ACT I — CHAPTER XIX
Lɪᴍʙᴏ

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

After arriving home from the Kinkle's, the twins immediately headed up to Ambrose's room. Sabrina hit Ambrose's books while Lydia fell onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

An hour later, Lydia could hear footsteps approaching, probably Ambrose's.

"Lydia, Ambrose, I figured it out," Sabrina said, "It's something called soul separation. We brought back Tommy's body, but not his soul. It's trapped in —"

Lydia sat up the moment Sabrina stopped talking. Her eyes widened when she saw Hilda standing in the doorway instead of Ambrose.

"Ambrose is in the basement, tending to the corpses, which have started to smell rather ripely," Hilda said, walking closer to them.

"Auntie Hilda, I can explain everything —"

"Oh, no. Your cousin already did that, in great detail," Hilda said, cutting Sabrina off, "You lied to me. You both lied to me. You did the one thing I told you not to do. Incorrectly to boot."

"I didn't do anything! I told her not to do it," Lydia argued, putting her hands up in exasperation. Sabrina glared at her, and it was then that Lydia noticed that Sabrina was crying.

"I couldn't bear to see Harvey suffer like that, and I think I can fix this entire situation. I just have to put Tommy's soul back in his body," Sabrina explained, turning back to Hilda.

"It's too late!" Hilda yelled.

"No, it's not! Roz said she had a vision of Tommy lost in foggy woods, and that she heard a baby crying. That's Limbo! Tommy's in Limbo!" Sabrina told her, holding the book she had in front of Hilda's face, "It's where the souls of unbaptized babies go when they perish, or the souls of people who died before their time. I just need to get there and retrieve Tommy's soul."

"You know, that is the second stupidest plan I've ever heard, second only to your plan to bring Tommy back, of course," Lydia said. If Sabrina was looking at her, Lydia knew she would be glaring.

"Will you help me?" Sabrina asked, ignoring her sister.

Lydia saw her aunt look between her and Sabrina. Hilda was crying, too, or at least trying not to.

"First of all, may I say, there are two limbos, Sabrina. One for witches, one for mortals. Tommy Kinkle is in Mortal Limbo. And it is simply impossible for witches to cross over into Mortal Limbo," Hilda explained.

"But I'm not a witch, I'm a half-witch, which means I can cross over."

"You're assuming? Because meanwhile, the witch that you killed and brought back to life is getting sicker and sicker. That's the Grim Reaper doing it to her. He expects a body. Her suffering won't end until there's one in the ground, until balance is restored. There's no fixing it, Sabrina. You've opened Pandora's Box."

"Satan, Sabrina," Lydia mumbled, putting her head in her hands.

"What? Are you just going to sit over there and judge me and act all high and mighty?" Sabrina asked. Lydia rubbed a hand over her face.

"I'm not acting all high and mighty. I'm just pissed and I'm tired. I'm pissed because I told you not to do it and you did it anyway. I'm tired because I know I'm going to have to help your dumbass get out of this situation, just like always!" Lydia spat.

"Just like always? Is this about the Feast of Feasts? If I remember correctly, you were pretty on board with the idea!"

"This isn't about the Feast of Feasts! It's about —"

"Guys!" Ambrose called, walking into the room, "There's something you need to see. In the embalming room."

They all went down the stairs and into the embalming room. The bodies of the miners each laid on a table. Ambrose pulled back the sheet covering one of the bodies.

"That wound. And that one," Ambrose said, pointing to each of the wounds. Lydia looked at them, scrunching her eyebrows.

"They look like bitemarks," Lydia thought aloud.

"That's because they are," Ambrose told her, "These teeth, they're —"

"Human," Sabrina said, looking grimly down at the body. Lydia gulped.

"Yep. Taking a guess, I think, that's why Tommy hasn't eaten. He isn't hungry. Yet," Ambrose explained.

"Harvey," Sabrina breathed out. Lydia sighed.

"Well, isn't this just peachy? We got a cannibal on the loose," Lydia said. Sabrina left the room and headed upstairs.

"You two and your knack for trouble," Hilda muttered, before going upstairs as well. Lydia stood, looking at the body with Ambrose.

"I'm scared," Lydia said suddenly.

"Why?" Ambrose questioned. Lydia shrugged.

