Chapter Text
The roaring of Vaike’s boisterous laughter rang through Olivia’s ears as he scored at beer pong. She looked to see him, in his gladiator outfit, slapping Stahl’s shoulder and continuing to laugh, as the two played beer pong against Sully and Cherche.
She then checked the time on her smartwatch. 10:45 pm, and this Halloween party, at a party venue in Chicago, was still going strong. Olivia's adoptive father, Basilio, had actually rented the place for them, so Olivia was the sort-of host. After making sure the beer pong game was going well, she stared down at her costume. She had gone as an exotic belly dancer, with her hair held in a high ponytail, and had goosebumps from the strengthening chill.
Olivia was awaiting her boyfriend, Henry. He wanted to summon a spirit, and Olivia was unsure how this would pan out. She never put much thought into the paranormal existing, but Henry believed wholeheartedly in it. He insisted last-minute that the barriers between the worlds were weak today, and Olivia decided to let him have his fun for a little bit.
People were dancing in the main area of the venue, with some new Halloween-themed pop song reverberating through the building. Olivia wanted to go in and dance, but the idea of dancing in front of that many people, outside of an official performance, made her want to melt.
The laughter from the beer pong continued, but Olivia looked over in the corner and saw Tharja. Dressed in a witch costume that left her midriff exposed, Tharja silently looked at something intently on her phone. Whatever it was, it was probably none of her business. She also saw Cordelia and Sumia heading into the basement, as Sumia left her wallet down there from when some people were playing a game down there earlier.
“Nya ha ha!” Olivia knew that cackle anywhere, and turned around to see Henry, accompanied by Lon’qu and Gaius. Gaius was dressed in a generic skeleton oufit, and Lon’qu didn’t really dress up. He just sported a dark jacket and navy-blue jeans. Henry, however, had created his own outfit, dressed as a mage-type person from medieval times. He wore a long cloak, black on the backside and a vibrant red violet on the other side. His shirt was a purple tunic, with yellow sleeves, while his pants sported a muted indigo. But what stuck out the most was his gargantuan collar, colored the same red violet as his cloak and sticking out half a foot. Olivia couldn’t help but feel it complemented his pale skin and bone-white hair well.
Henry sported the biggest grin on his face perpetually, and this moment was no exception. “Great news, babe. Lon’qu and Gaius are on board for the séance!”
Olivia rubbed her neck as she noted Lon’qu’s seemingly-permanent frown and Gaius’ neutral expression. “Are you sure you guys want to join this? You don’t have to.”
Gaius shrugged. “Junior here offered some sweets if I tagged along, so that alone was enough to get me on board.”
Before Lon’qu could get a word in, Henry piped in. “Come on, Olivia. Communicating with the dead will be fun! And the barrier between the living world and dead world have gotten particularly weak today. I can feel it!”
“Henry, dear,” Olivia replied with. “Before we go, I need to hear you say one more time that we won't have an incident like what happened at Navy Pier.”
“Of course, of course!” Henry let out another cackle as he revealed the worn book he had held in the side of his arm. “I’ve been studying this for months! I can guarantee that as much as I like seeing it in movies, you guys won’t die horrible and bloody deaths doing this. That never happens wit. This will go off without a hitch!”
Henry then walked past Olivia, motioning for the others to follow him. “Nothing can surprise me, guys,” Henry began as he continued walking. “Absolutely nothing – huh?!” Henry jumped when he realized he was about to bump into Kellam.
Kellam was notorious for disappearing in the background and being impossible to notice. Oliva noted that he was wearing a giant pumpkin over his face, with a few vines spread across his white suit. But so much for nothing catching Henry by surprise.
That enthusiastic smile didn’t leave Henry’s face, though – it never did – and he quickly regained his composure. “Hiya, Kellam! Are you sure you don’t want to come to the séance with us?”
Kellam shook his head. “No thank you. Olivia actually asked me to keep a eye on things while you went downstairs to do the seance.”
