13 Ghosts: Jackal x Jasmine

Full Explanation of What's Going On

               Dropping down to my ass, groaning out, hurting and bloody all over. " Jasmine, you alright? God, what's going on here? Fucking Ghosts!" Hearing Maggie curse out, sitting down beside me, holding me close to her, stroking my hair gently. Keith slips down on the other side of me, " I tried to protect you, but i can't see and touch them like you can." Shaking my head at this, "Don't start blaming yourself." Keith scoffs, " How can i not. I mean, look at you. That bastard was aiming to kill you and i just...." Growling out, " Keith! Enough! I'm alright. Please, I can't handle that shit right now." It caused Keith to shut his mouth and look down at his lap.
          " I hate this job." Dennis complains suddenly, " They don't seem to like you either, i wonder why?" Kalina looks over at Dennis after saying that, " You got something to say, say it." Tossing down some glasses, eyeing her. " Alright, let's start with this is all your God damn fault! If you haven't caught them, we wouldn't be running from them now would we!" " it was his Uncle that built the damn house!" " Yeah, you helped him. How can you help without knowing what he was doing?!" Dennis pauses looking down before looking up at her, " i had my reasons." She spats out, " Money you parasite, You stop people's souls for money, how depraved is that?" "If you haven't noticed. I'm a little bit of a freak! I come within 10ft of anything dead i go into seizures. I touch somebody, and a whole life full of shit just flashes before my eyes. So yeah I'm depraved, but Cyrus was my friend, and he accepted me." Kalina laughs at this, " He didn't accept you! You're so pathetic, he used you!" Arthur cuts in finally, i sure as hell didn't want to be listening to any of this any longer, " Shut up, both of you, cut him some slack, what difference does it make?" Kalina looked at Arthur seeing as he didn't know, " You didn't tell him, did you?" Arthur looked at her, " Tell me what? What now?" " About the fourth ghost." Dennis frowns begging out, " Don't do this i didn't tell him, don't do this." She looked over at him slightly smirking, " He has a right to know." Arthur eyes her, "What about the fourth ghost?" Kalina answers him, " Saint Luke's Hospital, 6 months ago." A deep frown rests on my face as i looked up and over at Dennis, " You, you captured her!" Raged built up inside of me, i was about ready to swing at him but Keith slipped in front of me, " Don't be stupid, you will only injure yourself even more." His tone was so dangerous, it startled me as i quickly looked away from him, settling down. " You're saying my wife's spirit is trapped in this house?" Dennis looked at me then over at Arthur, frowning immensely, " I didn't know you guys, i didn't know her, i didn't know she had a husband. " If it wasn't for Arthur sucker punching Dennis, i would have. " Why? in God's name, why? Tell me, why her?" Dennis looks away, holding his face, " I don't know why, Cyrus hand picked them all, including your wife. I figured out who you were and I've been trying to help you." Arthur glares, " You call this help? She's right! This is all your Goddamn fault! Son of a bitch!" Maggie gently stands me to my feet and walks me to the table, holding gently onto me to keep me from falling. Kalina looks at Arthur then over at me, " You can save her, and your kids too, just listen to me and believe me. This house is not a house, it's a machine. It's a complete and faithful re-creation of Basileus's design. According to this, there should be 12 earthbound spirits trapped inside. See these?" Eyeing the pictures of the ghosts inside the book, " They represent the black zodiac. They represent the ghosts that Cyrus needed to catch: The First Born Son, The Torso, The Bound Woman, The Withered Lover. Jean..." Arthur and I place our hand gently on the page before retreating it. I could tell that Keith was finding it hard to accept that i thought of another woman as my mother, " The Torn Prince, The Angry Princess, The Pilgrimess, The Great Child and The Dire Mother, The Hammer, and here, the Sign of Hell's Winter, The Jackal." My eyes were glued on his page. ' Jackal? Mother fucker.' Glaring down at his page. Keith noticed my face as he stops Kalina from turning the page as he leans in close and studies the page, " This the fucker that attacked you?" Questioning me as he saw me nod, " Now's not the time for that, please continue Kalina." She gives me a nod before continuing, " And the Juggernaut. The machine requires the energy of these specific spirits in order to bring it to life. Once it engages, the spirits are released, one by one, The house then draws them to its center, each one adds its energy to the machine, powering it up." Arthur raised a brow, " Powering it up for what?" She continues, " To open the Ocularis Infernum. " Maggie's turn to raise a brow, " Ocularis? What's that?" Kalina looked up at her as Arthur translated it, " its Latin, Ocularis... The Eye of Hell?" Kalina continues, " In Hell, there is an eye that sees everything. The past the future, Heaven and Earth, the blessed and the damned. If knowledge is power, then the man who controls the Ocularis will be the most powerful man on Earth, your Uncle." Eyeing her as a smile was resting on her lips, i eyed her intensely before my eyes slightly widened, i didn't say anything, i wanted to make sure of it myself before I went accusing her. " And i call bullshit. No force on Earth will be able to control something like that. If the Eye were to be opened, it would be Hell on Earth with no way to stop it." Keith looks at me before looking at Kalina, " Honestly, i have to agree with my sister. You're little smirk needs to fade away bitch. I don't trust you at all. For all we know, you could be just making this shit up." Kalina looks up at me, an amuse look in her eyes.  