"We're goddamn witches. Don't tell us we can't." 

— Corey Ann Haydu, Ever Cursed

☽★☾

Samuel laughed, the sound low and cruel. It seemed to echo through the empty street, turning Brynn's blood cold with fear as it reverberated through her. The man held up the cage; the metal gave a soft creak, as if it was just as unhappy to be caught in this predicament as they were. Slowly, Sebastian's lips spread in a sly smile.

"I thought witches were smarter than this," he tutted, chin tilting upwards. Brynn itched to leap for his throat right then and there, just to get him to stop talking. "You'd think they'd be able to hide a little better, wouldn't you? But I should have assumed lesser women like yourselves would not have thought this far ahead." 

Joan's lips twitched in a faint snarl. "Go. To. Hell." 

The man raised an eyebrow with disdain, his face for a moment betraying some anger for being insulted like that. He let out a soft scoff. "No. You two, on the other hand..." He shrugged as he recovered his nonchalant expression. "This place is inappropriate for business. Let's talk in my office instead." He gave a snap of his fingers. At once, three men of a very tall stature seemed to melt out from the shadows to sidle up beside Joan and Brynn. While none of them so much as laid a hand on either of the young women, the message was clear: the two were going to Sebastian's office with him whether they liked it or not.

Brynn gulped, horror looming in her mind as she wondered vaguely what sort of "business" they were to take part in.

☽★☾

Sebastian's office seemed even more ominous than it had before. Brynn's hand twitched to take a hold of Joan's, just to give it a comforting squeeze, but she didn't dare to. Sebastian must have seen them kissing just moments before. He was already suspicious of them; Brynn didn't need him to pay them any more attention than he had before. She honestly didn't know what would happen to them if they were caught together like that again... 

The man sank into his chair, kicking back so that his feet rested on his desk. The cage, Erebus sitting solemnly inside, was placed on a shelf behind the desk. They wouldn't be able to rescue him without going through Sebastian first. Brynn once more felt the unbearable urge to hurt the man.

"All I have is a simple deal to make with you," Sebastian began, giving a flourish of his hand to invite the young women to take a seat in the two chairs across from him. Brynn settled hesitantly into the one on the left; Joan remained standing. Sebastian's gaze hardened, but he didn't mention the choice. "You're this... Moonfall, hm? You're the leader of these rebellious witches."

Joan's eyes flashed, head inclining. Her jaw held the light just so, looking as sharp as a dagger. A killer in the flesh. "Yes, I am."

"Good. You know better than to try and hide it. My offer, then..." He trailed off, a finger tracing a line in the wood of his desk. His eyes darted up to meet Joan's, smile turning hungry. Predatory. "You'll call off all the little revolts your group has been taking part in. And you'll disband the group, never to be seen or mentioned again."

Brynn immediately looked to Joan. The young woman seemed amused by the request. "Disband it? My answer is quite obviously a 'no,' but I assume there's more to it than you've let on." She shifted, leaning closer to Sebastian. Her voice was cold as ice as she continued. "What are you going to do if I decline your offer, Nowells?" 

The man sank further back in his chair. His fingers tapped at its arm. Pointer, middle, ring, pinkie. Pointer, middle, ring, pinkie. A smirk slowly spread across his face, turning his features cruel. Brynn found herself wondering what he was going to say until he swept a hand towards Erebus in the cage. A hole opened in the pit of her stomach, dread worming its way through. She had an idea as to what Sebastian had in store.

"This little feathered friend of yours... You're close to him, hm? Well..." Sebastian slipped something from the drawer of his desk. Brynn only caught a flash of silver in his hand before the weapon was held aloft for them to properly see. The blade of the dagger glimmered in the low light. He only held it up for a second before the weapon disappeared again. He was teasing them, playing with their minds.

Joan stood perfectly still, her face blank despite the horror of the threat she faced. Brynn felt as if she could see right through her; this sacrifice wouldn't cost her nothing. From Joan's descriptions during Brynn's magic lesson with her, familiars like Erebus were a very part of the person they served. The owl wasn't just a pet to her; he was linked to her energy. He was more of a family than Joan had likely ever had, except for the group of witches she led. Surely that group wasn't as important as Erebus's life? What would happen to Joan if she lost him?