Henry grinned while placing a hand on Kellam’s shoulder. “Oh yeah, you’re great for keeping an eye on things with how you can just vanish into the background on a whim. It’s almost like a superpower! Have fun with that!”
And with that, Henry continued walking. The basement door was in sight, and that is where he wanted to perform the séance. As the others followed Henry, Olivia took one more look at Kellam before he inevitably vanished in the background again. He took a deep breath, as if he was putting something aside in his head that had come back to the forefront, before walking over to the beer pong game.
Olivia tapped Henry. “I think Kellam is a bit sensitive to how he blends in, so don’t say it’s like some great superpower or something.”
Henry let out an ‘aww’ and followed up with “But I really do think it’s funny that he can do that! I was being genuine! But fine, I won’t say that again.”
As they headed towards the basement door, they passed by Tharja, and Gaius let out a chuckle as he approached her. Olivia looked at Lon’qu, who tensed up. He was known for his fear of women, and she could see him trying to maintain himself standing so close to both Olivia and Tharja.
“Hey there,” he said, smirking down at Tharja as he took the small sucker out of his mouth. “You look more amazing than a lake of caramels and chocolate bars. We’re doing a séance, and I think that’s right up your alley. Wanna come? And then we can get out of here, and I can show you an unforgettable time.”
Tharja narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, before stomping on Gaius’ foot with her high-heeled boot. Gaius let out a yelp while Tharja kept her glare. “Get lost. I take those types of rituals very seriously and wouldn’t be caught dead doing it with the likes of your group.”
As Tharja walked off, Gaius looked at her, still wincing. “You could've just said no!”
“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Lon’qu said, crossing his arms while shaking his head. “Even I know that good pickup lines usually don’t make any mention of candy.”
Gaius groaned, and Olivia asked if he would be all right. He groaned but said he’d be fine. With that settled, Henry opened the door to the basement.
“It would’ve been so cool if we could’ve gotten one or two more people to do this,” Henry lamented, albeit keeping that grin. “Hey, where did Cordelia and Sumia go? I think they’d love this if we told them who we were trying to summon.”
When they went downstairs, they saw a massive, mostly quiet room with grey brick walls and cement flooring. There were some decorations around but nothing much. This room had mostly been abandoned by everyone so that they could dance and have fun upstairs. The exception was an open door in the basement, and it led to a room where Olivia could see Henry had set everything up.
But something did catch Olivia’s eye. It was Cordelia and Sumia, making out in the kitchen. Cordelia was dressed as a 1930s pilot while Sumia went as Batgirl, albeit she currently had the mask down. Their moaning and smooching got louder as the group got closer. The two could not keep their hands off each other, it appeared. Cordelia lifted Sumia up as they continued to kiss.
Henry was the one to address their presence. “Well, speak of the Devil! We were just talking about you guys!”
Both women shrieked as they looked at the group. Their cheeks appeared to be burning as their faces turned as scarlet as Cordelia’s hair. Cordelia buried her face in her hands while Sumia forced out laughter and attempted to form words. Sumia walked over to the others and tripped over a pebble, forcing Cordelia to step in and catch her.
Gaius chuckled. “Batgirl, how could you?” he said while Cordelia helped Sumia back up. “What would Batman say?”
“W-well, you see,” Sumia began, making weird motions with her hands while her face kept burning up. “We were just coming down to get my phone.” Sumia held up her phone, then pointed to the room where Henry had set everything up. “Then I went to see what was in there. I tripped and almost knocked over everything on that table. I beat myself up over it, Cordelia gave me some reassurance, we said some things, I told her how good she looked in her costume, and next thing I knew, we were all over each other.” Sumia let out a whine. “We just caught up in the moment!”
Cordelia finally collected herself, and let out one of her famous sighs, apologizing as well. After a brief pause, Sumia added one more thing. “Also, Gaius, I think Batman is more of a mentor to Batgirl than a love interest anyway.”
