x | dreams in a witch house
ACT I — CHAPTER X
Dʀᴇᴀᴍs ⵊɴ A Wɪᴛᴄʜ Hᴏᴜsᴇ
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
The creature in front of the Spellman twins began to advance toward them, and the twins let out glass shattering screams.
Sabrina grabbed Lydia's hand and pulled her through the secret door that led to the main hallway. They ran down it and into their aunts' room who were each in bed, reading. When they saw the state the twins were in, they began to get out of bed.
"What — what's the matter?" Hilda asked.
"Well, you see, I solved the thing — the uh, Acheron Configuration, and when I did, this demon thing came out and now it's free and chasing us," Lydia quickly explained.
"What kind of demon?" Zelda asked.
"In the house?" Hilda questioned.
"I don't know! It's a demon and it's scary and it's probably trying to kill us!" Lydia exclaimed.
"Calm down," Zelda said, "If the entity came out of the Acheron Configuration, it can be put back into the configuration. Where is it? The puzzle box?"
"Lydia must've left it in our room," Sabrina said.
"Can you really blame me for forgetting it? There was a creepy ass —"
"SPELLMANS!"
There was a loud banging on the door and the twins turned back to face it.
"Well, this is simply perfect," Zelda sighed. She walked to the wall and proceeded to open another secret door that led to a secret hallway. Hilda ushered the twins towards the door and the four of them entered, with Hilda closing the door behind them.
They followed the hallway until they were in the main hallway again. Zelda told them to hurry up and get downstairs. When Lydia, who was in the front, made it to the foyer, she saw Ambrose coming up from the embalming room.
"Lydia, what the Devil is going on?" he asked her. Lydia was panting from running so much.
"It's not the Devil, it's a demon! Honestly, I'd probably prefer the Devil 'cause he probably wouldn't be trying to murder us —"
"What do you mean 'a demon'? What kind of demon?" Ambrose asked, walking up to her. Lydia put her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath, her hand up signaling she'd tell him in a minute. The rest of the Spellmans then joined them in the foyer.
"Whatever kind it is, we have protocols in place," Zelda answered, trying to calm everyone down. Lydia stood up and looked at her aunt.
"We do?" Hilda asked.
"We seal the house to contain the entity, to prevent it from escaping into the world, where it would cause rampant, wanton chaos," Zelda explained.
"Oh, right."
"Okay, let's do this," Ambrose said.
The five Spellmans all stood in a circle and held hands with the person next to them. Lydia, who was standing between Sabrina and Ambrose, was growing very nervous and her heart was practically beating out of her chest. They all began to say the incantation to seal the house.
"Ex spiritbus enim sie te aeris.
Qui ompotentiam tuam parcendo clavem ad.
Ostium ligate diabolum hunc.
Hoc captionem, et daemonium ab grandus cincinno."
Lydia kept her eyes closed as they said the incantation, mainly to stay concentrated but also in hopes not to see the demon and scream.
"SPELLMANS!"
Lydia opened her eyes and looked at the stairs where the voice had come from. The demon stood at the top of the steps, glaring down at them.
"You're his family, aren't you?" the demon asked, "My captor's kin! You smell like Spellmans!"
"Know this, demon!" Zelda yelled, "Our house is sealed with an incantation that we, and only we know. If you harm us, you'll never escape it."
"Another prison? No, no, no!" the demon cried.
It began to advance down the stairs towards them.
"Edward Spellman imprisoned me in the Acheron puzzle for 70 years! I'll not be caged again!"
"What do you want, Hellspawn?" Ambrose asked it.
"First, revenge on the family of Edward Spellman!"
"Did you have to ask, love?" Hilda muttered.
"Do you think if we told it we weren't the family of Edward Spellman, it'd leave us alone?" Lydia asked.
"And then, freedom, so I may fill the world with my sublime nightmares!"
The demon flicked its finger and turned the radio on.
"I don't understand, nightmares?" Sabrina asked, unimpressed.
"It's a sleep demon!" Hilda hissed, "Zelda, if it puts us to sleep, we're at its mercy!"
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Hilda, but not to worry," Zelda started, walking over to one of the cardboard boxes that had arrived at the house the day before. She pulled an urn out of the box, and said, "It won't get the chance to."
"Aunt Zelda, if you could just hurry up with whatever you're doing I'm sure we'd all really appreciate it," Lydia told her aunt. Zelda opened the urn and held it out in front of her.
─ ༓ ─
"Turpis et infernis in terris pariunt! Adiuro vos tamen hoc graecas munus!"
