SIXTEEN| HIS MAGIC AND HIS CURSE

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OLIVIA HELD THE NOW WATERED DOWN ICEPACK against her temple. After she came conscious to the land of the living, both Chas and Zed were hellbent on forcing her to go to the hospital. However, she refused to go not when they had absolutely no clue were her demon-possessed father was. After a long ten minutes of going back and forth on the matter, she settled on an icepack and taking the backseat on the John problem while they took full reign of the situation. Now, here she sat in the actual backseat of Chas's cab that was parked in front of the prison that held her father after Anne Marie had managed to track him down.

"Figure out how you're getting in?" Chas asked Zed who was currently studying the prison's exterior.

"Yep." She smirked slightly. "Over there." She jerked her chin in the direction of the group of women-wearing very little clothing-that stood in front of the prison fence.

Chas scrunched his nose. "They look like hookers."

"They are." Olivia said dryly. She forced her eyes open to find Chas's concerned eyes on her. She arched a brow questionably. "Yes?"

"I didn't know you were awake. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?" Chas pummeled her with questions going full on dad-mode.

Olivia sighed as she placed the now useless icepack on the seat beside her. "No. I just have a small headache, but it'll pass." She leaned forward in her seat so she could get a better look at Zed. "So you're gonna pretend to be a hooker to get in aren't you?"

"Yep." She replied nonchalantly as she begun to remove her bra. "I grew up near a prison like this. I know exactly how they work." She swiftly tossed her bra in the backseat, which Olivia had to duck slightly to avoid it smacking her in the face.

"Good luck." Said Olivia as Chas said, "See you in the inside."

Chas turned to the blonde. "Alright, I'm gonna find a way in. You wait here."

"Uncle Chas-"

"No." Chas cut her off before she could protest. "We made a deal. Now stay put. Please." Olivia swatted him away as he left the cab. She sunk back in the seat and watched as he approached the guards that blocked the entrance Zed had wandered into earlier. She couldn't make out what exactly was said, but she knew it was pointless when Chas decided to deck the guard. She watched with wide eyes as the guards practically jumped him then carried him away.

"What the hell?" She groaned. Olivia climbed into the driver seat and killed the engine. She knew she promised both Chas and Zed that she remained out of harms way, but they should've known better than to think she'd listen. I mean, she's stubborn as hell and John Constantine's daughter. Defying authority and making stupid ass decisions is practically in her blood.

"Come with me." Was the first thing Olivia heard directly in her ear as she got out of the cab. Olivia squeaked as she jumped back in fright. Her hand flew to her chest as she came face to face with Anne Marie.

"Jesus." She muttered, which earned a frown from the nun. "Sorry, uh, my goodness." She corrected herself sarcastically. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

Anne Marie sighed heavily. "I know you're crossed with me-"

"Damn right I am. You shot my father and left him to die. I know you hate him, but I could've been an orphan because of you. Did you ever think of that?" Olivia snapped.

"Look, I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did, but I'm here to help now. So can you please put whatever ill feelings you have toward me aside for John?" Anne Marie suggested gently to avoid making her even more upset than she already was.

"Fine." She huffed, but let her lead the way regardless.

"So how are you gonna get us passed the guards? You're gonna do some super cool spell to make us invisible? Oh! Are you gonna cause an illusion to distract them so we can get by?" She asked failing miserably to mask her excitement for magic as she trailed behind the nun. Anne Marie chuckled under her breath before she begun to speak to the guard in Spanish. The next thing she knew they were walking straight into the prison and toward the conjugal building. "Wow, that was very anticlimactic. I'm disappointed." She added with a pout and the nun shook her head.

"This is my fight, from here on out." John's muffled voice could be heard from outside the door. Olivia stiffened at the sound of his voice. She didn't know why she was so scared to see him. He's still her father no matter what. But maybe she was terrified of losing him? Ten years of being without him, only for him to come back in her life through the most traumatic experience in her life. She wasn't gonna lose him again. She couldn't take another loss. She doesn't think she could survive the pain again.