"You can't—" Brynn blurted, but Joan silenced her with a shake of her head.

"Never," the dark-haired girl answered. Sebastian's eyebrows twitched upwards. "I will never abandon my sisters. If... if it will take Erebus's life to ensure that, both he and I are willing to pay that price." Her glare was smoldering as she stared across the desk at the man.

Sebastian straightened up. The dagger was once more in his hand; it had seemed to materialize there without him ever picking it up. "Very well," he hissed. "If it must come to this, it will." One of his men unlocked the door of the owl's cage. Erebus gave a distressed warble as he gave a few panicked flaps of his wings, attempting to escape his doomed fate. Sebastian caught him by one wing. The blade of the knife audibly whistled through the air as the man slashed it in a single cut. Brynn found herself forced to look away as Erebus let out a screech of pain and fear. 

Another voice joined in on the pained wail as Joan collapsed with a sob to her knees. Her hands tore at her short hair as she screamed, physically convulsing as if the pain dealt to the owl had been her own. Brynn watched, frozen in horror, as Joan gagged and whimpered, curling into a tight ball on the cold wooden floor. A moment later the young woman simply laid there quivering, tears running down her cheeks. She kept clutching at her head and neck, a phantom of Erebus's death inside of her mind.

Brynn knelt beside her. "Joa—" The young woman's name almost slipped right off of her tongue in the moment, before she sensed her mistake and corrected herself. "Moonfall, shh... It's okay. It's okay." She found herself rubbing comforting circles across Joan's back. The young woman didn't seem fully present; her eyes stared hazily off at something in the distance.

Brynn was just opening her mouth to say more when Joan's body was suddenly ripped from her grasp. She stumbled to her feet and let out a soft gasp. Sebastian held Joan against him, an arm wrapped across her chest as he held his knife, which was still dripping with crimson blood and decorated with a single grey feather, against her throat. Joan struggled weakly against his grip before falling slack.

Blood pounded in Brynn's ears as the blade inched ever closer to Joan's throat. She reached out a hand before realizing that she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop this. She couldn't reach them in time, nor did she have the strength to wrench Joan from Sebastian's iron grasp. 

It would take a miracle to stop this, Brynn thought to herself. Dread and despair filled her mind until she felt as if she was drowning in her own thoughts. If only I were magic, or could... A flicker of an idea flashed through her mind. That's it. Magic.

The desperation of the moment provided the perfect fuel she needed. Brynn's mind strove to find something she could base the spell off of, anything that would provide the necessary inspiration and intent. Her mind lingered on the thoughts of Joan, why she needed her and why she had to escape this. She's needed to keep her group going; they need her to show them the way. Magic buzzed at her fingertips and she grabbed at it. It danced out of reach before she could claim it. I need her to find me a way back home. I'm trapped here without her. The swell returned and she reached for it again; it was so close she could practically touch it. But it's not just that I need her... It's that I... I want her. And I can't have her if she's gone. The pure desire that filled her chest seemed to boost the buzz of energy, providing the last tug she needed to claim the magic as her own. Her hands curled into fists as she tucked the energy into a compartment she could control. Then, she flashed her palms wide open and shut her eyes, willing for the magic to do what she needed.

Brynn's eyes flicked open upon hearing two synchronized gasps to find Sebastian stumbling into the wall and Joan toppling to her knees, freed from his hold. A line of red on her throat caused a few drops of blood to fall to the wooden planks below; she must have been nicked by the blade, but luckily didn't appear to be in a fatal condition. Having ensured that the young woman was alright, Brynn moved her gaze from Joan to Sebastian. He still leaned against the wall, staring in shock at the place where he had stood moments before. Brynn leapt at the opportunity and swept the dagger from the floor, looping an arm around Sebastian's barrel of an abdomen and pressing the point of the knife to the side of the man's neck. He immediately sobered at the jab of the weapon, shock dissipating as he came to see the gravity of the situation.

"Sebastian," Brynn spat as she pressed the blade into his skin. His muscles twitched, but he stayed admirably still considering his life was on the line. "It's time for me to make you a deal. If you allow witches to live freely, I'll let you go with a minor scratch. But if you refuse... you and your fellow witch hunters will be killed, no mercy given and no questions asked." She hoped the words had as deadly of a bite as she thought they held.