The demon screamed in agony, and a red cloud began to flow from the demon and into the urn. Once the creature was gone and all the smoke was in the urn, Zelda put the lid back on it and turned back to her family.
"And that is how you trap a demon," she said.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I believe that's enough demons for one night. I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Ambrose told them. He turned around and walked back to the embalming room.
Lydia stared at his back as he walked away. Something seemed off about him, but she decided to ignore it.
"How about I get some tea started, how does that sound?" Hilda asked the rest of them. Lydia shrugged in a form of agreement and they all walked back to the kitchen.
Lydia sat down in her usual seat and put her head in her arms on the table. She blocked out whatever small talk that Sabrina and Zelda were having as Hilda prepared the tea. At this point, for whatever reason, Lydia had never felt more tired in her life.
"A nice pot of calming tea might help soothe all of our nerves," Hilda said. Lydia sat up and watched her aunt pour tea into everybody's cups.
"My nerves are perfectly fine, sister," Zelda told her, "Which is more than I can say for you lot. Running around like headless chickens."
"Well, the good news in all of this is that I can take conjuring class. That was the deal, I solve the Acheron, I enter the class. And I did solve it," Lydia added, trying to lighten the mood. She took a sip of her tea and hissed when she burned her tongue.
"And learned a valuable lesson, I hope," Zelda said, "Never open a magic box if you don't know what's inside it."
"Hey, Father Blackwood was the one who gave it to me, sorry for assuming it was safe," Lydia grumbled, taking another sip of her tea.
"One thing I don't understand, Why would father trap a demon inside of it?" Sabrina asked. Zelda and Hilda looked at each other for a moment. The latter let out a sigh.
"Um, your father suffered from terrible insomnia," Hilda explained, "He always said it was a sleep demon tormenting him."
"All those years, I assumed he was speaking metaphorically, but clearly not. And clearly, he got the better of it," Zelda said.
"Surely, he must have known the configuration would be opened one day," Ambrose wondered. Lydia quickly turned her head to the right where her cousin sat on the bench next to her. She could've sworn he had gone downstairs.
"Or perhaps, he never imagined that anyone would be canny enough to solve his puzzle," Zelda said, looking at Lydia. Lydia beamed.
"Mom was the key," she said, "There was this picture Dad drew of her in one of Dad's journals. At first, I thought it was a sweet, sentimental kind of thing, but then when I looked at it some more I realized it was a clue to solving it."
"Witches couldn't solve it, but a half-witch could," Hilda remarked, "Oh, well, that's marvelous, isn't it, Zelds?"
"Yes, it's divine that Lydia's duality almost got us killed," Zelda replied. Lydia's smile fell and she looked down at her teacup that sat on the table. She bit her lip. Sabrina reached over and put her hand on Lydia's arm.
"Right," Hilda muttered, "Okay, well, let's — let's finish our tea and call it a night, shall we? I'll have a little foxglove to help me sleep."
Lydia looked back up and eyed the urn on the table. Something felt wrong, but she couldn't seem to figure out —
"Snug as bugs in a rug," Hilda said as she tucked the twins into bed.
Lydia propped herself up on her elbows and looked around her room, very confused. Hadn't they just been downstairs drinking tea? Why couldn't she remember how she got in bed?
"Auntie Hilda, what would have happened if we hadn't re-trapped the demon?" Sabrina asked. Lydia laid her head back onto her pillow and looked towards her aunt.
"I mean, we wouldn't even be aware of this, but, I imagine she would've put us to sleep, separated us so that our dreams don't cross over, and then plagued us with horrifying nightmares," Hilda answered.
"But why?" Lydia asked.
"Oh, so she could torture us until one of us broke ranks to unseal the house and set her free," Hilda said. Lydia thought that made sense, but then she realized she couldn't remember if they had unsealed the house once they had trapped the demon.
"But I don't want you two to think of such sinister things before bed," Hilda added. It was then Lydia noticed how tired she was and that she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Goodnight, my darlings," Hilda whispered, but Lydia barely heard it as she drifted off to sleep.
Little did any Spellman know, they were already trapped inside of a dream.
─ ༓ ─
Lydia Spellman walked into Baxter High School, with a smile on her face and Susie Putnam on her arm. Today was the school election, and Lydia was running to be the President of the Student Council.
"Hey, Lydia! Good luck with your speech today! I'll be voting for you!" Prudence Night called as she walked by. Lydia gave a 'thank you' in return. When she made it to her locker, Susie let go of her arm and leaned on the locker next to hers.
