"When he is gilding the solid-

Pointed star, which on steeple

stands for hope."

- Marianne Moore, "The Steeple-Jack"

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Soundtrack of the chapter: Battle in Spain, from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood OST (PLAY IT! It fits the purging very well!)

Media: Lovely banner of Eli by Mayra

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Chapter Nineteen: Responsibility

Jasper turned the first body on the pathway over. Two glassy eyes stared back at him, jerked wide open. His mouth was frozen in a supersonic scream; fear had choked the last of his consciousness out of him.

"Scared senseless." He observed. "Zoroth was right."

Cady cast a fleeting sweep across the Hall again. She did not like bitter atmosphere clinging to the Hall, snapping up the former sense of peace and harmony.

"What should we do now?"

Jasper straightened up. "We need to find the mandrake and destroy it. Where did you see it?"

"In front of the main Hall."

She led him up the winding staircases. Her feet twinkled in and out, and her muscles screamed as she burned through them in her haste to reach the mandrake. Even from afar, she could sense it; a foreboding shadow looming across the whole Hall.

There was a sudden flicker, and a brief flash of black hair. Cady stopped in her tracks, grabbing at the wall for support.

"Josh?"

Her brother didn't seem to hear her. He turned his head to and fro, as if anticipating an attack. The corridor melted away into a patch of barren lands. The moon blazed a haunting red in the sky, a sickle which carved a trail of fiery red out of the black. His hands hung by the sides, clutching and releasing.

"Cady?"

Josh's voice was distant, soft, as if there was a whole stretch of land in between them.

"Josh! I'm here!"

She tried to repeat those words, but an angry snarl ripped through the night. Josh spun back, his eyes wide with terror as they landed on Cady.

"Get away from me!"

Hot tears burned her eyes. "Josh, it's me. Cady!"

She tried to approach him, but he shoved her away. Cady fell back from the force placed in the push. Her hands found sand, coarse and hard. Josh ran forward. The ground beneath him started to shift, raveling in dizzying ripples and churning up a storm. He froze and threw a desperate glance over his shoulders.

A monstrous dragon shot out from the agitated sand. Twin horns pierced the stifling air and sand sifted through jagged teeth. Its claws raked trenches in the sand where it seeped back, as quick as lightning.

Josh took a step backward. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a glittering sword. Cady squinted. It was a slender sword, hammered into an elegant 'T' where a large ruby sat on the pommel. What made the sword stand out were the endless shifting patterns on the hilt of the sword, visible even from afar. Locked in a posture of attack, the sword was blinding in the desert sun.

The creature didn't even seem to blink at the deadly sword. With a deafening roar, it reared into the air before it barreled down with full force. Josh raised the sword up high. A palisade of sand shot upwards, scattering into the air like firecrackers as both Josh and the sword vanished into the dragon's mouth.

Cady felt her heart break into two.

"NO!"

She felt something hot sear on her face and her head snapped to the right.

"Cady! It's a fear vision! Snap out of it!"

Josh. Her brother. Her only family left in the world...was dead.

"No..."

Another pang of pain jolted through her, this time on the other cheek. The sting was enough to jerk her back into reality. Her hands flew to her face where Jasper had struck them.

"I'm so sorry, I had to. Mandrakes draw out your deepest fears and turn it against you. You would've ended up like those we saw at the gates if I hadn't slapped you awake."

Cady didn't retaliate. The sizzling pain in her cheeks drew her back to her senses. But it was so real...Josh was swallowed by that beast.

Mandrakes draw out your deepest fears and turn it against you.

Stars Alive, she would kill herself if Josh ever left her alone in the world.

Something warm closed around her wrist and gave it a gentle tug.

"Cady, we must not waste anymore time."

She stumbled as she got to her feet. Jasper caught her and she tumbled into his chest, her mind still foggy from the vision. He stroked her hair, threading the soft waves with his fingers. His breath was warm on her head. She could feel the gentle flutter of his heartbeat, and the concern radiating off him.

Her head was as heavy as clubs. She wanted to rest in this position forever, where Jasper will protect her from the horrors in her head.

"You can't," a small voice whispered. "Stand strong on your own feet."

The pain was drowning. She wanted to sink beneath it and vanish forever.

"Cady, don't give up," the little voice begged.

"Cady! Wake up!"

Jasper shook her so violently he almost dislocated her arm. That brought her back to life.