Olivia gave them a reassuring smile, “As long as you didn’t break anything in that room, it’s fine.”
Henry’s face lit up even more than it normally did. “This actually works out great! We’re going to do a séance and communicate with the spirit of Caeda Lowell! You guys want to join us?”
Olivia thought more on the person they were going to attempt to summon. Caeda Lowell had been one of the stalwart female aviators back in the 1920s through 40s, being the first woman both to complete a nonstop transpacific flight and a nonstop transpolar flight across the North Pole. She was noted for being extremely kind and giving to people at the time, encouraging kids to follow their dreams no matter the cost.
Caeda had lived here in Chicago with her spouse, Marth. While their house was about a 30-minute drive, she had passed away in this venue, dying of a heart attack inspecting some stuff here. It was said that something had startled her enough to give her the heart attack at her late age, but no one had ever figured out what. Ironically, her great-grandchildren Chrom and Lissa wouldn’t be part of this ritual; Lissa on a trip to Atlana with Maribelle and Ricken, while Chrom and Robin couldn’t find a sitter for their baby daughter, Lucina.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “A séance? I’m sorry, I'm not much of a believer. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, I don't really buy into of any of it. I don’t see much of a point in tagging along.”
“Oh, but they do exist!” Henry lifted his book up while saying that. “And I’ve been studying up on how to communicate with them. I promise it will be a blast!”
Sumia’s lips grew thin as a look of hesitancy grew on her face. “I actually do believe in ghosts! But are you absolutely sure you know what you’re doing?” Her face then lit up ever so slightly. “Don’t get me wrong, the idea of meeting Caeda Lowell sounds great! Cordelia and I have admired her since we were kids! But do you guys really know what you’re doing?”
“Of course I do! That table you found in the other room is where we're doing it. That's why there's the candles and mirrors, and even the Ouija board! I’ve been preparing for this for ages!”
“So you know how to prevent anything dangerous from happening?” Sumia followed up with.
“Olivia wouldn’t let me do it here if I didn’t.”
Sumia let out a smile. “Well then, if we really are communicating with Caeda, I wouldn’t want to miss that!” But then the smile on her face faded. “But a séance sounds like it could really be dangerous if done poorly. What if we summon an evil spirit?” Then her face lit up again, and she grabbed a dandelion out of one of her costume pockets. “I know! I’ll do a flower fortune to see how likely this is to succeed!”
Cordelia rubbed her nose and sighed. “Sumia, you are not doing a flower fortune for this.” Cordelia then shifted her attention from her girlfriend to the group. “Because even if the supernatural does exist, and there’s no concrete evidence to prove it does, I don’t see this going well at all. Henry, you are known for being mischievous with your obsession with magic and hexes. I heard about the incident at Navy Pier.”
Oliva raised her hands defensively. “That was an accident.”
“You guys got banned for life!”
“And I spoke with Henry to make sure it doesn’t happen again!”
“Don’t worry, Cordelia!” Henry piped in. “This ritual won’t involve anything that got us banned from Navy Pier. We’re just going to communicate with the spirit of Caeda and see why the energy around this area is so strong.”
Cordelia let out one of her famous sighs. “I still don’t know.” She then turned over to Gaius and Lon’qu. “So what are you two doing here? I didn’t think you guys to be believers.”
Gaius smirked. “If there’s free candy at the end of this, I’ll believe whatever Junior says.”
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. Well, I hope you’re not that trusting to anyone in a windowless white van who says they have free candy, Gaius.” Then she looked over to Lon’qu. “What about you?”
“I have my reasons.” Lon’qu kept it short and to the point, as he was known to.
Cordelia then turned her attention back to Henry and Olivia. “And why here, and why now? We’re here for a party, not some basement ritual.”
Olivia replied with, “Henry insisted that this is the best time for the séance. He says the energy here is too strong to ignore.”
It was only then that Olivia realized that Sumia actually had been doing a flower fortune this whole time. Weird that Sumia had a flower on her, Olivia thought, but whatever floated her boat.
