Wicked | Ambrose Spellman and Nicholas Scratch [2]

23 | lanucae magicae

twenty-three
lanucae magicae.

SELENE THEN HELPS Sabrina find her father's manifesto, which had been at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Selene, however, will do whatever it takes to help Sabrina, even if it means she has to fight off a squid for her father's manifesto.

However, what's in the manifesto is shocking. He listed 5 basic laws that witches and warlock's would've had to live by if he had ever gotten to the Vatican to show them to the Anti-Pope. However, the plane went down and killed him, burying his work until now.

The first law is that as mortals are the God-spawn of the Earth, so witches are the Hell-spawn. They share a common home and destiny. Secondly, not only may witch-kind lay with, love with, and live amongst the mortals, it is their sacred prerogative. Thirdly, since Lilith was the mother of demons, all witches must be revered as the matriarchs of the Church of Night. The fourth law is that magic is the Dark Lord's gift to witches. It can and should be used for pleasure, gain, and to satiate the senses. The last law is that only the true union of mortals and their witch brethren will bring the Era of the Morningstar.

Sabrina thinks that Faustus killed them before Edward could deliver these reforms to the Anti-Pope, and Selene thinks she may be onto something. Especially since Ambrose then informs them about the reforms he plans on presenting to the Anti-Pope tomorrow. He wants to go back to the ancient ways. Knowing they can't let it happen, the trio plan on interrupting Selene's father's meeting with the Anti-Pope so they can present Edward's laws to him.

So the next day, Selene, Quinn, Sabrina, Nick, Ambrose, and several other coven members are introduced to the Anti-Pope, Enoch. He's a very kind elderly man, and he seems pleased with Selene.

During his meeting with Faustus, Sabrina and Selene barge in and present Edward's philosophies. He takes Edward's and Faustus's laws and retires to his bed chambers to decide which laws he's going to enforce. So Selene and Sabrina head home, completely unaware of the contingency plan Faustus has.

Quinn, on the other hand, gets to witness his contingency plan firsthand. She wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone screaming bloody murder. Out of concern, Quinn jumps out of bed and runs to the source of the sound.

She reaches the Anti-Pope's room the same time as Faustus, Hilda, and Prudence and they find Dorcas, terrified.

"Dorcas?" Faustus breathes skeptically. He's pretending to want to know why she's disrupting everybody's sleep, but he knows exactly why. "What's the meaning of this?"

"He's dead!" The redhead sobs, tears running down her cheeks. She then points into the Anti-Pope's room where Ambrose and two other members of the Judas Society stand over the Anti-Pope's dead body, knives in hand. The Anti-Pope is soaked in blood, and he has several major cuts on his body, like he'd been stabbed repeatedly.

Hilda then bursts into the room, looking at Ambrose like he's a stranger. "Ambrose! Oh!"

"Villains! You assassinated His Unholy Eminence!" Faustus yells as Quinn's hand goes to her mouth, a wave of nausea coming over her. She's never seen a dead body before, and the sight of it makes her feel sick. He then uses his finger nail to slice the throat of the murderer closest to him. The young boy falls to the ground, dead as Quinn gags. He then moves to the second boy, who tries to plead with him. Faustus, however, kills him without remorse. Hilda yells at him to let Ambrose speak, but Quinn knows that he's gonna kill Ambrose as well.

Quinn doesn't know Ambrose, but she knows her cousin sees something in him. If she didn't, she wouldn't love him as much as she does. And anyone Selene loves wouldn't murder someone in cold blood, so it's not hard for Quinn to make an impulsive decision.

She slips her hand behind her back, her eyes focused on Ambrose. She then whispers a spell that'll portal him to the Spellman's house, her voice so quiet that nobody even hears her speak. "Lanucae magicae."

He disappears into thin air just as Faustus goes to kill him. Quinn lets herself relax a bit, hoping Selene will know what to do.

And she does know what to do, but when Ambrose portals into her room, she gasps, slowly taking in his appearance. He's out of breath, and he's covered in blood. So much blood. She had felt that something was off and was pacing her room when Ambrose appeared, and know she knows why she'd felt off.

"Ambrose?" Selene whispers, staring at him in utter shock. "What happened?"

His hands are shaking, and he can barely process what happened. "He's dead. I was guarding his chambers and there was blood. Oh, dear Lucifer, the Anti-Pope is dead, and I don't remember how or why or who!"

He then clutches his head, and it appears to be the first time he notices there's blood on his hands. He then gapes at Selene, slowly taking her hands, begging her to believe him. "It was- it wasn't me. You have to believe me."

Selene feels as though her world is falling in on itself. She's never seen Ambrose like this, like he can't trust his own thoughts. Her heart is pounding quickly, and she feels slightly dizzy. But he needs her right now, so she nods assuringly at him. "Of course I believe you, Ambrose."

"Find the traitor!" They hear Faustus shout from downstairs. Selene quickly stands up, and shuts her door, locking it.

"They're coming for me," Ambrose sobs, his voice barely coherent. "Blackwood and the Judas boys will murder me."

"No, I won't let them," Selene shakes her head, taking his hand before muttering the same spell her cousin had used just minutes before to portal them to the Gray Room. "Lanucae magicae."

When they open their eyes again, Selene and Ambrose are standing in the Gray Room. The pair are relived to find that the bar's empty except for one person—Dorian. He's standing behind the bar, and when he sees them, his eyes widen. "Well, it appears you two have gotten yourselves into quite a pickle."

"Gray, help us," Selene begs him, leaning against Ambrose, fearful that she'll lose him if her father gets his hands on him. "Please."

UNEDITED