"You're going to do great at your speech today. You already have the whole school on your side," Susie told her. Lydia gave her a smile.
"All that matters is that you're here with me," Lydia said and grabbed both of Susie's hands. She leaned in to kiss her, and right as their lips were about to touch, an all too familiar voice interrupted them.
"Good morning, Lydia," Thomas Loher greeted. Lydia closed her eyes in annoyance and then let go of Susie's hands and turned to face the blonde boy.
"Good morning, Thomas," Lydia said. Thomas smiled.
"I just wanted to wish you luck on your speech today. I'm sure you'll do amazing," he said. Lydia gave him a tight smile.
"Thank you, Thomas," Lydia said. It was then that Roz Walker and Harvey Kindle came running up to her.
"Lydia, we've been looking for you everywhere! We wanted to wish you good luck before you gave your speech," Roz told her. Lydia beamed.
"Thanks, guys! It really means a lot to me that you all are so supportive," she said.
"Of course we're supportive, Lydia, you're our best friend," Harvey replied. Lydia was about to add something else when Lady Blackwood came over to her.
"Miss Spellman, it's time for you to head to the gym so you can give your speech," she said. Lydia turned to Susie.
"Don't worry, you're going to do great," Susie told her, kissing Lydia on the cheek. Lydia bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from smiling. It didn't work.
"I'll see you soon," Lydia promised, and proceeded to follow Lady Blackwood to the gym.
"There are some people who wished to speak to you before you gave your speech," Lady Blackwood said. Lydia was confused, at first, but as they neared the gym she saw her aunts and Ambrose waiting for her.
"Aunties, Ambrose! What are you doing here?" Lydia asked.
"We wanted to wish you good luck on your speech," Hilda explained, pulling her into a hug.
"Break a leg out there, cousin," Ambrose said.
When Lydia let go of Hilda and faced her other aunt, Zelda had a large smile on her face. She lightly grabbed onto Lydia's arms.
"Lydia, I am so proud of you and how much you've grown over the years. I feel like it was just yesterday that Hilda and I found you on our doorstep and now you're a headstrong, independent young witch," Zelda told her. Lydia was smiling so wide that it hurt. She wrapped her arms around her aunt.
"Thank you so much, Aunt Zee, you being here means the world to me," Lydia said. When they pulled away from the hug, the Spellman girl was crying, but her eyes revealed how happy she truly was.
It was now time for Lydia to enter the gym. Her heart was beating so fast, but Zelda's words helped calm her down. She opened the door to the gym.
The moment she entered everybody in the gym started cheering. Lydia smiled and waved as she walked to the stage that was set up in the middle of the room.
She walked up the stairs on the stage where she was met by Father Blackwood, who shook her hand. He wished Lydia good luck and then guided her to the podium that stood on the middle of the stage.
"Good morning students of Baxter High," Lydia began, "Today, I'm here to talk to you all about how I'll be able to improve your time here as the President of the Student Council. The first thing I will do as President will be to —"
The doors to the gym slammed open. Lydia turned her head back to the doors, a look of confusion on her face. Then her eyes widened.
Sabrina Spellman walked into the gym, with confidence in her steps. The room was silent.
Sabrina walked up the steps and onto the stage. She walked over to Lydia and gently pushed her away from the podium.
Sabrina cleared her throat, and said, "Good morning students of Baxter High. Today, I'm here to talk to you all about how I'll be able to improve your time here as President of the Student Council. The first thing I will do as President . . ."
It was Lydia's speech word for word. Every idea she had was now coming out of Sabrina's mouth. Every word she had so carefully memorized was now being said by Sabrina. It was taking everything in her to not start crying.
"And that is why you should vote me, Sabrina Spellman, as Student Council President," Sabrina said, finishing her speech. The gym roared with applause. People were chanting Sabrina's name. Lydia couldn't hold back anymore, and silent tears began to fall down her face.
Her sister turned to face her. A sly smile had formed on Sabrina's face.
"What? You really thought that people would believe in you? Trust you?" Sabrina asked, "That you'd be able to beat me? In anything?"
Lydia's vision was clouded by her tears.
"And you really thought I'd want to be with someone like you?" Lydia knew that voice. She turned to the bleachers where Susie was standing.
"You really think that anyone would want to be friends with you?" It was Roz.
"The only reason anyone talks to you is because Sabrina is your sister." Harvey.
"Please stop," Lydia whispered.
"You are such a disappointment. To think that you were more than your sister." Zelda.
