---

---

---

Connie, Barty, Jake

The air shivered with magic. Weariness settled in at the edge of Jake and Barty’s minds, one the consequence of a close connection and the other of simple proximity. Connie felt the pull, the drain, the weariness, but it did not settle in and left her unaffected.

The statue’s glyphs pulsed once and fell silent again.

Willow, Nicky, Callaghan, Cassiopeia

It took Nicholas more than a few moments to collect himself at the gir- Cassie’s greeting, but he steeled himself and offered a polite smile. Barely more than a tilt at the corner of his lips but something nonetheless. Baby steps, baby steps. “Well enough. I trust rest found you easily as well.” Nicholas offered in response to Cassie as she settled into her spot. He offered Callaghan and Willow a soft greeting as well, before taking a moment to consider the question. “I saw naught but a shifting in the magics beneath the pages. Callaghan’s magical reserves runner deeper than mine, so I requested his aid in evaluating the oddity. His skill revealed eyes, 7 pairs drifting beneath the words, and an empathetic exchange before vanishing. Something hides within the book or claims an access point into our world through it. A dragon could see it and a diviner could hear it so could chaos speak with it?” Nicholas explained their experience and thought process, resuming his pacing.

“And then there is still the matter of this.” Nicholas tapped on the chalkboard. “A message seemingly left behind for no purpose; played out beneath the veneer of frivolous senility, with no way to translate such words. I find it hard to believe someone as sharp as the Professor would not offer a way to move forward.” Nicholas stilled as he regarded the writing, hit foot tapping as he did.

“I am loath to ask; however, would divining an answer to this message aid us or simply confuse us further?” Nicholas clicked his tongue irritably. “It is frustrating to claim so many pieces with no concept of what the puzzle looks like.”

Rohan, Finley/Dysphoria, Annika

Dysphoria’s head drifted back and forth, bumping gently against Finley’s head as they struggled to wake. They’d been so comfortable curled around their Darling in the little cocoon they’d made and now the world was so cruel as to drag them from their blissful slumber. Tendrils pet the center of Finley’s palm even as another wove itself languidly between their fingers. “If the Franklin human fell to the predator, then the Franklin human was doomed from the start and is now in the belly of a predator.” Dysphoria yawned wide, rows of teeth on full display. “Or, he is the most sensible one and we should not disturb his slumber. We too vote to return to bed; Darling did not get enough cuddling.”

Sariel frowned at the exchange, tilting her head for a moment as the lightning in her eyes dimmed for a few heartbeats and brightened again along with her excitement. “No, don’t fret. Franklin is feeling unwell after his late night yesterday! The poor boy was coughing up a storm when I poked my nose into his lab; poor thing accidentally set fire to half of it and needed a day to recover. Smoke in the lungs is never a great thing, especially when dealing with that material.” Sariel reassured them, waving away their concerns. “Do your first run and then go check on him; I’m sure he’d care for the company later this evening when the meds wear off.”

Lightning crackled to life between her hands, thunder shaking the room as she shaped into runes and glyphs that settled into the floor and burned the stone in the same shapes already present. The arch began to glow and rumble and air whooshed past them as an inky blackness spread in the gate, the faintest flickerings of light like stars playing out across the surface. The doorway rippled like water and Sariel’s magic quieted.

The gate to Neverish stood open.

---

---

---

---

"Oh, I didn't sleep!" Jake answered Connie cheerfully. "Everyone else seems to spend a lot of time sleeping, I bet you have lots of fun, cool dreams! Did you sleep well? I made sure that Cassie was safe all night, since no one else wanted to let me watch them sleep. I could watch you sleep tonight if you change your mind - you too, Barty!" he added, grinning and waving at the last member of their coven as he came. "I didn't get to see Pedro though - it's funny, he's Pedro, he's Pedrito, I heard someone else call him Pancho - can I have a lot of names like that? I have Jake and Jack - can I have another one? Pleeease? Please give me another name?"