Sumia perked up after picking the last petal. “Good news, Cordelia! My flower fortune said the séance will be safe and successful!”
“Nya ha ha! You hear that, Cordelia?” Henry added in. “We have nothing to be concerned about, you worrywart!”
Olivia stared at Henry for a moment. His boundless enthusiasm was a very cute quality of his, she felt, even if she wanted to see more of the man underneath that smile. This was helped when Henry added in, “I’ll worked to make sure nothing happens. I can’t have my Olivia be hurt.”
Olivia felt her cheeks flushing at that comment, and she let out a smile.
But then Henry added on, “Look at her! She’s as cute as a dead puppy!”
Olivia’s smile was quick to disappear from her face. “Henry, you should have quit while you were ahead.”
Cordelia then looked around the room they were in. “This still doesn't seem like the best place to do a ritual anyway.”
Sumia placed her hand on Cordelia’s shoulder and started rubbing it. “Think of it this way, Cordelia. Even with my flower fortune showing this will go well, we could use someone to make absolute sure it goes off without a hitch.” Sumia began nuzzling her head against Cordelia’s other shoulder. “And you’re the best person for the job, babe.”
Sumia looked up at Cordelia with a big smile on her face, and Cordelia let out a weak groan. “Why must your smile be brighter than the sun itself?” she stated.
Olivia saw Gaius whispering to Lon’qu, “Now that could be used for a great pickup line, don’t you think?” to which Lon’qu rolled his eyes.
Cordelia let out another sigh. “Fine. Sumia, if you really want to do this, I will tag along.”
“Hooray!” Henry stated, as he motioned for everyone to follow him. “Come, everyone, and prepare for a ‘hex’ of a time!” Henry winked while saying the last part.
Cordelia’s face went deadpan. “I immediately regret this decision.”
Olivia heard Vaike's laughter from upstairs, while Sully let out an expletive. There was some more dancing going on as well. The party was thriving.
As she went to the room where Henry set up the table and saw his smile, she thought of the other reason she agreed to this. So she could see if it would bring out more of the person Henry hid underneath that smile. She had gone on a date with Henry a few months ago, and she continued the relationship because there was something about Henry that she was inexplicably drawn to. She loved his energy, but she also wanted to more about him that he would show. She had been making attempts for weeks now, and while Henry was ultimately quite nice, she questioned how long the relationship would last if she couldn’t make some kind of breakthrough.
As everyone entered the room, Lon’qu’s face began to flush from being so close to Cordelia, Olivia, and Sumia at once, with his hands beginning to shake. Olivia could tell that it was harder for Lon’qu to hide his fear of women in this more secluded room.
Henry slapped the larger man’s shoulder. “Worry not, my friend! I remembered your gynophobia. The boys are going to be on one side of the room, and the girls will be on the other. You’ll hold mine and Gaius’ hands.”
“I am sorry to make you accommodate that,” Lon’qu replied as everyone began to sit down.
Henry scratched his head. “I’ve been meaning to ask. Where did the fear of women come from?”
Lon’qu kept that stoney look on his face. “Perhaps I will tell you another time. I must see how this goes first.”
Olivia wondered what Lon’qu meant by that as she sat down between Henry and Sumia. He had never really talked about what happened to instill his gynophobia, and that remark he just made was the first time he even made any allusions to why. Olivia thought about he didn’t talk about why he was afraid of women, and how he hadn’t really explained why he was on board for the séance. And she was starting to connect some dots in her head. But that felt like a deeply personal matter, for Lon’qu to discuss when he was ready.
In the meantime, she took a look at what Henry had done with the room. He had decorated the short circular table her with a black cloth, and there were a few candles spread across it. There was also the Ouija board at the center of the table. As he said earlier, he had set up mirrors across each edge of the room’s wooden walls, and he had strung lights around the top of the room as well. He had also spread cinnamon and ginger. Olivia actually remembered hearing from Chrom once about how much Caeda liked cinnamon, so that was a nice touch on Henry’s part.