Lydia closed her eyes. She hadn't realized that she was shaking until now. She put her hands over her ears.
"You're just a stupid little half-breed, nothing more."
"No one would ever like you."
"You're so annoying."
"I wish you had never been born." Sabrina.
"STOP!" Lydia yelled. She ran off the stage and to the gym doors. She could hear footsteps following her. The voices didn't stop.
"You're not even pretty."
"You're so boring."
"How could anyone love you?"
The voices were blending together. She ran out of the gym and down the hall. They still followed her.
"You follow Sabrina around everywhere. You can't do anything for yourself."
She turned and entered the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Immediately there was pounding on the door. She slid down onto the ground. She could hear the muffled voices through the door. She covered her ears again and closed her eyes.
"GO AWAY!" she sobbed. She couldn't stop crying. She couldn't breathe.
"Poor Lydia."
Lydia knew that voice, but she couldn't place it. It was coming from right in front of her, but she couldn't will herself to open her eyes.
"Rejected and tormented by the people you love the most. Tell me, does it tear you apart on the inside? Does it hurt?"
"Please, go away. Just leave me alone," Lydia managed to breathe out between her sobs.
"But of course, my sweet," the voice said, "Tell me the spell that unseals your house."
Lydia's eyes shot open. It was the demon.
"No," Lydia said, "I won't."
"Not now, perhaps, but soon. I'll be listening for your cries."
"GO AWAY!" Lydia screamed. The demon disappeared, and she closed her eyes, continuing to listen to the voices of her loved ones tell her how worthless she was.
Lydia didn't know how long she had been sitting there, crying and listening. She begged and begged for them to leave her alone. They still didn't listen.
"Lydia?"
Once again, Lydia's eyes shot open. Ms. Wardwell sighed with relief, "Finally."
"Ms. Wardwell?" Lydia asked. She was still sobbing, still struggling to breathe.
"I need you to calm down," Ms. Wardwell said, putting her hand on Lydia's shoulder, "You're dreaming right now."
"What?" Lydia asked, "No, no, they hate me, they're outside and they won't leave me alone and I just want them to love me —"
"Lydia, listen to me," Ms. Wardwell began, "We don't have much time before Batibat realizes I've been trolling her domain."
"What do you mean? Who's Batibat?" Lydia questioned.
"Batibat! She's a sleep demon," Ms. Wardwell quickly explained, "She manipulates her victims in their dreams. She's torturing you, all of you, until one of you tells her the spell to unlock the house. Or you all go insane."
"This is just a dream? It's not real?" Lydia asked.
"Yes, it's just a dream! But I'm going to wake you up. And once I wake you up, wait for me to wake your sister up, and then you must get out of the house. Run. Run as fast as your legs will carry you. It's your only chance of survival," Ms. Wardwell told her.
"But the demon said she wanted revenge! If Sabrina and I leave, what would stop her from killing Ambrose and my aunts?" Lydia questioned.
"Self-preservation, my dear, it's the only thing that matters."
"Ms. Wardwell, what are you doing here? You said I was dreaming, that I am dreaming. How did you get here?"
Ms. Wardwell sighed once again, "A gin-clear mind, self-induced sleep, and clear intent, Lydia. I'm going to wake you up now. You will feel a prick, but remember my words. Get out of the house and don't fall asleep. You'll only have one chance to escape her."
Ms. Wardwell paused, and then murmured under her breath, "I don't have enough time to wake Sabrina up now, but I suppose one alive is better than none."
"Wait, what —"
But Ms. Wardwell was gone. The pounding on the door grew louder. It was shaking, and Lydia started to think it might break down. She stood up and slowly walked to the other end of the bathroom, her back against the wall.
Her worries were right. The door broke down, and the people on the other side started running towards her. Lydia fell to the ground, closed her eyes, and braced herself.
─ ༓ ─
Lydia screamed when she woke up, preparing to be trampled by those she loved.
Then she remembered.
She looked down at her finger, which was slightly stinging. There was a bit of blood from the prick.
"Shit," Lydia muttered. The demon, Batibat, had probably heard her, and was most likely on her way to her room. She looked to her right. Sabrina was still sleeping.
Lydia got up, grabbed as many pillows as she could, and shoved them under her quilt, in hopes that Batibat would think that she was still asleep. She looked around the room, trying to find a hiding place, and ultimately decided to hide under her bed.
She heard Batibat enter the room. She saw Batibat's feet walk over to her bed. Lydia covered her mouth with her hands in order to help herself stay quiet.