Barty had an interesting suggestion, too. Jake didn't know how to braid hair. He wasn't really sure what that meant at all. But if it would be helpful, he was willing to learn! "Can you teach me how to do this magic - what's a braid?" He then looked at the statue. "Is it something we can do for him too?" His head swiveled rapidly once Barty snapped, and he was ready to receive instructions, only for him to instead give them to Connie. Boo! He wanted to be helpful! But then something strange happened... Something he didn't know how to describe. He tilted his head from side to side, pulled on the skin of his face, jumped up and down - but it stayed, it lingered. It was nothing cold, if anything it almost felt like heaviness, like he was sinking...

"My head feels heavy? Is that normal?" he asked, pulling at his hair. He wasn't panicking, though. He didn't necessarily like the sensation, but it wasn't frightening or scary, it was just new.

---

---

---

---

Cassie was pleased with Nick's response. It seemed he had mellowed. Or, at least, he wasn't being an active asshole. Beggars couldn't be choosers. Willow had entered and the coven was all here.

Cassie was still unsure if she should even attempt anything with the journal, but the others had all tried. Surely she needed to give it her all, too?

Cassie stood up and walked to a space in the room. She looked at the others. "All right, I am going to give this a shot. Please be careful and, if need be, get me out of it should things get dangerous." Cassie looked at the journal and summoned her magic. Her eyes glowed a bright, ethereal pink as she summoned her chaos magic. As soon as he did so, her magic seemed to pour into the journal like water. It was like the journal was thirsty, like it hadn't drunk anything in so long. The journal began to tremble and shake in her hands, and, on the surface, an assortment of eyes opened and began blinking at the light. Each eye would grow and shrink, change color, and each one seemed to tell something different and convey an emotion. Fear, frustration, confusion, rage....

Cassie stared at each one, willing herself to stop, but it was as if the journal had latched on and was taking its fill of her magic. Faster and faster. Cassie attempted to slow, to gain back some semblance of control, but the journal would not release. Each eye was lookign as if it wanted more, more than Cassie had within her.

Cassie knew this was a mistake. But it was too late now. Something had taken hold of her, and she needed to get back control. She moved her other hand and latched on to the cover of the journal and ripped it open. As she did so she summoned one of her spells, the Tiara of Jagged Glass that she had used upon coming to this school. As the journal was wrenched open, shards of reality exploded from the page. Walls, furniture, and the poor, unfortunate souls in the room would be torn into as her tiara landed on the page. And Cassie could only stare in horror as the journal tore open and sliced her left hand off, falling onto the pages and dissolving into the ink.

And yet, the magic stopped. The glass on the page, soaked in Cassie's blood, but passive, controlled, and contained. At her will.

Cassie could only say, "I did it...." before she fell backward to the hard ground below.

---

---

---

He was pretty much out of commission for the time being, then. Okay, that was less than desirable, less hands on deck for if something went wrong. It did mean things would be less complicated if a disaster happened, though. Less metaphorical chickens running around. They could work with that, at the very least. The doorway into the Neverish stood wide open, and Rohan seemed to be the one most willing to actually set foot in there. That was ironic, he'd had his fair share of strange realms long ago. But, alas.

"Guess I'll go first." He walked forward and stood just in front of the First Gate.

He shut his eyes and gently thumped his staff against the ground.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk... Rohan listened for the rhythm of the fused heart, and felt it beating with the rotten one in his chest. Then, he and Root walked in.

And it was cold.

The portal swallowed them both whole, magic rolling over them with the thickness of ink. It latched on as tendrils, and frost collected on Rohan’s arms. Root’s talons dug into his master’s shirt, and their eyes were forced shut by the light on the other side.

It burned. It froze. It consumed.

For a brief moment, there was just darkness.

The Neverish was expansive in ways that language failed to depict. To him, it was everywhere and nowhere. It wasn’t the first time Rohan had been inside a place that defied the rules of conventional space, wherein the boundaries were fluid or a mere suggestion. The Forest of Ghosts was a place where the ground and sky were, at the very least, defined enough to know which way was up.

