Page 129 of House of Pain
“What’s the matter?” Blaze asked Rogue.
Rogue’s amber eyes were wide. “It doesn’t open.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Blaze snapped. He let go of Alecto and shoved Rogue aside, pushing the door to the basement up with his shoulder.
It didn’t budge.
It didn’t even rattle as Blaze pushed harder.
The door to the outside was sealed.With the Snakes inside.
Andro’s eyes widened, lips parting. It seemed as if he had forgotten to breathe.“They knew we were coming.”
“They were prepared.” Val’s voice was as hard as the expression on her face.
Val whirled and ran back down the stairs. They all followed. The spirits sneered at the sight of them, and Val stopped.
“If I had to guess, the door to the House is also sealed,” she muttered.
Alecto came to her side. She was about to speak, but there was no time as the spirits advanced towards them, hissing.
“Rogue, protect!” Val screamed.
The demon appeared in front of them out of nowhere, his forearms black. In the place of his fingers, there were black claws now.At the sight of the demon, the spirits bristled, but didn’t stop. Rogue slashed the air between them, making them stumble backwards with a hiss.
“Need a spell to banish the spirits,” Alecto said, her heart beating in her throat. She turned to Jolene. “You know one?”
Jolene bit her lip.The spirits scattered, moving in on them from different directions.
Clearly, they were smart enough to know their options going against the demon. But Rogue couldn’t counter them all if they attacked from different sides. It was Alecto’s first time coming across malicious ghosts.
She hoped it was her last.
“I don’t know what holds them to this realm,” Jolene finally said. “If it’s something strong, then it might not be enough for a simple banishing spell to work.”
Shit.
“What if we use blood magic?” Blaze asked.
Jolene blinked. One of the spirits was closing in on them from the left. Alecto shifted closer to the group, eyeing the ghost closely.
“Nothing is guaranteed,” Jolene said after the pause.
“I’m willing to risk it.” Blaze’s eyes narrowed at Rogue’s back in front of them. “Get ready, Frone.”
Blaze slipped a hand in his pocket and fished out the pocketknife, the same one Alecto used to stab herself in the palm that night in the Cursed Forest. Blaze moved forwards, pressing close to Rogue’s back.
“I hope you don’t mind. I’m about to borrow something of yours,” Blaze said into his ear. Without waiting for an answer, he brushed the sharp tip of his knife over the back of Rogue’s neck, drawing blood.
Rogue stilled, and so did they.
“The chant, Jolene,” Blaze snapped.
“Exission lustro,” Jolene called.
Alecto picked up the chant and so did the rest. The blood dripped down Rogue’s neck in a trickle, dropping on the floor and sinking right into the concrete, leaving black marks behind.
None of them stopped chanting, even as Alecto felt her magic surge through her, the electric current making her muscles tremble.It was like nothing Alecto had ever experienced. It roamed inside her before finally making its way out.
