like my mom and her looks changed into her.

"You're not my mother!" I snap. Sharp swords appear at my demand before immediately plunging her into her upper tose, neck, and head. Blood doesn't seep out from the impales, hinting that she's dead. Her grip loosens and I break free.

"Never pose like my mother like that," I sneer, "She is much better than you anyway."

I walk out of the room, noticing the bruises from her grip on my arm. I paid no mind to it and went downstairs. I check the kitchen and the living room. I guess Dominique, Aelen, and Rick are hiding either in the Medical room, downstairs bathroom, library, garage, or basement. I check the medical room, searching around, only to find Rick hiding beneath his desk. He becomes startled when he notices me.

"You know, you are right by the window?" I point out, "Easy for them to find you."

I touch him by the shoulder before teleporting to the attic. He screams until he notices he is in the attic with Blathnaid, Ella, and Markus. The attic is still in good condition, but I don't know how long. Markus is pretending to be asleep while Blathnaid and Ella are chatting with each other. All I need is Dominique and Ae- Nevermind, Aelen literally just arrives with a teleport, scaring the crap out of the coven.

"There's the party," Aelen says mildly.

"All I need is Dominique. Do you have any clue where she is?" I ask him.

"No."

"Damn it."

I teleport back to the first floor. I yell when the wind finally breaks the windows, letting the hail in. The wind howls the snow inside. There are more things uninvited in here than monsters. Good God, it's only a matter of time before the hounds get in. I need to find Dominique fast and pronto.

I go into the library, knowing that there are many hiding places, but empty. Their library turns into an empty dark void with no stars.

"No Dominique in here," a ghoulish voice taunts.

"Obviously," I comment roughly, not fearing the unknown.

"Just complete darkness," it chuckles fiendishly, "A mortal would lose their minds in seconds in total darkness."

I tap my foot and check my 'watch' on my wrist." Well, I am waiting. Which second specifically?"

No answer. Complete dumbass.

"Patience is on thin ice right now," I told it off. My sight returns back into the normal library. Hilarious, how easy. "I will return to you when I have all day and night." I stroll out of the library.

Now, where's Dominique?

Garage or basement? I am going to go down into the basement. I take my walk to the stairwell next to the library. Before I can open the basement door, I hear footsteps coming towards me. I wince to see a dark humanoid creature with dark branches. Its eyes are grey gems without a lifeful sparkle. I hear sickening crackling noises as it uses its branches to become rough and thick with sharp edges. It snarls at me before booking.

I stomp the ground, the ground rips open up into lava, ready for the world to eat him up like a snack. I gasp when a large wolf with azure and black fur breaks out of the medical room and goes right in front of me. The creature collides with the wolf, stabbing multiple sharpened branches into him while the wolf sinks the teeth into its neck. The strength combined with the wolf and the creature pushes against me. My superhuman strength kicks in, pushing them away from me. Their whole bodies forward. All of them fall into the crack. Unfortunately, the monster spreads its branches to tie the wolf and throw them into the lava. I know I can't save the wolf. The cracks close up, trapping them inside. There's a decent chance that both of them will be dead within a few minutes.

A loud screech penetrates my ears, shaking the house and blowing the rest of the windows out. It looks like I pissed someone off. The location of the shriek is unknown. I skitter down the basement stairs. No Dominique in sight, but another person is down there. Ivelisse. Ivelisse is lying on the carpet floor. Her pulse is low. She is hyperventilating. Knowing that the drop in heart rate is a sign of possession, I don't even approach her.

"T'ey are 'ere. T'ey are 'ere. Comin' to get t'em. Comin' to get me. I'm sorry." she mutters breathlessly. Her pupils are heavily dilated like someone on a zombie high.

I head back upstairs and into the garage without issues.

The wolf creature is there, holding a sleeping Dominique in his arms. He glares at me angrily like I just walked in at the very wrong time.

"You!" He snarls.

"Well, hello there," I greet sarcastically. I turn serious, "Let her go!"

He ignores my demands.

"Drop her!" A growl rumbles in my throat. "Why are you holding her like that?! She doesn't even know you. Respect her boundaries."

