Belief In The Occult

Eighteen

Kodiak re-materialized in the foyer, his hands flattened over his face. Heaven and Hell, this hurt this hurt this hurt, more than when he had been punched in the face with iron and gotten his nose broken, more than anything this hurt.

He must have made some noise when he landed in the foyer, because he heard a pair of shoes skid on the tile, a quiet curse that could have been Zophie or Fable, then the sound of someone running off. Kodiak didn't so much as twitch from where he was crouched, elbows tucked between his knees and his cold hands applying as much pressure as possible against his burning face. The light fixtures around him were rattling.

His ears were ringing so loudly he hardly heard it when two more people approached him. If the second set of footsteps hadn't been so plainly recognizable as Faust's from the way they thundered against the tile, Kodiak would have been completely unaware someone was coming back.

"Kodiak boy, what is it? Are ye hurt?" Faust asked, Kodiak could feel him reaching under his arms to feel his chest and stomach, where the mortal's blood was, and recoiled, but Faust just as quickly realized the blood wasn't Kodiak's own. "Lad, show me your face." he instructed quickly. Kodiak responded by pressing his hands down even harder and tucking his head between his knees.

A large hand grabbed the back of his neck. "Get Dr. Cobalt now lass, he might be burned." The second set of footsteps retreated quickly. Kodiak heard Faust's voice closer to his head. "I'm gonna take ye into th' sick ward alright lad? But once we get there, yer gonna have to show us yer face."

Faust flinched back when the only response he received was a wordless wail. Quickly, he reached forwards and lifted Kodiak off the ground, but pain began to ring his brain when the poltergeist let out a scream so loud Faust's eardrums would have burst if he as human, and every single bulb in the foyer shuddered and burst, random doors in the house slammed open or shut, and there was a sound like the universe gasping, and his arms were full of black smoke. The kid had discorporated again.

By now, the other charges and wards had come into the foyer, just in time to see Faust pressing his hands over his ears and watch the black smoke dissipate.

Kaillik set her face, "I'll check his mirror, everyone else search around the house, anywhere he could feasibly fit into I want checked." She turned to Elita, "Call his mentor." As everyone else broke off from the foyer, she approached Faust, who had recovered from the sound barrier breakage in close vicinity to his head. "Did you see what was wrong with him?"

Faust rubbed his temple as he spoke, "Nay, lad was coverin' his face, but I 'spect burns. We'll have to find the wee thing afore any corruption sets in."

Kodiak crouched in a dark corner of his attic, whispers and dark smoke filling the air around him. His breathing was too quick, too irregular, but he couldn't focus on it over the pain in his face. Why did this hurt so badly? What had she even had on her hand?

He sobbed into his palms, and his tears stung.

Varick stood outside the abandoned house at the edge of the yard, having gone there the moment he got the call, arms folded behind his back, cane in one hand. Ramsey jogged up to his side. "The hell's going on and what did you need me for?" the trickster asked, "It's the middle of the damn night."

Varick rolled his shoulders and straightened his spine, "I need you to summon your little ward. Kodiak will harm himself from exertion if he keeps this emotional tantrum up, and I am unable to move through his aura and calm him down at the same time." He explained, voice tense with something that could be mistaken for irritation.

Ramsey's eyebrows knit and he stuck a thumb towards the house, "You can't deal with his aura? What the hell is it like then?"

He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, bringing the cane around to rest on the ground. His headache, which had begun hours ago, was getting worse, and it was not aided by this sick feeling of worry in his stomach. "Go see for yourself if you must."

Casting him a dubious look, Ramsey left the drive and walked up to the house.

The trickster winced the moment he reached the edge of the house. Kodiak's aura was in short, depressing. It's purpose was to monger fear, suck the life out of you, drain hope and replace all other feelings with sorrow. It was ice cold, dark and clammy, it made the air vibrate. It was the sign of a potentially powerful entity. At this point, it was forming a kind of metaphysical barrier. No matter how your brain tried to logic around, all of your instincts screamed, "Get away don't go closer death is in there." It was impressive for his age, unfortunately, he couldn't control it to the point where it didn't affect himself.

Circling around to the front, Ramsey approached the open door, but it suddenly slammed shut and a deafening "NO!" made him jump back. He hoped the little poltergeist hadn't shouted at his mentor like that too.

Quickly, Ramsey retreated out of the range of Kodiak's aura and made his way back to Varick's side. "Yeah, I'll try and call her. If she thinks her new little friend is in there not even that buzzkill of an aura will stop her."