She saw Batibat walk next to her bed and pull the quilt down. The demon turned and walked out of the room through the secret door.
"Where did you go, little girl?" Batibat called, walking down the hallway. Lydia waited a few moments, and when she could no longer hear the demon's footsteps, she got out from under the bed. She ran over and kneeled by her sister's bed and tried to shake her awake.
"Come on, Sabrina!" she pleaded, "I can't do this without you!"
She kept trying for another minute, but Sabrina never woke up. Lydia leaned her head against the bed.
"Okay, okay," she muttered, "What would Sabrina do?"
She thought. Sabrina always knew what to do, or she knew how to get help. How to get help.
Lydia's head shot up. She remembered Zelda had said that if Batibat came out of the Acheron Configuration, it could be put back into the configuration. She got up and scrambled to grab the configuration, which she had seen under the bed.
Once Lydia had grabbed the configuration, she took one last look back at her sister before stepping into the hallway. If there was anyone who could help her right now, it would be Ambrose.
As she walked to her cousin's room, Lydia could hear Batibat calling out for her, trying to find her. She did her best to be as quiet as possible.
Lydia entered Ambrose's room, immediately going over to him to try and wake him up. It didn't work. It was then that Lydia finally noticed the strange ticking sound. She turned around and saw a little box, and when she went to the edge of the bed she saw that it was some kind of clock. She tried to stop the clock hand, but it shocked her when she touched it.
"Shit!" she hissed, holding her hand. This must've been what was keeping them asleep.
"All right, what would Sabrina do?" Lydia said to herself. Every time they had gone to Ambrose for help, he would look in one of his books.
"Books, that's right, I'll check out the books," she murmured. Lydia turned around and went over to his many stacks of books. She looked at their spines, and when she found one about demons she took it out of the stack. Lydia flipped through its pages, looking for anything that might help her when she stumbled upon a certain word.
"Exilium ..." she started. She skimmed down the page and then read, "means banishment."
Lydia heard a noise and quickly turned around, ready to defend herself, but relaxed slightly when she saw it was Muertos and Salem.
"Satan, you guys scared me," Lydia told them. Muertos meowed at her.
"Yes, I do, in fact, know that there's a demon. Thanks for protecting us against it, by the way."
Muertos and Salem both started to meow at her, causing Lydia to roll her eyes.
"Relax, I was kidding, I know this isn't your fault. But I have good news — I have the Acheron Configuration she came from, and there's a spell in this book to banish her," Lydia explained. Salem meowed at her.
"Except I do know her name," Lydia said, "Its name is Batibat. I bet she won't expect me to know that."
Muertos meowed at her again, and Lydia sighed.
"But I have to defeat her, Muertos. If I leave, she'll continue to torture my family and she could even kill them," Lydia told him, "The best option for me to get her is to catch her by surprise."
Lydia picked up the book and the Acheron and, with the familiars on her heels, walked out of the room and downstairs, staying as quiet as she possibly could. First, she checked the kitchen, where there was no sign of the demon. She slowly began to walk to the living room. Her heart was beating so fast and it took everything in her to open the door instead of running away.
Batibat was facing away from her, looking behind the couch. Lydia held the Acheron and the open book in each hand before addressing the demon.
"Are you looking for me?" Lydia asked. The demon turned around to face her. Lydia gulped.
"I banish thee, Batibat," she began. Batibat began to walk closer to her, and then they were circling each other around the room. Lydia continued, "Tu me misisti, et contentiones sint causa doloris mei."
"That's but a plaything in your inexperienced hands!" Batibat hissed, "You're not half the witch your father was. No witch at all! No power, no conviction, no will. And with four other Spellmans in my thrall, you, child, may die!"
Batibat knocked the book and the Acheron out of Lydia's hands, the Acheron breaking as it hit the ground. Batibat brought up her hand and scratched Lydia across her cheek, causing her to scream out in pain.
Muertos then came out and attacked Batibat, giving Lydia enough time to escape through the secret door in the living room. She ran upstairs to her aunts' room.
She went to each of her aunts and tried to shake them awake.
"Come on, please wake up! I need your help! I need someone!" she cried. She heard meowing behind her, and turned around to see her familiar.
"Muertos! Where's Batibat? Is she still downstairs?" Lydia asked. Muertos meowed.
"I don't know what I'm going to do! I can't do this on my own and I don't know what Sabrina would do now and —"
She stopped herself.
"I can go back to sleep," she said. Muertos meowed.
