August 27, 2023

Nathan Devereaux just doesn't understand how this necromancy shit is supposed to work.

Maybe the fact he's in the woods at four in the morning has something to do with it, the knowledge he should be asleep right now harming his ability to think. Maybe he should've tried to do actual research of his own or asked Jamie to explain their endeavour better before agreeing to come here with her. Maybe he's simply more of a dumb fucking idiot than he thought he was. Either way, this old-timey magic stuff is turning out to be way more elaborate than he'd expected.

And this specific ritual is apparently damn fake, too.

"So... What was supposed to happen after all that?" Nathan asks Jamie, shoving the scrap of paper containing the Latin incantation he recited into his pocket and turning the ring he was given over in his hands. It's a pretty golden ring, expensive and custom-made for magic purposes. Could probably make for a good wedding ring if it wasn't for the six demon names engraved into it.

Jamie, who's been wandering around restlessly ever since Nathan started his little Latin show, promptly stops and turns her flashlight in his direction. "There were supposed to be six spirits appearing in the magic circle with you," she explains. "According to the grimoire, you'd have had to give them the ring and they would've left again, and that would've been everything for this night of the ritual. But if nothing happened when I tried it, and nothing happened when you tried it, then it's safe to say we're not going to get anywhere with this."

Nathan doesn't mind that all that much, actually. Dealing with six whole spirits sounds like a handful. A potentially dangerous handful. Having witnessed how troublesome real magic can be firsthand, he can't bring himself to be disappointed this ritual didn't work out, though Jamie would probably kill to catch magic on camera again.

Nathan steps out of the magic circle, careful where to place his feet; it's a pitch-black night in this remote clearing in Morales National Forest, with only stars, flashlights and the night vision on Jamie's expensive camcorder making it possible to see. He'd really rather not break his neck tonight. Or any other night, for that matter.

"Maybe it would've worked if we had the real grimoire instead of just words you copied out of that academic translation," Nathan suggests. "Like how the spells in Rauđskinna wouldn't work unless we were physically holding the thing."

Merely speaking the name of the real grimoire that changed his entire life months ago gets the scar a fire spell left on his body tingling, magic residue acting up as if it remembers its own origin. Nathan suspects Jamie was hoping some of that faintly lingering magic might transfer to her Latin writing and ensure the ritual's success, but it didn't. Again, probably for the best.

Jamie sighs, destroying part of the magic circle in the sand with the tip of the sword she used to draw it.

(Because apparently Jamie owns a goddamn sword—turns out they feature in occult rituals quite often and that's why she has one, and Nathan's known her for almost five months but never even knew that, and what the fuck. What the fuck. He swears he keeps learning new things about this girl every day. It's absolutely wonderful.

And maybe also a little scary sometimes).

"Could be. But there's only one real surviving copy of the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic, and that's kind of in... Well, Munich." Jamie approaches him and takes back the ring she had made for this, scrutinizing it in her flashlight's illumination. "Jesus, the time it took just to prep this ring.... You know, it had to be in running water for five days and in a community mausoleum for another two. Terrible wait and all for nothing."

"Not for nothing," Nathan corrects. "You didn't do magic successfully in any of your videos except the Rauđskinna one, but people watch them regardless. You have enough footage and information to make something interesting and entertaining out of this, real magic or not."

Jamie smiles and Nathan instantly feels warm inside. "True, and I guess I do get a badass demon ring out of it." She slips the piece of jewellery around her index finger and checks it out. "What do you think, Nate, can I rock this?"

Nathan doesn't actually need time to think about an answer; he's pretty sure Jamie can confidently rock just about anything. Still, he pretends he does need some, just to have an excuse to unabashedly stare at her for a bit. He supposes Jamie didn't change much since they first met: same ditchwater green eyes, same thousand-watt smile, still wearing that eternal Santa Muerte necklace, currently paired with a demon ring to complement it. Her hair still sports the most haphazard dye job Nathan has ever seen, though she traded electric blue for a softer lavender shade, and she replaced her destroyed Rolex with a somewhat bulky, but otherwise unremarkable black watch that must've cost her a lot less.