Her eyes traveled over to Keith, " You can believe whatever you wish. I'm just trying to help is all." I coughed out, " Bullshit." Before i cleared my throat and looked away. " So how many ghosts have been set free?" " 11 and the house needs 12." Dennis chimes into the conversation, " No, Damon said something about 13. That there are 13 ghosts." Kalina shakes her head, " The 13th ghost is a fail safe, in order to stop the process, the house needs a sacrifice of life instead of death. A willing human sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Broken Heart. The only ghost to be created out of an act of pure love." Everyone looks over at Arthur as Dennis speaks, "You're the 13th Ghost..." Frowning, yes he may be annoying but like i said before, i considered him to be like a Dad to me. " The 13th spirit stands before the eye at the final configuration. As the eye opens, the spirit uses the power of life to essentially short-circuit the system." Maggie looks over at her frowning, " Uses the power of life how?" Kalina glanced up at her, " By leaping into the eye." " And Arthur's supposed to take this leap? No fucking way lady. That's suicide Arthur, i wont let you do this. You need to come up with something else, that's not working, no way." I eyed the woman before nodding in agreement, there was no way in hell i was going to sit back and allow Arthur to do something like this. Something doesn't seem right about it to begin with. " Love is the most powerful energy." " Meaning?" " In order for you to save your children, you have to trade your life for theirs." Dennis takes the book from her, flipping through the pages, " Let me see this, there's gotta be a better way, i don't read Latin." I sat there, or more like kneeling down in front of the table, taking in everything i just got done hearing. Keith looks at me, " All of this is very hard to understand and believe but from what i got. Arthur has to die, and his kids will be saved. Yeah. That isn't going to happen. I will knock that guy out before i allow him to sacrifice himself. Dennis is right, there has to be a different way." Looking at my brother before looking down, " We will find one. I know it's hard for you to accept, but i see these guys as a second family to me, I will do whatever it takes to keep them alive." Kalina eyes me and Keith before tossing down a bomb, " Well we can try it the old fashion way, my personal favorite. Nobody will be here to brag about it afterwards. We need to come up with a game plan soon, times running out." Maggie eyes all of the bombs on the table, " You're going to blow the place up?" " The last ghost is about to be released." Dennis moves over to Arthur, " i know why you feel like you have to do this. " Arthur stays looking down, " Get away from me." Still upset with Dennis from what he has done to his wife's spirit, " Psychics call it a linking, we linked earlier, i saw everything, about Jean, about you." Arthur stands up and moves away from him, " Shut up, I'm not going to listen to this from you." " Kalina's talking about Suicide." " Whatever i have to do to save my kids." Sounds like a good father. I wish i was born with a father like that, " It doesn't add up it doesn't make any sense, there's gotta be a better way." Arthur turns his attention towards Dennis, " Doesn't add up? What does add up here Dennis? How much of this equation makes any sense at all? God Dammit. God Dammit. All i can think about are my kids, i don't even know if they're alive." Dennis glanced over at him, standing next to Arthur by the glass, " Then let's go out there and find out. One last time, while there's still time, you and me." I eyed Dennis, i could tell he was sorry for what he had done. It doesn't change the facts or anything, but still he is sorry, he was trying to make up for it the best way he knew how. " Kalina, no matter what i decide to do, or what happens to any of us, are you sure you can stop that machine?" Arthur said, turning towards her, " I got enough explosives to blow us back to the 15th century." Dad nods, " Ok, how many flares do you have left?" " One, why?" Arthur points to the glass in the corner, " We're going out again." I looked up at that as Maggie freaks out, " Oh no fucking way Arthur, you're going to get yourself killed!" Giving a nod slowly standing up, " She's right Arthur, find another way." Arthur shakes his head, " There isn't another way, I'll be fine if we take that." Looking at the glass before looking down, i had to find them, " No, I'll go out again. I can see and touch them. I can navigate around better than you guys can, allow me to do this." Arthur sits me down, kneeling down, " It's very sweet of you to do this Jasmine, but i have to do this. They are my children. I'll be safe. Plus I don't think your brother will allow that to happen." Standing up walking to the glass with Dennis. " Damn straight i won't allow it to happen. I'll break your legs if you try and walk out of these alone." I gave him a what the fuck look before looking away.