"I don't know. A lot of things," she began, "I want to help Sabrina get out of this, I actually do. But — it's like, my whole life I feel like I've just followed Sabrina around like a lost puppy or something. And I'm getting better at that, I think. Like, I didn't help with her plan. But everyone's still blaming me. It's like no one can see me opposing Sabrina. And I'm scared that I'll never be able to break away from her. And that I'll never be as good as her. Or that no one likes me as much as Sabrina, or —"

"Lydia. You need to calm down," Ambrose said, "If what you're trying to say is that Zelda, Hilda, and I don't love you as much as we love Sabrina, then you're wrong. And we don't just see you as some Sabrina follower. You're my cousin, you're like my sister. I love you, and I'm sorry if I don't say it enough."

Lydia nodded. She hadn't realized that she was crying. Ambrose walked over to her and hugged her, which Lydia really appreciated. She hadn't meant to say all of that, but a part of her was glad she did.

"SABRINA! LYDIA!"

The cousins pulled apart, fearful looks on their faces.

"I'm guessing Zelda has found out," Ambrose said. Lydia gulped, her breathing increasing rapidly.

"The day of reckoning is upon us," Lydia whispered. Ambrose smiled.

"Nice to hear one last joke before we die," he replied. That made Lydia smile as well.

"LYDIA! AMBROSE!"

The cousins each exchanged one last wary look before heading upstairs. They entered the foyer, where they saw Hilda and an angry Zelda.

"An explanation, Lydia?" Zelda spat. Lydia felt frozen.

"I — I, uh —"

"It's not her fault," Ambrose cut in, "Lydia told her not to do it. Sabrina didn't listen."

Lydia was grateful that Ambrose was now defending her. Perhaps confessing her deepest fears had some benefits.

"Then we'll hear the story straight from her."

Sabrina had gone to Harvey's, presumably to make sure Tommy hadn't eaten him. Zelda forced them all to wait in the foyer. Currently, she was pacing at the top of the stairs, Hilda was sitting on the bottom of the steps, and Lydia and Ambrose sat by each other on some chairs by the wall. Sabrina came home after nearly half an hour of uncomfortable silence.

"Aunties?" Sabrina called, entering the house, "Are you here? I need —"

"I frankly don't care what you need, Sabrina. But I'll tell you what I do need. An explanation for why a Spellman was practicing on a mortal boy in Greendale!" Zelda interrupted.

"She knows everything, love," Hilda explained, as if it wasn't obvious.

"And why, in Satan's name, she would drag other witches into her reckless, stupid, selfish plans?" Zelda continued.

"I did it for Harvey," Sabrina said.

"Did you? And tell me, did he ask you to do it?" Zelda asked, "No, because no one in their right mind would do what you did! How did you even know what spell to use? I'm assuming Ambrose didn't give it to you —"

"I didn't," Ambrose affirmed.

"Actually, I can answer this one. It was that lying bitch, Ms. Wardwell," Lydia said.

"She gave it to you?" Zelda asked.

"Well, no. Sabrina took it from her office, but in her defense, Ms. Wardwell basically gave her a map that led right to it," Lydia told her.

"Oh, so your sister's a thief, as well as a murderer," Zelda scoffed, walking down the stairs.

"Murderer?" Sabrina questioned.

"You killed a witch, didn't you?"

"Just for a few minutes!"

"This is not a joke, Sabrina! You've thrown off the balance!"

"Not me, Agatha and Dorcas! They killed Tommy!" Sabrina argued, "This wasn't some natural disaster — I was undoing what witches did!"

"All you did was make things worse!" Zelda screamed.

"I'm going to fix this. I'm going to save Tommy," Sabrina said.

"Fix what?" Zelda questioned, "There's nothing to fix, and he can't be saved! It's done, Sabrina. He belongs in the ground and that's where he's going!"

"Not if I pass into Mortal Limbo and bring his soul back. I'm half-mortal, I can go there," Sabrina argued. Zelda walked up to her, now fully down the stairs.

"If you what?" Zelda asked.

"I just need someone to anchor me here on the physical plane," Sabrina explained. Lydia thought that Zelda was going to explode.

"Sabrina, I have just spent the very last of my credibility with the High Priest begging, begging, him to let us clean up your mess, to take care of this atrocity ourselves, to save our family in the eyes of the coven!" Zelda screamed, "We are standing in a grave, young lady, all of us, and you want to dig it deeper?"

"I don't care about the High Priest, Aunt Zee! I care about what's right. And about Harvey. And his brother. I'm going to cross over."

"You're not capable of the magic required to cross the barrier!"

"You don't know what I'm capable of!"

"You're a sixteen-year-old child, not some grand magus!"

"And you're not my mother, Zelda, so stop acting like you are!"

"Oy! You do not speak to your Aunt Zelda like that! Not ever!" Hilda yelled, walking over to them.

"Oh, shit," Lydia said, receiving looks from everyone in the room, "Sorry."