But seriously, how is it possible to look so utterly unhinged and attractive at the same time? Nathan has no clue, but fears that if he doesn't watch out, he might never look away.

"You can rock it, alright," he replies when he manages to stop being temporarily hypnotized. Damn it, it's way too early in the morning to be dealing with feelings. "Though maybe don't wear it to churches or family gatherings. Anyway, sounds like you've got enough reasons to make being out here this early worth it. Certainly more reasons than I have."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you could name a few if you tried."

"I... now know there's not enough magic left in my body for me to be able to summon six spirits," Nathan tries, which he supposes is genuinely good to know. In a way. He's not yet sure in what way, but he'll figure it out. "And you do pay me for filming and editing, so there's that, too."

Jamie laughs. "I only make the list because of my bank account?"

Actually, no. The money's nice, of course, and as an ex-criminal now working a shitty minimum wage job, Nathan needs the side hustle if he wants to continue to make ends meet. But, truth be told, he wouldn't be as willing to come out to places like these in the dead of night for anyone but Jamie. When he still made a living dealing drugs, he was on call 24/7, which saw his phone chasing him out of bed at ungodly hours more often than not, but he never went to see those calling clients without cursing under his breath the entire way and scowling at them blearily all throughout the business.

At least Jamie did have the decency to call during daylight hours today, though that considerateness alone probably still wouldn't have moved him to give up a significant chunk of sleep while being scheduled to work a morning shift. But apparently, when the person calling him to request his services happens to be a very enthusiastic, very pretty girl he's kind of in love with, abandoning his rest becomes rather easy. So much for loyalty to the sleep schedule.

But it's not like he's going to tell Jamie this in so many words. "I also just like being here with you," is all he says, unable to stop a slight smile from slipping out. God, he's basically doomed.

"I'll take that." Jamie, still thoroughly amused, makes work of further erasing her magic circle until there's nothing left of it, lest poor unsuspecting hikers come stumbling across it later and start believing themselves to be unfortunate main characters in a supernatural horror movie of dubious quality.

Nathan considers helping her, but quickly decides she has it covered and he can make himself useful in better ways. Wandering away from her, he uses her camcorder to record extra footage of their surroundings: the dry grass crunching underneath his feet, crooked trees with leaves swaying gently in the wind and the old little chapel in the distance where he parked his car. The first thing Jamie taught him when he'd earned the right to handle this camcorder was that it's always better to have too much footage than to come home and realise you should've gotten more—expert advice Nathan takes seriously.

It's comfortably warm for an early morning and the woods are loud, a hooting owl up above joining a choir of crickets against the background noise of the breeze's low sussuration. Despite the stimulating sonic environment, though, the visual landscape hardly offers anything exciting to include in a riveting YouTube video; Jamie can probably use these shots to set a scene, create a mood of sorts, but Nathan can't imagine there's anything else they're good for, and–

What's that?

At first he barely noticed the animalistic blob amongst the trees in the distance, but once his eye has fallen on it, he can't unsee it any longer. Nathan blinks and abuses the camcorder's zoom feature to get the creature, whatever it is, in view properly. It stands rigid, unmoving and rooted in place, the camcorder's night vision mode gifting it glowing green eyes. On its head, Nathan can make out antlers.

A deer, then. Jamie might want to see this.

"Hey, Jamie," Nathan calls her over. "We have company. A deer."

Jamie's by his side so fast she must've broken the sound barrier at least a little. "Where? I don't see any deer."

"In the distance. I can see it with your camcorder." Nathan gestures in the animal's general direction, Jamie's gaze following the trajectory. Her flashlight's light doesn't travel far enough to hit the deer, so Nathan's pretty sure she still can't see shit. Still, she doesn't doubt his statement. She squints into the distance. Thinks. Then, very, very slowly, grins. Nathan doesn't know if he should feel privileged or worried to be witnessing this.

"A deer, huh?" Jamie moves forward, a spring in her step. "Catch this on film for me, will you, Nate? Let's see how close to it we can get."