Anne Marie opened the door, shining the harsh sunlight on John. He sat on the couch with Zed across from him on the bed. "It's our fight."

John's sight fell immediately upon his beautiful daughter whom he had not been able to stop thinking about. Her safety is his number one priority at the moment. He needed to survive for her, and if not he wanted her to be taken care of. That's why he was gonna ask Chas and Zed to look after her for him, but he didn't want her to be around to overhear it. He needed to pretend that everything was alright-that he was okay-for her. "Liv..." he said relieved that she was okay after he had unintentionally hurt her. Zed had said she was okay earlier, but he needed to see for himself.

Olivia smiled. "Hey, dad." His heart warmed at the fact that she called him dad. It for once wasn't a word she allowed to fall from her lips when she was scared or shocked. She finally said it because she meant it and because he earned it.

John looked over to the former Newcastle member. "Does this mean that we're friends again?"

When she didn't answer, Zed asked her with a proud smile, "How did you get in?"

Anne Marie returned her small gesture. "I told the guards that one of their prisoners was in need of spiritual comfort. Even a place like this respects the cross. Told them that Olivia was with me." She dug around her bag and pulled out some clothes before tossing them to Zed. "Better put this on."

Zed studied the clothes with a scrunched nose. "A nun's habit?"

Annie turned to John and placed a fresh pair of his usual attire on his lap. "White shirt, black pants. Figured you could use a change."

John smirked then stood to his feet. "It's good to have you back, luv." He told her softly then went into the bathroom to change.

Zed waited a moment before asking Anne Marie the question that plagued her mind. "I need to know....should I be scared?" Her voice shook with fear. "For John, I mean?"

Her question took Annie by surprised and peaked Olivia's interest. Everyone around her had been acting as if this is something he could fix so easily. Her father was one of those people. She needed to know if she should prepare herself to say goodbye. "He's in a bad way. But John believes he has every situation under control, and he makes you believe."

Annie smiled sadly. "That's his magic. And his curse."

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Olivia tightened the rope around John's wrist as they strapped him down into the seat. Anne Marie had been able to convince the guards to allow them to use the gymnasium for his self-exorcism. John used whatever strength he could to wrap his pinkie with hers. Olivia smiled sadly as she glanced down at their fingers, but then forced herself to finally look at him. He looked so pale. His eyes looked drained. All the mischievous and chaotic humor that use to lie behind those eyes were nonexistent. It made her feel worse. She just wanted his usual cocky and arrogant self back. Even though she knew deep down his arrogance was a shield not just to keep others at length so he won't get attached, but also to keep others safe from him and his sad truth. The sad and unfair truth that everyone he cared about and cared about him will die.

"This will work." She whispered to her father despite not really believing her own words. But the way her voice shook slightly gave her away. John didn't say a word. He didn't want to fuel her fabrication for it would only hurt her when he does in fact die. So she stood there silently waiting for a confirmation to ease her mind that will never come. John just stared blankly at her committing every facial feature to his memory in case this'll be the last time he'll see his beautiful daughter. In this moment, he wished he had more memories and stories to pull from. Not having enough time with her-apart from Astra-will forever be his biggest regret.

"Okay." Anne Marie breathed out. She signed the cross, before picking up the tape recording. She played the tape of John performing his self-exorcism. "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who has made heaven and Earth." The nun walked over to Zed who was dressed in a nun's habit. With holy water coated on her fingertips, she went down the line ending with Olivia drawing a cross on their foreheads as a form of protection. "The Lord be with you. The Lord be with you. The Lord be with you."

Anne Marie swallowed. Her mouth had become dry as she looked at John. Mustering up her courage, she held the holy water tightly. "The Lord be with you." She said strongly as she flung the water on John. The room grew thick with tension when he gave no reaction.

Olivia shook her head. "I'm confused. Isn't this the part in those movies where the person starts acting scary and out of control?" She asked them, and she heard John let out a small and tired snicker.

"What's wrong?" Asked Zed.

"At this stage of possession, the holy water should cause a violent reaction." Anne Marie confirmed Olivia's previous claim.

"So this means what exactly?" Olivia asked her desperate for an answer.