"It's fine, Hilda. You heard her," Zelda said, surprisingly calm, "She's not a child, and I'm not her mother. She's a grown-up witch now, and it's time she learned how the world, the realms, really work. Everything has a price. Edward learned that lesson. I learned it. It's your turn now. Try to save the mortal, even if it rips the membrane to pieces. But don't pretend it's not for selfish reasons. And don't come crying to me when it all blows up in your face."

Sabrina gulped. As Zelda began to walk away, Lydia stood up, "I'll go get my coat."

Zelda stopped in her tracks, whipping around to face her.

"Oh, so you're going to join her on this suicide mission?" Zelda questioned, "Of course you are. I should've seen it coming. All you have ever done is follow Sabrina around like some lost puppy. So, go! Follow your sister to your deaths."

"Shut up!" Lydia yelled, tears prickling in her eyes, "You want to talk about what I've done? All you have ever done is criticize me! You have compared me to Sabrina my entire life, judged me for every decision. Heaven, you even judged me for Muertos' name!"

Zelda seemed taken aback, not expecting Lydia's outburst.

"I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you, I really am. And, believe it or not, I know that Sabrina's plan is incredibly stupid, but I am not going stand by and let her die. Can you say the same?"

When no response came, Lydia walked to the coat rack and grabbed her jacket, leaving the house. She waited for Sabrina to join her outside.

"I'm not helping you because I think your plan is smart, I'm helping you because you are my sister," Lydia said, her arms crossed, "I would follow you into the Ninth Circle of Hell if you asked me to. In all honestly, I don't think that you would to the same. But you are my sister. For me, it's been me and you since the beginning. If you're going down, I'm going down with you."

Sabrina simply nodded. Lydia walked down the porch steps. She knew deep down that she shouldn't be helping Sabrina, but when Zelda said the thing about her membrane collapsing, she knew she couldn't let her go alone.

Sabrina followed her down the steps.

"So, what's the first step of your game plan?" Lydia asked as they walked down the driveway.

"We'll go to Ms. Wardwell's. See if she'll be able to help us," Sabrina said.

"Of course," Lydia muttered.

"I would do the same for you," Sabrina said, "I'd follow you anywhere. I just wanted to make sure that you knew."

Lydia didn't say anything. She wasn't really convinced. But, she knew that it didn't matter, because Lydia would still die for Sabrina, or at least die with her.

─ ༓ ─

"We need your help, Ms. Wardwell."

The twins had walked Wardwell's house and now stood outside her door, with Sabrina begging for help. Wardwell invited them in and sat them down while she prepared tea. Sabrina told her her plan as Lydia stared into the fireplace, watching the flames dance.

"I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry I stole The Book of the Dead from your office, but I'm not sorry for what I did," Sabrina said, "I mean, how could I sit by and watch Harvey suffer without trying to do something?"

"I understand," Wardwell admitted, "We've all done, unspeakable things to help the ones we love. But, girls, Limbo, mortal or witch, is a realm at the edge of death. The souls trapped there are lost in ways we can't understand. Hunted by a monstrosity, a — a soul-eater that devours those it catches. Are you certain you want to take the risk in going there?"

The twins exchanged a glance. Lydia gulped.

"Harvey would do it for me in a heartbeat," Sabrina said, and Lydia did her best not to roll her eyes.

"In that case, I — I know a threshold. A portal, deep in the woods. But we'll have to tread lightly and quickly, girls. The very slightest mistake could spell disaster for the two of you and poor Mr. Kinkle's brother," Wardwell told them.

Once again, the twins exchanged a look. Lydia did not know that they would be facing a man-eating thing. It made her wish that she had read Ambrose's book earlier. As Lydia looked at Sabrina, she could see that her sister's eyes were telling her that now was the time for her to leave. If she stayed after this, she would be in it for the long haul. Lydia nodded her head.

Wardwell stood up, the twins following. They grabbed their coats, which they had left hanging on the door, and the three of them left the house.

Lydia and Sabrina trailed behind Wardwell as she led them deep into the woods. They walked for at least twenty minutes before they ended up in a clearing, where a giant arch made of sticks and branches stood.

"Now, both of you give me your wrists. So I don't lose track of you," Wardwell instructed.

Lydia and Sabrina each stuck one of their wrists out. Wardwell pulled a spool of string out of her pocket and tied it around the twins' wrists.

"Tug on it three times when you're heading back and then I'll open the portal on this side. Understand?" Wardwell asked. The twins both nodded.

"Thank you, Ms. Wardwell," the twins said, together.