But here, there were passages spiraling off into Oblivion. The roiling magic he passed through weaving itself into something that certainly looked physical, but Rohan wouldn’t have tried his luck if he could.

He blinked, and the passages were dust.

How did the brothers build something in here?

Rohan reached up and grabbed Root.

”Hold on.”

The two plummeted into a black abyss underneath them. It was blacker than the darkest skies they’d ever seen.

Down.

Down.

And down.

---

Connie flipped Barty off as he pushed past them and into the room they hadn’t even entered yet. There was no heat in the gesture. She followed after him and looked at the letter, the note about getting access to more information was frustrating. Of course it was gated. Connie felt a wave of weariness that was timed with the pulse of the sigils. That wasn’t good. Quickly she made a note in her book about it. The weariness passed. Jake mentioned that he felt it too. A lot of what Jake said worried her. “That sensation is not normal. It is likely the statue pulling magic from you. Remember the warning of those who come in here becoming insane. There is a reason we have a time limit. Also Jake is normally a shortened version of Jacob. Pedro’s name has flexibility for diminutives,” she explained to Jake.

“Of those of us here, my hair is the only one long enough for a good braid, which it is.” She pointed to the braid of hair going down her back. Connie sat down looking at the glyphs. She had some knowledge of the magic type. It wasn’t her main focus.

These glyphs were odd though. Almost inverted or scrambled. “These aren’t normal glyphs.” she started to explain. She pulled out her clean notebook and flipped to a page of glyphs with notations. “Standard glyphs look like this.” She held up the book for Barty to see.

---

Finley put Franklin out of their mind. It was an unfortunate loss as he would be useful in this situation. Rohan went through the gate and Finley stepped in after him. There was little need for more discussion. The shadows of the gate seemed to welcome Finley.

It was frozen darkness. The cold rapidly set in. Finley’s hands burned with the cold, breathing was difficult. It made Finley think of the paths of the Cait Sidhe, paths that were forbidden to Finley. The cold was so intense that Finley’s hands were frostbitten. They felt Dysphoria shift and cover them, the damage to their hands healed. Finley felt safe and warm wrapped up by their dearest companion.

The pair fell into the darkness. Hopefully after Rohan. It would be quite unpleasant if they were to be separated in the first moments. They mentally reached for the heart of blood the group had created the day before and felt the tether connecting them. Good. If they were to be separated they could still find their way back out.

---

---

---

---

Unease filtered through Annika. Her professor seemed cavalier about a student being absent from an important class. They had constructed their tether the day before, so it should hold, but it didn’t feel right to Annika not to check on Franklin first. And it didn’t help the anxious feeling Annika had when her other two coven mates seemed completely unconcerned about the state of their fourth member. Annika crossed her arms, frowning as the other two walked through the gate without a care in the world.

She glanced back at the door, torn about just leaving to find Franklin or following through with her task. She was just deciding that the other two would be fine without her when she felt something familiar brush up against her skin. Annika turned her head to see the shadows of the gateway reaching out to greet her, beckoning her closer.

Curiosity overwhelmed Annika, and she stepped forward, wanting to know this familiar yet new friend.

Nothingness. Darkness. A opressive emptiness met Annika. She sucked in a breath; the pressure of that nothingness settled fully on her shoulders. However, Annika wasn’t afraid. She was just aware. Aware of that darkness. Aware of that nothingness around her. She was completely alone. In fact, she couldn’t feel the presence of anyone or anything else around her.

Okay, perhaps she was slightly worried now. The others had walked in before her; they should be here, no? Unless the gate dropped her off somewhere else.

That was nothing new for Annika. There was one time her father had dropped her off on some world in some random timeline and told her to use the portals and shadows to bring herself home, and then he was gone. A week had passed before she returned home to find her father sitting in his favourite chair, and reading a large tome with Nochella curled by the fire. He had looked at her when she returned and smiled in that strange way before speaking.