"Yes, I know if I fall asleep I might not be able to wake up again, but I don't have a choice! Look, if I'm able to go fast enough and stay focused enough to lucid dream, I'd be able to go right into their dreams and come right back out," Lydia explained. Muertos meowed, once again.
"First things first, I need to fall asleep, and fall asleep fast," Lydia said, "Earlier, Aunt Hilda said that she used foxglove to help her fall asleep, and that's probably in the greenhouse."
Lydia left the room with Muertos and headed downstairs. She could hear Batibat, still calling out for her and looking for her. Lydia tried to ignore it.
She reached the greenhouse and very quietly searched through all the shelves.
"Foxglove, foxglove, foxglove," she muttered to herself over and over again, as if she would forget it.
"Got it!" she hissed when she found it. She picked up the bottle. Muertos meowed at her.
"Yeah, yeah, if I take too much It'll kill me. Simple answer: I won't take too much," Lydia told him. She heard footsteps coming her way and quickly hid behind one of the shelves. When she heard a new meow, she saw it was just Salem.
"Satan, Salem, you scared me," Lydia whispered.
"Here, kitty-kitty," Batibat called, who had been following Salem. Lydia stood up and quickly went into the kitchen, grabbing Hilda's baking timer on her way out.
Lydia hurried and went downstairs into the embalming room. She set the bottle of foxglove and the timer down on one of the tables. She got up onto one of the gurneys. Muertos meowed at her.
"I'm gonna hide right under her nose. It's kind of risky, but I have a plan, and I'm gonna need your help," Lydia told them, "I'm going to cast a glamor spell on Salem so that he'll look like me. I'll lay on this table with a sheet over me, so I look like a dead person. Now, hopefully, you'll be able to distract Batibat for long enough. Muertos will stay here to protect me just in case she comes back before I wake up. sounds like a plan?"
They meowed in agreement. Lydia quickly cast the spell on Salem and Muertos went and hid. Lydia laid down on the table and pulled a sheet over her. When she heard footsteps coming, she held her breath.
"Naughty girl, you should be in bed," she heard Batibat say.
Lydia heard more footsteps, and then, "Oh, you can run, but you cannot escape me!"
Once it was quiet enough, Lydia sat up and grabbed the foxglove.
"A gin-clear mind, self-induced sleep, and clear intent," Lydia said, repeating Ms. Wardwell's words. She opened the bottle, staring at the dropper.
"Now or never," she muttered. Lydia dropped a bit of foxglove onto her tongue, then quickly put the lid back on the bottle, setting it on the table. She picked up the timer and set it for two minutes and thirty seconds.
She put the timer back on the table, then laid down and waited to fall asleep.
─ ༓ ─
Lydia was in the kitchen. Zelda sat on the floor by the table.
"Aunt Zelda!" Lydia exclaimed. She ran over and kneeled on the ground by her aunt, who was sobbing.
"Lydia!" Zelda cried, "I was always so cruel to her! Now she's gone!"
"What? Who's gone?" Lydia asked. Zelda turned around, and Lydia then saw who she was talking about. Hilda's body sat in the corner, blood all around her. Zelda faced her niece again, her making streaking down her face.
"I killed her! And now, she's never coming back!" Zelda told her.
"Aunt Zelda, I know this looks really bad but this is just a nightmare, none of it's real," Lydia tried to explain, "Remember the sleep demon? We're trapped, and Hilda is alive and she's right next to you. I'm running out of time and I need your help, Aunt Zee. I need to defeat the demon and I can't do it on my own. I need you to help me, please!"
"My only sister!" Zelda sobbed. She turned around and began to crawl towards Hilda's body, "And I treated her like hell-rot!"
"Shit," Lydia muttered, "I have to go Aunt Zee, but I promise, I'll fix this!"
Lydia got up and ran out of the kitchen. She headed towards the parlor, where the on-site funeral services were typically held. In the front of the room was a box, and she heard screaming coming from inside.
"HELP! PLEASE, LET ME OUT!"
"Sabrina?" Lydia asked. She went over to the box and saw, through a hole, her sister's eyes.
"Lydia! Please, help me, please let me out!" Sabrina yelled. Lydia held back tears.
"I'm so sorry, I don't have time," Lydia explained.
"What? Why? Please!" Sabrina cried. Lydia's feet felt wet, and when she looked down she saw she was standing in a puddle of blood, flowing from the box. She looked back at her sister.