The last thing of note on the table was the picture next to the Ouija board. It was a black-and-white photo of Caeda from her pilot days. Olivia picked up the picture for a closer look. Caeda was donned in a very similar outfit to the one Cordelia was wearing for a costume right now. The only difference was that Caeda wasn’t wearing her helmet, and instead had her long flowing hair let down. Olivia could only assume she tucked her hair in or tied it with a bun when on duty. Otherwise, her exploits may have gone very differently, with flight safety not being what it is now. Her googles were atop her head, and she had a bright smile on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. She looked quite pretty in the picture, Olivia thought, and that picture captured the positive energy Caeda was said to carry around. It made her wish the séance would be successful, for just a moment.
“I wonder if Caeda would be in this form, or if she’ll be the age she died at,” Olivia said, trying to speculate on what might happen in the event this actually worked.
“We won’t be able to see for sure,” Henry clarified. “She’ll have to communicate with the spirit board.”
As she put the picture down, she felt a cold draft practically force its way through. It only lasted a moment, but Oliva’s entire body swelled with goosebumps when it happened. She looked around; for now, she would chalk it up to a possible insulation.
Henry was beginning to light the candles. Sumia grabbed out out her phone, but immediately lost her grip on it and struggled to hold back on to it as the phone began bouncing around. It went into Cordelia’s direction, and Cordelia was able to grab onto it, but Sumia elbowed the candle onto the ground right as Henry was about to light it up.
“Sorry, I'm so sorry!” Sumia said, her face getting flustered as Cordelia handed her back her phone. “I’ll try not cause too much trouble.”
As Sumia moved the candle back onto the table, Henry’s face remained unwavered, and he giggled. “At least I hadn’t lit that candle yet!” Henry exclaimed. “If that had happened just a few seconds later, we’d have to be putting out a fire!”
Olivia sat back down and observed the look on Henry’s face. It was still a smile, but this one particularly didn’t reach his eyes. Olivia pondered, for Henry couldn’t really have been happy at the prospect of Sumia potentially causing a fire, ruining the séance he had worked hard to get set up. Perhaps he just took solace in the fact that it didn’t happen.
Moments later, all the candles were lit, and Henry turned the light off. The lights he had hung up took center stage, shining a bright blue.
“All right, everyone! Time to join hands!” Henry stated.
As they did, Olivia grabbed hold onto Henry and Cordelia’s hands. Henry’s hands were warm and soft, and Olivia couldn’t resist smiling whenever she got a chance to hold them.
Henry began the opening incantation. “Dear Caeda Lowell,” he began, and Olivia almost jumped at his tone. With just those three words, Henry managed to bring out a formality to his voice that Olivia wasn’t aware of. “We seek to bridge worlds. We welcome you to join our circle if you are near us.”
Everyone waited for a few moments. Nothing could be heard, and nothing happened with the spirit board.
“I ask again,” Henry stated, looking up as he did so. “We seek to bridge worlds, Caeda Lowell. You are welcome to join our circle.”
Again, nothing.
Sumia spoke up. “Don’t personal items often help with rituals like these?”
“That picture was the best I could get,” Henry clarified. “It was apparently one of Caeda’s favorite photos of herself. Lissa said I could have it.” He then repeated his opening incantation. Olivia peered over at the spirit board. For a second, she thought she could see it moving, but it must have been a trick of the eye, because when she blinked, it stopped.
“Wait a minute,” Gaius stated, raising an eyebrow. “Can’t skeptics hurt rituals like this? Cordelia flat-out stated she doesn’t believe in ghosts. I think this is her fault.”
Cordelia sneered, returning the furrowed brow. “As if you’re not just here for the candy.”
“That's not it!” Henry exclaimed. “I’m powerful enough to make up for any feelings of skepticism. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked. At least, I should be powerful enough.”
