Beautiful Secrets (Cranksepticeye Fanfiction)

~2.11~ The Claiming

Casters cannot be with Mortals without killing them.
It all made sense now. The elemental connection between us. The electricity, the shortness of breath whenever we kissed, the heart attack that had almost killed me - we couldn't be together physically.
I knew it was true. I remembered what Macon had said, that night in the swamp with Anna, and in my room.
A future between the two if them is impossible.
There are things you don't see right now - things that are beyond any of our control.
Jack was shaking. Hee knew it was true, too. "What did you say?" he whispered.
"That you and Ethan can never really be together. You can never marry, never be close. You can never have a future, at least not a real future. I can't beleive they never told you. They certainly kept you and Ridley sheltered."
Jack turned to Macon. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I love him."
"You never had a boyfriend before, let alone a Mortal one. None of us ever dreamed it would be an issue. We didn't realize how strong your connection with Ethan was until it was too late."
I could hear their voices, but I wasn't listening. We could never be together. I'd never be able to be that close to him.
The wind began to pick up, whipping the rain through the air like glass. Lightning tore across the sky. Thunder crashed so loud the ground shook. Clearly we were no longer in the eye of the storm. I knew Jack couldn't control himself much longer.
"When were you going to tell me?" he screamed over the wind.
"After you Claimed yourself."
Sarafine saw her opportunity and took it. "But don't you see Jack? We have a way. A way you and Ethan can spend the rest of your lives together."
"She'd never allow that, Jack," Macon snapped. " even if it were possible, Dark Casters despise Mortals. They would never allow their bloodlines to be diluted with Mortal blood. It's one of our greatest divides."
"True, but in this case, Jack, we would be willing to make an exception, considering our alternative. And we have found a way to make it possible." She shrugged. "It's better than dying."
Macon looked at Jack and countered, "Could you kill everyone in your family just to be with Ethan? Aunt Del? Reece? Ryan? Your own grandmother?"
Sarafine spread her powerful hands wide, luxuriously, flexing her powers. "Once you Turn, you won't even care about those people. And you'll have me, your mother, your uncle, and Ethan. Isn't he the most important person in your life?"
Jack's eyes clouded over. Rain and fig swirled around him. It was so loud that it almost drowned out the sound of the shells at Honey Hill. I had forgotten we could get killed, by either of the two battles being waged here tonight.
Macon grabbed Jack by both arms. "She's right. If you agree to thus, you won't feel remorse, because you won't be yourself. The person you are niw will be dead. What she's not telling you is that you won't remember your feelings for Ethan. Within a few months, your heart will be so Dark, he won't mean anything to you. The Claiming has an incredibly powerful effect on a Natural. You may even kill him by your own hand - you will be capable of that kind if evil. Isn't that right, Sarafine? Tell Jack what happened to his father, since you are such a proponent of the truth."
"Your father stole you from me, Jack. What happened was unfortunate, an accident." Jack looked stricken. It was one thing to hear that his mother had murdered his father from crazy Mrs. Fischbach at the Disciplinary Committee meeting. It was something else to find out it was true.
Macon tried to turn the odds back in his favor. "Tell him, Sarafine. Explain to him how his father burned to death in his own house, by a fire you set. We all know how you love to play with fire."
Sarafine's eyes were fierce. "You know, you've interfered for sixteen years. I think you should sit the rest of this one out."
Out if nowhere, Hunting appeared just inches from Macon. Now he looked less like a man and more like what he was. A Demon. His slick black hair stood up like the hair on a wolf's back before it attacks, his ears sharpened to points, and when his mouth opened, it was the mouth of an animal. Then he just disappeared, dematerialized.
Hunting reappeared in a flash, on top of Macon, so quickly I wasn't even sure I had really seen it happen. Macon grabbed Hunting by the jacket and tossed him into a tree. I had never realized how strong Macon really was. Hunting went flying, but where he should have slammed against the tree, he barreled right through it, rolling to the ground on the other side. In the same moment, Macon disappeared and reappeared on top of him. Macon threw Hunting's body to the ground, the force cracking open the earth open beneath them. Hunting lay on the ground, defeated. Macon turned back to look at Jack. As he turned, Hunting rose up behind him with a smile. I yelled, trying to warn Macon, but no one could hear me over the hurricane building above us. Hunting growled viciously, sinking his teeth into the back of Macon's neck like a dog in a fight.
Macon screamed, a deep guttural sound, and disappeared. He was gone. But Hunting must have hung on because he disappeared with Macon, and when they reappeared at the edge of the clearing, Hunting was still locked onto Macon's neck.
What was he doing? Was he feeding? I didn't know enough to know how or if it was even possible. But whatever Hunting was taking, it seemed to be draining Macon. Jack screamed, ragged, bloodcurdling screams.