"Look, this isn't real, it's all a nightmare. Remember, there was a sleep demon and it's trapped you here, and I need your help. I need help on how to defeat it," Lydia quickly explained.
"I don't know, I'm sorry! Ask Zelda or Hilda or Ambrose. But please, you have to let me out!" Sabrina begged. Lydia shook her head.
"I can't, I don't have time. But I promise, I'm going to get you out of here, I promise, just hold on a little bit longer!" Lydia told her. She turned around to look for Hilda and Ambrose, and it took everything in her to not turn around and help her sister, who was still calling out for her.
Next, Lydia entered the living room, where Hilda was on the ground, pushing Zelda away from her.
"Aunt Hilda! Satan, what did she do to you?" Lydia asked. She kneeled next to them, and then saw that her aunts had been sewn together. She did her best not to get sick at the sight.
"Lydia! You have to cut me free!" Hilda begged.
"Aunt Hilda, this isn't real, it's just a nightmare! Remember, there was a sleep demon, and now she's torturing you," Lydia explained.
"A sleep demon?" Hilda asked.
"Yes! It's Batibat, and as much as I'd love to sit here and chat about it, I have about 50 seconds until I wake up. Do you know how I might be able to stop her?" Lydia quickly asked.
"A demon? Uh — uh — she's the embodiment of nightmares, isn't she, Batibat?" Hilda asked her. Lydia shrugged.
"Lydia, you have to be clever, you have to trap her," Hilda said.
"But how? Can you tell me?" Lydia questioned.
"I can't — uh — yes! Lydia, what is a nightmare, but a dream gone bad? A dream gone sour? You have to trap a nightmare the same way you trap a dream," Hilda said, still struggling with Zelda, "Oh! My familiars can help!"
"The spiders?" Lydia asked, Hilda nodded. Lydia thanked her aunt, then got up and ran out of the room.
"Don't leave me with her!" Hilda called, but Lydia was already gone.
Finally, she went down to the embalming room, where she found Ambrose, who was standing over a dead version of himself and cutting into him.
"Satan, Ambrose," Lydia said. Both Ambroses turned to face her.
"Cousin?" they asked.
"Look, long story short, there's a keep demon loose in the house named Batibat. None of this is real, it's just a dream," Lydia explained.
"It is?" the Ambroses asked.
"Yes, and I need your help to defeat it," Lydia said.
"Tell me what to do," the Ambroses told her. They glared at each other, "Shut up, you!"
"Just distract her, keep her busy for as long as you can."
"The sleep demon?" the Ambroses asked. Lydia nodded.
"Also, this is disgusting," she added.
─ ༓ ─
The timer went off and Lydia sat up. She quickly grabbed it and turned it off, praying that Batibat hadn't heard it. Muertos meowed at her, and Lydia nodded.
"I know what I need to do now," she told him, "Come on."
She got off the gurney and ran up the stairs. She checked to make sure that Batibat wasn't anywhere nearby, then quickly ran to the kitchen, grabbed Hilda's spiders off one of the shelves, and then ran through the foyer and into the living room.
Lydia set the spiders on one of the tables and then started looking through the drawers to find some yarn. When she did, she grabbed as much as she could and then stood by the window. She opened it and then turned around so she would be able to see Batibat enter the room. She held the yarn behind her back and waited.
"Here, little girl," Batibat called. Lydia gulped. Batibat appeared just outside the doorway to the living room a few moments later.
"Oh, Lydia," Batibat said, "Oh, child. This little game has come to an end."
Batibat began to walk closer. Lydia slowly began to walk towards her, as well. Batibat saw the spiders on the table.
"You think those spiders can save you?" Batibat asked, "Not even the Dark Lord can save you!"
Lydia slowly breathed in and out. She now held the yarn in front of her and remembered the spell that Zelda had used to try and trap Batibat earlier. She remembered some of the incantations that were in Ambrose's book. She began to say the words.
"Turpis et infernis in terris pariunt.
Et furantur verba haec locutus sum vobis laetitia.
Punctum baculus parit malediction.
Adiuro vos tamen hoc graecas munus."
As she said the incantation, spiders crawled from everywhere and to the doorway where Batibat stood. Lydia twisted the yarn in her hands as she spoke. The spiders shot webs out at Batibat, trapping her.
"Dream catchers don't trap dreams, Batibat," Lydia said, a smirk on her face, "They trap nightmares. Sometimes the oldest, simplest magic works best. And you said the spiders couldn't save me."
A couple of minutes later, Lydia heard her family calling her name.
"Lydia! 'Di!" Sabrina called.
