Crossroads → Nicholas Scratch [CAOS]

xvi. sacrifice

SACRIFICE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Everyone stared at the body that lay lifelessly on the cold floor. The rosiness from her cheeks had vanished as if ice had struck her, her entire body pale. The way her head hit the floor with such force... it was a miracle that blood hadn't begun to seep from underneath her head. While the two Monroe men ran toward the unconscious brunette, everyone else remained rooted to their places, watching intenting, hoping for her motionless chest to rise and fall as it should. Nicholas was one of those to stayed back, his glossy eyes wide and lips parted as he stared in horror, the way the Dark Lord, in his exorcised form, had escaped the Ma'lak box replaying in his head on a loop. He could have run to Dani, could have pushed her out of the way, but by the time he had even registered what was happening, the Dark Lord had already immersed himself into her and she had already collapsed to the floor. Even now as he watched Calum search frantically for signs of life and Matthew flip panickedly through a small book, Nick couldn't bring himself to walk toward the girl, not when there was a chance she was dead.

Calum's hands trembled as he searched the side of his sister's neck for a pulse. "Dad," he croaked when even the faintest heartbeat didn't reach his cold fingertips. He continued to search, his icy cold hands only shaking more as more time passed that he failed to find a heartbeat. "She's not breathing."

"Let me-"

"Stay away, kid! We don't need you making things worse," Matthew barked, turning around to glare at the teenage warlock that approached the motionless girl on the floor. When Matthew saw the way Nick's eyes widened and he stepped back in response to his outburst, he almost felt guilty, realizing that the boy only cared about his daughter and wanted to help. That didn't change his mind, though, and he brushed the teenager off before continuing to search through his book for a solution.

Dani suddenly let out a loud, long gasp for air, her eyelids flying open to reveal glowing red irises that sent everyone stumbling back in shock. The girl grasped at her neck with both hands, the veins in her forehead and neck bulging through her skin as her back raised from the floor slightly and she tried to refill her suffocating lungs with air. Everyone was at a loss for words when her back slammed into the floor and, once again, she lay unmoving. Her eyes, still glowing red like the Dark Lord's smoke, reminded her friends and family that it wasn't safe enough to go near her, that she was still possessed by the most dangerous being on their planet. Her chest abruptly pulsated upward again, this time more violently. She could see the red of her irises, she could feel them burning her eyelids like her entire head had been set aflame, like her eyes alone were made of fire. Pained cries traveled passed her lips and she thrashed around on the floor, her body aching even more than her eyes did as sharp pains flashed through every single bone and muscle within her. She screamed, moving around the floor convulsively, her bones like magnets being cruelly attracted and repelled from one another by an invasive, unfamiliar source in her that her body couldn't dispose of. Her brain, her heart, her soul... every single part of her was entirely consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. She was in so much pain that her complexion was ashen, her natural golden skin had sunken into the tone of something so lifeless it scared Nick to look at her. It was unbearable seeing her look less and less like the Dani he knew. Mindlessly, he began marching toward her, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. Before he could get to within three meters of her, her father had stuck his arm out, blocking him from moving any further.

"We need to help her!" Nick yelled his eyes wide in astonishment at how even Dani's father refused to go near her.

"She's possessed. We don't know how much of his power Lucifer has access to while he's in her. We can't risk anyone going near her," Matthew said, and though he was still focused on the small book in his hand, it was clear that he was just as