"I need your help! Once I cast a circle, I won't be able to step out of it. I need to destroy the mandrake's powers within the circle or else its poison will explode and destroy everything living in its path."

She bit her lip, allowing the physical pain to reprieve her from the storm raging in her head. She steadied herself against the wall when Jasper released her.

Her eyes swiveled to the Mandrake. It hung there like a sign of doom, dark and foreboding. Even from afar, she could sense the evilness pouring from it in waves, drowning the hall in its malefic glory.

She nodded at Jasper. "What do I need to do?"

Jasper dug into his back and produced a large bundle of dried herbs tied together by a piece of brown twine. She recognized it at once: a smudge stick. The Healers used it all the time to banish negative energy and darkness that patients brought with them into the healing chambers.

"Sage," he clarified. "It is one of the most powerful herbs to banish negative energy." He tossed Cady a box of matches. "Light it up and cleanse every corner in this corridor."

Cady set to work at once. The match squealed against wood before it rekindled. A sweet burning smell filled the air when the smudge stick caught fire. The repugnant root seemed to squirm at the smoke rising from the herbs. Jasper smiled.

He pulled out five athames from his bag. With his arm held back, he sent the first athame flying toward the ceiling where it struck true, right above the mandrake. The other ritual knives went soaring, each finding their respective marks around the mandrake and two behind Jasper, forming the very core of a pentagram.

"Don't stare," he said. "Focus on your job."

Jasper drew out the last athame from his bag. It was different from the other knifes. This one had an amethyst pommel while the rest were sapphire blue. He directed the tip of the blade at the now writhing Mandrake.

Cady lifted her smudge stick and the smoke curled around the walls before it scaled the ceiling.

The words flowed out of Jasper's mouth like a trickle of water. It wove in and out of different syllables, overlapping each other in a series of rhythms. It reached Cady's ears, soft and sweet before it rose into a scream. She could recognize those words, a language so ancient and powerful it was part of the realm of Stars, inseparable from all-the Old Tongue.

Cady moved to the end of corridor. More smoke pooled from the end of the bundle.

The power resonating in his words surged forward. It echoed throughout the Hall, shaking every stone and every wall. Cady found herself understanding Jasper's chant. She moved along with his voice, her arm rising and falling, more smoke choking the stench of evil encasing the place.

Be gone!

The athame in Jasper's hands glowed a fiery white.

Be gone!

Herbs bound in the bundle scattered as the stub gave way into ashes.

BE GONE!

Jasper lunged forward and buried the athame into the middle of the bulbous root. It emitted a feral shriek. A torrent of dark, murky liquid oozed out from where the knife found its mark. It twitched and struggled, its many stems flailed about in one desperate attempt to choke its assailant. Jasper lashed out with his hands, twice as fierce.

With one final screech, the Mandrake dropped from the window and crashed to the ground where it connected with the heated lines of the pentagram. Flames engulfed the Mandrake, burning it into nothing but a blackened stump.

The moment the Mandrake expired, the tenebrous atmosphere coating the Hall rose and disappeared into the skies. The heavy weight resting on Cady's head lifted. She sucked in a deep breath, clearing her head.

Jasper dropped the athame and muttered some words. The red hot glow of the pentagram faded, leaving behind dark scorch marks on the marble floor.

When he lifted his head, Cady saw that his eyes were moist.

"It's over, Cady. The mandrake is gone."

He stepped out of the pentagram. "We need to get to others."

His attention came to rest at the destroyed dining hall. Millions of glass shards litter the floor, covering the upturned tables, ripped banners and chairs. Blood seeped through the mess from the unconscious Starlets lying on the ground, their numbers shockingly high. Jasper squatted beside an Oracle and placed a hand on his neck, searching for a pulse.

"They are not dead," he breathed. "Just still under the pain caused by the mandrake."

Cady suddenly spotted Thomas among the wreckage.

"Thomas!" His name ripped itself from her throat as she rushed toward him. Her fingers found clammy flesh when she turned him over on his back. His eyes were closed, and his breath was uneven. Cady almost sagged in relief, he was alive!

His lips however, were black and shivering. He seemed to be muttering something over and over again. Cady pressed her ear against his mouth, trying to discern the incoherent whispers.

"Shadows have returned."

A small fist tightened around Cady's heart. What was he talking about?

"Shadows have returned. Shadows have returned!"

His eyes flew open as did his hands. They grabbed fistfuls of Cady's robes and drew her so close, their noses touched. Thomas bared his teeth, hissing the sinister phrase over and over again. Cady froze, unable to react to Thomas' sudden attack.