Hunting pushed away from Macon's body. Macon lay slumped over in the mud, rain battering down on him. Another round of canisters rang out. I flinched, rattled from the proximity of live ammo. The Reenactment was moving toward us, in the direction of Greenbrier. The Confederates were making their final stand.
The noise from the rounds muffled the growling, an altogether different, but familiar sound. Boo Radley. He howled and leapt into the air toward Hunting, bent on defending his master. Just as the dig sprang toward Hunting, Larkin's body began to twist, spiraling into a pile if vipers in front of Boo. The vipers hissed, slithering over each other.
Boo didn't realize the snakes were an illusion, that he could run right through them. He backed away, barking, his attention on the writhing snakes, which wad the opportunity Hunting needed. Hunting dematerialized and appeared behind Boo, choking the dog with his supernatural strength. Boo's body jerked as he tried to fight against Hunting, but it was futile. Hunting was too strong. Hee tossed the limp dog's limp body aside, next to Macon's. Boo was still.
The dog and his master lay side by side in the mud. Motionless.
"Uncle Macon!" Jack screamed.
Hunting ran his hands through his slick hair and shook his head, invigorated. Larkin wound back through his leather jacket, into his familiar human form. Between them, they looked like two drug addicts after a fix.
Larkin looked up at the moon, and then hus watch. "Half past. Midnight's coming."
Sarafine stretched her arms up as if she was embracing the sky. "The Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year."
Hunting grinned at Jack, blood and mud on his face. "Welcome to the family."
Jack had no intention of joining this family. I could see that now. He pulled himself to his feet, soaking wet, covered with mud from his own torrential downpour. He could barely stand against the wind, and leaned into it, as if at any moment his feet would leave the ground and he would disappear into the black sky. Maybe be could. At this point, nothing would have surprised me.
Larkin and Hunting moved silently in the shadows until they were flanking Sarafine, facing Jack. Sarafine moved closer.
Jack raised q single palm. "Stop. Now."
Sarafine didn't stop. Jack closed his hand. A fire line shot up through the tall grass. The flames roared, separating mother and son. Sarafine stopped in her tracks. She hadn't expected Jack to be capable of much more than what she considered to be a little wind and rain. Jack had taken her by surprise. "I'll never hide anything from you, like everyone else in our family has. I've explained your options, and I've told you the truth. You may hate me, but I'm still your mother. And I can offer you one thing they cannot. A future with the Mortal."
The flames shit higher. The fire spread like it had a will of its own until the flames surrounded Sarafine, Larkin, and Hunting. Jack laughed. A dark laugh, like his mother's. Even from across the clearing, it made me shiver. "You don't have to pretend you care about me. We all know what a bitch you are, Mother. It's the one thing I think we can all agree on."
Sarafine pursed her lips and blew, as if she was blowing a kiss. Only the fire blew with her, shifting its direction, racing through the weeds to surround Jack. "Say it like you mean it, darling. Put some teeth into it."
Jack smiled. "Burning a witch? That's so cliché."
"If I wanted you to burn, Jack, you'd already be dead. Remember, you're not the only Natural."
Slowly, Jack reached forward and thrust one hand into the flames. He didn't wince, but remained completely expressionless. The he stuck his other hand into the blaze. He lifted his hands above his head and held the fire there as if it were a ball. Then he threw the flames as hard as he could. Right at me.
Fire smashed into the oak behind me, igniting the spray of branches faster than dry kindling. The flames raced down the trunk. I stumbled forward, trying to get out if the way. I kept moving until I reached the wall of my invisible prison. But this time, it wasn't there. I dragged my legs through the inches if mud, across the field. I looked over and saw Mark falling alongside me. The oak behind him was burning even brighter than my own. The flames reached into the dark sky and began to spread to the surrounding field. I raced toward Jack. I couldn't think of anything else. Mark stumbled over toward his mom. Only Jack and the fire stood between Sarafine and us. For the moment, it seemed to be enough.
I touched Jack's shoulder. In the darkness, he should have jumped, but he knew it was me. He didn't even look at me.
I love you, J.
Don't say anything, Ethan. She can hear everything. I'm not sure, but I think she always could.
I looked across the field, but I couldn't see Sarafine, Hunting, ir Larkin beyond the flames. I knew they were there, and I knew they were probably going to try to kill us all. But I was with Jack, and for just one second, it was all that mattered.
"Ethan! Go get Ryan. Uncle Macon needs help. I can't hold her much longer." I took off running before Jack could say another word. Whatever Sarafine had done to sever the connection between us, it no longer mattered. Jack was back in my heart and my head. As I ran through the uneven fields, that was all I cared about.
Except for the fact that it was almost midnight. I ran faster. 
I love you, too. Hurry-