”Well?”

Annika had screamed at him before she stomped away. A lesson. One, she supposed, she could implement now.

”Nochella?” She attempted to call her familiar, knowing she would come this time. Annika looked down, into the void of nothingness for that comforting sensation Nochella always brought. But there was nothing. Instead, Annika feels a lazy irritation from being woken, followed by confusion, panic, and then silence.

Now, Annika was properly concerned.

She raised her hand in front of her, unable to comprehend where it was even though it was in front of her face, and attempted to call the Moon to her. Memories of bending Mother Moon’s light the first time came back to her. The softness she had felt from that light, the cold comfort it brought. All of these thoughts wove together to summon Her, and yet nothing occurred.

Annika felt cold and distant, like nothing would ever answer her again. Like she was cut off not only from her companions but also from her magic—the very earth she had reclaimed not so long ago.

And then she started running. Running until it hurt to breathe.

---

---

---

---

Cassie’s willingness to try was all that Cal could have asked for. If, in the end, she changed her mind, Cal would give it another go. He pulled the journal out of his bag and set it on the table.

”Good morning, little one,” Cal greeted, when Willow neared. He set some of the other texts and notebooks they had gotten from the library while Willow spoke. He smiled, although there was a shade of concern reflected in his eyes. ”Of course.”

He could only assume it had something to do with the egg she was supposed to crack this morning. Cal hoped it was good news, but Willow probably wouldn’t want to speak with him privately if it was.

Cal remained in quiet contemplation while Nicky explained to Cassie what they had both seen. He raised an eyebrow in silent question when Nick complimented Cal. Oh, really? Well, that called for a little thank you later, Cal thought.

Once Cassie was given the gist of the information, Cal smiled encouragingly as she reached for the journal. Cal wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen when Cassie touched the journal. Truthfully, he assumed the girl would simply try to read it, not open her magic to it. Perhaps Cal should have been clearer.

As soon as Cassie’s magic poured into the journal, Cal knew something was wrong. He took a step forward to try to engage Cassi when instinct took over. Cal shifted aside just in time to avoid shards of glass from impaling his eye, but they still managed to slice open his cheek.



His eyes widened from the shock of it and from Cassie losing her hand.



Cal looked behind him, taking in the other two when something brushed up against his consciousness. Cal’s eyes shifted to the iridescent, serpent-like eyes of his dragon.

”We’re not alone,” Cal told Nicky, all warmth and tenderness in his voice gone.

Cal took in the large shard that had lodged itself in the blackboard behind Nick. If he hadn’t moved… A low growl reverberated through Cal. ”We’re being hunted.”

---

---

---

---

Willow didn't feel great about hearing what Nicky and Cal had discovered when they had investigated the book. Eyes. Just like she had seen when she had investigated the book, but they hadn't heard the voices or the screaming. Maybe... maybe that woman. The one she kept seeing being burned. Could that be the entity in the journal? Willow had seen her twice now, she had to be connected in some way.

She looked back over to the blackboard and let Luna look back over the words once more and shook her head. She truly had no answer for them there, and dared not look deep into them, not with her egg this morning. She already was going to have to cleanse herself once, who knew what else she was going to have to do if she delved too deep.

"Do we still not have an idea of the language yet? Or are we still stuck with no translation and no clues beyond it being there to almost taunt us?" Willow sighed as she and Luna looked it over more, before turning Nicky.

Right as she was about to answer him, Cassie spilled her magic out and into the journal. She watched as the journal was taking and taking from her friend and gasped as she realized that this wasn't going to end well, but before anyone else could stop her...

The shattering of glass filled her room and Willow could hear the pieces whizzing around.

She stood there, still stunned as the sound of dripping continued, with her unsure of what to do as she slumped onto the couch a bit. She knew better than to try to remove it. "Ah... what... what an inopportune time to be the hunted, dear Cal." She finally muttered out, clearly in a bit of shock.