Wicked | Ambrose Spellman and Nicholas Scratch [2]

31 | the mandrake

thirty-one
the mandrake.

"I READ ABOUT it in one of Aunt Hilda's magic recipe books," Sabrina explains her plan to Selene and Ambrose. "The mandrake will siphon off my darker energies. It'll grow using those energies."

"And then you immediately kill it, thereby releasing those energies up into the universe," Ambrose finishes for her, both him and Selene knowing what a mandrake is. "We know how it goes."

It's a vegetable that one can use to make a copy of themselves. Selene nods, playing with a strand of her hair nervously. "So no powers, no Apocalypse. But Brina, are you powers something you're really willing to give up?"

"Well, if there's no other way... then yes," Sabrina admits, not wanting to do this but also not wanting to start the Apocalypse. "I won't play a part in this prophecy."

"About that, I looked at every book at the Academy involving weapons forged in the depths of Hell," Selene states, chewing on her lip. "And I found nothing. It's nearly impossible to destroy a weapon that wields hellfire. And if I'm being honest, I don't know if I'd even be able to destroy it."

"What do you mean?" Ambrose questions, cocking his head to get a better look at the concerned look on her face.

"I feel Durendal calling to me all of the time, and I think the flames aren't just in the sword. I feel the fire under my skin, willing me to be reunited with the sword. To do things I don't wanna do," the redhead replies, feeling the ache to carry the sword. It terrifies her. "So I know for a fact that this prophecy is real."

"Guys, this is crazy," Ambrose shakes his head at them, not sure if he should believe them. It terrifies him to hear his girlfriend and cousin speak this way. "Sabrina, if you go through with this, it would be suicide. Witch suicide. Without your powers, you will age, wither, and die like a mortal. You'll have 60,70 years, and that's if you're lucky. And right now, that seems like a long way away. But in witch years, that's the blink of an eye, and you're gone forever. Think, for one minute, what that would do to our aunties, to everybody that loves you. To Quinn. To Selene. To me."

By this point, Selene and Sabrina both have tears shining in their eyes. The thought of Sabrina dying before she does makes Selene want to die. She doesn't know if she'd be able to live without her best friend. Upon seeing her best friend and cousin's faces, Sabrina forces a brave smile. "That's why I came to you guys. Because I thought... I hoped you two'd understand. Me and Selene's lives aren't our own once again. Again, we're pawns in the Dark Lord's sick, perverse game. Selene can't do this, because she'd die. She's not half mortal like I am. This isn't a decision I'm making lightly. Believe me. I love you both. I love our aunties. I think I maybe even love Quinn. And I know that by going through with this, I will, one day, lose all of you. But Selene is right, and this prophecy is real. The End Of Days is coming, unless..."

"Unless we help you do this," Selene quips, exchanging a reassuring expression with Ambrose. "Okay, we need a mandrake root from Hilda's garden. This'll take 13 hours, so we should get started."

Half an hour later, Selene and Ambrose are standing over Sabrina in the basement. Various candles are surrounding them, and a mandrake root lays next to the white headed witch. Selene joins hands with Ambrose before the pair begin the spell. "Radix eius sit figura, sit idem tam intrinsecus et extrinsecus."

Once they're done, Sabrina raises a curious eyebrow at them. "Now what?"

"You sleep, while we watch over you," Ambrose answers, taking his cousin's hand gently and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you, guys."

Selene and Ambrose force smiles at her before they allow her to rest. Selene and Ambrose keep themselves busy before Selene rests her head on his shoulder, claiming to only be resting her eyes. But both end up falling asleep.

And when Sabrina wakes up 13 hours later, she finds them wrapped in each others arms. She glances down at the mandrake beside her, which hasn't grown to look like her. "Selene. Ambrose. Guys? Nothing happened. The mandrake spell didn't work. So what do we do now?"

Both jump awake at the sound of the witch's worried voice, and look down in confusion once they see the mandrake. Selene remains silent, but Ambrose speaks up. "Uh, I was reading up while Selene was 'resting her eyes.' There is another way. An older way."

"In my defense, I haven't been gotten a lot of sleep recently," Selene huffs, unable to believe him ratting her out, especially since he had also fallen asleep. "Anyway, we should head to Sweetwater River to do this. You have to make a golem with river mud. Then we have to kill it the second it comes to life. Should be easy enough."

Selene says the last part sarcastically and Ambrose can't help but tell them the best way to kill the double. "We could push it into the river and drown it."

"How did this become a regular Tuesday for us?" Selene remarks tiredly as the trio head to the river and mold a copy of Sabrina. Ambrose waits for it to animate while Sabrina and Selene head back to the house to shower.

Selene runs some hot water before getting into the shower, finding the warm water welcoming. She washes all of the mud off her body before she hears the door to the bathroom click open. She gingerly peaks her head out, surprised once she sees Nick, who looks even more tired than she is. He's holding an old leather book, and she raises a curious eyebrow at him, silently waiting for him to explain what he's doing here. "Selene, I found something that changes everything."

"Okay, just give me-" she cuts off as she hears a terrified scream from Sabrina's room. The pair both hear what sounds like a fight before Selene jumps out of the shower as quickly as possible and throws a robe around her body. Her and Nick then run into Sabrina's bathroom to find a man that looks like a scarecrow attempting to drown her. She's struggling against his grasp, but isn't having any luck.

Selene immediately jumps into action, beginning a spell that will banish the creature. "Vade retro maleficus!"

As she says it, the creature disappears into thin air, only leaving a bloody part of his rib. Nick hastily picks it up as Selene rushes to Sabrina's side worriedly, yanking her out of the water. "Are you okay? Did that thing hurt you?"

UNEDITED