"I'm in the living room!" Lydia yelled. She heard footsteps.
"Oh, Satan, what happened here?" Zelda asked. Lydia assumed they were standing on the other side of the doorway, but she couldn't see through all the webs the spiders spun around Batibat.
"That's the sleep demon! I'd appreciate it if someone could find a more permanent trap for her, my hands are a little tied up at the moment!" Lydia yelled.
Ten minutes later, Lydia sat at the kitchen table, where Hilda was bandaging the scratch from Batibat on her cheek. Ambrose sat down next to her on the bench and Sabrina sat in her chair to Lydia's left. Zelda was closing the lid on the mason jar that now contained Batibat.
"Not as intricate as an Acheron Configuration, but a jam jar will do just as well," Zelda said, leaning back in her chair.
"How does it feel now," Hilda asked once she had finished bandaging Lydia's cheek.
"Better. Thanks, Aunt Hilda," Lydia told her. Hilda smiled, patting the girl on the top of her head before sitting down in her chair. The five Spellmans sat in silence, staring at the tea Hilda had made for them.
"I, um —" Zelda started. Lydia looked up at her.
"I owe you an apology, Lydia," Zelda said. Lydia tried to hide her shock, "When you came to me, in my dream, I was lily-liveried. Hysterical. Cowardly."
"It was just a dream, Aunt Zee," Lydia said, trying to comfort her, "It was a terrible, terrible dream."
"So you — you walked through all of our dreams, then?" Hilda asked. Lydia bit her lip and nodded her head.
"Uh, yeah," Lydia answered. Everyone stared at her. She gulped.
"I — I can't really remember them though," Lydia quickly stammered out, "There was a lot going on, so it's really all just a blur."
"Just a blur," Hilda muttered.
Once again, they silently drank their tea. Lydia's eyes never left the jar.
As soon as she could, Lydia ran upstairs and flopped onto her bed. Sabrina entered a couple of minutes later.
"You remember, don't you?" Sabrina asked. Lydia sat up and looked at her sister, who was still in the doorway. She nodded.
"I'm sorry I left you," Lydia told her, "I didn't want to, I wanted to help you, but O didn't have time."
"I know," Sabrina said, "It's okay. I probably would've done the same, if I was in your shoes."
Sabrina went and sat on her bed. The twins faced each other.
"How did you get out of the dream, anyways?" Sabrina asked.
"Well, in my dream I was in the bathroom at school and then Ms. Wardwell came and told me I was dreaming, and —" Lydia cut herself off.
In all of the commotion, Lydia had forgotten that Ms. Wardwell had been the one to wake her up, that she was the one who told her Batibat's name. She looked at her sister.
"Ms. Wardwell knew Batibat's name, and that we were trapped by a demon. She was able to wake me up."
The twins stared at each other for a minute, and then silently agreed to go to Ms. Wardwell's house straight away. They put on their shoes, grabbed their jackets, and then snuck out of the house, still in their pajamas.
They were silent as they walked, but Lydia had to tell Sabrina something.
"I don't really know what happened in your dream, just so you know. But I won't tell anyone what I saw," Lydia told her.
"I know," Sabrina replied, "Thank you."
It took them about fifteen minutes to walk there, and when they arrived, Lydia pounded on the door. When Ms. Wardwell opened it, Lydia was glaring daggers at her.
"Lydia, Sabrina. Why, it's the middle of the night. What can I do for you? Oh my, Lydia, what happened to your cheek?" she asked. Lydia slightly tilted her head to the side.
"Don't play dumb. I want to know the truth," Lydia demanded, "Who are you, and what are you?"
Ms. Wardwell paused, and then moved out of her doorway.
"You'd better sit down, then."
The twins shared a glance, and then entered the house.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
WORDS: 6,977
REWRITTEN: february 2024
EDITED: april 2024
AUTHOR'S NOTE! i remember when i wrote this chapter that i was really excited for it. lydia's nightmare isn't that she hated sabrina or anything, it's that she'll always love in her shadow. sabrina was always the "perfect" twin in a way, in the sense that she was more confident in herself and that made her more likable. lydia loves sabrina, but she doesn't want to always be the other one, you know?
when the text is in the middle, it means that there's something supernatural going on. supernatural isn't the right word for it but whatever lol. when ms. wardwell goes into lydia's dream and when lydia later goes into her family's dreams, their words are in normal text when everything else is in italics, showing that they know this is not reality.
i don't know why i felt the need to explain that lol. but i hope you all enojoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day!!
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