Cult of Two

The Eldritch Dark

It's time

The first of the Eldritch Terrors is upon us

And the Prophet said

"Let there be Darkness across the land."

***

When Sabrina slept, she usually dreamed. Ever since she was small, her unconscious mind was permeated by vibrant colors. The warm yellow of the sunshine, the pink of a fresh rose, or the familiar blue of the sky that would blend into the teal of an ocean that she had never seen.

Sometimes, her dreams were filled with memories. Playing on the playground of Baxter Elementry school, giggling with Roz in hushed voices during sleepovers, and the first brush of her lips against Harvey's. The swirls of black smoke that foretold the presence of the Weird Sisters. Her and Ambrose stealing Hilda's freshly baked cookies behind her back. Her first Black Mass sitting on Zelda's lap, followed by a play date at Theo's.

There were also memories that weren't hers. A vision of Diana, heavily pregnant, looking at a Latin tome full of witch baby names with eyes full of disdain, before perking up at the sight of one, which Edward seemed to find the same joy in before he kissed her on the cheek.

There were some dreams that felt just as tangible as memories, but just hadn't happened... yet. It could be little things like what Hilda was making for breakfast the next morning, what Zelda would be wearing for the next mass, or what book Ambrose would order next. Other times, it was more important things. Her first date, her first day at the academy, calling for Salem in the woods, falling in love with Nick, and the knowledge that her Dark Baptism would go wrong.

It was a rare form of a prophetic gift. Zelda had been pleased when she started showing the signs of it, but it never amounted to much until after she signed the Book of the Beast. By then it was too late.

But, it wasn't too late for whatever was happening now.

Everything was hazy in her dream world. It was strange since her dreams were usually as clear as the quartz crystals Zelda had given her for her fifth birthday. It looked like the whole world had been drowned in incense smoke. Everything felt as hazy as it looked. She couldn't see anything, but she could feel the cold ground beneath her bare feet.

It felt smooth, like stone. The energy felt familiar, too. The smoky fog began to clear out a path for her and pooled behind her back, insistently pushing her forward.

"Okay," she told it, "I'm going."

This was definitely different. She was completely in control of her actions. Everything seemed to be happening in real-time. In her prophetic dreams, she was guided through everything like an actress in a movie, playing a part that her heart wasn't in yet.

It felt like she walked for miles before the smoke dissipated, leaving her standing at the mouth of a cave. A familiar one. The mines, she was at the Kinkle Mines. She had never seen this specific part of it before, though. Harvey had said something about a collapse back when his grandfather was young.

There was a clanging of metal behind her, and it sent a stab of fear straight to her heart. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder only to discover that she couldn't see anything. It was too dark. A strange sense of dread filled her, reminiscent of the way she felt when she was staring at the ghosts of her dead parents on the night of her failed dark-christening.

They had told her to run.

She listened to them then. She was listening to her instincts now.