"Silence!" He barks, "You may possess unnatural abilities, but you are still lowly mortal! Mortals must cower before us and must treat us with respect!"

"I don't bow down for anybody," I talk back, "Why would you bother to drop a level to come here? Now I am going to ask this nicely, may you please let Dominique go?" I'm not trying to sound sweet, but rather in my scolding mommy voice. I picked it up from my mother from all these years. I guess we do have something in common than we do realise.

He sets her down. "Now that wasn't hard, was it?"

"No," I reply, walking towards Dominique, attempting to grab her and teleport. He snatches me by my throat.

"I know it was you!" He growls, referring to the hound I've killed minutes prior.

"It was a bloody accident!" I defend, "It was the Slenderman knock-off that killed him." It didn't look like Slenderman to me, but rather the branches remind me of him. Creepypasta is so dead nowadays.

"You were able to defend yourself and others against a legion of dogs, be able to resist the abyss, cut off my senses of my finding you. You still fight like a wild animal, you wretched mortal!" He clutches me tightly, but he isn't choking.

"Then, kill me," I taunt, "Use my head to display as an award. I know you got a nice pack out there waiting for a scrumptious meal."

"No," he spat before tossing me down. No pain, but stunned. "I have other plans for you," he tells me. He slowly vanishes into thin air, leaving us two alone.

I get up and grab Dominique. We teleport into the attic. I set her down.

"What happened to her?" Ella asks me, alarmed.

"I have no clue, but the disfigured wolf was carrying her bridal style," I explain. My brain is still blinking, trying to comprehend what I just witnessed. I don't understand. Why didn't the wolf kill me when he had me in his clutches? He does have plans for me, but I don't want to figure that out.

Dominique's eyes open up and she looks towards us. "Where were you guys? How did I get up here?" She asks bewilderedly.

"Hiding up here," Blathnaid answers, "What happened to you?"

"I don't know- All I can remember is walking into the library to hide and I felt someone touch my shoulder. Then, I blacked out..."

"Where's Ivelisse?" Ella asks out of the blue.

"In the basement," I told her.

"And you didn't even grab her?"

"No. She's wacko again."

We hear the roof cracking with noticeable inward dents. The weight of snow, ice, and hail are getting too much.

Ivelisse's ill laughter fills our ears. "Game over," she says in our ears, despite not being present in the room. Her voice sounds mixed with the ghoulish voice from the library and her own. She resumes laughing again.

Having no other choice, I open the attic door, urging them to get down as quickly as possible. We're going to have to go to the first floor to avoid damage. The roof above us is caving in from the snow and hail. The roof cracks and whines like wood in a fire. We only got a matter of seconds, not minutes, nor hours. They follow after me, almost shoving. By the time we reached the stairs to the first floor, the roof had collapsed. It is causing major damage to the second floor now.

The dark branches and goo sink back into the wall, making it appear normal again. Snow and hail keep on falling, getting into the house.

We hear someone sniffling in our group. They don't even bother to hide their cries. I spin around and we all see Ella crying. I hug her. Everyone hugs her. It's been a rough few weeks. She lost two friends, had to keep the coven together, one member is critically possessed, and now the house needs to be rebuilt. There's no way a cleaning bot can fix all this. It's going to cost to rebuild and move. We do everything in our power to counsel her.

Loud, heavy, and creep footsteps cut our emotional bondage short. It's from the hallway on the first floor. The footsteps go closer. We know who it was from. It's from Ivelisse, walking on the ceiling, grinning with her sharp jagged teeth. Her smile disappears.

"You fiends!" She spat, "You were supposed to die in the collapse!"

I dash towards her, grab her by her neck and throw her down onto her back.

"Go on! Kill me!" The spirit taunts, "That won't bring her back!"

Markus wheels towards me. His eyes turn red as he puts an invisible force to keep Ivelisse down. I hold her down too in case Markus's barrier isn't enough.

"Nyx Coven," I begin, "Time for some desperate measures."

The coven sets the rituals up. The house feels like absolute freezing. Ivelisse doesn't fight under the restraints.