"Well, not at all, girls. Now, recite the words."

"Wait, what words?" Lydia asked, confused.

"I found them in Ambrose's book," Sabrina explained, before turning to face the archway.

"Redi ad periculum tuum."

Immediately, fog began to come out of the arch. Screams could be heard from within. The twins looked back at Wardwell, who was urging them on. Then, they looked at each other. Sabrina took Lydia's hand in hers, and they slowly went into the archway.

─ ༓ ─

The screams stopped as soon as the twins were fully inside. The fog was so thick that Lydia couldn't even see five feet in front of her. The only thing keeping her sane was the string on her wrist and Sabrina's hand holding hers.

A baby's cry could be heard, just as Roz had described it. There was a bright light in the distance, which allowed Lydia to see shadows walking around in the fog. She could faintly hear something growl.

"Tommy!" Sabrina called out. Lydia breathed shakily, hoping her yells wouldn't attract the monster.

"Tommy!" Sabrina called again. What Lydia had believed to be just shadows were actually people, but they were all shapes, empty people with no discernible features.

They continued to walk. There was no sign of Tommy anywhere. Suddenly, a woman began walking up to them. Lydia took a step back, but froze once she saw who the woman was.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Lydia asked. The blonde woman stared at them, confused.

"Who are you?" Diana asked.

"Mom, it's us, Sabrina and Lydia," Sabrina told her.

"Sabrina? Lydia?" Diana questioned, shaking her head, "No, Sabrina and Lydia were my babies, and they were baptized. Only unbaptized babies go to Limbo."

"Mom, I swear that it's really us," Lydia said.

"But they took them. They took my babies after the baptism."

"Who did?" the twins asked, simultaneously. The growling Lydia had heard earlier grew louder, "Are you okay?"

"The witches are coming," Diana whispered. The growl sounded as if it was right next to them.

"What's that?" Sabrina asked.

"The soul-eater," Diana answered, "Don't let him get you! Save yourselves!"

With that, Diana ran off into the fog. The twins looked at each other, before running off in the opposite direction as their mother. By this point, Lydia had forgotten all about Tommy Kinkle — all she could think about was the monster that was possibly chasing them.

More people seemed to appear around them.

"Sabrina? Lydia?"

The twins turned around to see Tommy Kinkle, stumbling towards them through the fog.

"Tommy! Tommy, we have to go," Sabrina told him, grabbing his arm with her free hand.

"Where are we? I was in the mines —"

"Tommy, everything is gonna be all right, but we have to go!" Sabrina yelled.

A scream in the distance could be heard, followed by growls. Lydia tensed.

"We have to go!" Lydia cried, pulling on Sabrina's hand.

The three of them were running through the woods, following the string. Lydia did her best to block out the screams of the souls around her being devoured.

"Ms. Wardwell! We've got Tommy!" Sabrina called. They all stopped, and Sabrina began tugging on the string, "Open the portal!"

Suddenly, the string snapped, flying towards them. The twins looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Another scream, much closer than the previous ones could be heard.

Lydia turned around to face the way that she believed that they had come in. She had no plan, other than to beg, and hope that something, or someone, was on their side.

"HEAR ME, SPIRITS OF THE DEAD,
AND REVEAL THE PORTAL!
HELP US TO PASS THROUGH
WITH THIS BRAVE MORTAL!"

At first, nothing happened, and Lydia feared that her spell hadn't worked, that no one was listening, and that they would die in Limbo. Then, the fog cleared away, revealing the same archway as before.

The three of them quickly ran towards it, and Lydia entered, but not before hearing another scream right next to them, this time the distinct scream of a man.

─ ༓ ─

Lydia and Sabrina appeared on the other side of the portal. Lydia turned to her left, expecting to see Tommy Kinkle, but instead saw just a hand, grasping Sabrina's, disappearing.

"No, no, no!" Sabrina cried, turning to look at Wardwell, "We have to go back in there! We found Tommy once, we can find him again!"

Sabrina began to tug Lydia back through the archway before Wardwell yelled, "No, you can't! From what we just saw, it seems the soul-eater's gotten him."

"What does that mean?" Lydia asked, but she already knew the answer.

"You know what it means."

Tommy had been right there. Lydia had seen him, heard him speak. They had been so close, but not close enough.

"But I promised Harvey I'd fix this," Sabrina cried.

"You still can," Wardwell replied, "Painful, but there's one path left for you to follow."

Lydia knew what this meant. To tell Harvey that they were witches, that Tommy wasn't really Tommy, that the Tommy he had needed to die.

"But if I tell him —"

"If your love is true, he'll understand," Wardwell said.