When Henry said that last part, Olivia saw a glimpse of frustration. For a second, that smile disappeared from Henry’s face as he tried to continue the séance. He didn’t scowl or even so much as frown, but she saw that demeaner of his crack for but a moment. But he quickly put that smile back on his face.
“We intend no harm, Caeda Lowell,” Henry stated. “You may communicate with us without worry. If you have any concerns, you may state them on the Ouija board.”
And once more, Olivia looked over at the spirit board, and nothing. Olivia looked over at Henry. For another moment, she could see his smile disappear. While she did think he put on somewhat of a façade, she admittedly got knots in stomach at the idea of actually seeing some unhappiness slip through the cracks of that demeanor.
Olivia had felt that there was another reason Henry had wanted to perform the séance, one he hadn’t really told her. After this was done, she was hoping she could get the real answer out of him.
Gaius let go of Lon’qu and Cordelia's hands and motioned to the latter. “I’m telling you, it’s probably because of her. We should -”
Before Gaius could finish that sentence, a orb of blue light briefly flashed above the center of the table, before disappearing. Everyone jumped at this and moved away from the table.
Gaius looked over to Henry with a completely miffed look on his face. “Uh, is that typical for seances?”
“It isn’t,” Henry began, his smile reaching his ears. He formed his hands into fists and shook them up and down. “Which means we might’ve just uncovered something completely new! Awesome!”
Then the blue orb appeared again. It appeared here for a few more seconds, before disappearing again.
“I don’t know if I’d be saying this is ‘awesome’ just yet, Henry,” Sumia stated as she nervously backed away. “We have no idea what that was.”
Cordelia nodded her head. “Sumia’s right. We probably need to get out of here.”
Then the light appeared again, and this time, it took on a humanoid form. It was beginning to resemble the top half of a human, with the head, torso, and two arms extending out.
Olivia held on to Henry’s hand. “Henry, please tell me you didn’t know this would happen!”
“Of course I didn’t” Henry said. “I really did think we would just be communicating with the ghost through the spirit board.”
Then lines began to form out of the being’s head. In the moment, Olivia hadn’t realized that Gaius had tried pulling out his phone, seemingly to record what was happening. But confoundment quickly colored his face as he turned his phone around.
“Well, whatever this damn thing is, it’s blocking my phone’s camera. I can’t record it!” he exclaimed as he stood by Lon’qu, and the two just watched.
It was then that Olivia realized the lines were begining to resemble hair. She peered over at the photo of Caeda, and while she couldn’t see it very well, she remembered how her hair in it looked. And the being’s hair was beginning to resemble exactly that.
And sure enough, the face on it resembled Caeda’s as well. It wasn’t long before the being appeared to finally stabilize. Blue smoke encircled the being as it did so. And then Caeda spoke.
“Greetings, Henry and friends,” she began. Her voice was relatively high-pitched, yet was one that could also command respect. “I am Caeda Lowell, and I have heard your requests to communicate with the worlds beyond on your own.”
Olivia’s jaw was about to unhinge from her head. She hadn’t been sure if the spirit board would even work, yet Caeda had taken it a step further and managed to make her presence physically known. Everyone else except for Henry bore the same faces as Olivia. Everyone stood there for about a minute, with not a sound being made amongst them. Gaius and Sumia both tried to take pictures or videos on their phones, but got the same error Gaius had gotten earlier.
Sumia was the one to break the silence. “So you’re really her? You’re the Caeda Lowell?”
Caeda nodded. “You have my word. I am being genuine. And I will not bring you any harm.”
Sumia kept the same surprised look on her face, before her face lit up. “Cordelia, can you believe it?!” She wrapped her arm around Cordelia and began practically squeezing her. “I knew my flower fortune wasn’t wrong! But I didn’t think we’d really see her! It’s her! It’s Caeda!”
Sumia practically began bouncing up and down, before Cordelia had to place her hand on her lover’s shoulders and get her to relax.
“I know the idea of meeting Caeda is exciting,” Cordelia said as she ran her hand through Sumia’s hair. “But we need to really assess the situation first!”