John sighed. "It's been too long. It's in me too deep." Olivia inhaled a sharp breath as she fought back her tears.

"Liv...." John whispered trying to get her attention. The stubborn blonde vigorously shook her head and continued to stare down at her shoes. She knew what he was gonna say. "Olivia." She finally looked up and was met with his tearful eyes. "I love you, kid."

Her whole life she felt like her father never loved her. I mean, why would she feel like he ever did if he abandoned her at a young age? She spent years blaming herself. She could never figure out what she did or didn't do that drove him away. Why wasn't she enough for him to stay? And now she heard the words she's been dying to hear from him for years, but it didn't exactly evoke the feelings she imagined it would. She didn't want to hear them this way.

"I lov-" her words were soon cutoff by the sound of men screaming down the hall alongside the loud bangs echoing off the narrowed walls. "What the hell is happening out there?"

A man in a crisp suit stalked into the room, but what caught their attention was the snakes he had for a face. "The Brujeria, they are not happy with you, John!" The thing shouted.

"Identify yourself!" John fired back.

The snakes transformed into the face of a man and it took everything in Olivia for her to not throw up her last meal. Whatever that was since she couldn't remember the last time she ate. His hair was greying in certain places and was slicked back. She noticed how his green eyes looked exactly like the eyes of a snake. He appeared as the textbook definition of a corrupt politician, and the fact that earlier he had literal snakes where his head should've been only contributed to her realization.

"I've been known as Nahash, the trickster, and now as Vincente. And you know me as you know all earthly temptation." He boasted.

Anne Marie turned to the group. "He's the tempter."

John nodded. "The original serpent from the Garden of Eden." He glared at the serpent. "So, what have the Brujeria promised you, then?"

"No promises." He said. "They gave me release, so I could rain darkness down on your...sinful world. I came to end your life!" His sight drifted from John's face to the mark burned into the flesh of his arm. "But now I can see what a mistake that would be. In a short matter of time, you won't be an enemy...you'll be my ally."

"Annie, the knife." John said quickly. "You have to end this now." His head flung backward against the headrest of the chair. The thing was trying to take over again and each time it got harder to hold him back. "I can't stop it, Annie!"

"No." Olivia said forcefully. There had to be another way. She wasn't just going to give up. She couldn't accept that the only way out for him was death.

Annie glanced at the knife in her hand. Her fingers wrapped around the handle tightly that her knuckles became a ghostly white. "Do this now, or..." John groaned.

"No, you'll die!" Shouted Zed.

Anne Marie raised the blade, so that it was at a perfect angle with his chest. "He knows."

"No, don't!" Shouted Chas. The serpent lunged forward to stop her when Chas shoved him back only for him to snap Chas's neck.

"Oh my, god." Olivia whispered. This was all getting out of control. She never in a million years would have expected that this would have become her life. Yet here she is, in a Mexican prison with a nun, a psychic, a man who can't seem to stay dead, an actual serpent that's trying to kill them, and her possessed father who's also a warlock and exorcist. If only she knew that in a few years her life would get even weirder. Weirder but for the better.

"Annie Marie..." John begged for her to put him out of his misery, but she couldn't get herself to no matter how many times she told herself it was for the best. The nun spun on her heels and plunged the knife into the back of the serpent. To Olivia the man looked like the Wicked Witch of the West when she melted away leaving nothing but snakes in his place.

The guards stormed into the room, weapons drawn. "Hands up!" They shouted and Olivia did as she was told. She looked from her father who was bound to his chair, to the pile of snakes, to Chas's dead body.

"So how exactly are we gonna explain this?"

A/N:

I still haven't figured out how to end the Constantine portion of this book.... and we're getting closer to the end....

I'm honestly at the point where if I can't figure it out I'm just gonna jump right to S4 of legends because I have so much planned for that. I'm so excited to write Olivia into their crazy and colorful world. Also there's gonna be a minor time jump so it's gonna be fun writing a different take on Olivia & her and John's relationship. They're gonna be so much more closer but that doesn't mean there won't be any angst cause it's John so...