Maybe surprise deer are a good way to spice up an already pretty wacky video, something innocent and fun both YouTube's algorithm and an audience still wary can sink their teeth into. Maybe Jamie just instinctively has to try and pet any animal in her general vicinity, wild or not. Knowing her, it's probably something of a fifty-fifty split. Either way, she approaches the deer at a tentative pace, quietly talking to the camcorder in Nathan's hands, clueing future viewers in on what exactly is happening without a care in the world.

Nathan knows jackshit about deer, but he's confident Jamie's never going to get too close to this animal. It'll probably get spooked and run away before they can blink and they'll be lucky if they get a few clear camera shots out of this at most. Still, he hobbles after her a little nervously, because damn it, that thing still is a wild animal. Wild animals are unpredictable and this one has stabbing weapons growing out of its skull, and Nathan cares a little too much about Jamie to let her contract rabies or get herself killed some other way. Neither of them signed up for that.

Speaking of rabies...

The closer Nathan gets to this deer, the more his instincts scream at him to turn around and leave.

He feels it in his scar first—a quietly burning ember in his flesh, just waiting to turn into a flare. Nathan doesn't understand why, but he feels it deep in his bones, this fiery apprehension roaring louder and louder with each step he takes in the animal's direction. He didn't feel a thing while participating in Jamie's ritual earlier, not even goosebumps as he recited empty Latin words in a circle of darkness, but now his body's going haywire, a compass undergoing magnetic distortion. Why?

That damn deer still hasn't moved an inch. It hasn't even blinked. It doesn't react in any way even though they're getting closer now and Nathan can finally zoom in on it properly, and–

Is that a deer?

It looks like a deer in most ways that matter. Antlers, matted brown fur, the works. But its legs are too long and its body is too skinny and its eyes shine just a little too bright. Its joints and proportions look all wrong and since when do deer have so many sharp teeth, since when can deer appear to grin?

"Jamie, wait," Nathan says, trembling hands rendering the camcorder's night vision too shaky for comfort. "On second thought, that thing... might... not be a deer."

"What?" Jamie immediately halts, swiveling her flashlight around in confusion. She should be able to get the creature in sight a little better now, but she's still not close enough to reasonably see anything but the general shape of a deer, and Nathan urgently feels that distance should remain intact at all costs.

"Why wouldn't it be a deer?" Jamie continues, genuinely bewildered. "It sure as hell isn't a squirrel–"

A noise cuts her off. The creature unhinges its jaws and produces a spine-chilling, high-pitched wail that rings through the night. It finally leaves its spot, launching itself in the direction of the two approaching humans, barrelling forward in a jumbled mess of fast, jerking motions and the cracking of joints and bone.

Nathan just about has a heart attack.

"Deer?" Jamie squeaks, dropping her flashlight in shock and gripping the hilt of the sword she's still holding with both hands, raising it as if ready to lop the beast's head off should it get too close. But she's never used that sword to fight, certainly not in a dark night against a woodland creature from Hell, and Nathan's sure letting her try her luck with it will be a recipe for disaster, that it will only get her hurt or killed in some godawful, unbearable way. He needs her flight response, not her fight one, fuck.

"Run to the car!" He shouts at the top of his lungs, forcefully yanking Jamie in the right direction by the leather jacket she's wearing, not even considering the possibility of her accidentally attacking him for startling her. He gets lucky, though, for he doesn't get a sword to the face and his action shakes Jamie out of her daze. They're both running soon enough, a mad dash back to the car as twigs snap beneath their feet, as the clicking noises of the beast pursuing them chase them on their way, getting louder, far too loud for comfort.

Nathan doesn't dare drop Jamie's camcorder and keeps using it to see the path in front of him, to find his way back to safety in the darkness. He's careful to always keep Jamie close, to not lose her in this chaos, but she's smart enough to know they shouldn't stray too far from each other now.

Neither of them is brave enough to look back.