Sebastian stayed silent. She watched his jaw work for a moment as he considered the offer. Her hand shook as she thrust the weapon higher, practically standing on the tips of her toes in her effort to reach his most vulnerable spot. Brynn's knees shook; she couldn't hold this position for much longer before her legs gave out completely at the awkward angle she was standing at.

"Well?" She snapped when he still hadn't replied. "You know, I hope you realize how lucky you are that I've given you so much time to think." 

"I'm very lucky," Sebastian replied. His tone was eerily polite. "Thank you." It took only a second for Brynn to figure out what the man meant by those words; it was a second she should have spent rethinking her plan. 

The man's fist met her square in the jaw. Brynn let out a panicked breath as her feet left the ground altogether and she tumbled to the floor. Her head hit the wood and she let out a pitiful moan as spots filled her vision. She moved to get to her feet, but something in her arm seemed to have been thrown out of place during the fall; she crumpled back to the floor, pained tears pricking her eyes, before she could stabilize herself. She was just shifting her weight to her other arm and slowly rising when she was shoved back down by a boot to the chest.

Sebastian loomed over her. Blood, both his own and that of Joan's and Erebus's, was splattered across his face and the front of his shirt. His teeth gritted in a grimace as he peered down at Brynn, moving his leg so that the heel of his boot pressed instead into her neck. Her heart sped up, skipping a beat as she came to realize her predicament. Weight was added and Brynn found her breath shoved from her body. Her lips split in a wheeze, her vision darkening around the edges as air was cut off from her brain. No. Not like this. I can't go out like this, squished at the sole of a man's boot like some sort of bug. But what choice did she have? Her body gave a buck, but it wasn't enough to throw the man's weight off of her. A breathless whimper escaped her lips. Everything was going numb, slipping away. She couldn't hold on much longer.

"Get away from her!" Brynn heard the shout as if from a faraway being. It sounded familiar. She vaguely remembered being in love with the speaker that voice belonged to. Not that it mattered now. She took another desperate gasp for breath, taking less than she was losing, before the weight suddenly lifted from her throat. Brynn heard the tussle of bodies as she rolled onto her side, hacking and retching as she heaved for breath. Her throat hurt; it had to have been bruised.

A hand rested on Brynn's shoulder; she glanced over through a still-foggy haze to see a dark-haired young woman. Joan. She saved me. All Brynn could manage was a weary smile. She scuttled to the side, ducking behind Sebastian's desk as Joan tackled the man; they threw punches and kicks at each other, ripping at each other's hair and clothes. As Brynn's head gradually cleared, she realized that the weapon that could end this fight was right at her fingertips. She grazed the blade of the dagger with her hand; it lay only inches away. She gripped its smooth wooden handle and leapt to her feet. She couldn't waste this opportunity again.

Joan met her eye as she shoved her weight into Sebastian's side, momentarily knocking him off his balance. Her eyes flashed with understanding as she understood Brynn's plan. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. Joan turned her attention back to Sebastian, giving a low grunt as she thrust her full body into his chest. She somehow managed to pin his arms to his sides and shove him into the wall. Brynn caught her eye, and in one quick jab, stabbed the man in the throat. A rather unsatisfying fountain of blood was their only reward. The man twitched once, twice, and then drooped and slid to the floor.

Brynn stared at her work for a moment, horror creeping through her as she came to realize what she had just done. Her hand clenched around the bloody dagger before it slipped from her grasp, hitting the floor with a soft clink. She backed away, breath shaky. A hand rested on her shoulder. Joan.

The dark-haired young woman offered her a sad smile as she picked up the dagger from the floor and nodded towards the door. "C'mon. We should probably leave before all his friends come looking for him." Brynn reluctantly turned, her hand slipping into Joan's as they crossed the room.

They both slowed to pause as the small silhouette of Erebus's body came into view. Brynn opened her mouth to ask if Joan wanted to do anything about it, to check that he was truly gone, but Joan gave an infinitesimal shake of her head. The two left without another word, the feeling of loss and guilt heavy in the air around them.