Cordelia then turned her attention over from Sumia to Caeda. “I have so many questions! First off, how is it that you're here?! This changes everything I thought I knew, if ghosts are real! Why have you chosen to make your presence known this way?”
“Because I must speak with Henry on an important matter,” Caeda answered. “It took a lot of my power for me to make myself visible. I had been here for a while now.” Caeda’s face then went deadpan. “I saw you two and your makeout session.”
Cordelia and Sumia’s faces both began burning, and they avoided eye contact with Sumia as they got flustered. Olivia couldn’t blame them. If a ghost saw her and Henry while they were making out, she’d be embarrassed, too. For a brief moment, she realized that Caeda didn’t come off as homophobic towards the two, despite having come from before homosexuality was truly accepted. But a topic for later, she decided.
Gaius and Lon’qu had been standing in the back the whole time, observing the situation. Gaius then cleared his throat and approached Caeda. “Sooooo yeah, Cordelia's right. This raises an absolute mountain of questions.” Gaius began making various motions with his hands as he spoke. “What is the afterlife like? Is there a Heaven and Hell? Would you say I’m going to Hell? Is Hell really full of fire and brimstone?”
Olivia had to cut Gaius off. “I understand this is a lot to take in, but Caeda said she needed to speak with Henry. I think it’s best to let her do that and then go from there.”
Caeda let out a smile towards Olivia. “Thank you, very much. I do indeed feel it’s best to get down to business.” Caeda then turned her attention towards Henry, her face turning more serious.
Henry was beaming at the sight of all this. “This is beyond cool! I didn't know I was actually able to summon a ghost!”
“I know I’m not telling you anything new, but indulge me for a moment,” Caeda began. “You’ve been at this for quite a while, haven’t you? You’ve devoted a lot of time to communicating with the dead.”
Henry nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been getting this ready for ages! Though I must admit, I’ve really outdone myself.”
“Well, I am afraid I need your assistance,” Caeda continued. “And if I am being honest, I believe you need mine as well.”
Henry appeared unmoved. “When it comes to the supernatural and the dark arts, you’ve come to the right place. I can absolutely assist! Though I am not sure what I need assistance with, I’m afraid.”
Caeda then levitated over towards Henry. “You don’t understand, Henry. This is serious.” Caeda then seemed to take a moment.
Olivia tilted her head, wondering if she was about to take a deep breath, before realizing that ghosts likely couldn’t do that. Still, it looked like Caeda was preparing herself for what she had to say next.
Then Caeda spoke once more. “I know what happened to you when you were a kid. I am sorry for bringing it up like this, but it has to do with what’s happening.”
And for the first time since she had met Henry, Olivia saw the smile on his face truly disappear. And not just for a moment, either. His normally narrow eyes grew wide, and his mouth fell ever so slightly. Henry just stood there for a moment, his face keeping the same expression.
“How do you know…” was all Henry was able to let out.
But before they could continue, another orb appeared. This one was colored a dark red, and unlike Caeda’s, this didn’t disappear for a moment before reappearing. This red orb continued to appear before it began to pulsate and morph. Everyone began taking a step few steps back.
When Olivia found herself backing away, however, she bumped into something. But they were still in the very open room of the basement. She turned around and felt some kind of barrier. It felt like drywall, but there was nothing to be seen. When she looked down, however, she could see a line of red fire around encircling everyone.
Gaius was began to swear and sweat, Sumia wrapped herself tightly around Cordelia, and Lon’qu just stared at the orb of energy as it began to grow in size.
“What the hell is that?!” Lon’qu exclaimed to Caeda.
“That,” Caeda began, as the pupiless eyes merged from the orb. “Is what I need help with.”
And Olivia could only watch as the orb began to take on a face. From what little she could make out, it appeared to be a slender and feminine face. But just when she didn’t think she could any more shocked, Henry said one word as the being grew more humanoid. One word that shook every bone in Olivia’s body.
“Mom?”