"Everyone, stand back!" Blathnaid tells the rest of the coven what to do. She stays close. She begins the process of hurting the spirits, urging them to fully take over. Ivelisse's body slams stiffly against the floor, grunting, hissing, and moaning in pain. Her voice is no longer an unnerving calm like with other possessions; a gruelling undertone. She starts contorting in weird ways, desperate for some comfort.

"Blath, stop!" She resorts to begging, "You're...hurting...me."

Her voice sounds normal, but the signs alert me. I shake my head to Blathnaid, telling her to keep going.

Blath resumes. The energy of entities is increasing now. It's only a matter of time. Ivelisse's body turns cold. I can see bugs moving beneath her skin as she continues to contort and moan. Her tongue mutates into snake-like.

"Naomi, she is becoming more like them," Ella points out, becoming more apprehensive.

"I know," I reply back, aware of what I am doing.

Her body turns pale and veins begin to pop out and spread, turning black. Some areas look like she has been struck by lightning.

She sits up without warning without an involuntary inhale. Her eyes widened. The energy increases exponentially. An ear-piercing scream comes out from her. She slams back to the ground. Dark branches appear on the floor. Soon dark spikes grow from the back of her body. They replaced her hair too. Her arms grow past her knees.

"Blathnaid, switch!" I alert her.

She nods and opens her own journal.

"No, you don't!" Ivelisse furiously shrieks. An abomination of voices speaks through her. The dark branches on the ground grow quickly, heading towards Blathnaid, Markus, and I.

Large dark spikes suddenly come out of the branches, impaling both Markus, Blathnaid, and I in our chests. Markus's body tilts backward from the impact. He lies still against the wheelchair. Blathnaid goes limp against the spike. For me, I still hold Ivelisse down. I don't feel the pain, but blood oozes from my mouth. Tiredness sweeps over me, but I will fight it every second. I am used to it.

"Blath, no!" Dominique and Ella cry out in unison. The four of them rush towards Markus and Blath's aid.

"No! Don't!" I yell at them while keeping my attention towards Ivelisse. If they get too close, spikes will appear and kill them too, "Stay back!"

Ella picks up Blathnaid's journal that she dropped after being impaled. "Let me do it."

"No." I decline again, "Stay back, please."

"We can't let you die!" She argues.

"I won't die!" I promise, "Just..stand...back."

Stubborn or stupid, I see Ella taking a step closer and opening inside of Blathnaid's journal. She is ignoring my orders. She sets the items needed for the portal expansion ceremony, crafted by Blathnaid and myself. The portal is easier to travel with high enough energy. The downside of it is that they have to let the possession go full force to take them out.

"Ella, don't!" I plea.

"We need to get them out of her,"

She is getting dangerously close to Ivelisse. I notice a dark branch on the floor going towards her. I trace my eyes. Soon darkness envelops my vision with another abyss wave. Laughter ensues everywhere. I spontaneously create an energy wave to push Ella away from where she's standing. The light returns. Ella is near the stairwell, shaken up. A large dark spike sprouted from the area she was standing in previously.

I wince back towards Ivelisse, expecting the worst. Her body is gone. I can't feel the energy anywhere, not even in the entire house. My eyes trace back to Blathnaid's body. She lies motionless with her dead eyes open.

"Of course, she's gone again..." Dominique says unimpressed before she yells out, "And two more people are dead!"

Ella looks at me and yells, "What the hell were you planning? Blath is now dead and so is Markus!"

"I was going to ask the same thing," I reply, not in the mood for Ella's yelling, "You would've joined them too."

I pull my body out of the dark spike. There's no pain, but watching my blood ooze from my body can make anyone faint. I am used to seeing charred skin and thick blood everywhere. My stabbed wound heals rapidly, much faster than it was at the hospital many years ago. The coven knows about my power, so it's okay to heal like a superhuman. Well, it's not like I have a choice.

"Well, we know the drill," I state, "Let's go and find her. We will mourn about them later."

"And..." I scan around the room, noticing someone was missing, "Where's Aelen?"