Lycanthropy

Marius, chanting the words, to gather her soul:

I said the forgotten words, and I knew what to do, to the letter. But, I needed a sacrifice, one so strong, that could bring her soul back into her body.

I needed blood, a lot, from one single person. And that person had to give up their own soul, willingly, to be send through hell and forever pain, as it is never meant for a person to come back to life after being truly dead.

By performing this ritual to save one life, another would be condemned.

It is not something that I wish for any one, but there is someone on this field of whom I know her to know the requirements for this ritual.

I looked her in the eyes, as I said the last few words of the Forgotten Pages, that I have learned ages ago but could still recite them, as if I was reading them from a physical page holding it in my hand.

Yrsa, nodding to Marius:

Marius had told me about this ritual, ages ago, and I didn’t have to think this over twice, he is going to use my blood and soul. Done deal.

My daughter had been draining me slowly, but was distracted by everyone who fought with Radu right now, which made her stop and for me to regain some energy again. So I grabbed her wrist, bit into her flesh and took the dagger out of her hand.

The blue crystal burned my hand, but I didn’t care.

I took the handle of the dagger and knocked against my own daughter. She looked at me with surprise, feeling stupid for lowering her guard.

“You can’t kill me, Radu will avenge me!” She tried, and yelled over for him.

Of course he didn’t bat an eye for her, as she was never his obsession.

“I’m sorry daughter, but he won’t come for you.”

“But, but… no, this can’t be!” She said angrily.

“I’ll give you one more chance, to stop doing this, and let me save your daughter.”

“Save her?! No! I’m not allowing that! If she lives, then I won’t be in the picture anymore!”

I lunged myself towards her, dagger drawn, against her throat now.

She fell on the ground and I straddled her waist.

Only then she realised in what kind of trouble she was. Her eyes grew wide, the red in her eyes diminished and for a moment I saw my true daughter, fighting through to come back to me. Tears stained the side of her face quickly, and she took hold of my hand.

First I thought that she wanted to push me away, to fight against me, working her way out of this, but then she spoke.

“Mother, I can’t keep the bad version of me, away for long. Use me.” She said.

“Sigrid? Is that really you?” I asked her and she nodded. “For what should I use you?” I asked her, as I never have told her about the ritual.

She smiled lightly, pointing to her head with her free hand.

“Yes, I know that you can hear my thoughts, through the family link, but I haven’t told you about what kind of sacrifice it is.” I said to her.

“It wouldn’t matter, and I can’t hold the evil back for long, so let me do this for my daughter. Please, let me be the one to save her.” She whispered now, closing her eyes, as I saw her fight against the bad side of her soul.

I pulled her up, but kept the dagger against her throat, making her skin sizzle in contact, in case she would lose her inside battle.

“We have to be quick.” She said, after hissing a little against the burn.

But I grabbed her waist and flashed us towards Marius.

“Are you sure you want this? I mean, if you can fight your bad soul now, can’t you fight it another time again?” I looked her in the eyes, trying for myself to not fall apart, begging for her to please try again, as we both sat on the ground, next to Emerson’s body.

“No mother, I can only do this once, as the love for my beautiful daughter is making me strong for only a little while.” She said while leaning over her body, stroking Emerson’s cheek, and putting aside a lock of her silver hair.

I kept the dagger at her throat the whole time, not wanting to be surprised by her other part.

“But I can’t! I can’t kill my own daughter!” I cried out, making her turn around towards me.

“Mother, I’m already so happy to see her one more time, before I face my destined fate. Knowing that she will live through this, will get me through any hell that I will gladly sacrifice myself for. You know that she is worth it, and I am already doomed. Death is already lurking at my door, for the second time now, so this is just a win-win situation.” She said and now I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

I cried and hugged her, nodding wet headshakes into the crook of her neck.

She hugged me back for a little while, until she pushed me away from her.

“I was already dead, don’t cry over me now.” She said while smiling, as she reached for the dagger that was still lodged tightly in my hand.

“Let go mother, I can’t be like this for much longer.” She said and reluctantly I opened my hand, for her to grab the dagger.

“Make sure to drop some of it in her mouth.” Marius said referring to the blood, and Sigrid nodded.

She went a bit to the side, to sit right next to Emerson’s face.

“Tell her, I love her.” She said to me, looking at me for the last time, and all I could do was nod, as the streaming of tears and my chocked up throat couldn’t compel me to do anything different.

“Love doesn’t ask for anything, love just longs to be accepted and to be there for another day.” She said out loud, right before she hung over Emerson’s face, kissed her on the forehead and slit her own throat, with the blue crystal dagger.

With her last bit of strength, she kept her body a bit longer above Emerson’s face, while Marius kept her mouth open. Then, due to the loss of blood, she dropped herself on her daughter’s body and hugged her one last time before her own heart stopped beating.

Marius began to chant again, making Sigrid’s blood glow, which then got absorbed by Emerson’s body.

The red fluid that first drenched Emerson’s body and the ground around her, was now gone, as it had been used in the ritual.

Marius was done chanting and looked towards me.

“Now it’s up to her.” He said, knowing that Emerson has to find her way back here on her own.

And I broke down.

Aron, looking at Emerson’s body:

By now, all of the other assassins had been killed, Sigrid was dead and Yrsa was free.

Plenty of wolves had been killed also, their dead bodies laid in between all the dead Nightstalker bodies on this bloodied field.

Marius had finished the ritual, as it seems, but my love was still not moving.

“He must have done something wrong! You should have let me do it!” Radu snapped.

“Oh yeah? With what kind of sacrifice? Just the blood of another fifty or hundred unwillingly wolves or humans? She would have been just exactly the same, as Sigrid! It wouldn’t have mattered if her body had been decayed or pristine, would it?!” I asked him angrily, knowing that what I just thought, had been true.

Radu shook his head, agreeing to the lie that he had told me. “But now she won’t come back at all! Is that what you want?” He said.

“Better dead, than be your mindless slave.” I said calmly.

I was certain, that Marius' attempt was the best way.

But I do hope that Emerson could really come back, as her normal self.