Sweet relief comes over Nathan when he spots his car, but it's followed by another mini-heart attack when it takes him a few seconds too long to find his keys in his pocket. There's a metallic taste in his mouth, he's panting and sweating and his scar stings so fucking much, but he manages to open his vehicle nevertheless and unceremoniously drops himself into the driver's seat, slamming the door closed as fast as he can. Jamie practically dives into the shotgun seat and this time she does almost stab him as she tosses the sword into the back, but Nathan, already firing up the engine, can't bring himself to care. All he still knows is he has to get them out of here.

He can see the thing that isn't a deer in his rearview mirror as he speeds off. It stands rigidly still on its twisted hind legs, watching with eyes belonging to a predator rather than prey. Nathan wonders what it eats— leaves or mushrooms or maybe human flesh—and can't shake the thought the creature allowed them to get away. With how fast it sprang out at him and Jamie, there's no way it couldn't have outrun them should that have been what it desired. Perhaps it's only protecting its territory, chasing off unwelcome visitors. Still, Nathan feels they got lucky, very lucky, indeed.

"Do you always get hunted for sport by demon animals when filming on location or is it just this time?" Nathan asks Jamie once his heart has stopped racing and he's regained control of his tongue.

"This... is new to me, too." Jamie looks over her shoulder, checking if the creature isn't secretly rushing after them and keeping pace with the car; Nathan wouldn't put that past it. "My channel's eight-year anniversary was a few weeks back, but in all those years, nothing of the sort has ever happened to me before. Not like this."

Nathan doesn't like that answer at all, though he can't entirely put his finger on the reason why. But it's not even five in the morning yet, so he pushes the uncomfortable feeling to the very back of his brain.

"Anyway, we did get some really interesting footage out of this in the end." Jamie pulls out her phone to check her messages, positively radiant, as if the traumatic event that is coming within an inch of getting mauled by definitely-not-a-deer has already been relegated to her distant past. "I'll share it with Veronika, she'll love this. And so will my audience, I hope, though I guess I can't prove that that thing really wasn't a deer. But I can just make that one possible interpretation and also suggest it might've simply been sick. Do you think that's a good idea in terms of credibility?"

"I think so," Nathan replies with a shrug that says you're the expert, not me. It's been months since Jamie got undeservedly cancelled for 'lying' to her viewers about finding proof magic exists, and while she's been making nice progress getting into her audience's good graces again, she isn't quite back to where she was yet. Though a playthrough of a newly released indie horror game allowed her to charm a significant amount of viewers into remembering why they'd liked Witchcraft Wednesday in the first place, the Internet still side-eyes and scrutinizes her every coverage of anything magic and supernatural, unsure whether or not to believe what it's being told.

Yeah. Not making definitive statements on the not-deer's nature is probably the best course of action for now. Nathan's about to rephrase himself, elaborate on his earlier reply so it actually amounts to something useful, but Jamie speaks again before he has a chance.

"Nate," she begins, staring at her phone like it's a foreign object instead of a device she uses for hours every day. "Do you think you could drop me off at Stella's place instead of mine?"

Nathan can't help but frown instantly upon hearing Jamie utter that name. "Stella as in your sister Stella?"

Jamie nods. "Yeah. She's saying she has some important news and things to discuss and she's asking if I can come over to talk in person as soon as possible. But it's kind of strange, because she texted, and Stella never texts me, let alone around midnight. She usually just calls so I can't leave her on read."

"You leave people on read?" In Nathan's experience, Jamie always replies pretty fast and hardly if ever ignores a text, but maybe his standards are simply low.

"Not on purpose." Jamie grimaces. "I just forget to reply or think I've replied when I haven't. Trying to work on that."

"I can bring you to Stella's if you tell me where she lives," Nathan says, because why not? It's still so early he has more than enough time to take a detour before his shift starts. Though he does feel like showing up at Jamie's sister's place before six on a Sunday might not render the woman in the best of moods, but that's actually not his problem.

Stella kind of deserves it, anyway.

"Thanks." Jamie shakes off her mild bafflement and turns the radio on, sitting back like there's nothing out of the ordinary and she's almost disinterested in what her sister might say. Casual indifference at its finest.

But Nathan suspects that's only for show.