Lydia bit her lip. It was an impossible decision, and while she felt bad for Sabrina, she was glad that it wasn't her decision to make. Sabrina nodded, and walked back into the woods, dragging Lydia with her.

The walk was silent. Lydia couldn't think of anything to say that could possibly make Sabrina feel better.

As they neared the house, Lydia was surprised to see Thomas Loher, along with Nick, Prudence, and Dorcas.

"What are you doing here?" Lydia asked.

"Father Blackwood sent Prudence and Dorcas here to kill the Kinkle boy," Thomas explained, "But Nick and I decided to leave it in the Spellmans' hands. You ever heard of that old catching spell? Drive a spike through a witch's footprint and she'll be rooted to the spot until you pull up the spike."

"Thank you," Lydia said, seeing the spikes Thomas and Nick had put down behind Prudence and Dorcas. Sabrina walked past them and into Harvey's house.

"What's up with her?" Thomas asked.

"I think she and Harvey are going to break up," Lydia admitted.

"You think so?" Nick questioned, his voice hopeful.

"Seriously?" Lydia asked. Nick shrugged, and Lydia sighed, "Look, I've had a very long day, I just got back from Limbo, and —"

"You went to Limbo?"

"Thomas, I really don't want to talk about it."

After that, they all stood in silence. Not even Prudence or Dorcas said any snide remarks. Lydia truly felt bad for Sabrina, and even though this whole idea was stupid, she knew that her sister only did it because she cared.

A little while later, Sabrina walked out of the house. Lydia went up to her.

"Sabrina, are you —"

A gunshot went off, cutting Lydia's sentence short. Tommy Kinkle was truly dead.

"Is it done, then?" Prudence asked.

Sabrina kept walking.

"It's done," Lydia answered, turning to go catch up to her sister.

"Sabrina, I —"

"You what?" Sabrina spat, spinning around. Tears were streaming down her face, but she looked angrier than ever, "You're going to tell me how stupid this whole thing was? Well, I don't want to hear it. I know it was!"

"I wasn't going to say that, I just wanted to say I was sorry!" Lydia told her. Sabrina scoffed.

"You're sorry? It's like I said earlier, you act all high and mighty, but you would do the same thing if it were Susie instead of Harvey! I mean, you already did with Principal Hawthorne and the spiders!"

"Wait, who's Susie?" Thomas asked, coming up behind Lydia.

"Susie is the mortal that Lydia has been so strung up on for forever. She's been leading you on this entire time when she's been in love with Susie for two years!" Sabrina answered.

Lydia couldn't stop the tears that began to fall down her face.

"What is wrong with you?" she questioned, and it was then that Sabrina realized what she said. Her face dropped.

"Lydia, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to —"

"No! What the heaven is your problem! I — I was trying to comfort you, make you feel better! I went into Limbo for you, and you think now I would choose to chastise you?"

"It just slipped out, 'Di, please —"

"I said no! Leave me alone!"

Lydia walked away, ignoring the calls of Thomas behind her. She could hear Sabrina trudging along behind her.

How could Sabrina do that? She knew that Lydia wasn't ready for people to know, that it would be something she'd say in her own time. Now, two of the Weird Sisters knew, so it was safe to assume that Agatha would know as well soon enough. Nick would probably tell some of his other friends at the Academy.

And Thomas. Lydia didn't know what to think about Thomas knowing. She didn't want him to stop talking to her; Lydia actually enjoyed talking to him, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

The twins reached home, with Zelda waiting for them on the porch. Lydia stormed past her, ignoring her aunt's calls. She immediately went upstairs to Ambrose's room, lightly knocking on his door.

"Come in!" he called. Lydia opened the door. Upon seeing his cousin's tear-streaked face, Ambrose walked over to her.

"What happened?" he asked. Lydia began to sob.

"Tommy's — Tommy's dead, and Sabrina — she outed me to the Weird Sisters and Nick and Thomas and I hate her! I really hate her!" Lydia could barely breathe between her cries.

For the second time that night, Ambrose pulled his cousin in for a hug. Lydia cried as he rubbed her back, telling her that everything would be alright, that she didn't really hate Sabrina, that tomorrow was a new day.

Maybe she was overreacting. Lydia didn't know. All she knew was that she was tired, and that she never wanted to talk to Sabrina again.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

REWRITTEN: march 2024
EDITED: november 2024
WORDS: 4,255

AUTHOR'S NOTE! hello :) sabrina outing lydia?? still crazy stuff even two and a half years after i originally wrote it. i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! happy early thanksgiving if you celebrate!!