Belief In The Occult

Nineteen

When Maci opened the front door and walked into the manor, she was surprised to see the three other wards, as well as Elita in the living room. They all appeared concerned or worried, which only fueled her confusion.

Pink dress swishing around her knees and sneakers leaving smudges of blood on the floor, she walked into the living room, but made sure not to get on the rug.

"What'd I miss?"

Fable looked up, and smiled nervously, voice cracking when she spoke "Oh uh, hi Maci. We got a new charge Monday, a poltergeist. Last night when he was out something... happened. Now he's missing and the others are looking for him."

She pouted, "Aw! That's terrible! I want to go help look!"

Elita stood up quickly, "No, that's alright Maci, the others are working on it and his mentor has been called. For now why don't you go change? You're covered in blood."

Maci looked down at her dress, as of only just now remembering, and giggled, "Oh, yeah! You're totally right. See you guys in a bit!" She then turned and bounded up the stairs, heading for her room.

It didn't take Maci long to get cleaned up, but she regarded the dress sadly. No way all those bits of gore would come out. She'd have to remember to change if she was wearing something she liked before she answered a summoning in the future.

She checked her phone, which she usually left on silent during summonings (things could get very busy, and Ramsey always said she should have her full focus), and frowned as she noticed she had a missed call from that very trickster. Just as she was registering this, it began buzzing again, her uncle's name lighting up the screen. She pressed accept, and put the phone to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Remember Varick's little charge, the one you were supposed to meet when you got done with your summoning?" He said.

"Uh-huh, Kodiak! You said he's a ghost and-"

Ramsey, familiar with his niece's ability to ramble off any little detail she remembered, cut her off, "Good, great, glad you remember, Varick and I are at that abandoned house I also mentioned, and Kodiak needs your help over here."

Maci gasped and wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder as she started to pull her shoes on as quickly as possible, "OK! Tell him I'll be right there!" And before Ramsey could answer she hung up then sprinted out of her room.

A few minutes later, the young demon in a skirt with short, colorful hair was running up the drive as well, having arrived from the summoning circle hidden in the woods. She pulled to a stop next to Ramsey and varick, but only through a miracle of self control.

"He's in the attic, most likely." Varick began, looking entirely too stiff to be anything but forced calmness, "Ramsey believes that your aura will counteract his, so I need you to go inside and calm him down, as he may be injured."

She hardly let Varick finish before she was running across the grass, bounding up the porch. She paused in the doorway suddenly, flinching back as she felt something like freezerburn the second her skin got too close. She hummed curiously, but easily activated her own. Maci's aura was different from the one that currently drowned the house. It was red hot, like angry blood, high energy, the rush of adrenaline in your ears, of hate hate hate in your heart, a need for vengeance so strong and bloodthirsty it could consume you. She used it a bit like a space heater.

Starting forwards again, she went up into the attic like Varick had suggested. The closer she got, the louder the crying was, and Maci could feel her heart break.

The new entity was sitting on the floor, knees up to his chest and face hidden in his hands. Kneeling down beside him, Maci wrapped her arms around the new entity and pulled him into a hug. To her surprise, all at once, his aura vanished and he went limp, passing out cold.

His hands were still resting against his face so Maci didn't attempt to move them, just gently rested her cheek against the top of his head and pet his hair soothingly, though it broke her heart to see and hear her new friend so distressed. She would find out who hurt him like this and make them worse! Maci was good at revenge, it was what she had been made for.