Thomas' irises burned a hateful red, so intense they looked like coagulated blood.

"You started this," he spat. "It is all your fault!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Coming around her senses, she gave him a massive shove in the chest, propelling herself backwards.

"Get off her." A snarl came from her side as Jasper grabbed Thomas by the neck and hoisted him off the ground.

Cady shoved Jasper in the side. "Let him go, he's no idea of what he is doing!"

'He is hurting you," he said.

"Take him to the Healing chambers. I'm sure we can find something to patch him up. This isn't him."

Jasper dropped Thomas who fell to the ground with a grunt and passed out again.

"No need to move everyone to the chambers. With just the two of us, it's impossible."

Jasper appraised the situation, his brows ceased together in deep thought.

"I need to get to the apothecary and come up with a potion. According to the potion handbook I've read, it should be effective in thwarting the Mandrake effect. "

Cady shifted in her stance. "But if it doesn't?"

Jasper clapped her on the back. "Have a little faith in me. I didn't call myself the best Physician ever for nothing, you know?

"This isn't the time to joke. We need to find out what really happened."

"An attack obviously." His eyes scanned the hall again. "I need try to find some usable items from the Healing Chambers. Speaking of which, where is it?

"Go straight downstairs and turn left."

He nodded and tossed his pouch over his shoulders where the strap stretched taut against his waist. A tilt of his head indicated that they should head out, but a small and delirious moan came from the very end of the hall. Cady narrowed her eyes and noticed the faint gleam of a golden crown in the dim room.

"Raphine," she breathed. "He needs help."

"He's wounded," said Jasper. "Get to him while I prepare the medication. Here."

Jasper drew some bandages and some antiseptic from his bag and stuffed them into Cady's arms.

"I'll be back as soon as I have the potion brewed. It won't take long."

They turned and left for different destinations. Cady rushed over to the fallen High Priest. He was slumped against a pillar with planks of heavy wood pinning him in an awkward position. An angry red gash ran from his forehead of his nose which opened up to more blood. His right hand dangled uselessly at a painful angle in which she had no doubt was broken.

Without wasting any more time, she pulled the cork from the bottle of antiseptic and proceeded to clean the wound on his forehead. Pressing hard against the blood which flowed freely, she knew it would need several stitches to close it up. Having not much experience in the healing field, she wound a roll of the bandage around his forehead with clumsy fingers.

As Cady stuck the end of the cloth in place, he stirred.

"Your Honor?" Cady asked, taking a step forward. "Can you hear me?"

His eyelids fluttered, but he did not open his eyes.

"Tithonus." The name of his eldest son fell from his lips and drifted into the air, over and over again. Cady looked down and saw that he was clutching a small dagger in his hands, so hard it could be glued to his palm forever. Her eyes wandered down to the little piece of crumpled paper next to him.

She picked it up and smoothened it, so that the words faced her.

Death shall reap the one who started it all.

Death...the one who started it all. Her attention darted back to Raphine and to the dagger. The marks on the blade matched the tattoo on her shoulder.

Walkers. Only Walkers would seek revenge from Raphine Sanguinis, the person who led war on the Hall of Shadows.

Part of her was rejoicing at the thought that her people could be still alive, and out there hiding in Esvanira. But the other half of her grieved at the pain suffered by the Oracles from the attack. She crumpled up the paper into a ball and chucked it away.

She had never felt so lost before. Her heart was ripped into two; one was her loyalty toward her people and the other, compassion toward the Oracles. Cady's eyes raked the entire Hall, taking in the destruction and inhaling the remaining stench of negative energy.

Could this really be an attack from the Walkers? If that was so, no one was safe. The attack was clearly meant as a threat, an ominous warning. They have yet to display their full powers.

Her thoughts were banished when the excited voice of Jasper shattered the silence. He appeared at the destroyed door frame, waving a vial of blue liquid in his hands.

"I've got it, Cady! I can save them all!"

*****

A/N

Jasper is bae, and a lot of you peeps agree based on your comments in the last chapter! :D Well, Cady is affected by the Mandrake, it just takes time for different people. Jasper is a Physician and of course, is trained in this kind of situations.

Hmm...who do you think planted the Mandrake there? And I think it is apparent their target is Raphine!

If you've noticed, THoS has longer chapters than THoG. Can't help it, words must hit the screen! XD

Home fries ( the one with the jacket still on),

Stef